Tour-De-Goa 2012

Last month when I saw the list of holidays and found that 2nd of October off and Tuesday, my traveler mind immediately planned 4 days of vacation. Taking one day off on Monday and then I will have 4 good days. Immediately called Vijay (Bglr), Rohit (Pune), Jatin (Raipur) and Rakesh (Bhilai), told them about the plan and when they asked which place, I was quick to reply, GOA!!!!!


Based on my prior experience I found there is something in the air in Goa that speaks of holidays. Feeling of freedom…watching the setting sun, sipping a sunset cocktail, while waiting for a spicy Goan crab masala or grilled prawns. There is the freedom of walking barefoot on the sands, of wearing shorts for dinner, of leaving the world and its cares behind.

It was also going to be the first time when all five of us holidaying together. I had so many trips with Rohit and Vijay (Munnar, Pondichery, Goa, Aurangabad, Ajanta, Ellora), had some trips with Jatin (including scary Kanha Kisli), With Rakesh (Delhi, Mathura, Agara).

Unfortunately, Vijay and Rohit had some urgent work, and we were left three. We were sad but decided to stick with the plan and three of us finally made it.

Saturday 29th Sep 2012
I started around 11pm from Bangalore on Friday night. Reached Panjim at 1:30 pm, I was supposed to reach at 11 am but was late because of one accident happened with another bus near Karwar. Rakesh and Jatin already reached there from Pune and checked in the resort “Ondas Do Mar Beach Resort” near Calungute.



Near Panjim bus stand, I was looking for an auto to reach Calungute, one old man came with the bike and asked me if he can drop me there. After some bargain, he agreed with 120 Rs. Calungute is 13 KM from Panjim. As soon as I reached in the resort, I asked Jatin & Rakesh to rush to the restaurant and order lunch, meanwhile, I took a bath.

After taking lunch, I inquired about bike rent. There was only one activa and deo available. Jatin and I wanted to take Bajaj Avenger but it was not available. After some thought, we took both the vehicles. Time to hit the road..


Arpora beach was just 2 mins walk from our hotel, first, we went there, then Calangute and the Baga.

 

The plan was to spend the night at Baga and then visit the Saturday Night Market. The best place to spend time at Baga is either Brito or St. Anthony Shack. I preferred St. Anthony Shack as I was there last year as well and I quite liked it. Just sit there, drink, watch the lovely sunset over sea, and order some good seafoods. Perfect.We started around 5 pm and left St. Anthony Shack at 10 pm. Time to visit Saturday Night Market. I checked my Galaxy Tab, started mapsmyIndia navigation, and marked the night market as a new destination. We reached but nothing was there when we enquired we were told that it's not the season for night market, will start from November only 

We went further and reached Anjuna beach. It was too dark there and nothing to see decided to go back to our resort. Had dinner and good sleep.

Sunday 30th Sep 2012
I wanted to relax and no mood to roam. So we spent most of the morning time in the resort, swimming pool and having the kingfish with some beer.



Then around 1 pm we left and our destination was Agoda fort.



Same as my last visit, It was quite hot by the time we reached Aguada Fort and all of us were started sweating. The Fort and the lighthouse is quite nice. One of my fav movie “Dil Chahta Hai” song was picturized in this location. I was not that excited but wanted to show all the must-see sightseeing to Rakesh and Jatin.


After spending some time and taking a few pictures we left the fort. Next destination was Sinquerium beach

and then we left for Panjim. Jatin was excited to see his fav Casino Royale as Mandavi River. We went further and reached Miramar Beach(where I stayed last time). It was India vs Pak T20 match and we planned to watch the match at St. Anthony Shack, Baga beach. We reached there on time, they had arranged one big screen for a match. Shack was completely crowded. Pakistan batted first and all of us cheered every Pakistan wicket and off course another round of drink.;-)
Monday 1st Oct 2012
The plan was to visit Old Goa, Last year I didn’t get a chance to visit old Goa and the churches. We started at 1 pm, as soon as we reached near Mandavi flyover. Activa got punctured, fortunately, the Panjim bus stand was near and we got it repaired. From Panjim, Old Goa is another 9 km. Road is good but the riverside view while driving till old Goa was really amazing. Our destination was Basilica of Bom Jesus. One of the oldest church is partially in ruins but still a model of simplicity and elegance.



Its a World Heritage Monument and probably one of the beautiful churches I have seen. If you want to know more about its history, see the picture below


We went back to Baga at St Anthony and the same stuff, but this time we stayed till 2 AM.
Tuesday 2nd Oct 2012
Last day at Goa, After taking breakfast, we checked out around 11 am from the resort. We had a bus at 7pm from the Panjim bus stand, so booked one taxi as well. Next few hours we spent visiting Calangute and arpora beach. Our vacation was getting over and we all were sad. Didn’t enjoy much.

At 7 pm I got my bus while Jatin and Rakesh were waiting for their bus back to Pune. I reached Bangalore the next morning at 7:30 am. That’s the end of another trip, quite different though, trip was 50% nostalgia and 50% enjoyment.

Aug Leh, Sep Goa & Oct ??? As I am writing this blog I have another trip in mind..This time back to South India…Madurai, Rameshwaram, and Dhanuskodi… Meenakshi temple in Madurai, Beaches and Ram Setu in Rameshwaram but I am more excited for Dhanuskodi  “ the ghost town”. Hope my plan will work and end of this month I will be there,

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