Goa (India): December 2007

22-26 December 2007

Four of us friends started from Delhi for a Christmas vacation in Goa. Direct flight to Goa was quite expensive, and direct train was fully booked. So we decided to take a flight to Mumbai, and from there, a train to Goa.

We reached Mumbai late in the evening. Two more friends were to join us for the trip from Mumbai; we stayed overnight at their place. Early next morning we boarded the train to Goa. The track is part of the Konkan Railway zone which is famous for its tunnels and scenic landscapes along the way. After a long 8-hour journey we arrived at the Thivim station, which is probably one stop before Vasco da Gama, Goa's main train station. It was around noon.

Once in Goa, we had to decide on a place to stay. We ruled out Panjim as it was far from the main beaches, although cheaper. We decided for Calangute beach which is a hip, crowded beach in north Goa. It took around one hour by taxi from Thivim to Calangute. We got down at Calangute Residency, a hotel run by the Goa Tourism Development Corporation. The hotel was full, so we inquired around and took a single dorm-style hall at a 'shack', small restaurant-cum-hostels built along the beach on sand. Owing to their location right on the beach, these shacks make good business selling food and drinks, in addition to renting out sun umbrellas and beach chairs to the tourists.

After settling down in the hall, we went for a dip in the ocean. The afternoon was quite hot, in contrast to Delhi's cold winters. In the evening we went out for dinner and later hired a car for the next day. It was a red, open air Maruti Gypsy exuding classic charm!

The next day we had breakfast at the shack. This is one of the best things to do in Goa - having breakfast on the beach in the warm sun with waves gently lapping your feet. Fresh fruit juice and omelette were amazing. Cheese sandwich was also good. We also ordered paranthas with butter.

We then took off for south Goa in our Gypsy. We drove almost 70 kms southward to reach the Palolem beach, crossing Panjim in the midway. The Palolem beach is completely different from Calangute. It is curved, with whiter sand, and lined with Palm trees. The beach is dotted with a number of nice restaurants. Palolem is perhaps more popular among foreigners as compared to Calangute. We had a heavy lunch at a beach restaurant and stayed in Palolem till evening. The Gypsy developed a snag and we returned to Calangute by late evening after spending an hour getting it repaired at a petrol station. We went out for dinner at a lovely place in Calangute with candle-lit tables and good service. A great thing about Goa is that even the fancier places offer cheap drinks!

We retained the Gypsy for the next day. It was the day before Christmas and we had heard a lot about Goa's Christmas eve parties on the beaches. After breakfast at the shack, we headed for the Agwada fort (of Dil Chahta Hai fame). We had a great time there photographying. We met my cousin there who had come to Goa with his friends, from Pune. They had hired motorcycles instead of a car. They told us that they had booked a cruise party for the night at Panjim.

We headed to Old Goa after that and saw two churches (right opposite across the road). Then we went to a beach in Panjim which had very coarse sand and a quite unique landscape. We returned to Calangute after enquiring about a few cruise parties that we did not find very interesting. Calangute was a let down as well - the organized indoor parties were very expensive, and the beach parties at the shacks were too crowded and noisy - with all men. We found a quieter bar with a group of people enjoying a nice party. We had a good time there with them.

Later in the night we had dinner at a Punjabi dhaba near the Calangute Residency. It was quite cheap, and the only one serving at that hour (around 12:30 am).

Next day was our last in Goa - we were to take a train back to Mumbai in the evening. So we stayed in Calangute and enjoyed watersports through the day. I liked the banana ride the most - I took that twice. Parasailing was uninteresting. Later we shopped for Goa's specialties - Port wine and rum balls (chocolate balls marinated in rum).

In the evening we hired a black Scorpio for Vasco da Gama train station. The hour long drive was sheer delight with old bollywood disco songs playing all the way.

The overnight train from Vasco da Gama reached Mumbai early next morning from where we took a flight back to Delhi and reached home by afternoon.


Expenses:
Delhi-Mumbai return flight: Rs. 5000
Mumbai-Goa return train ticket: Rs. 500
Taxi from Goa's train station (Thivim) to Calangute beach: Rs. 500
Dorm accommodation at the shack: Rs. 2000 per day for the hall
Car rental: Rs. 1500 per day, petrol extra
Food and drinks: Rs. 1000 per person per day, maybe less

The total cost of the trip was between 10 and 15 thousand rupees per person.