Goa Diaries - 2015 : Anniversary Special

There are places you want to visit again and again and then there are places which you don’t want to leave once you arrive…Goa certainly belongs to the latter category.


My love relationship with Goa started during a leisure trip with my best buddies in 2012. I was completely smitten by the free-flowing spirit of this place. However, it took me three long years to return, excuse being the celebration of my first marriage anniversary at the place which was termed as “a nation of cowherds” during ancient times.

We landed in February to be welcomed by amazing weather and as our cab headed to our hotel, a sense of ‘Déjà-vu’ crept in.

Goa is divided into two districts: North Goa and South Goa, and you will find a significant difference in terms of tourism culture of both the districts. South Goa is preferred by people who find peace in solitude where as North Goa is preferred by people like me, i.e. who find peace in multitude, music and staying restless all the while.

It was dark when we reached the hotel in Mapusa and our plans of exploring picturesque beauty were postponed by a day. Wasting no time, we headed to explore Club Cubana, one of the trendiest night clubs in Goa. Club had all sorts of people from all sorts of places, i.e. Asian, African, European, Youth, Adult, Aged, Single, Couples, Gay, Lesbians etc. But they all had something in common; they had left their inhibitions behind. People were dancing, shouting, drinking and most importantly-living. In our busy schedule, we often get stuck at a routine which the life offers us; we get stuck in a shell which allows us to move only in a certain circumference. Goa tends to bring you out from that shell.

Post Club Cubana, we went to the Saturday Night Market in Arpora, Anjuna. This retro-styled artisan market is unique as it features stalls with cultural influences from all across the globe, be it the musical mouth harps or mouthwatering food, you can find it all here.
Day 2 -

Next day we planned to explore the resplendent beach stretch of North Goa. We started early on our rented bike and headed straight to Anjuna Beach which was hardly a kilometer from our hotel. Curled up between the Arabian Sea and the hills, it provides a rejuvenating view of natural beauty with the swaying palm trees and soft white sands. We celebrated the view with White Nigger chocolate soufflé at Zooris. The dessert was absolutely heavenly and a delight for people with a sweet tooth. From Anjuna we headed to Vagator beach which is just two kilometers ahead. Vagator beach is covered with white sand, coconut trees and huge black magma rocks. We headed further to Ozran beach to be greeted by tantalizing aroma of authentic Greek cuisine from Thalassa restaurant. If I can recommend, my vote will go for Tuna Dip and Greek Pitta Souvlaki Wrap.

After a great feast, we headed towards Chapora beach, which was hardly a five minutes ride from Ozran. The blossomy green landscapes and black magma rocks adds to the diversity of the terrain. The sea mesmerizes you by changing color from aqua marine to sea green as the day proceeds. Chapora Fort is a major tourist attraction, built 500 years ago with a strong Portuguese style of architecture,made more famous by its short occurrence in the movie ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. From the top of the fort, one can see the expanse of the hills and the sea.

In the evening, we headed towards one of the floating casinos in Panjim, another major attraction in Goa. Visiting a casino is altogether a different kind of experience especially when you haven’t visited one before. Just the sight of the amount of money being transacted in seconds leaves you spellbound. We stayed there as long as our playing chips lasted.

Day 3 -

Goa is not just about beaches, parties and hippies. In fact it has much more to offer. The Portuguese cultural influence is still exhibited in the lifestyle of Goans, especially in Margao city. Day 3 was meant to explore the different cultural shades of Old Goa.

We headed straight to Basilica of Bom Jesus which is located in Bainguinim, Old Goa and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Basilica of Bom Jesus holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. It is one of the oldest churches in Goa and India. The church also holds paintings of scenes taken from the life of St. Francis Xavier.

After spending some peaceful time at the Basilica we headed towards Se Cathedral. It is one of the oldest and most celebrated religious buildings in Goa and is one of the largest churches in Asia. The Se Cathedral was built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese under Afonso de Albuquerque over a Muslim army, leading to the capture of the city of Goa in 1510. Since the day of the victory coincided with the feast of Saint Catherine, the cathedral was dedicated to her.

