Why Goa is so different than all the other tourist places of India???

Having been so tied up at work  I desparately needed to run off somewhere. Which better option than GOA!!!

Come to think of it , GOA is a wholesome package in itself -- awesome food , good weather absolutely exquisite sites,an amazing night life and a simplistic and enigmatic amalgamation of western and traditional Goan cultures.

A child trying his little hands at collecting some sand and naively hoping to come across some treasure while he is at it.

I think there is something mystical about Goa , as soon as you touch down upon Goan soil , all your worries simply vanish. The astounding atmosphere just caresses your heart , body and soul to the core.
I have established two theories here... one is an obvious fact ie the very geographical location and accessibility of Goa makes it so desirable ,secondly the magnanimity with which the Goan people embrace all sorts of cultures, pulls tourist from all corners of the world towards it.

Having established my theories I shall take you through the trip to this wonderful place.

We all know that the amount of satisfaction derived from imromptu plans materialising is indeed unmeasurable.
However,we sort of got too adventourous and living on the edgy sorts, nearly missing our bus ,but I guess Goa was indeed calling for us.I was being accompanied by four of my friends. Two of them were visiting Goa for the first time in their life. One can very well imagine the anxiousness and excitement mounting up in their hearts, so it was all the more fun.
Having reached Goa early morning, we booked a Wagon R, dumped our stuff in the Hotel and immediately rushed out to embark upon the bountiful offerings that Goa had in store for us.
We started off with the North stretch to the extent of Sinquerium, Candolim, Calangute, Baga Anjuna and Vagator. Needless to say we wer incessantly hogging up all varities of food we could lay our hands upon at all the famous joints that we had heard about.

High tide alerts could not stop people from having fun at Baga Beach.

She is in a fix whereas these two camera buffs couldn't miss a chance to be clicked at.

The most commercialized beach of Goa. Calangute, the hawkers wouldn't let you go off without inking you !!

Basking in the glory of the splashing waves and cool breeze.

It was indeed an unfortunate co incidence that on the very next day of our arrival, it started raining incessantly in Goa. However, our spirits were soaring high and could not be dampened by rains. Yes!! we had a car too. :-p!!
Having covered almost all the beaches of North Goa we left to explore the northern most beach of Goa  , Arambol.
It was indeed a secluded beach far off from the crowded world and much more beautiful that all the other ones we had seen. The sea bed was flat for miles and the waves , despite the rains were calmer and welcoming. I have heard, off late Arambol has been the hub of all foreigner's attraction because of its inaccessibility to many commoners.

The rocks which seemed like Lord Shiva's head from distance.

A humble setup in the form of a shack,Goans sure know how to utilize and portray things artistically.

You could sit here the whole day sipping Hot Chocolate and wondering at the different moods of the Arabian Sea.

Having finished the entire Northern stretch we returned to the much commercialized Baga and Calangute. It was already dinner time so we decided to have a sumptuous traditional Goan dinner at Souza Lobo restaurant. Two most famous chicken and sea food preparations of Goa are Vindalo and Xachuti. We made sure to try these delicacies out along with some crabs and lobsters as starters.

It was indeed wonderful to see and to experience the magic of nothingness. Galavanting , eating and sleeping were the only major tasks we had at our hands.

The next day we had our bus at around 6 pm from Panaji, Cpital of Goa. Also, the place from where we had rented our Wagon R. So we decided to cover Old Goa and some nearby places before catching our bus for Bangalore.

Finishing a wholesome English breakfast at Brito's , Baga beach we started off early for Old Goa to see St. Basillica Church. This church is a pretty famous tourist spot in Goa , because it stores the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier in a casket. 

St. Basillica Church

The remains of St. Francis Xavier ( P.S. Photography is banned inside the church)

The artworks seen are called Murals. The church is considered to be one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in India.

After feasting our eyes with some great artwork , we rushed to cover what was left of Goa for us to see , as time was less and things to be seen were more.

Our next stop was the famous Dona Paula where the stone sculpted statue of allegedly two lovers who could not be united to many a reasons , is the main attraction.

Could only catch a glimpse of the statue due to heavy rains but yes we did have a great lunch at Dona Paula.

With only a couple of hours left in Goa , we decided to spend it on the banks of River Mandovi/Arabian Sea at a restaurant in Panaji.

A floating casino where entry  charge are costlier than gambling

Finally the moment came where with heavy hearts and packed bags we left Goa to reassume our hectic lives and busy schedules. However, not without rejuvenating our spirits and refreshing our minds to cope up with the daily pressures and monotony of Bangalore, only promising ourselves to be back again very soon!!!


Hearty thanks to a friend for the pics...