This travel journal is something has been waiting for almost a year to be posted…June 2009, our second trip to Goa!
Goa is a place me and Sowmya have fallen in love with, apart from each other…the fact that we have made two trips there in almost less than a year is solid proof of that…and we already are making plans to get there again…there is an unexplained magic that beckons us repeatedly…something very serene, tranquil and wonderful…Goa conjures up images of inexplicable beauty, peace and scintillating scenery…so here goes…Go Away to Goa…
Day 1 (rather night):
Electric from the word go…everything packed into the bus to Mangalore and i suddenly realize that we didn’t have any water; had to ask the conductor to delay the bus from leaving to get a few bottles of water, got two minutes for doing it…the last time i ran so fast was in a race i guess…somehow we find the bus to Mangalore and the train to Goa much better than the morose flights…the bus departed on schedule which left me gaping with wonder as this is a pretty rare thing to happen, else the delays are so bad they leave you chewing your hat in anger…finally the bus leaves but just like always stops a couple of times during the night and passengers don’t know why…but being a non-air conditioned bus this was different, it didn’t have the kind of orchestra you would normally find in such buses that would put even Beethoven’s and Mozart’s to shame; all the more exciting was the fact that this time it would not be a package tour sort of thing but more of a backpacking trip sort of thing to break away from the usual…the churches, the river cruise and the commercialized beaches…we were looking forward to visiting some ecstatic spell-binding locations…the only thing that we were apprehensive about making this trip to Goa in the middle of June was that we had read numerous posts on the internet about the monsoon being a dampener in Goa; seriously there was something else in store for us…
had packed my PSP (another of the wonderful gifts that i received from Sowmya J) with some exclusive trance and psy-trance chill tracks…and no i’m not another fluorescent paint glo stick guy trancing under the influence of drugs…i listen to the music with a good set of headphones at peace…LSD isn’t needed to take you on a trip to bliss, music does this job in a wonderful and harmless way J music and love are wonderful threads that weave a blanket of bliss around you in life…
this post has begun on my cell phone and now continuing in a scribbling pad; the last time i remember i wrote so much was about three years ago while pursuing my graduation…final semester examinations…i am enjoying every moment of writing this…
Day 2:
pretty early in the morning we get down at a stop which the conductor said is close to the railway station in Mangalore and rain is battering everything when we get down…we find a sleepy auto rickshaw guy who agrees to take us to the station but the guy is so sleepy he ends up going in the opposite direction so again a joy ride of the city @ 5:30 AM back to the station…the train to Goa was due at 6:45 AM…there was a tea stall open in the station who swore that the idli’s he had were fresh but felt they were refrigerated… they were like a couple of hand grenades, the only difference being they could break down the things they were aimed at rather than exploding…finally it was 6:45 and as luck would have it the train left on time too…after the initial few minutes of chugging along and leaving Mangalore behind us the scenes turn to vivid shades of green blanketed by a light drizzle…perfect morning i say to myself J there were a million shades of green packed into one square meter of the view finder of the camera…the amazing thing about nature is it has an immediate calming and relaxing effect on your senses…makes you realize how small we are in the grand scheme of things in this universe…with the love of my life beside me i now tell myself this is one trip i’m going to remember exactly as it was for the rest of my life…
shortly afterwards i begin to read Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series; this is something i have been wanting to read for years but finally get to doing it…the initial few pages in the Fellowship of the Ring are about the hobbits, their way of life and the Shire…folks who love farming and that is precisely what i get to see from the train…folks who are farming and i begin to wonder are we Indians similar to Shire-folk kind hearted, peace loving people in a world of our own…we would have made a perfect fit for the Hobbiton’s in LOTR…was noon by the time we arrived in Goa…got a taxi to take us to Candolim…we were going to stay at the Lemon Tree Amaranthe Resort in proper Candolim…i must really thank trip advisor for the resort as there were optimistic reviews about the place… these districts that Goa is made up of – Anjuna, Bardez, Baga, Candolim, Calangute are all connected by roads with wonderful views; once you plant your feet on the Goan soil rest assured your pulse will slow down to the pace of snail…your mind is instantly freed from its shackles of everyday life (not to forget stressful) and your soul is on an unforgettable journey…i have been to Goa three times before and every visit feels like it is the first time…it’s not about the hippies, not about the late night parties, but purely about the place, it’s ambience and feel…it has an air that is beyond description…abstract…every other place in the world can be described – but Goa is another place, another world all you get is the EXPERIENCE!..there is one thing certain about the place…it’s Goa and nothing else!
