What’s the fuss about Goa?
‘You came to Goa for
the first time just two months ago? Seriously?’ my friend was surprised
when I told him during my second trip to Goa in January 2017.
‘Yes!’ I replied.
I never understood the reason for the popularity of Goa. It
had somehow never figured in my travel list unlike my friends and the world in
general.
Are the beaches in Goa so beautiful? Why do people go there
to simply party? Is it because alcohol is cheap? What is it about Goa that
attracts millions of youngsters every month? I kept wondering.
Until one day a year ago in November when I was headed there
with my friends from college.
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| A peaceful low-tide afternoon at Vagator Beach, North Goa, November 2016 |
As I arrived to a hot and humid morning at Mapusa bus stand
and took an autorickshaw (with a door) to our resort, I sensed the first feel
of Goa. The single lane roads were lined with coconut palms and small shops, tshirts,
vests and shorts with Go Goa slogans covered all the street shops, colourful
buildings, churches and road signs for yet another beach could be spotted every
now and then, loads and loads of people on scooties were on the road as if they
owned it and the air was clean and fresh, far from the stench of Mumbai air.
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| A quaint morning at South Goa's Palolem beach. November 2016 |
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| First evening of the first Goa trip at Baga Beach in November 2016 |
My friends and I were meeting after several months, some
after years. Most of them had been to Goa before and hence were well aware of
which Goa hotels to book and which beaches
to visit. I, for once, had absolutely no clue about anything except recalling
seeing the pictures of watersports and huge churches that remained somewhere in
my subconscious mind.
In those 5 days, we hired scooties and went beach hopping
across Goa. We jumped in the waves at Vagator, sat atop Chapora Fort and saw
the sun go down, parasailed at Candolim, went to Titos to celebrate a birthday
and play foosball, tried crab burger and a variety of prawn, had tender coconut
and a lot of other drinks.
We also rode all the way to Palolem in South Goa with the
headlight of my scooty not functioning in the dark and then danced at a silent
music party at the beach. I can never forget that evening for all the
challenges it possessed under a million stars and a ride through absolute
darkness.
I had been to Lakshadweep just weeks before the Goa trip, so
the crowded Goa beaches didn’t appeal to me at all. They were thankfully a lot
cleaner than the Juhu and Versova beaches of Mumbai. I kept wondering what all
the fuss about Goa was.
My second visit to Goa was unplanned and came at the end of
my Hampi-Gokarna
trip in January this year. It was with a set of friends that I had made
during my travels. It was a short two day stay but involved all the similar
craze- hiring a Thar and going beach hopping, sitting at Little Vagator’s Thalassa
till the tide reached the shacks, looking for food at 3 in the night and
spending hours at the beach talking and playing games.
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| When you don't plan it and just arrive at Goa. Second trip. January 2017 |
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| Crowds at the Aguada Fort beach during sunset. November 2016 |
In the few days we spent there, I realized what makes Goa so
special is the free-spiritedness of the locals as well as the tourists here. Yes,
alcohol is super cheap and the rides are through beautiful countryside. But
most importantly, everyone’s happy in their own way and going about their
lives. The government relies on tourism for its income as much as party-goers
want to stay in shacks at the beach and chill.
The tiny state receives more tourist footfall in a month
than the total population of some of India’s neighbouring countries like Bhutan.
Yet this was just my first visit there and I await another visit to the state
for there is a lot more the place has to offer than I have witnessed. On the
next Goa trip I will perhaps take the old school route and visit the cathedrals
and indulge in some history, and head to the scenic Dudhsagar Falls and click
that iconic shot of a train on the stone bridge in front of the cascading waterfalls.
What are your first and craziest Goa memories? What do you
think is all the fuss about Goa? Do share in the comments below.
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I can only say for you that der aaye per durust aaye ...Goa is undoubtedly a free spirited, sushegad state and I really thank God to put me there for 5 years ... Feel privileged to enjoy every season and every day for 5 years
ReplyDelete'Sushegad' that's a new word. You were lucky to be amidst all the fun of Goa for 5 whole years :D
Delete2017 was the year I visited Goa for the first time.it is probably the 11th state in India which I visited even after spending all my life in Mumbai. So yes, I was super excited about this trip. Actually the reason why his trip happened was the fact that I had never visited Goa and my friends wanted me to. The craziest and the most fun memory I had was singing"Friends" theme song on karaoke in "St Anthony's" and the crazy events which followed after that. There were three of us when we entered that pub but by the end of the evening we were 20 ppl dancing, singing and drinking, different age groups, different cultures but at that moment nothing really mattered. I never thought I will ever do any such thing and I still don't believe it happened. It happened in Goa.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really good and fun memory for a lifetime :)
Delete