Last weekend was a long weekend, four of us planned to spend this long weekend in Goa. There has been much written about what Goa is all about so let me focus on what I saw and felt.
Holidaying Long Weekend in Goa
From Bangalore, we drove via Mangalore, as all of us had heard a lot about the drive from Mangalore to Goa is a very scenic one. And the fact that you drive along the beach all the way. All this turned out to be an absolute hype. There was a beach for about 100–150 meters. That too only at one place throughout the coastline drive, interspersed with few patches of backwaters. The road was good, though. We drove back via Shimoga and Tumkur, after being lost somewhere on NH48 for about an hour at midnight.
Initially, the road had lots of curls and curves. But because of almost no traffic at night, the drive was fast enough, and less by 100 km’s than the Mangalore route.
As soon as you enter Goa, you can get the feeling of ‘being relaxed’ in the air. We were just in time on the beach to see the sunset. But incidentally, none of us were carrying our cameras to capture. Next two days we could not catch up on the sunset. The culture of Goa you can feel has molded itself into the ‘Tourism Culture’. The waiters in the restaurants are friendly and do not carry an attitude as if they are there to serve but rather as if you are a guest at their place.
Most of them displayed a fair amount of wit while making sure that you are ready to take the pun they put in their one-liners.
Things we did in 2 days
In two days we could pack up a trip to old Goa where churches talk about the history of Portugal’s reign that it has seen for centuries. A river cruise displaying the modern-day culture of Goa, parasailing, a long-time item on my list ‘to-do list’. A boat ride in the sea to watch dolphins, a stroll through the village of Mapusa.
Full Moon night at a beach
But the best part was sitting on beach shacks on a full moon night with the moonlight shining through the waves. Eating on the shacks with sea waves just an arm away is something that can be experienced but not explained. Another high point was climbing the lighthouse on Aguada Fort and having a bird’s eye view of Goa. An early morning walk by the beach can really make you feel so much one with yourself. And you almost feel connected to the rest of the world.
If you close your eyes, the sound of waves hitting the shores is the best music that you can ever hear. Being a vegetarian there was nothing much for me to explore but Kokam Curry at RicoRiho was amazing, and so was the sizzler at a beach shack.
No one would like to come back from such a dreamy place to the world of reality. But that is what we eventually did on Monday after a long weekend. No wonder I was feeling depressed for a while after coming back.
Recommend you to read the following posts on how you can spend a weekend in Goa on Holiday.
Chorla Ghat – Drive through Goa Hinterlands
Offbeat Places to Visit in Goa – In a Day
Prehistoric Rock Art, Pansoimol, Goa
feels like uv had a nice memorable trip..cheers
when u ppl were lost on nh48 in the midnight..how did u find ur way back
sounds like u guys had fun! good 4 u gal!
salaam.
Hi Anuradha. Am here thanks to a referal by Karthik. My name is Ravi and I’m from Chennai; here on a short holiday. Am planning a small bloggers meet. Would you be interested in attending the same tomorrow, sometime in the afternoon? Do let me know. Bye, Ravi
wow! Twice i have been to goa, once for 7 days and once for 4 days.. it was just fun… as i read your blog it remembered me of my journey to goa.. by the way you should have taken train while coming back… its just so existing for first 5 hours of journey.. btw, where did you guys stay? calangute and miramar were my fav places.. baga was just so nice at sunset… did you try the water bike at donapola.. food is what I just loved in goa, I nearly tried every sea food available in goa. What was the whether like?
oops! forgot to login… the above post as Anonymous was by me.. 😉
Try to make a second trip in the month of December – From Christmas Eve to New Years eve,you will experience a different Goa altogether.
Gomantak and Goyankar – Thats how Goa and Goans are known from the adjacent Maharashtra and its coastal areas. Always an exotic place for its Portugese culture and the long delay in getting independence, Goa has been a mystic place. I remember my trip while still in school and the fantastic time we spent staying in the famous Shanta Durga temple condominiums for 3 days. It seems like aeons now and Goa was not so developed and still resembling coastal Konkan. Goa always reminds me of strong odours and sweaty oily locals who are service oriented. Its sad that there are no avenues for Vegetarians in this whole Fish fry dominated commercialism but there are genuine vegetarian dishes similar to the coastal konkan areas – but one has to stay with the locals for it.
Karthik, Hedayah, trip was sure memorable and I had loads of fun.
Santosh, water biking next time and me being a vegetarian had to eat the sizzlers all the time, but I am not complaining. And since we drove down, we had to drive back as well. I am doing a long train journey this month end to Nagpur, will write about that after I am back.
-Anu
Seems lovely! Its true that Goa has a relaxed feel about it and the waiters, as you pointed out, don’t have ‘attitude’.
People in Goa understand tourism as their source of income.