I had been to Goa twice before, both a one day trip.
First time, it was a solo bike ride from Hyderabad.
I set off from Hyderabad for Murdeshwar, to see the second largest Shiva statue overlooking an ocean.
But after the ghat section, in which I narrowly missed a near head-on collision with a truck coming uphill,
there is a junction which says Murdeshwar to left and Goa to right.
After a brief hesitation, I choose Goa over the Gods.
Though I am pretty sure Thor or Loki or Odin would have chosen Goa and Asgardians are basically Gods.
I stayed at an overpriced resort which I still regret but I was so damn tired after the 700km, no break ride.
Second time, I took a bus from Bengaluru. I choose to stay at Wanderer Hostel in Morjim, calm and less crowded part of North Goa.
It was an amazing Hostel. I shared a 4 bed mixed dormitory with Penny, a girl from US and a girl from Mumbai who was there for a week long
course on parasailing. We cooked breakfast together.
A bed costing Rs 499/day, amazingly clean Hostel everything was ideal for a long stay.
But it was May, Goa is extremely hot and humid. I ended up staying only a couple of days before escaping to Bengaluru.
My third trip, no longer a bachelor and a 6 day trip.
In two years of marriage, Vaishu and me went on to quite a few trips - Bali, Andamans, Runn of Kutch, Leh, Delhi-Rishikesh and Manali.
The trip we enjoyed the most was Manali - Bhrigu lake trek with Indiahikes. We stayed in tents and met some amazing people.
Hoping to give her a similar experience, I decided we would stay in the same hostel I stayed 3 years back.
But I booked in Backpacker Panda instead of Wanderer Hostel.
I realised my mistake when the taxi dropped us off in Candolim. It was 8pm, Backpacker Pande was shabby and dim lit.
My heart sank the moment we entered the 4 bed mixed dorm, I wasted a two night advance payment.
It took a great deal to convince Vaishu, and seeing the place I was sure she would take the flight back and divorce me.
“At least the bathroom is clean”, I told Vaishu who was staring at a dirty wall right beside the washbasin beside the bunk beds.
Low ceiling made it impossible even to sit on the bed. She looked at me with such a pitiful face, that I decided we are going to shift ASAP.
The construction company my Dad works in has a guest house in Goa. Though Vaishu was telling me to call him up since a month, I didn’t want
to trouble dad. He travels a lot and always under a lot of pressure. But desperate times need desperate measures.
So when we went out strolling towards the beach for dinner, I called up Dad. He was out on a camp and wanted a couple of days to sort things out.
Pheonix Bar and Restaurant came to the rescue of our ailing spirit. It was the noisiest place of all and we just walked in.
There were atleast 15 groups and every person was above 60 years, and from The US or Europe.
We were the youngest there. There was a couple hosting the Thursday special show.
We ordered chilli chicken, fried rice and chicken hyderabadi and played Tambola, some card game and ‘Deal or no Deal’. It was fun.
Vaishu, being the youngest, got to choose who would play ‘deal or no deal’.
The 60 year old contestant won Rs 20 instead of the Banker’s offer of Rs 600 against the weekly jackpot of Rs 12000.
After that we went back to the sad dormitory and slept. It was in the morning that I googled and realised that Wanderer Hostel was the place
I intended to book. It is in Morjim, 18km away.
Instead, we checked into Banyan Tree Courtyard, it is opposite Novatel in Candolim and somehow, love at first sight.
It had clean rooms, an informal friendly staff and smack in the centre of the bustling suburb. The second mistake I made was to book this modest magnificent place for two nights, instead of one.
In the afternoon we went to Fort Aguda. A fort in the backdrop of an ocean, it is a bliss just to sit and watch the huge walls and the endless ocean.
I would recommend everyone with an iPhone to install Hyperlapse. With everyone so crazily mad about taking photos,
it is an ideal place to shoot funny hyperlapses. Vaishu didn’t have it so maybe next time for us.
It was over lunch that we found out that Dad’s company guest house is near Candolim church, a mere 2 kms away from Banyan Tree Courtyard,
and that it was currently unoccupied and we could go and stay. I had mixed feelings but decided to check out the place anyway.
“Do you feel like slapping yourself on the face”, asked Vaishu as I parked our rented Activa. I was dressed in a loose t-shirt with “Stroke my Ego” written on it,
a torn trousers thanks to a recent bike accident, and was not sure if I was eligible even to step inside the huge 4 bhk ultra luxurious villa inside a small gated community
I mustered up courage and shook hands with Venkatramaiah, the estate manager.
I would have been happy with just the bathroom, but we got the attached bedroom, the kitchen, the hall, the swimming pool and a huge lawn looking over the backwaters.
Like Tahiti (if you watch Marvel’s Agents of Shield), Goa is a magical place. Saturday night bazar, Calungate beach, Baga beach, Martin’s Corner - way towards the South,
everything is out of the world. We enjoyed every bit of our stay. Southl near Zense Resort, German Cafe, Cafe Chocolatti are a few highly recommended places we frequented.
Deltin Casino, Mandovi River Cruise, Morjim are a few places we missed this time.
I am writing this blog on the last day of my trip sitting in the kitchen of the 4bhk villa eating Chicken-65 I got parcelled from Baga beach an hour ago at 10pm.
Tomorrow, it is back to work, back to Squash and Table Tennis, in Bengaluru, in PSN. I am kind of looking forward to it but I will surely miss Goa.
Considering the season is coming to an end, I think it will be another 8 months till we plan another trip to this magical place. Goodbye Goa.
