Goa – A Therapeutic Retreat

It was that time of the year when the hippies, the sane minded, the absolutely insane and we the software engineers travel to Goa. Yes you guessed it right... It was the New Year 2012. All of us were headed to the undoubtedly most happening place during the New Year - GOA.

Goa meant different things to different people. For the guys it was mainly checking out the hot chicks clad in bikinis on the beach, Beer and sea food. For the girls it was playing on the beach not with bikinis though, Dressing up and looking hot (Debatable) and how could I forget the main thing in their itinerary, Shopping, it is their birth right. Goa for me was an escape from my daily mundane and boring tasks.

Credits

My sweetheart, My love, My life... Without you I wouldn't have been here in front of the PC writing this Blog.

My Bong manager, It was a frustrating Monday morning in office when my manager came up to me and said, Rajiv I heard u trabhel a lot. I got all furious and rebutted, excuse me I don't trouble anybody. He then clarified that he meant trabhel and not trouble. Being a Probashi Bong it took me some time to grasp his accent. He asked me to write my travel experience for one of the office newsletters, for which I readily obliged.

The planning phase

We had started planning for our trip as early as October. We had anticipated huge rush during New Year in Goa. Hence we had to book the accommodation as soon as possible.

 We wanted to book our accommodation in north Goa as that is where the fun is. We booked our accommodation near Candolim beach as it turned out to be cheaper compared to accommodation at Calangute or Baga. This time we had planned to take our car to Goa, as I had some prior experience of driving to Goa I chose the NH4à NH63àNH17 road to travel to Goa as the roads are awesome. Though this route is 150kms more than the other routes it is absolutely worth it. Those travelling to Goa please take my advice. Do not travel by either Bangaloreà Hassanà Shimogaà Goa or KitturàBidiàGoa route. These routes are horrible and you will not be saving much time or fuel by travelling by the above mentioned routes. 

The Journey, Day-1 stay at Kumta

We started from Bangalore at 5AM on 29^th December and reached Nelamangala by 6:30AM. On the way to Goa we decided to spend a night at Kumta and visit the nearby places. We stopped at Kamat, Tumkur by 7:30AM and had breakfast. It took us just 5 hours to reach Hubli from Bangalore as the roads are amazing. It did not feel like we were driving in India. We reached Hubli by 12PM and had our lunch. Then we took the NH63 Hubli-Karwar road. The roads are amazing, not a hint of a single pothole on the road. The roads are very scenic as the NH63 cuts across the Dandeli forest. We reached Kumta by 4:30PM. Our accommodation was booked at a hotel near the Kumta Bus stand. We quickly checked-in freshened up and headed to the Kumta beach which is around 3 Kms from the Bus stand. We witnessed one of nature’s beautiful phenomena, the Aghanashini river joining the Arabian sea. We spent the entire evening at the beach and headed back to our hotel after the sunset.

Kumta Beach

The D-Day Go Goa....

It was 10AM on 30^th December. Each one of us were excited as it was the day we were headed to Goa, to celebrate the New Year. We checked-out of the hotel in Kumta and drove parallel to the beautiful coastline of the Arabian Sea on NH17. We visited Gokarna as it was on the way to Goa. We stopped at Margao for a quick Brunch. One thing we realised is that there is a huge gap between North and South Goa during the Tourism season. All of us were very hungry and we hogged like crazy and the bill was just Rs. 500 J . The same thing in either Calangute or Baga would have been a rip off. We reached our accommodation, Beach resort at Candolim by 2PM. The resort was more than what we had expected. It was just 100mts walk from the Candolim beach. None of us wanted to spend even a minute at the resort as we wanted to jump into the water and then relax at the beach shack. We hit the beach at 3PM and took bath in the Luke warm waters of the Candolim Beach. We then munched on some delicious sea food at the Beach shack. We had amazing fun at the beach till sunset. We were back at the resort at Dusk. The girls were all dressed up to exercise their birth right, Shopping. We headed to Calangute where the guys were sipping on chilled beer and the girls were busy shopping. It was a hectic day with all the travelling, swimming in the beach, shopping. We headed back to our resort at 1AM and hit the bed.

Sea Food at Candolim Beach

31st December... Bye Bye 2011.... Aloha 2012

It was a bright sunny morning. It was the last day of 2011, a day to party a day where there are no restrictions on the intake of alcohol even from your girl friend ;). We woke up at 10 in the morning and took to the beach for a morning walk. The beach was filled with foreigners jogging, relaxing on the wooden chairs. As I walked on the waves a thought passed my mind. A thought that each one of us ponder on, why don’t we just settle here? Why do we have go back to our routine boring lives? Then reality hits us, hits us hard, we are not earning in dollars ;). Back at the resort all of us were confused as to where do we party on the 31^st. Then we zeroed in on Tito’s, or let’s say we fell for their tagline- “Tito’s where else? “. We bought the passes and were excited to party till 6 in the morning. I belong to Bangalore, and partying till 6AM in Bangalore is just like the dream where you think you can show the finger to your manager or use the F-word ;). This is the main reason why we Bangaloreans seek alternatives to party on 31st December. There were some newbie’s in the trip and wanted to experience the water sports. We finished the water sports by 7PM. We were back at the hotel to get ready for the party at Tito’s. It was crazy traffic on the streets of Goa. We reached Tito’s seconds before the gong struck 12. One advice to all the people who want to party on 31^st in Goa. Please walk to the venue instead of commuting in a vehicle. We almost reached Tito’s on 1^st of January 2012 instead of December 31^st 2011 due to the mad rush on the streets of Goa. Partying with your loved ones on New Year’s Eve in the most happening destination and the most happening party is worth all the pain. We partied till 4 in the morning and had our Dinner or say Breakfast at 4AM. The best part about Goa is that this city never sleeps.

New Year, New resolutions 1st January 2012

It was a day of forgetting the bad memories of the past and embarking on a new beginning. A day of following new resolutions that lasts for just a month. Yes, it was 1^st January 2012. We began this day by calling our loved ones and wishing them a prosperous New Year. We hadn’t taken good pictures during our stay in Goa. So we decided to dedicate this day to photography and what best than Anjuna beach for some beautiful pictures. We reached Anjuna beach by 1PM and clicked some mind-blowing Pictures. Then we spent time at the beach shack witnessing another spectacular natural event, the sunset. The view of the sunset from the shack whilst sipping chilled beer is awesome to say the least.

Beautiful sunset at Anjuna Beach

2nd January Bye Bye Heaven... Hello Bengaluru

It was the day we were heading back to Bangalore. None of us wanting to go back home. But good things do not last forever. We started from Candolim at 9AM and reached Bangalore by 7PM. It was one heck of an experience. Thank you Goa for being so hospitable and bringing joy to our lives. We promise you that we will be back again soon.