Goa

Soon after I was back from this small trip of mine with a few friends to Goa, I searched for communities that had Goa as a theme in Orkut. And one of the post in a well managed community said. "Everyone should visit Goa at least once in a life time". And I was quite lost contemplating how true that statement was. I had been to Goa once when I was 10. Visited all the churches, beaches, forts, etc. But this time when I had gone with my friends from school it was a totally different experience. Man! I'm at a loss of words describing the feeling I have right now! So....let's get into familiar territory. I somehow rush into telling people things. I'm impatient. Ok, let me reveal it to you a little slower.

One [bright sunny]day Karum(baiah) called me up and told me that they were planning a trip to Goa. Two days later I got a call from Amit and his pretty-decent job of convincing me to join them really got me interested in this....... and I took a decission that I would never regret. We then met in CCD (Cafe Coffee Day) to try and finalise plans. Akash, Carl, Krishna and Kashyap (Moza) were the other guys who were to keep me entertained for the next 6-7 days.

SO! All set to go, we boarded a more expensive Volvo and reached Mangalore, from where we took an express to Margoan. Nature took on a totally different look on this small 4 hour journey. This is where the Goan atmosphere hit me! Konkani, bermudas, sea food, good roads ( well.... compared to Kanataka) et al. After much debate we hired an auto to Panjim where we were to stay. The first place we stayed in was a hole, but the next morning we moved into a cleaner and a bigger place. I think the challenging first day helped us appreciate the kind of stuff we could get for 100 Rs. per day per head. The first evening we went on a "so-called" cruise that was more like an hour long boring boat ride! Pathetic! An experience I want to forget! But our miseries on the trip were thankfully short lived. We enjoyed every moment since. The meals, the beaches, the drives, the roads, the chicks, the CARNIVAL [ I was fortunate to be in Goa at the time of the carnival thanks to my mom; she didn't think it wise to send me a few days ago; thanks ma! ] and everything that was around us.

Our first day, with the cars that we hired, was basically orienting ourselves with the roads we needed the conquer in the days to come. It was Karum and I who usually did most of the navigating. When given a chance Carl made sure that he screwed up ;) (LOL.... no hard feelings). Anway, we did somehow manage to find our way up north to Arambol beach. The heat had really got to us by then. So we stripped down to whatever looked decent enough to sport, [though all this actually is meaningless in Goa with all the nude beaches around], and jumped into to sea for a swim! Anyway, we dressed to our satisfaction at least, if not for the onlookers, who were invariably foreigners.

On the beach in Arambol I ate the biggest pomfret that I have ever seen in my life. Tasted awesome. And the bill! It cost 250 bucks! This is 'coz I had forgotten to see the APS ( as per size) label beside the dish on the menu card. Once bitten twice shy, as they say! Next time I searched for any such mention of APS any where close to whatever I ordered.

Earlier that morning we made a short visit to Fort Aguada. We saw a lot more than the fort there! We actually realized that we had clicked ourselves so often that we were seeing ourselves more on that day than we had done during our whole lives till then!!! We returned to the room pooped and drained. But before that I saw one of the best churches till date. It looks even more amazing by night. The architecture is really awe inspiring.



Ok! That was our event packed first day! We some how managed to wake up at least at 9, thanks to.... Sorry! I was too sleepy to remember. On our second day we drove south to Vasco da Gama ( Vasco ), to see the famed port there. It was quite disappointing that we couldn't go into the port ( which was actually quite obvious ), but we did spend some time gazing at the serene and clear waters that lapped the rocky shore. Later that day we drove to Dona Paula, a place eponymous to the two lovers who committed suicide at that very spot.....ages and ages ago.... Some tales live on! Tourists like us make them popular!
Our next stop was Calangute...Well I have to mention here that Akash, for his keen interest in Calangute [ a word he repeated about 10-20 times a day], was nick-named Akash Calangute during our small burst of freaking out. And boy! Are the beaches in Goa clean or what? There must have been around a thousand or more people around and wasn't a piece of plastic one could see strewn about! Amazing isn't it? [ My last sentence was meant for only Indian readers; to the rest it would be quite meaningless ] The Banana Boat Ride was quite exciting! Credit to Carl, because he had the guts to come deep into the sea inspite of not knowing how to swim. He did try to cling onto me when we toppled into the sea, which resulted in both of us getting hurt pretty bad! That's all in the game!
In the evening we spent some time in the carnival dancing and watching a small display with fire. Let the photograph speak for itself here.

Today was THE DAY: We had to try out a shot of tequila! So, we went to a pretty fancy restaurant and after a few tips from our waiter there [ who was quite helpful ] we knocked down the shots with relative ease ;) It was more of a learning experience than any thing else! We learnt that the movies were wrong in the way they portrayed " Tequila". We then went down to the beach and sat there talking CRAP till around 1 in the morning. The beach is really lovely to watch in the night, when all is calm around and the rhythm of the waves can really sweep you away to ..... well, the place of your imagination.

The next day would be our last! I mean the LAST one in Goa. I have completely forgotten to mention to you our fiscal position. We were choked!.... and I mean choked with no breathing space whatsoever....I for one, had to manage the last day with around 1000 bucks. That would include in the tickets to be bought to get back! Get what I mean? Inspite of all these constraints our last day was undoubtedly the best!

Most readers of this piece of graffiti would be wondering why I haven't spoken about churches till now. That's because we kept the best for the last. We visited the Basilica of Bom Jesus and the cathedral opposite that. And got myself tattooed just outside. Now, we has to do that once we had come to Goa.... and why not?

We then drove to Anjuna Beach. I've seen about 20 beaches in my life and about another 100 on TV or so, but I have never seen or heard about one like Anjuna. It has latterite instead of sand on it's shore! How amazing is that. The stone is like a maze of miniature asteroidal surfaces that blow your mind away. It sure did blow mine [ that's why I'm writing this article ]. Check out the creation on the rock due to erosion. A face: something like a teddy bear above our heads. The shops around Anjuna were a good chance for us novices to learn how to bargain and we did so with a lot of vigour. It was fun!

Then for our final stop of the trip. The Vagator fort! The one that is shown in Dil Chahta Hai. After a lot of searching and bit of a gamble on my part we did manage to reach it; the very place that most of us had come to Goa to see. This place was heaven! Words fail me. Again, I will let the pictures tell you the story.

Conquering Heights

Messengers of God


Music: Life

After capturing a few memories to remind us of the fun we had, we tried out a few Rang De Basanti stunts [ well, in a safer manner ]. The dinner we had on the last day was the best ever! We casually walked into a restaurant, small in appearance from the outside, only to get in and see the grandeur inside. I somehow felt that those guys [ the restaurant management ] had pity on us [ or something of that sort; pardon me if I'm wrong ] and gave us 4 pegs of whiskey on the house! The food was out of this world. And to top it all up there was a guy who was doing face paintings. Knowing that opportunities don't knock on the door twice, I was first up to try this out. Tell me how it turned out.


Like all journeys, the return is rather difficult and the most boring part. And this one was no different. The fact that we were short of cash didn't help make matters better either. This was our exciting ordeal which, I'm sure, will be impregnated in our memories for a long time to come. Thanks to my friends with whom I had a blast and who gave me pleasant memories to treasure.





They were Krishna, [I]Aditya, Carl, Akash, Amit, Karum and Moza.