Weekend in Goa

Monday, September 11, 2006

Before coming to Mumbai, I have never heard of Goa. Apparently, it has one of the top beaches in the world. Having heard that it's a must go destination for anyone who comes to India, I decided to go there for a visit over the weekend.

Accommodation
During the off-peak seaon, make sure to book a place to stay before going even if it does not guarantee you will get the room. September is the off-peak season so most of the hotels and restaurants are closed for renovation. The initial guesthouse we booked turned out to be closed. Why they even responded to our email to say that they have rooms available is beyond me. So we had to find another guesthouse. The taxi driver recommended a guesthouse on the beach. We decided to take a look there. We realised that "on the beach" to the driver is not "on the beach" to us. We thought that staying at a guesthouse on the beach means that we can look out the window of our room and see the beach. To him, it just means it is near the beach. Since the guesthouse is less than 10 minutes away, we decided to stay there.

Eating and Drinking
Goan food is heavily influenced by the Portuguese. As mentioned, most restaurants were closed. So we had dinner at a Western restaurant on the first night and it was the worse western food I have ever eaten. The white wine chicken tasted like cheese and the grilled chicken tasted like boiled chicken. For lunch the next day, we decided to stay clear of restaurants and eat at a famous Indian cafe, similar to Starbucks, instead. Sigh...another disappointment. The smoothie can cause diabeties and the cheese cake tasted like rubber. We decided not to try anymore new restaurants or cafes and to stick to the tried and tested Subway for the rest of our stay there. There are tons of pubs around for people who just want to chill by the beach.

Getting Around
We rented a scooter and travelled around the place. It's the most economical way to travel around Goa. Scooters can be rented anywhere for about 150 rupees (remember to bargain). But there's only half a litre of petrol in the tank. Go to the petrol kiosk to top up instead of buying it from the person who rented the bike to you because they tend to charge higher prices.

Shopping
Cheap and good souvenirs are hard to find except sea shells with "Goa" carved on them. Shopping is better off done in Bangkok. Never promise to go back to the stalls when you pass by them as the shopkeepers will make sure you keep your promise. Others will pull you to their store and put on bracelets, anklets, etc on you in the hope that you will want to buy them.

Sights
Goa is a predominantly Catholic state so there are lots of churches nad shrines around. You tend to forget that you are in a country where Hinduism is the major religion.

We visited 5 beaches, plantations, 2 forts and some inland shops. Sadly, the beaches were not what we expected. 2 out of five points were cliffs rather than beaches. So the highlight is sitting above the sea, watching the waves hit the rocks. The water was muddy and the waves were big. Not the kind were you can swim or engage in sea sports. The other beaches were of East Coast standard.

The plantations are typical paddy fields that you can see in any agricultural country.

The only redeeming features were the forts which were on higher ground. From there, we had a bird's eye view of the sea, which was really nice. One of the forts was really deserted. Not more than 10 people were visiting it. Yet, there is a man selling CDs and jewellery there. He kept following us, wanting us to buy something from him. Did he think that we would play the CD and dance around on the fort?

Rest and Relax
There are tons of places providing Ayurvedic massage but don't expect them to be as clean as those in Singapore.