im back from home and im headed home.
just got back from a 4 day holiday in goa courtesy my company who generously took us all for a much needed end of year break. for everyone else it was vacation time
for me it was like going back home. Goa is special.
But a lot of things are different now. the 10 pm deadline for instance. of course anywhere else in india its super strict but goa alwyas had its own set of rules for things liek that. ever since scarlet happened though, its all gone. The freedom is finished. terribly sad. killing off the free spirit of goa isnt going to solve the scarlet and related issues. any idiot can see that.
But even without the 10 pm deadline, goa tourism isnt doing much to improve the overall goa experience. for example , its almsot impossible to find a doctor in the night except maybe at panjim. anjuna has only ONE 15 bed hospital mostly filled with drug OD cases. Directions & street lighting is abysmally poor. ive gotten lost on those crazy roads many times and at night believe me its bloody scary. Although bikes are cheap and great , to travel long distances with luggage means hiring a taxi, which turns out terribly expensive. a taxi to the airport from morjim ( north of anjuna) cost us about 1000 bucks. pretty ridiculous and no amount of bargaining works.
plus the locals are real pain. try going to a rave. the koli ladies selling chai and spreading mattresses all over the only sitting space may seem 'exotic and charming' to the foriegners but they are con artists, rude, mean and really painful to deal with. plus the chai SUCKS. you end up buying the crap they sell just cause you want to shut the hell up and let you rest your tired legs.
wow. this has become a rants post. i actually love goa. i end up tolerating all the above mentioned nonsense only because the beaches are incredible and the feeling of freedom is unmatched anywhere in india. exploring goa on a bike is the next best thing to lazing on a sun bed all day. in my explorations with friends ive managed to uncover some amazing places and things to do.
here's 5 of the best
1. Morning at a rave
there's nothing in the world like sunrise at a good party. thats all i can say about that :)
2. English breakfast at Munches - Anjuna, star co junction
Fantastic juices , great frankurters
its open 24 hours too.
3. Lazing on Morjim/ Ashwem beach - north of anjuna , after siolim
these are some of the most fantastic north goa beaches. untouched , clean
laidback and lovely. whooever goes there, if i find out that uve taken a boombox
blaring bollywood music and ordered for paneer tikka at the shack, im coming after you with a loaded rifle. apparently you can hire a boat here, go fishing and also watch the dolphins and the sea turtles - if you can wake up early morning that is.
4. Biking it
There's nothing as fun as hopping on one of those deo's and riding away whrever
the hell you feel like. provided its in the day of course. dont try this at night unless you dont mind getting lost or you knwo the ways pretty well. the roads are designed for these bikes and its super super fun. try going all the way to south goa and lunching at martin's
5. Nine Bar from 6pm or Loodas
nine bar for electronic music in just the right setting
- a cliff overlooking the beach, try this on a saturday or friday - the DJ might be better than the one i had to endure.. but it dosent matter cause the place itself is brilliant.
or Loodes/ Loodas for pyschedelic live rock - a band that played original music for
hours non stop
this super long post is done. for photos visit my flickr account http://www.flickr.com/photos/trippyhippy07/
will keep adding more there
