Gorgeous Goa

I considered Goa as the latest exotic package holiday spot with built up hotels but I was wrong. Goa is miles and miles of gorgeous beaches, relaxed and friendly people and a great hippy vibe.

We caught the 12 hour overnight  sleeper train to Thivim in a 2nd class air-conditioned carriage. (Approx 1200ir) The beds are small mats with drinks holders,  a personal light, a curtain, sheet, blanket and pillow. I was at the top with no window which was a little claustrophobic but i manage to get some sleep. My dad, however, did not! He was too big for the little beds!

We took a taxi to Arambol and checked into No Name guesthouse on the beach.  I was exhausted so I slept a lot. In the evening we walked along the beach where a nightly beach shoreline market pops up full of international hippy products including hula hoops, tarot cards, fire dancers practising and the like. Another night I wandered up the beach from Mandrem, spotting starfish, pigs and crabs along route. After the beach market I joined a bongo drumming circle for a dance and then a group singing on the beach.  It was lovely and I even managed to get back in perfect time for dinner with my dad, Mogli and Abi without knowing the time….who needs watches or phones!

The next day we got a rickshaw to Mandrem which is basically the other end of the long Beach to Arambol. Mandrem is quieter and slightly more expensive. It is perfect for total relaxation with lots of yoga classes.  We spent the days there doing morning  yoga, drinking fresh coconuts and wandering down the beach.

El Shaddai Street child rescue:  http://www.childrescue.net

Wednesday we headed on the very crowded bus to Anjuna for market day. There you can barter the price down to buy Alibaba trousers or floaty hippy dresses. I bought a few things and then we head to the beach to meet Rhys coincidently over from Australia for a tattoo convention! We met him later for dinner after us both waiting for an hour in Curlies bar and not realising.

Then we travelled down to Central Goa to Panaji which is a old Portuguese colonial town next to a wide river estuary. Most of the town is quite ordinary apart from these giant casino boats on the water and the pretty little houses in Portuguese quarter. We walked up to a temple and then had dinner in Panaji Inn Veranda restaurant  which was delicious.

Next onto South Goa, two buses to Palolem which is similar to Arambol but in a curved bay. It was Saturday  which meant there was the weekly silent disco where you don headphones in order to get round the 10pm no loud music law. After a fish BBQ dinner we had a look but it was pretty empty. Whilst deciding we met a group of Indian guys on holiday and went for a drink with them instead exchanging stories and learning about each other’s cultures which was very interesting.

The next day we met the guys again and they had organised a boat trip  to spot dolphins and visit Butterfly beach (because it looked like a butterfly?! Couldn’t see it myself!) and Honeymoon beach (named due to a leg shaped rock formations!) where we stopped for a swim. Then they kindly invited us for dinner at theirs where we sat outside and drank Kingfisher beer and ate Masala fish fry with our fingers…delicious.

In the afternoon we moved to Agonda beach about 10am North and checked into Orange Sky beach huts. I went to yoga in the evening with an amazing teacher from an ashram in the north. I went to his classes everyday after that and felt amazing afterwards everytime! He would do back adjustments if you needed it and I loved the way he called everyone with Ji after their name too. (Apparently this is a sign of respect).

Agonda is a beautiful and peaceful  beach with a little road running parallel to the beach with some shops and guesthouses. One day the boys came to visit and I went for a walk down the beach with Uttam right to the end where the river meets the sea. We floated down the river stream a bit and watched the fisherman catch an ocassional fish with his little net.  I also found out what a ‘dosa’ is and had one for breakfast everyday after…it is a large thin rice pancake filled with your choice of filling (usually masala potatoes) and served with curry and chutney…yum!  After a couple of days the weather was quite overcast and cloudy so we decided to move further south out of Goa.