an hour’s drive brings us to the hotel and hunger was driving us nuts…so we decided to venture out and not eat at the resort…a stone throw away we found a pretty decent restaurant don’t remember the name but got some really hot rotis and curry…was pretty satisfying at that time…with our hunger satisfied and already pretty late in the afternoon we decided to head to the Candolim beach…took us five minutes to get there and just like every other time the sea held me in awe…was a fantastic sight…not very commercial the beach had a handful of people…the sea was king and the waves roared down on the beach aiming to conquer as much land as possible…the monsoon makes the sea pretty rough…water that was getting sprayed all over the place made it impossible to see anything beyond 500 mts…this was a different Goa we were getting to watch and it was mesmerizing…after a quiet romantic walk along the beach with the sea interrupting our conversation we decided to do an early dinner and catch up on some lost sleep…
Day 3:
Good morning at 7:30 AM, perfect holiday mood so went to sleep and a good morning again at 8:30 AM…first things first…breakfast…then rented a scooter as the name suggests to scoot around the place…Deepak the guy who lent the scooter was a cabbie attached to the hotel…the weather was wonderful but we were advised to take some sort of protection from the rain…wanted to visit Baga, Anjuna, the Vagator’s (there is a little Vagator also J) and the fort at Chapora…a cool and calm weather accompanied us to Baga…along with it came some magnificent views of greenery on one side and the sea on the other… trust me if anyone told you not to venture to the place in monsoon give them a kick in the shins…it’s awesome up here…it’s a vibrant Goa…the beach at Baga was pretty crowded…spent some time there and headed further up along the same road to Anjuna…and Anjuna my God!…it left me speechless…it’s great and the name conjures up images of a laid back atmosphere…we didn’t head to the regular beach, i was sure it would be buzzing with local tourists so we went around the village asking people for the road to Curlies J; after covering some distance there are sign boards that lead you to the place…had to park the scooter in a farm and walk some distance to it…it’s a wonderful place facing the sea and the beach opposite to it is amazingly clean and free from the crowd…there are rocks mirroring up on each side that blocks it from the main beach…food is reasonably cheap and tasty…with views so great to chill, the moment you enter Anjuna a totally different vibe hits you…an unusual beat …in sync with the beats of your life…the place tells you to relax and shift gears from the overdrive…calm down and let things happen at their own pace…
the next stop being Vagator…this day has been one of my dreams; to cruise along the streets of Goa…at Vagator there are two beaches…one Ozran / Little Vagator…the unique feature about the beach at Vagator is that it is lined by thick vegetative forests famously known as “Bamboo Forests” for its all night trance parties…but the majority of the tourists converge at Bada Vagator – as the locals call it…the view from the drop-down cliff is amazing…there is a special sight here for the tourists…a raver has managed to carve Lord Shiva on one of the rocks here…trancers here have worshipped three things – Om or Aum as they call it, the beginning and end all of everything; secondly, Lord Nataraj – the lord of dance and thirdly Ganesh – the lord of victory, the lord who decimates obstacles…any true Goan trance album will have a track dedicated to at least one of the these…after savouring the Vagators we are headed towards Chapora…all the travelling around had gotten into our innards leaving us hungry…stopped by a really cool place called “Mango Tree” – highly recommended price for grub…some mushroom sandwiches, beer and omelettes to keep the digestive system busy and then Chapora…oh yes! The speed breakers in this district are pretty hard on you and have been named very innovatively – Rumblers Ahead!
