Goa.. Once Again.. In the Rain..

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..

Good bye Leh..

Today, we are leaving for Delhi. Till yesterday, we weren't sure about the route we were going to take for our return. After long hours of discussion, weighing all the pros and cons, we decided to take Leh -Kargil -Srinagar- Delhi route. Reasons being:

1. We would be able to visit some new places.
2. The idea of seeing Kashmir thrilled us.
3. The route is much better as compared to Leh-Manali highway, Zojilla pass being the only trouble.

A bit long as compared to other one but this made our tour the most memorable and complete in every sense. We traveled across the most beautiful roads possible.

Here's our first day on road back to Delhi:

We were feeling a pang of sadness while leaving Leh. And it's very natural. We thought Leh is over. But no. We were yet to see some more of Ladakh. From Leh to Kargil, we can enjoy the route. We left at around 6:30 in the morning and fueled our bikes before leaving the town.

Just after around half an hour, we saw sign board reading "Magnetic Hill". It is a place where vehicles drive against gravity. 

  Unsuccessful efforts

We tried unsuccessfully with bikes only to find out that only the balanced vehicles like cars, if left free, move toward the slope as if a reverse gravity is acting. I don't know the reason, but its actually true.

We had a target to reach Kargil today and we were wasting so much time!!! So we just rushed towards Kargil. 




The route , needless to say again, is extremely beautiful.

 
After another half an hour, we felt pangs of hunger. We had chocolates but we needed food... And then we saw a beautiful resort. Have a look...

 
The food was as good as the resort itself. However, a bit heavy on the pocket, but totally worth it.

My desktop background

Leaving from there, we found ourselves back on the mesmerizing roads, still depicting the beauty of Ladakh. Before Kargil, we did not find any hotel or any place to relax. So, please watch out over any necessities. Make sure you are ready for the ride.

Kargil Kids

We were about to reach Kargil, way before our estimated time. Good Job! As we were ahead of time, we decided to leave and stay at next halt. 

It was Eid and the roads were empty. We were feeling scared because of empty roads but later when we knew the reason, we felt relieved.

We wanted to reach Srinagar. But the Zojilla pass shattered our dreams. At around 7:30, it was quiet dark and we decided to stay in Sonmarg, a beautiful hill station.

Way to Zojilla

Beautiful way indeed

Zojilla fear starts

We were accustomed to crossing passes and were not scared of Zojilla but it proved us wrong.There were times when we just lost hope of survival. However, we crossed it safely. Then the road was smooth and it took us around half an hour to reach Sonmarg. We all needed a good night's sleep. Good Night Sonmarg. The morning will bring a brighter side of you.

Last Day at Leh...

Today we had to leave for Khardungla Pass, world's highest motorable pass. But somehow the circumstances forced us to stay. But I have no regrets. The day at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Leh was so good that I have no qualms about it.

View of Himalayas from inside the campus

We got up a bit late as compared to our daily routine since past 7 days. We had no target to chase!!!  Waking up to a lazy day had become a luxury and we were going to enjoy it. We all got up ready by 11 a.m., prepared some Poha for breakfast in Ravi Bhaiya's kitchen and enjoyed a dubbed Tamil movie. After 7 days, we got time to see the pictures we had taken throughout our journey. While Ravi Bhaiya was in school, we captured his Laptop and transferred and received all the photographs. After so much of hardwork, ;-)),  we started feeling hungry. Also, the guys needed to get their bikes to mechanics for some repair so that we can head back to home... ;-)
So, we went to a fine Kashmiri restaurant in the main market. The food was delicious.. Then Mohit, Aashish and Ankush went for bike repair and me n Viky went for a shopping spree... Most of the things that we got in Leh can be purchased in Delhi also (but I got to know that later!!!!) but the joy of shopping there is something you should not miss. I spent every single penny I had. I may never come back again and it should not be a regret. I got something for everybody back at home.
You can find nice T-shirts all over the market. I was searching for some T-shirts and I found every shopkeeper had similar ones. Boring!!! Then I saw a slim street going into a small market. That was not actually a street, just 3-4 shops inside. But, I discovered a wonderful shop there. The old man was selling for a bit high price but it was just worth. Moreover, he had a filmy connection to it! (Remember? I love filmy connections!). He told a story that how he sold T-shirts to Amir Khan during the shoot of 3 idiots. And how Amir bargained ( Still purchased in 5 times the normal selling price...). Now that may be an actual anecdote or just a story but I loved it. And got 4 T-shirts. I have 1 with me, rest all have been looted by friends and brothers.

Now I got extremely tired ( I am not tired! There is no Oxygen ;-)). The boys also returned from bike servicing. Its time we headed back to the school.

Playground, KV, Leh

At school, we arranged a cricket match with the teachers of KV and what a match it was! At a place where even simple jobs like walking and speaking can exhaust you, we were having a Cricket match!

That's how we ended our last day at Leh, completely enjoying. Sometimes the joy of not doing anything dwarfs the success of touching down to all major tourist attractions. It lets you enjoy the feel of the place. 
We will leave tomorrow. Let’s breathe in the air of Ladakh as much as possible (Although there is little oxygen in it ;-)).

Leh..... Living Life..

Day 2 at Leh-

After sleeping for a night in Leh, we got comfortably acclimatized to the altitude. However, not much of work could be done.

We planned to go to the famous Pangong lake by bikes. But Mohit’s health and my fears did not allow us to get on the bikes. So, Ravi Bhaiya (Mohit’s brother) booked a cab for us. We left early in the morning at around 6 a.m. as we planned to return by evening. But I would really love to stay for a night there. I can only imagine how it would be to look at the star studded deep blue sky with a tranquil lake besides surrounded by looming mountains. Even the thought of this gives me goose bumps. Never mind, it has been added to my wish list. Next time!!! Oh yes! I am coming here again. Some time in my life!

 Way to Pangong! So Serene!!!

 Caution! These roads are highly accident prone

As we left early, we did not face much of traffic. It can be very difficult to drive with huge traffic on bad road to Pangong. So it is always advisable to leave early. We were stopped by a herd of holy cows of Ladakh- Yalks.

Ladakh's holy cow

We stopped at a tea stall for Maggi and tea. The stall owner added some local herb in it and it was the yummiest Maggi I have ever had. She had a beautiful and shy daughter who posed beautifully for us. Here are some pics-

Then we left for the lake. After around one hour, we got the first glimpse of The Pangong lake. Oh My God!!! That is so beautiful. This is something someone should visit at least once. And a lot of tourists have come after the movie 3 Idiots. But one thing we forget is to maintain the dignity of the place. Why can’t we leave the habit of dropping chips packets and plastic bottles everywhere? We must know that these places are very difficult to reach let alone clean. So any junk left would remain there forever and ever. So we should not destroy such vulnerable places.


We were reaching close to Pangong and our excitement was shooting. Around 35 kms of Pangong lake lies in India and rest of around 100 km is in China.

Since this place has become famous after “3 Idiots”, we find many food stalls named after characters of 3 idiots.

 
 

 We enjoyed in the salt lake and had some great pictures taken.


 
 

Tohfa Qubool Ho!

Nothing to say!

This is one experience I find difficult to express. The beauty, serenity and tranquility of the place is ineffable.

 

 

Even the photographs are less beautiful. After having lunch, we left for Leh. While returning, we stopped at Changla Pass. Its not advisable to stay at passes, so we left early. moreover, we were so much in awe of Pangong that everything else seemed less beautiful. 

Leaving ChangLa Pass

JULEY!!!