We took an early morning train from the CST in Mumbai to Madgoan in Goa, arriving late evening. Although the trip pretty much took up the whole day, it only cost 25 dollars per person for a second class air-conditioned berth, equipped with power outlets, pillows, blanket and bedsheets. Food vendors were constantly making their rounds with Samosas, chicken lollipops and chai. It was nice to enjoy the serene countryside, get some reading done, rest up, and brace for Goa.
Landing into a new town is always a disorienting and an abrupt affair. It almost feels like the starting whistle of a scavenger hunt, as you race to complete objectives as efficiently as possible while filtering out distractions. It is the execution of a shoddy plan, put together hurriedly with limited information and self assurances that somehow everything works out. The plan was to get to Palolem beach south and find somewhere to crash, while filtering out bogus directions and offers for "I take you to BEST beach". We made our way there, sharing the cab with 2 travelers from the UK whom we've met on the train. Walking along the beach at Palolem, we had a few lodging options. We went with the concrete room as it looked a little nicer than the straw hut and only cost the equivalent of 2 dollars more, for a total of 15 bucks a night. The beach was every bit as imagined, clear waters, relatively quiet, and frankly a little boring as I wasn't the type to lay around all day sipping piña coladas. So we rented a bicycle, chugged down a fresh coconut, and made our way to scope out Agonda beach just a stone's throw to the north. As expected, we grossly underestimated the distance and intensity of the ride there. We took the single gear bike through 8 kms of undulating terrain and by the time we got to the beach, I just wanted to laze around with a piña colada. Agonda was even more secluded, which explained why fish was sold at half price. At a beach shack restaurant, they brought out a assorted platter of freshly dead fish for our selection and inspection. They grilled the kingfish to near perfection, and we showed no mercy to that unfortunate thing just as the Goan hills showed no mercy to us on the way there and back.
Next morning, we took a series of buses to Ponda where we visited a spice farm. Because I allowed a guy to slip in front of the boarding line, I had to stand for much of the 2 hr long journey with party music and the latest Bollywood tunes blaring away in the bus. In the beginning, I was slightly concerned for my safety standing alone in the bus due to poor road conditions and aggressive driving. However, as more people piled on, reaching the stated allowable passenger limit and way beyond, I realized I had sufficient people between me and the windshield, and the compression enabled me to free a hand from the handrails and begin catching up on the previous blog post on the iPod.
At the spice plantation, we got to learn about the different indian spices used in cooking and medicine and meet the half man half ape they nicknamed Tarzan. Tarzan has been climbing trees since he was 8 or so, using only his massive arms and a bundle of rope wrapped around his legs. He is able to swing from tree to tree without getting down, he is a professional coconut harvester.
Prices are always negotiable. Arriving to the Baga - Calangute beach area that evening, we managed to talk down room rates by fostering healthy competition between guest houses and a little bit of timing. As the day progresses, the likelihood that a room will be rented out that evening decreases while the importance of each visiting backpacker increases. With the rapport we had with the manager, we promised not to disclose the awesome rates we were getting to anyone else.
This beach had a lot more going on. Around this time of the year, retirees from Europe and Russia follow the migratory birds and flock to beaches in Phuket, Sharm El Sheik, and Goa to tempt fate with skin cancer. At night, the beach shacks serve scrumptious seafood feasts as diners ate al fresco and enjoyed fire and tightrope performances and firework shows. Further north is Anjuna and Vagator beach, with restaurants perched dangerously on beautiful cliffs and fun seekers hopping from rock to rock on the beach at low tide for photo opportunities. The hippy movement is strong here and people peddle marijuana at the same places they sell postcards, tshirts and flags of Bob Marley and Che Guevara. Some even come all the way from Nigeria to deal, unaffected by the 10 years in jail they potentially face.
Just a heads up for travelers going there in the future, there are professional ear wax removers who approach you with the innocuous intent to help you remove some "sunblock" left in your ear. Out of nowhere, he will have a suite of wax removing tools and appear to remove some of yours as a favor. Unless you yank your ear away from his vice grip, he will keep going at it and charge you 50 rupees at the end. This is not mentioned in the "Dangers and annoyances" section of the Lonely Planet spoiler. If you really need the service, go with the one with the name card and "government license"
Goa is where you would go to relax and unwind.. People are noticeably friendlier, happier, and less likely to lose their temper. Even the dogs leave the cats alone. If one is careless, he will see days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months and months turn into years in Goa. That was the case with a French paraglider pilot who has been catching drafts around the cliffs for about 13 years.
