And we were back to Goa!

This time with more tweaks.

Yes, this time we took a train at midnight from Mumbai to reach Goa by next day close to noon. The train runs through North Goa and ends at South Goa (Margao), where we met our buddy coming from Bangalore. Our hotel was in North Goa, so we got in an private bus packed more than Dadar station to reach the nearest government bus stop. From there, we took our next stop at Panjim. Famished, we decided to hire the car from Panjim. Unlike North Goa, the car points are really sketchy here. The dealer took 3000 bucks as advance and a photocopy of license, giving us a 2007 Maruti which was too manual for this generation. Despite its shortcomings, it served its purpose well.

Night 1

We checked in to a small spot at Candolim (pre-booked over call) which is essentially an extra room inside the house of a cafe owner called Bosco (1000 per night for 3 guys-quite a deal). Bob asked us to check out his cafe on beach, which could be accessed through a trail of garden adjoining the luxury hotel in front.

Bosco had a shack on beach, which was pretty novel for my two buddies. Watching the sunset over beers and snacks, chatting and laughing over nostalgia was long overdue.

At night, we checked in to the nearest well rated eatery called Bob’s Inn. Famously placed near Hyatt, this place is highly recommended for good taste, decent pricing and a huge collection of old wines.

We swore by Chinese items on the menu. Be aware that they close at 11 PM, so recommended to check in by 10 o clock.

Day 2

This is going to be one long ride.

So we left really early to cover the two major churches of old Goa.

There is a small shop inside church serving breakfast oriented snacks. The extent of exploring was similar to the first post about this place, hence will continue to the next stop.

This is where things got interesting. I finally accessed the coveted South Goa, starting off with the very famous fishing beach of Colva.

 

Parallel to Margao (or Madgaon), the route is fairly accurate on Google maps but the vibe of South Goa is less commercialized and more rural. I believe Colva is the last spot where you will still run into crowd due to being fisherman’s favorite, as beyond this the terrain changes dramatically.

Nonetheless, Colva is a beautiful beach albeit not perfect for swimming.

The restaurants at end of the beach serve some great food, including authentic Goan curry.

Further down, we entered the heaven called Palolem. Hands down this is the most beautiful beach Goa has to offer.

Rows of sunbathers line up the beach. The road to this part of South Goa is highways with low habitation and unruly elevation.

Rock formation is one of the most unique aspect of the beach. This renders such beaches hard to swim and significantly dangerous unless you are extremely strong and adept at braving the waves.

The rocks have interesting flora formation, probably some algae or seaweed coupled with really slippery moss covering that makes it hard to climb upon.

Night 2

And we were back to Panjim for the cruise ride. Everything about the ride was almost the same, although we did manage to twirl around the floating casino Deltin Royal a lot more.

Oh, and my buddies did dance. A lot.

But so did the rest of the boat.

We checked in Fisherman’s Cove, by far the best restaurant of Goa with live music ambience, open atmosphere and scrumptious food. Crabs, Lobsters and chicken filled our plates.

At night, we partied HARD. From Headbanging to Cartwheels, from Body Waves to Air Guitar. The craziest night we had in a long time.

Day 3

The tip of Goa, where you can see Maharashtra on other side, requires driving through roads cut through mountains. Querim beach, the very first beach of Goa is one of a kind.

The beach is again full of sunbathers, optimal for surfing. Being in estuary formation, the beach slopes down steeply into water with waves crashing in with extreme force.

There are ropes connecting the beach to fishing poles in the sea. it is highly recommended to hold on to them tightly in event of losing balance.

Next stop was Chapora fort-Vagator beach. The experience was somewhat similar for me with some add on experiences.

This time we did carry a DSLR to parasailing zone, with bouts of sea water hitting me across face.

Night 3

We drove to Dona Paula with full might but reached couple of minutes post sunset unfortunately.

the ambience was amazing though, with post sunset rays slowly ebbing away into darkness. As we got up to leave, fireworks filled up the sky.

And we were back to the Saturday Night Market near Baga beach. This time we actually spent more time exploring every nook and corner of the place.

The live music was on this time as well. Saturday market still continues to be one of my favorite experiences every time in Goa.

Day 4

We roamed around Panjim a bit (and got couple of floral T-shirts with Goa inscribed). The airport was way off from the city. There are state buses running from Panjim bus stand to Vasco Da Gama airport which was not running that day for odd reason. We asked the car owner who rented us car to drop off and he agreed to do the same for 500 bucks.

Tip Offs

• Do not miss South Goa. For the love of god, dont do that. It is worth every second you spend there. The stark contrast between the beaches is what makes Goa so special.
• Querim is another must see. I do not think anything as unique as sloping beach of Querim is worth missing. The lack of tourists make them amazing.
• Bob’s Inn and Fisherman’s Cove are highly recommended. First time we did not really give much attention to the place where you are eating due to budget constraint. however these restaurants make sense if you are into seafood.
• GPS can be life saver in Goa. They behave bit funny on crossing junctions though.
• Get car from North Goa (Thivim chain of shops maybe) if you have to. The whole process of getting a car is bit shady and random, unlike the ease o getting bike. Remember there is no Uber/Ola in Goa yet. Bike still remains the smarter transport option.

My Recommendation

If you are in smaller groups like us, skip the banana ride. Ask the parasailing boat guy to drop you into ocean. he will agree for a couple of hundred bucks. Its equally fun.

Ciao

Sayantan