Last time I
visited Goa, I promised myself to return. And
I kept my promise.I had to keep it...
After a long year without any vacations, we were dying to travel. With rains all over the mountains, we had few options to consider. We were confused about my vacation and with a sudden impulse, it was decided to go to Goa.
Everybody discouraged us as it was raining cats and dogs in Goa. Beaches would be closed and no one can imagine Goa minus beaches. But I was adamant. And I have no regrets.
I am not much of a water baby. So, even if beaches are open, I don't swim. So, that was not to be regretted (However, beaches were very much open, with some restrictions). Though, I regret one thing.. Not taking pictures on this trip. We hardly indulged ourselves in photography. Only a few pics with our Sony Experia. So this post is going to disappoint those who loved our pics earlier. But trust me, it is much more enjoyable to have a vacation, without having to worry about pics.
Day 1, Delhi to Goa:
We left for Goa on 27 July, Saturday. Reached there by evening. We were getting Taxis at airport but seeing their fare, we decided to board local bus. We had a great experience with buses in Goa on our last trip, so we were happy saving a few bucks. As we came out of the airport, it started drizzling but was okay. Soon, a taxi driver spotted us. He came to drop a passenger and was looking for someone needing a ride. Fortunately, he was going towards Palolem. We bargained for Rs. 300 (as against Rs.900). Monsoon has its own advantages in Goa. You just need to check for them.
We had booked the same hotel as our last visit- Angels Resort. Its a nice place to stay. Great in fact. We tried to get an Avenger but ended up getting a Deo for 300/day. Neither Aashish nor I liked it but we had no other option.
I was excited about going to Saturday night market at Arpora but to my disappointment, it was closed due to monsoon. We anyhow searched for another market at Mhapusa. It is not like a flea market but you can get things at really low prices. We got a dozen small Goan bananas for Rs. 10. :-)... Carry bags could be purchased at Rs. 100, the same bags were being sold at Rs. 350 near beaches.We were roaming around the market and suddenly it started to rain. We waited for some time and as soon as rain stopped, we left for our resort.
But it started to rain again and by the time we reached, we were completely drenched. As we entered the hotel, the guard asked how we didn't get an Avenger and promised to arrange one next day. We were finally going to have a nice ride. We thanked him and went to sleep. That ended our day 1 at Goa.
Day 2, Sunny Day:
Daily I get up at 6 in the morning. But here, I was in having the luxury of getting up late and I was in no hurry. We had our breakfast at the Hotel and then we moved out to rent a bike. The guard arranged it at Rs. 350/day. We had already visited Goa and were not crazy to visit typical tourist spots. However, I do miss visiting Chapora fort.
We simply went out riding in a blissful climate. Sometimes it rains cats and dogs in Goa keeping you indoors and sometimes its just a drizzle to cool down the heat. It was mostly cloudy and we enjoyed biking and eating vada pavs and drinking Nariyal Pani.
As any vacation is incomplete without shopping, I dragged Aashish to go shopping with me. Though uninterested, he agreed and even pretended to enjoy.;-)))
With lots of bargain and some nice things, we returned back to our hotel at 10.29. I can exactly recall the time as Hotel Navtara closes at 10:30 and they refused to get us in ;-(((((.
The restaurant in the hotel takes orders till 11:30p.m.. That's where we saved ourselves.
A delicious dinner marked the end of our second day. OMG! only two days to go. I have to enjoy as much as I can and relax as much as possible. That's like having your cake and eat it too. ;-p
Neways, I was enjoying every bit of my stay and wished to live like that forever. In my mind, I also planned my retirement in Goa. That's the magic of this place.
Day 3 :
This time we didn't plan to visit any places in particular, so we were short of ideas. We spent the morning roaming inside our resort. It is a great place to hang aroud with all kinds of trees and fruits and beautiful private villas. After breakfast, we left for Charao Island.
Its a quiet little island in Mandovi river. We went to Panjim and then Old Goa. From there we took a ferry to the island. For shoppers, its a gloomy place. But a paradise for nature lovers.
You can find a beautiful lake there.
A nice boating trip didn't do us any harm. A nice place to come if you have visited most of the tourist attractions. You can also visit Salim Ali bird sanctuary. But for that you have to reach early morning and best time is in winters as during Monsoon, mosquitoes in the sanctuaries can be a bit dangerous.
We returned by the evening and after some rest, we pulled ourselves and went to Baga beach in the night.The atmosphere there was unlike regular gloomy monsoon type. People were partying. Althogh crowd was much less as compared to December.
Day 4:
Our last day at Goa. we had a flight back to Delhi the next day. Even the thought of this depressed us and so we decided to make full use of this day.
We roamed around the streets, shopped for everybody at home. went to Panjim, Calangute, Baga, Anjuna, Candolim and exhausted ourselves by the evening.
Although, the monsoon season has lesser tourists, it still can be a great season to sea Green, clean, tranquil Goa. Even simply biking around in pollution free air is fun.
After a hectic day, we went for a Abhyangam and Shirodhara at nearby ANHC (Ayurvedic Natural Health Centre). Due to off season, we got heavy discount. Great deal wrapping our vacation!
It was our last day and I thought about a friend suggesting about drinking in Goa. Both me and Aashish had never tried alcohol before and we proudly boasted of being teetotalers. A bottle of cranberry breezer broke our abstention from alcohol.;-p
Although, very mild (only 4% alcohol), it is an alcoholic drink. I still do not appreciate drinking. But then a breezer won't rot your lever;-)).
Day5:
How I hate my holidays to end. But they have to end. And so, we left for Delhi with more memories and less photographs..