Just beside Se Cathedral is the Archaeological Museum & Portrait Gallery run and maintained by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). As you enter the museum, an astonishing three meter long bronze statue of Luiz Vaz de Camoes welcomes you. Luiz Vaz de Camoes was the national poet of Portugal until his death in 1580. He is considered Portugal's greatest poet. Artifacts displayed in the eight galleries of the museum showcase Portuguese rule in Goa, the pre-historic and early historic periods of Goan history. There are portraits of Governors and Viceroys of colonial Goa, postage stamps, wooden sculptures, pillars and more. I don’t usually enjoy museum visits but I certainly did enjoy this one.

Post our brunch at a local street food vendor, our next destination was Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception located in Panjim. Located about 35kms from Old Goa, it took us about an hour to reach the church. The 17th century church is one of the oldest churches in Goa. The church has been showcased in various Bollywood movies like Josh, Chalte Chalte, Aashiqui 2, Mujhse Shadi Karogi etc. A panoramic view of the entire city from the church atop the hill is an enchanting sight.

After enriching historical trip, it was time for some adrenaline rush - water sports! We reached the Queen of Beaches, Calangute beach in the afternoon. We tried parasailing and water-skiing. If you have not done it before, your heart certainly skips a beat during the activities. In the night we visited the Baga Beach, a go-to place for party animals. Clubs like Mambo’s and Tito’s are very eminent here. If you prefer a less crowded option then ‘Brittos’ shack is a great place. We enjoyed the dry Prawns and Grilled Pork chops there.

Day 4 -
The next morning we drove 90 kilometers to see the magnificent Dudhsagar Falls, a four-tiered waterfall located on the Mandovi River near the Goa – Karnataka border. It took us about 2 hours to reach the destination. The highway leading to Dudhsagar is an absolute pleasure in itself. Our vehicle was allowed till the taxi stand and for the next seven kilometers we had to hire a jeep for INR 2400/- for a maximum of six passengers. You also need to hire life jackets before going forward. The route from taxi stand to the waterfall goes through the jungle and is very bumpy.

While we reached at the jeep drop off area, there was a basic viewing platform to see the upper two tiers of the falls between an opening in the foliage. However, we then took a short 5- or 10-minute walking path with a bridged river crossing that led us right to the base of the falls.

The fall overlooks a steep, crescent-shaped edge of a valley covered with beautiful tropical forest. The name Dudhsagar is because of the froth which is formed due to the speedy surge of water from the majestic heights. We could not get a complete view from the bottom given the sloping nature of the falls. It was very crowded with tourists clad in bathing attire as well as monkeys, local guides, and a rather ominous sign listing the names of people who had drowned here. It turned out that the best views of Dudhsagar Falls were from across the forested ravine on the Konkan Railway some ten kilometer from the Kulem Station. Unfortunately, we weren't able to exercise this option given time constraints.

Day 5 -
It was the last day of our trip and post breakfast, we headed straight to Fort Aguada which was the only target left in our itinerary. Located about 14 Kms from Anjuna, Fort Aguada is the largest and the best-preserved Portuguese bastion in Goa and was built in 1613 to guard against the Dutch and the Marathas.

The area around the fort housed a large well and a number of springs that provided fresh drinking water to the voyagers that arrived by ship. "Agua" in Portuguese means water, thus the fort derived its name "Aguada" to denote a place where water is accumulated.

You can also find a 13-meter high lighthouse in the precinct of the fort. This lighthouse was built in 1864 and initially used an oil lamp. It used to emit light once every seven minutes. In 1834 it was changed to emit light creating eclipse every 30 seconds and later modernized in 1976.

This lighthouse was also home to a gigantic bell which was retrieved from amongst the ruins of the St. Augustus monastery at Old Goa. However, the bell has now been moved to the Our Lady of Immaculate Conception church at Panaji. Though the entire fort is no longer intact, some buildings that are still in good shape have been converted into a prison. Interestingly, it happens to be the largest prison in Goa.

As we packed our bags to leave, my desire to explore the serene beauty of Goa still remained unfulfilled which meant I was going back there soon. Another of my memory rich journey with my better half ended with the Plan that Leh-Laddakh was in our list next....