We, however, did not catch that bug, and we left after a brief stay to go to Bangalore where Dan will fly back to NYC and I continue solo south to Kerala and Tamil Nadu. If given the chance, I would definitely return to Goa. Thanks, Sujit for the exhaustive list of recommendations in Goa!
(pictures will be added when I get the chance)
Landing into a new town is always a disorienting and an abrupt affair. It almost feels like the starting whistle of a scavenger hunt, as you race to complete objectives as efficiently as possible while filtering out distractions. It is the execution of a shoddy plan, put together hurriedly with limited information and self assurances that somehow everything works out. The plan was to get to Palolem beach south and find somewhere to crash, while filtering out bogus directions and offers for "I take you to BEST beach". We made our way there, sharing the cab with 2 travelers from the UK whom we've met on the train. Walking along the beach at Palolem, we had a few lodging options. We went with the concrete room as it looked a little nicer than the straw hut and only cost the equivalent of 2 dollars more, for a total of 15 bucks a night. The beach was every bit as imagined, clear waters, relatively quiet, and frankly a little boring as I wasn't the type to lay around all day sipping piña coladas. So we rented a bicycle, chugged down a fresh coconut, and made our way to scope out Agonda beach just a stone's throw to the north. As expected, we grossly underestimated the distance and intensity of the ride there. We took the single gear bike through 8 kms of undulating terrain and by the time we got to the beach, I just wanted to laze around with a piña colada. Agonda was even more secluded, which explained why fish was sold at half price. At a beach shack restaurant, they brought out a assorted platter of freshly dead fish for our selection and inspection. They grilled the kingfish to near perfection, and we showed no mercy to that unfortunate thing just as the Goan hills showed no mercy to us on the way there and back.
Next morning, we took a series of buses to Ponda where we visited a spice farm. Because I allowed a guy to slip in front of the boarding line, I had to stand for much of the 2 hr long journey with party music and the latest Bollywood tunes blaring away in the bus. In the beginning, I was slightly concerned for my safety standing alone in the bus due to poor road conditions and aggressive driving. However, as more people piled on, reaching the stated allowable passenger limit and way beyond, I realized I had sufficient people between me and the windshield, and the compression enabled me to free a hand from the handrails and begin catching up on the previous blog post on the iPod.
At the spice plantation, we got to learn about the different indian spices used in cooking and medicine and meet the half man half ape they nicknamed Tarzan. Tarzan has been climbing trees since he was 8 or so, using only his massive arms and a bundle of rope wrapped around his legs. He is able to swing from tree to tree without getting down, he is a professional coconut harvester.
Prices are always negotiable. Arriving to the Baga - Calangute beach area that evening, we managed to talk down room rates by fostering healthy competition between guest houses and a little bit of timing. As the day progresses, the likelihood that a room will be rented out that evening decreases while the importance of each visiting backpacker increases. With the rapport we had with the manager, we promised not to disclose the awesome rates we were getting to anyone else.
Just a heads up for travelers going there in the future, there are professional ear wax removers who approach you with the innocuous intent to help you remove some "sunblock" left in your ear. Out of nowhere, he will have a suite of wax removing tools and appear to remove some of yours as a favor. Unless you yank your ear away from his vice grip, he will keep going at it and charge you 50 rupees at the end. This is not mentioned in the "Dangers and annoyances" section of the Lonely Planet spoiler. If you really need the service, go with the one with the name card and "government license"
Goa is where you would go to relax and unwind.. People are noticeably friendlier, happier, and less likely to lose their temper. Even the dogs leave the cats alone. If one is careless, he will see days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months and months turn into years in Goa. That was the case with a French paraglider pilot who has been catching drafts around the cliffs for about 13 years.
We, however, did not catch that bug, and we left after a brief stay to go to Bangalore where Dan will fly back to NYC and I continue solo south to Kerala and Tamil Nadu. If given the chance, I would definitely return to Goa. Thanks, Sujit for the exhaustive list of recommendations in Goa!
(pictures will be added when I get the chance)
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