on our way back we found this quaint little book store “The Rainbow”; found some real good books, To Kill A Mockingbird being one of them……the road to Chapora was a bit off the track…the road ends at the gate of a grave yard where you park your mode of transport and climb uphill to reach the fort…the view from the fort is spell binding…it is solid evidence of why the Portugese put up such a strong fight to give up the place and leave…i believe the spice, trade route, silk etc. seconded the primary reason, the place itself…magnificient, unequalled and unparalled in beauty…this was our last stop for the day and time to get back to the hotel
by the time we returned to the hotel i was literally toasted J but was worthy every square millimetre of sub burn that i had…
Day 4:
two important places to be experienced today– Arambol and Fort Tiracol; Tiracol which is on the border of Maharashtra and Goa…a stone’s throw from Tiracol and you are in Maharashtra…reaching Tiracol is a wonderful journey in itself; cruising along the Mandrem beach and Keri beach provide spectacular views…we need to take a ferry to reach Tiracol as it is located on the other side of the banks of the river Mandovi; a few minutes drive from the banks of the river and you are greeted by beautiful Victorian aged banyan tree flanking the entrance to the fort…also decorating the entrance is a wonderful piece of metal artwork – a helix which is a tribute to the martyrs who laid down their lives fighting for a free Goa; a fitting tribute i must say…the fort has been converted into a resort and a part of it is open to public tourists for a small nominal fee..entering the fort we are greeted by a statue of Christ welcoming the visitors…climbing onto the upper floors of the fort we are invited to some spectacular views of the sand and the sea…the views leave you gaping for words…beauty on such a grandiose scale constantly reminds us of a higher power of creation…
Arambol just as it sounds – Aram(relax) Bol(say) is locally known as Harmal; the pace here beats Anjuna and is even more laid back; the confluence of the sea and the back waters make it an interesting watch…had some wonderful grub on a beach side cafe – “21 Coconuts”
– Tandoori Gobi (Sowmya loves them), Omelettes and Mushroom Sandwiches once again-these had gotten to me…these cafes dish out interesting cuisine – starting from the humble roti and dal to exotic Israeli cuisine such as the Hommus Pita and Italian Pizzeria…this is mostly to impress the foreign tourists who camp for hours together in this place…the beach was spectacular with the waves hitting the shore with all their might…always soothing to hear waves reach the sea shore and return…the waves are a tremendous inspiration…they never give up; they are never tired…such a simple sight was imparting one of the most important lessons in life – NEVER GIVE UP! Found some really cool t-shirts beside the beach cafe; mangaed to bargain 4 for 100 each J yes they are still fine…also i found some really great live trance mixes…picked up a couple of them too…by now the rain had begun catching up and when it rains, it pours…they continue incessantly for two or three days in a stretch…getting back to the hotel with an undying love for the place…
Day 5:
Got up very late in the morning with literally both my arms and shoulders on fire from the sunburn…i promise myself never to venture out again with sleeveless tees…a generous rubbing of lacto calamine brings some soothing relief…locals say getting it wet in the rain does a great deal of good…after catching up for some brunch i laze around in the pool with the rain beginning to splutter in…and stay there providing some much needed relief to the burns and the rain works wonders…as i laze around in the pool i begin to pen this travelogue and it gets me exciting…
Day 6:
Check out day…the bus to Bangalore leaves at 6:30 in the evening…folks at the hotel are kind enough to let us stay on till then, 12:00 PM being the standard check out time…the rain that started pouring yesterday is still continuing unfazed…but life goes on in its own melodic rhythm…as the bus rumbles on and leaves Panjim there is a felling inside us – an undying love for the place and its people…this journey was perhaps more exciting to the mind that the body…it was like set the mind free and your body will follow…an opportunity to rediscover ourselves, take a pause from the maddening rush that life has become and rediscover yourself…journeys often give us deeper insights into life; those that can be rarely found in books or from people…they hit you in the face and leave you wondering – this was so obvious!
Closing this travelogue, there is only word bubbling in my mind – GOA!
There is no need to plan a vacation here; just let it happen – believe me it will leave you spellbound…
God bless…