After a long year without any vacations, we were dying to travel. With rains all over the mountains, we had few options to consider. We were confused about my vacation and with a sudden impulse, it was decided to go to Goa.
Everybody discouraged us as it was raining cats and dogs in Goa. Beaches would be closed and no one can imagine Goa minus beaches. But I was adamant. And I have no regrets.
I am not much of a water baby. So, even if beaches are open, I don't swim. So, that was not to be regretted (However, beaches were very much open, with some restrictions). Though, I regret one thing.. Not taking pictures on this trip. We hardly indulged ourselves in photography. Only a few pics with our Sony Experia. So this post is going to disappoint those who loved our pics earlier. But trust me, it is much more enjoyable to have a vacation, without having to worry about pics.
Day 1, Delhi to Goa:
We left for Goa on 27 July, Saturday. Reached there by evening. We were getting Taxis at airport but seeing their fare, we decided to board local bus. We had a great experience with buses in Goa on our last trip, so we were happy saving a few bucks. As we came out of the airport, it started drizzling but was okay. Soon, a taxi driver spotted us. He came to drop a passenger and was looking for someone needing a ride. Fortunately, he was going towards Palolem. We bargained for Rs. 300 (as against Rs.900). Monsoon has its own advantages in Goa. You just need to check for them.
We had booked the same hotel as our last visit- Angels Resort. Its a nice place to stay. Great in fact. We tried to get an Avenger but ended up getting a Deo for 300/day. Neither Aashish nor I liked it but we had no other option.
I was excited about going to Saturday night market at Arpora but to my disappointment, it was closed due to monsoon. We anyhow searched for another market at Mhapusa. It is not like a flea market but you can get things at really low prices. We got a dozen small Goan bananas for Rs. 10. :-)... Carry bags could be purchased at Rs. 100, the same bags were being sold at Rs. 350 near beaches.We were roaming around the market and suddenly it started to rain. We waited for some time and as soon as rain stopped, we left for our resort.
But it started to rain again and by the time we reached, we were completely drenched. As we entered the hotel, the guard asked how we didn't get an Avenger and promised to arrange one next day. We were finally going to have a nice ride. We thanked him and went to sleep. That ended our day 1 at Goa.
Day 2, Sunny Day:
Daily I get up at 6 in the morning. But here, I was in having the luxury of getting up late and I was in no hurry. We had our breakfast at the Hotel and then we moved out to rent a bike. The guard arranged it at Rs. 350/day. We had already visited Goa and were not crazy to visit typical tourist spots. However, I do miss visiting Chapora fort.
We simply went out riding in a blissful climate. Sometimes it rains cats and dogs in Goa keeping you indoors and sometimes its just a drizzle to cool down the heat. It was mostly cloudy and we enjoyed biking and eating vada pavs and drinking Nariyal Pani.
As any vacation is incomplete without shopping, I dragged Aashish to go shopping with me. Though uninterested, he agreed and even pretended to enjoy.;-)))
With lots of bargain and some nice things, we returned back to our hotel at 10.29. I can exactly recall the time as Hotel Navtara closes at 10:30 and they refused to get us in ;-(((((.
The restaurant in the hotel takes orders till 11:30p.m.. That's where we saved ourselves.
A delicious dinner marked the end of our second day. OMG! only two days to go. I have to enjoy as much as I can and relax as much as possible. That's like having your cake and eat it too. ;-p
Neways, I was enjoying every bit of my stay and wished to live like that forever. In my mind, I also planned my retirement in Goa. That's the magic of this place.
Day 3 :
This time we didn't plan to visit any places in particular, so we were short of ideas. We spent the morning roaming inside our resort. It is a great place to hang aroud with all kinds of trees and fruits and beautiful private villas. After breakfast, we left for Charao Island.
Its a quiet little island in Mandovi river. We went to Panjim and then Old Goa. From there we took a ferry to the island. For shoppers, its a gloomy place. But a paradise for nature lovers.
You can find a beautiful lake there.
A nice boating trip didn't do us any harm. A nice place to come if you have visited most of the tourist attractions. You can also visit Salim Ali bird sanctuary. But for that you have to reach early morning and best time is in winters as during Monsoon, mosquitoes in the sanctuaries can be a bit dangerous.
We returned by the evening and after some rest, we pulled ourselves and went to Baga beach in the night.The atmosphere there was unlike regular gloomy monsoon type. People were partying. Althogh crowd was much less as compared to December.
Day 4:
Our last day at Goa. we had a flight back to Delhi the next day. Even the thought of this depressed us and so we decided to make full use of this day.
We roamed around the streets, shopped for everybody at home. went to Panjim, Calangute, Baga, Anjuna, Candolim and exhausted ourselves by the evening.
Although, the monsoon season has lesser tourists, it still can be a great season to sea Green, clean, tranquil Goa. Even simply biking around in pollution free air is fun.
After a hectic day, we went for a Abhyangam and Shirodhara at nearby ANHC (Ayurvedic Natural Health Centre). Due to off season, we got heavy discount. Great deal wrapping our vacation!
It was our last day and I thought about a friend suggesting about drinking in Goa. Both me and Aashish had never tried alcohol before and we proudly boasted of being teetotalers. A bottle of cranberry breezer broke our abstention from alcohol.;-p
Although, very mild (only 4% alcohol), it is an alcoholic drink. I still do not appreciate drinking. But then a breezer won't rot your lever;-)).
Day5:
How I hate my holidays to end. But they have to end. And so, we left for Delhi with more memories and less photographs..
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