Eat, Pray, Love in Goa!

Everyone loves a good holiday. If that holiday is in Goa, that just means you are already imagining beautiful, expansive, lazy beaches where you stretch your legs out, sitting at a beach shack at Baga or Calangute, sipping on a foaming mug of chilled beer as the warm sun bathes everything in its golden glow. Not a bad picture to imagine eh? But after having been there, done that half a dozen times, I started questioning myself on my reasons to keep revisiting the place. Would it continue to serenade me with those swaying palms, languid strolls on the beach and the delectable seafare everytime I hit the shore or would there be a time when I would actually get bored of this routine touristy sojourn? So when my sister insisted we head down there once again to introduce her husband to the beach haven for the first time, I knew what he typically needed to check out. But since I was to accompany them, I wondered what would charm me in to packing my bags and sauntering towards that sunset again. So began my research where I started trying to unearth places and sights I wanted my traveller’s eye to feast on this time. This is what I unravelled. Let’s just say, the trip made me fall in love with Goa all over again.

When you are heading to Goa, the first thing you do is check in to a hotel near the happening beaches. Well, the first offbeat thing we did was to lodge at Mayem Lake View, a GTDC property in mid-town Bicholim. Neatly esconsced amongst pretty little hamlets with a spattering of Konkan, Christian and Muslim dwellers and long winding roads, this resort gives you a surprisingly scenic view of the sprawling Mayem Lake. With well over 50 beaches to offer, Goa tourism promotions often don’t do justice to the holiday destination’s lakes and rivers. For us, this was just the kind of cosy nest we had in mind when we were looking for a place to stash the kids. Mayem not only offered us spacious, old-world style cottages on a hill top with a balcony that joined the two rooms we booked, the in-house chef served awesome seafood, read prawn masala, kingfish fry and chicken fried rice. We washed all this down with generous doses of whisky, beer, rum and breezers on the first night, ravenous as we were after the journey from the airport to the resort. Through the next few days, regular dine-out places wherever we went travelling, served us spicy platters of prawn balchao, crab chilli, chicken vindaloo, chorizo and bombil fry washed down with Sex on the Beach and Mojitos. A sumptuous Indo-western fusion lunch at the Kapriz restaurant, Baga was about the authentic Konkani prawn curry, chicken deeply marinated with a rich coconut base and fish fingers with tartar sauce. And of course, when you are by the beach, how can you miss out on the seafood spread by the beach shacks. We ended our last night at one by the Vagator Beach. This trip was a foodie’s paradise alright with the chance discovery of Bodega, a tony al fresco cafe in Panjim that is nestled inside the Sunaparanta Centre for the Arts. To our delight, the friendly owner of the cafe actually treated us to some yummy red velvet cupcakes to compensate for the chaos in the order delivery during the busy afternoon. She didn’t need to take the effort as the Mutton Shakshouka with Fried Eggs, Chicken Mole with Scallion rice and Tomato, Fries infused with Parsley and Garlic, Waffles with Nutella and banana and Chicken burgers definitely took care of our appetite for the day. Don’t miss the delish Chocolate Milk Shake and Mixed Berry Smoothie if you go there for brunch some day. Enthusiastic tea lovers may want to sample some exotic teas at the Wagh Bakri lounge at Panjim as well. It’s sure worth a cuppa.

