Goa has always attracted me, and during each visit, I plan to relive the experiences of previous trips. However, in each trip, Goa has something new in store for me, and each visit adds new unforgettable experiences. In summary, I've been to Goa 4 times: 1994, 2005, 2007 and 2009, and each trip has been with a different set of people, each having an important place in my life.
December 1994: My first trip to Goa was with parents and siblings. My father loves to travel, and I've toured much of South India and Himalayas with him. He always prepares the itinerary himself, doesn't books hotel rooms in advance, and plans things on run time. I've inherited many of the traits, enabling me to plan long trips with confidence.
December 2005: This was with my brother and cousin, where we tried to relive many old memories, and went to most Goa beaches, especially the ones on extreme north (Querim/Arambol) and extreme South (Palolem/Betul) etc. We rented bikes, scanned the length and breadth of Goa, visiting places disregarding distances. We started a bit early in morning, and were usually back by 10 pm to our staying place, and hence left with a desire to come back and explore Goan night life.
December 2007: Recreated the magic of 2005 trip with friends. Smarting from the experience of riding bikes for 4 days in 2005, we rented a Maruti Zen this time. This also helped us explore Goa in night. Under strict instructions not to smell, touch or consume alcohol (by yours truly's about to be formed SARKAR), I spent hours watching my friends getting high on spirits, and listening to the excellent live music being played in beach side restaurants that spring up in everywhere in Goa. We also enjoyed many water sports being organized on Colva beach.
September-October 2009: This is the latest, and most adventurous trip I undertook with my SARKAR (also goes by the name of अर्धांगिनी or wife). It was not supposed be so adventurous, but the incessant rains made it so. It did not stop raining for the 5 days we were in Goa. Contrary to my earlier trips, these days, I usually book a Hotel for first one or two days now whenever going on lesiure trips, to avoid initial fuss of finding a SST (sasta/sunder/tikaoo or cheap/lovely/reliable) Hotel. We booked Nizmar Resorts near Calangute beach for two days. This turned out to be an excellent choice, with nice room, good breakfast and well maintained swimming pool. A brief summay of how we enjoyed goa in September/October amidst continuous rains.
1st day: We reached Goa late afternoon, and took a taxi to the resort from the airport. My Sarkar was ready for the beach with her new Crocs shoes. Immediately, we rushed to Calangute beach, played at the beach and made sand castles till sunset. Later, we found an excellent Maruti Zen to rent, and it served us very nicely during the whole trip. It was raining intermittently since the flight touched down, but we were anyways ready to play on beach, and it did not bother us much. Later, we had a nice punjabi dinner and then went to the famous Mambo's disco.
2nd day: We visited Arambol and Mandrem beach on 2nd day. Both of these are amazing beaches, though Arambol has now become polluted to some extent. It was raining, and we played on the beach in rain. Very few people were around. Mandrem beach seemed like it was reserved exclusively for us. Had dinner at a restaurant in Calangute itself. I was getting jealous of my Sarkar's crocs shoes, and she got me a pair at Arambol beach.
3rd Day: It was raining heavily, and the resort pool looked inviting. So spent time there. Sea sometimes gets too rough when it's raining. Checked out of resort, put everything in the rented zen, and went straight to Palolem beach, about 100 km from Calangute. We enjoyed a lot there, and while returning, went to Agonda beach, which again seemed like it had been reserved for us. It became too cloudy to remain at beach as the clouds practically came to the ground level hampering visibility and we found a nice cafeteria full of foreigners on a road near the beach. When the visibility improved again, we went to the beach again, and stayed till late afternoon. Then we started our return to Panjim. We drove through beautiful roads (avoiding highway) though were worried for some time since there was almost no-one in sight for quite a distance. We put the car back on highway at madgaon, and had evening snacks at Monjini's. We'd recommend Monjini's to everyone for snacks, and they are present everywhere in Goa. We went to the Old Goa church (at about 9 pm), and had to contend ourselves with a view from outside, since it had closed for the day. then we wne to another church nearby where an all night vigil was being held. There were about 1500 people present for the service which surprised me because it was already more than 9 pm. After some time, we started for Panjim, bought some famous Goan Cashews and asking directions, found Ginger Hotel in Panjim to spend the night. It was still raining, and hence we had dinner at the Hotel itself, which turned out to be quite good.
4th day: Checked out of Ginger, and went to see Augada fort and Jail. Had brunch at a nice hotel on the way. Roaming through the fort in torrential rains is an experience not to be forgotten soon. The fort is amazingly beautiful, and we walked along the perimeter, taking in the breathtaking views. We decided to visit the Chapora fort as well, and though the car stopped and gave us a scare, it restarted soon, and did not give any further trouble. Chapora fort is at some height and again offers excellent views all around. We enjoyed thoroughly, and returned back to Calangute and took a room in 'Popeye's Lodge'. Spent the evening walking at Calangute beach, and had dinner at Domino's.
5th Day: Reluctantly started packing in morning, and gave back our rented car. Then hired taxi to Madgaon, and caught Rajdhani Express back for home. I was surprised to see the number of families boarding the train. During the trip, we saw very few families at beaches, forts or churches. Most of them must have spent the vacation in their hotel rooms.
PS: Went to Bangalore on an urgent trip for Official work on 10th October for a day. Adding it here since it gave me opportunity to see Bangalore's new Airport.
