A paradise called Goa

Last week some of us went for an amazing trip to Goa. The group comprised of myself, Ajitav, Sunil, Macha, Pankaj, Karthik, Kamle and CP. For all of us, it was our first time to Goa. We started our journey on 15th Feb night. We had booked AC Volvo sleeper tickets. It was my first time on a sleeper bus. Overall the journey was comfortable except for the AC. Each sleeper had it's own small AC that could be switched ON or OFF. But the AC on my sleeper had it's switch ripped off by some former passenger and the owners didn't find it very useful to fit a new switch. Thus the damn thing was blasting cold air directly on to my face. By morning I felt like an Antartican polar bear minus it's fur.

No sooner did the bus stop at the Panjim bus stand, the next day morning, than we were hounded by tour operators offering their services which included everything from arranging a guest house for all of us to stay, arranging for rented bikes if needed, arranging sight seeing trips etc. We finally chose one out of them, who then led us to a house nearby. Inside the house there were 5 beds. We looked at him.

"But there are 8 of us"

"C'mon 5 beds are more than sufficient. U guys are all thin right", he said taking a quick look at all of us before resting his eyes on Macha.

"Ok not all of you, but atleast most of you"

Macha's ego was hurt. Not only because the truth was revealed, but also because, I, the other fatty in the group, escaped "unhurt".

 

 

We soon freshened up and went Goa exploring. Towards afternoon we reached Dona Paula and had our lunch here. I was very excited about having Goan food, so I ordered fish curry rice. I was expecting the menu to be fish + some good curry + rice. But when the food arrived it was actually fish curry (without any stupid fish in it) + plain rice + some black half burned object which the waiter claimed was fish fry. The food items ordered by others were no better. Looks like Goan people prepare food using only sugar and coconut oil. The "spicy" fish masala was actually tasting sweet.

From Dona Paula we went to MiraMar beach and had a great time there. After spending around one hour playing in the waves, we left for Mapusa, where the Goan Carnival was going on.

By the time we came out of the carnival it was past 9 pm. It was then that we came to know that in Goa there was no public bus service after 9 pm. Thus we had to catch a taxi to return back to our house.

The next day CP joined us. He couldn't join us on the first day because of  his "academic commitments".
The tour operator had arranged for a bus for us that day for sight seeing. The trip included a boating session

 
a visit to a temple (sorry forgot it's name)

 

 

a visit to Vagator beach

 

 

then to Anjuna beach

 

 

and finally to Calangute beach. This was one of the best and most frequented beaches in Goa. We all had our first para sailing experience here. There were many more exciting water sports that we wanted to take, but since we had a cruise to catch, we had to leave soon. The cruise was a laidback experience when compared to the water sports in Calangute beach, but good nevertheless.

 

On the 3rd and final day we arranged for a taxi to explore South Goa. South Goa is filled with old churches which are architectural marvels.

CP was the most enthusiastic of us to explore all the churches. He even started conversing in Hindi with the driver. Now, as far as CP is concerned, all hindi sentences should end with "jaata hei". He bought a Goa guide book, showed the driver some random picture and then instructed him  

"idhar jaata hei". 

Driver : "Acha aapko *** jaana hei kya" (don't ask me the name of the place. Ask CP or ajitav for that).

CP : "Udhar nehi jaata hei. Idhaar jaata hei"

Then he turns to Ajitav

"Abhi hum idhaar jaata hei. Lunch kaha jaata hei"

In the afternoon, we visited a place called Big Foot, a famous place in Goa. It was such a calm, cool and serene environment that greeted us. It is definitely a must visit place for anyone planning a visit in Goa.

 

Our final destination in Goa was Colva beach, the biggest beach in Goa. This is also one of the busiest beaches in Goa. Here too we had fultoo masti and fun.

 

 

This was one of the best trips I have ever had. Hoping for more such trips in the years to come.