GOA!!!

Javi and myself in Goa Style

As Javi also described in his blog (no worries won't repeat the same post and pics!), as part of our plan to visit some of the main indian destinations, we started with GOA. Goa, as you is a very small state in India, it is the southern state of the one where I live (that is called Maharastra, where Bombay is). Even if tiny in comparison with the other indian states, Goa is one of these places that I had heard from many formal and informal sources as a MUST-VISIT in India. Personally, I expected a truly paradise, after so much talk and well, pictures of the place. I must say that even if it was a nice place to see, it was not as wonderful as I expected, however I also know that there were a couple of factors that did not allow Goa to show all its beauty to us this time, as you will read further. However - wherever there is nature, it is a good place to be.


Javier and myself, Sunset at Arambol Beach (North Goa)

First we were supossed to stay for 5 days in the South of Goa, which we did not. Our destiny was a beach called Palolem, that indeed is awesome and is known to be less crowded and more nature-oriented (versus party oriented) than other beaches. When we arrived there they informed us (as we also saw) that the indian government destroyed all coco-huts, restaurants and other places that did not count with a 'licence for operations'. Fair enough, they should have it, but it was really bad luck to arrive at the place right 3 days after the whole thing happened: the place really looked like after a Tsunami. There was no point to stay, then they were hardly 2 restaurants open and not that nice places to spend the nights, so we decided to head for North Goa. That was never the plan, then North Goa Beaches were not suposed to be as nice as the southern ones.

Here you can see anyways some pictures of Palolem Beach, it was cool to catch these cow friends having a tan on the beach :-)


Palolem Beach (South Goa)

North Goa was a completely different experience, the place for sure is the destiny for party lovers, hippie-life style people (or hippie wannabe people). We stayed in BAGA Beach/town. Again it was not was we were looking for, was more crowded, beaches were far away from hotels, it was basically a town, still was great to get out of Bombay, have good food, and enjoy different landscapes. Some highlights of Goa in the next pictures.


Some Reasons why Goa rocked

1. Palolem beach: even if we were there just couple of hours that we spent in South Goa, it was cool enough to make us want to come back once all its infrastructure is again in place

2. Bike rides: In Goa you can rent a bike for 150 / 200 INR a day (like 3 /4 USD) and move around from beach to beach or just inside the towns, it is good fun.



Us Biking in Anjuna Beach (North Goa)

3. Tandoori Fish: if you think you have eaten the best fish already, for sure you have not tasted Tanddori Fish. Tandoor is an indian kind of oven where after being beautifully spiced, the fish is cooked. You might have heard of Tandoori Chicken, well it is the same concept but with fish but believe me, much better and not as spicy as you might be thinking it is. It is delicious, definitively sets a new standard for eating fish.



Tandoori Fish, at "Over the Flames", in Baga Beach (North Goa)

4. Querim Beach and Fort Tiracole: This was a beach that even if we knew about it, we arrived there by chance. And thanks god, since it was an awesome place to be, the best beach by far in north Goa. The main attraction there is that you have to cross by Ferri to reach a fort, FORT TIRACOLE. It is a small fort, yet offers an awesome view of the Querim Beach, a virgen kind of beach.



View from Fort Tiracole


1. Ferri, 2. Us in Fort Tiracole, 3. View from Tiracole

5. The funky clothes: in the end you feel also like buying the "wanna be hippie" clothes, they have colourful, wide pants, skirts, shorts that is a worth inversion to make!


Few reasons why (North) Goa sucked

1. It was raining 70 % of the time. Lesson: be patient and wait for the monsoon (India's rainy season) to be completely over to go to Goa!

2. Majority of beaches are dirty, they have the potential to be nicely arranged

3. Even if cheaper as Bombay, it was still more expensive as compared with South Goa