If food is not what gets your fancy, there is a multi-faceted Goa waiting for you to unfold its layers. So road tripping for us was not about beach spotting. Rather, it was an earnest exploration of its magnificient history and geography- spotted with forts, waterfalls, bird sanctuaries, caves and churches. Whether you are an agnostic or someone who swears by his prayer beads, the ancient churches of Goa ring a different bell. The sheer architectural marvel and elegance that the Basilica of Bom Jesus exhibits or the grandeur of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church, these are sights that will remain with you forever. What invites the gaze of the curious tourist is of course the sacred remains of the exalted St.Francis Xavier, famed for his missionary sojourn across India, resting peacefully in his ornate tomb at the Basilica. Notwithstanding this slightly spooky idea of preservation of mortal remains way past their time on earth, churches have always held a special place in my heart even as someone who is a Hindu by birth. Without offending Hindu pilgrimages, churches  or at least the ones I have been to are devoid of haggling vendors, intrusive priests and bustling crowds of devotees jostling for space with their overloaded baskets of offerings. As someone who has been to most of the renowned piligrimage destinations of India, I have never felt an iota of devotion at any of them mainly because of these unwanted elements. We landed at the steps of Immaculate Conception soon after Christmas so that the kids got a good view of a gigantic crib complete with a gurgling baby Jesus and live ducks, and a troupe of Disney characters singing Merry Christmas in tow!  Host to several film shoots with its towering facade in the background, this church also holds a special romantic memory of my last meeting with my life partner when we parted ways during a work trip to Goa before we started dating.

Personal anecdotes aside, nature in its full bounty awaited us as we lapped up the greenery on the numerous ferry trips we made across the rivers in Goa. The Salim Ali Bird Sactuary packs in several rare species of birds for the beholder. An unexpected sight of nature in a tizzy was at the entrance of Reis Magos Fort in Bardez, where we saw a parasitic banyan stump a poor coconut tree in order to strenghten its foundation. Expansive views of the sea greet the visitor at this fort. Documented within this structure is a chronological dateline capturing the numerous invasions and change of guard that Goa has been through to finally become an Indian state in 1987. A wooden replica of the fort also helps one realise the strategic insights that its builders had in mind while fortifying the structure. What piqued my interest in this fort was its versatile phases, having served as a defence fortress, jail and hospital over the centuries since 1493. Late venerated artist Mario Miranda who incidentally played a significant role to aid the fort’s restoration has a room reserved to himself where his flamboyant art finds expression on mugs, stationery, tees, antiques, wall pieces and so on. Characteristic animated picturisations of Goan life, culture and society are evoked through his brilliant work. We couldn’t help ourselves to shopping here especially when we heard that the money from our spend would go towards the fort’s preservation. Our previous stop before this had been another surprise discovery of Arvalem Waterfall near Sanquelim, in close proximity to the Rudreshwar Temple. The gushing water drops from a height of 50 metres, to form a splendid lake which is a favourite spot for those in the mood for a dip or a bout of fishing. Giving a glimpse of archeological heritage at Arvalem are the eponymous caves also known as the Pandava Caves dating back to a jaw-dropping 6^th century. Steeped in mythological essence, the five distinct caves were said to provide sanctum sanctorum to the Pandavas while in exile. Despite the stoic presence of Shivlingas cut out of laterite rocks within the caves, their origins are often traced to Buddhist influence. Talk about historical intrigue!

Did our four day trip leave any room for beaches at all after all these exciting wanderings of a different kind? Yes, of course but again, we looked to beaches that were quieter, cleaner, sparsely populated and a sight to behold at the same time. Tall order if you are in Goa in the peak of tourist season, on the brink of New Year’s Eve. We managed this as well, opting for the mersmerising beaches of Vagator and Sinquerim. Even our most typical touristy part of the trip, the Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphin sighting cruise saw us hopping on to the one from Miramar beach which also gave us a good look at the Fort Aguada Jail underground and Parsi entrepreneur Jimmy Gazdar aka Jimmy Millionaire’s palatial home. Designed to be a phantasmagoric blend of architectural manifestations of Europe, it is apparently replete with 16 bedrooms. Opulence-personified indeed!

But what we took back from this trip were humble memories of vast green fields, tranquil rivers and a dense cultural confluence existing in perfect harmony. So what am I doing on my next visit to Goa- lunch at a spice plantation, visit to a model Portuguese house, staycation in a rented apartment or an ecoresort may be, a walk through the forests in South Goa and a stop over at the colonial mansions of Chandor village! Who knows! I might just take off on a hunt for Goa’s most haunted house or the best place for Goan sausages!! Do yourself a favour and dig up your own new reason to head there next time.