Simple lifestyle, loving folk, and a beautiful time
I am proud to be an Indian, but I love the fact that I am a goan. Pavwali as my friends keep calling me. And I do NOT get mad at them.
I love goa, for the smell of the land when it rains. For the shack I and my friends hire just to be near the sea. For the food, that gets me crazy whenever I near Souza Lobo’s in Calangute.
It’s a tradition for me to go to goa. As a kid I never got a chance to explore it completely being busy visiting family but every time I visited Goa with my friends, the experience is memorable and I turn into a glutton longing for more…
I’ve travel in the off season wherein everything is remarkably cheap and the on season when you have to see if there’s cash left in your pockets. But we’ve made the journey, the visit always remarkably special.
There are buses from Mumbai to take you to mapusa. Neeta, Paulo and many more….you can choose your pick.
But we, friends have usually taken a car and drove all the way to goa. The journey is not tiring but if you are an experienced driver, it helps a lotttt.
You get good places to eat along the way and once you get the taste of the food, you’ll be rushing to reach goa.
We stay at a friend’s place at Calangute beach. It is not at the main junction where you can shop alongside till you reach the beach. The place is remote and we love that.
Simple lifestyle, loving folk, and a beautiful time are what you can expect in goa.
There are loads of places you can stay, right from the best hotels to small rooms, everything is in goa and suits your pockets.
Something’s I go crazy about- Aguada fort, a place that captures your mind. You can check it out and imagine the times when prisoners used to be kept. The fort is surrounded by sea and is completely dreadful. Best time to feel a bit spooky is late in the night. Just traveling uphill will send chills down your spine but it’s worth a watch. The fort is closed in the night and all you can feel is the wind blowing in your ears, there’s this sense of isolation which gets you once you reach uphill….
Oh there is something I want to share with you all, there is this place close to my heart and it’ll always be like that, no matter how many times I go there. Just before you turn towards Aguada fort, towards the left, you will see the Taj hotel. (Shikari one) there’s a lane alongside the hotel, just walk down…keep on walking and you’ll find a place that is semi circle. There are steps and you will have to walk up. Once you reach there, you’ll be standing on a monument which faces the sea, while the water slaps itself towards the brick structure.
You feel like you are in the centre of the sea while you are just on one edge of the land. Its priceless. I mean it. And if you want to feel grand, get there late evening or early morning, I’m saying that coz I had gone there at 2 in the morning. Trust me, it’s splendid. Dark, just the moon and stars shining, waves slamming against the bricks, you can even see the light from the lighthouse and the sea. It’s grandeur par excellence.
Enough of late night drama, for day time pleasures there are places where tourist buses take you. You can check the flea markets, the last time I went, I got to see the Anjuna flea market the first time, coz it was peak season. Its vast land filled with hippies, Rajasthani girls selling everything and anything right from clothes to bags, antiques and jewelry. And each one of them knows English. I keep wondering who taught them all to converse???? Good silver junk and try to reason it out.
And there are so many firangs… Foreigners who are just happy to see collectible items and while buying things click away pictures. I remember this foreigner who was clicking a picture of a buffalo dressed in varied colors and a Rajasthani old lady with nose rings and earrings that could weigh another person altogether. Well, our culture is still rocking, what say?
There are tattoo guys who can help you get your self tattooed, I remember watching this guy all I guess is that he was tattooed all over, doesn’t that hurt dude???
There are boat rides, Santa Monica on the Mandovi River, with a sing song dance performance. Its fun and you can even join in. a good time for an hour or two in a boat.
Dona Paula, the story of a rich Portuguese girl waiting for her beloved fisherman to arrive back from sea, he never returned and the rest is history. You can visit it anytime and the watch is beautiful. I remember trying my hand on fishing with the guys sitting there. I caught a fish the size of my small finger. But it was worth a try.
You can try to be there for the Carnival, fun, color, meet people and it’s time to laze around and enjoy it every bit.
Religious places are many, for Hindus, the Mangeshkar temple is worth a visit. For the Catholics, it’s Old Goa. Old bricks and beautiful churches. Francis Xavier‘s body claims millions of devotees from all over the world to visit and pay their respects. You get postcards you can send across with Polaroid guys around willing to click your snaps with the amazing churches as background. It’s around 50 bucks, but the snaps look good.
Food… Name it and you get it. Lobster curry, squids in goan masala sauce, macarels, King prawns, crabs, grilled fish with cheese oozing out of it…. Do you seriously want me to go with the list? The vegetarians won’t die of hunger. Goa serves everyone.
The places I went for a sumptuous meal with lovely music are Souza Lobo’s, Calangute. Britto’s- Baga beach, Martin’s Corner- madgoan. You even get good food at the shacks opened up near the beaches. Not even that costly and the taste is heavenly.
Shopping –another one of my favorites. Well where do you find clothes? Everywhere. Cheap usable clothes, right from shorts, to singlets, jeans and you can still use it after you wash it for the hundredth time. I picked up a jersey for my bf from the mapusa market and people think I paid a bomb for it. Well, I just nod in agreement though it costed for mere 65 bucks.
Well, that’s about it…these are the factors I love while visiting goa. You’ll find your own magic.
