Candolim Beach Road…

Bookings:

Booking can be done by calling the old lady and he will keep your rooms ready. I think overall there are five to six rooms, so do book them in advance and ask for a room with Balcony. Here is the contact details,

Address: Mrs. Rose Desouza, Murrod Beach Road, Candolim, Bardez – Goa

Mobile/Contact No: +919637556065, 01793619430

Price:

Well we were charged 900 Rs per day with cost of water bottles extra but since it was the carnival and valentines time every hotel or guest house had a high price curve. The cleanliness, comfort, calmness and the lawn up front were just worth the money spent. I strongly feel it could be bargained anywhere between Rs 600- Rs 900 depending on the season time.

Location:

The Guest House is located just on the Murrod Beach road connecting the Candolim Beach behind Angaara Restaurant. When going towards Candolim Beach, you will see restaurant with two giant TV screens and it’s just opposite to that restaurant. The whole street is full of exciting dining areas and some very delicious ones. Don’t forget a meal or two at Angaara Restaurant which is almost in the premises of Ezue Bia Guest House. The cook there is amazing.

Pictures:

Pictures may better define the words and Here are some of the pictures which may help you judging the place…

First Look…Ezue Bia Guest House Behind Angaara Restaurant…

Ezue Bia Guest House Behind Angaara Restaurant…

Rooms at Ezue Bia Guest House…

Lawn at Ezue Bia Guest House…

Experience:

As far as our experience was concerned, it was just amazing. We had a great time staying there and the old lady was very helpful and compromising in keeping our luggage long after the check out on the final day. The only thing which I didn’t like and was common to other hotels in Goa was that "Even drinking water was excluded in the room rent". Something I never saw anywhere in the past. But thank god that they don’t charge for bathing water . Overall the place was very nice, clean, calm and most importantly comfortable. The balcony was indeed a blessing to enjoy the soothing weather in Goa while sipping tea or coffee or in fact gulping beer …Well there is no arrangement of food in the guest house but the restaurants are just on the street as you leave the guest house premises. In fact you should definitely have a meal at Angaara Restaurant which is almost in the premises of the Guest House. The street in front is full of night life but keep in mind that at Candolim Beach you will not find younger generation of tourists. It’s beach dominated by old age people/foreigners but it’s very very calm due to lack of vendors/sellers etc. A nice to place to enjoy sea…

Conclusion:

The place is highly recommended if you are looking for safe, nice, very very clean, comfortable, calm, peaceful, lively and moderately economic option of stay in Goa and that too stone’s throw from Candolim Beach as well as a street full of restaurants offering multiple cuisine.

Candolim Beach Road…

Bookings:

Booking can be done by calling Mr. Arnold Mascarenhas and he will keep your rooms ready. I think overall there are 8 to 10 rooms with a rooftop restaurant. Here are the contact details,

Address: Mr. Arnold Mascarenhas, Murrod Vaddo, Candolim, Bardez, Goa – 403515

Mobile/Contact No: +919960070344, +919923880880, +918322489344

Email: motevilla@rediffmail.com

Price:

Well, we were charged 600 Rs per day with cost of water bottles extra but since it was the carnival and valentines time every hotel or guest house had a high price curve. So, there must be scope of bargain in it as well. The cleanliness and comfort were really below standard which we didn’t enjoy. The beds were making all kinds of creaking sound and washrooms were even average types. We had to leave the room by paying the full rent for one day in just three hours because the blanket which we were shredding just before going to sleep had a LIZARD inside it … We felt very uneasy after that in the room and had to leave the hotel in the night itself. The only candy was the roof top restaurant but that you would be rarely used on a road which offers on of the best dine-ins / cuisines in Goa. We finally stayed at Ezue Bia Guest House, Candolim Beach which was an awesome stay I would say, in my opinion.

Location:

The Guest House is located just left-side from the Murrod beach road connecting the Candolim Beach. It is one a side road which is just on the left side right at the end of Murrod beach road. When going towards Candolim Beach, you will see the left cut just before the beach entrance. This whole street is full of exciting dining areas and some very delicious ones. Don’t forget a meal or two at Angaara Restaurant which is almost in the premises of Ezue Bia Guest House. The cook there is amazing.

Pictures:

Pictures may better define the words and but unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the room due to our brief and bad stay

Experience:

As far as our experience was concerned, it was just pathetic. We had to leave the hotel in the middle of night because some lizards were thrown out of our blanket when we tried to dust it off by shedding it … It didn’t even lasted four hours and we had to pay full amount to the owner as he didn’t accepted the ill-cleanliness fact. The other thing which I didn’t like and was common to other hotels in Goa was that "Even drinking water was excluded in the room rent". Something I never saw anywhere in the past. But thank god that they don’t charge for bathing water . Overall the place was neither comfortable nor clean as per our taste and the food served at the roof top restaurant was not even good on a road that offers varieties of cuisines almost all hours of the day …

In fact you should definitely have a meal at Angaara Restaurant which is almost in the premises of the Guest House. The street in front is full of night life but keep in mind that at Candolim Beach you will not find younger generation of tourists. It’s a beach dominated by old age people/foreigners but it’s very very calm due to lack of vendors/sellers etc., uneasy elements and local crowd… A nice to place to enjoy sea…

Conclusion:

The place is only advisable if you are OK with living in sub-standard rooms although not too much bad in shape but ye they were if you are looking for comfort. It may suit people like college/school guys who are looking for fun or people looking for longer stay in Goa and would mostly spend the time outside the Hotel.It is very economic option of stay in Goa and that too stone’s throw from Candolim Beach as well as a street full of restaurants offering multiple cuisine.If for you, the hotel room will act as just the place to sleep a bit and freshen-up a bit then this place would definitely suit you on economic terms for sure. I am sure no couple (married/unmarried) would like to take it on due to cleanliness and comfort on offering.

I guess Ezue Bia Guest House, Candolim Beach is a far far better choice that this one.

• Exploring Goa | Colors of Goa
• Exploring Goa | Riding the Roads of Goa
• Exploring Goa | Valentines Day in Goa
• Exploring Goa | More Colors of Goa

Day 6 – 15th February, 2010 | Candolim – Dambolim – Delhi

Well after a rocking trip it was finally the day to leave for home. We had packed everything and were all set to go. Flight was at 3.55 PM but had to check-out the room at 10 AM as it was Aunty’s 75th Birthday and she had to go to her son’s place. But half day was sufficient enough to catch the last glimpses of the Candolim beach and its surroundings. Well we had the same breakfast at the same restaurant as last day. Actually the open restaurant is called Angaara and the part which had shed where breakfast is served was called Silversands Holiday Village which also comprised of I think 15 odd rooms. Let’s finally see the pictures

Some pictures of Ezue Bia Guest House…

The Lawn…

Our Room…

Shiv Temple on Candolim-Baga Road…

Finally after having dinner we went to the beach to spend next 2-3 hours. I knew Jeans and T-Shirt was not the best outfit for the beach but we still had to wear them ..Spent next few hours there, clicked last few photos there and decided to leave at 1.15 PM to have some Pizza at Dominos.

Final Clicks of Candolim…

Hanging empty…

Feeling empty…

Now both have company…

Who left them…

Little girl knows how to pose for a click…

Not so heavy…

Well to our surprise order although came in 30 minutes but we had to wait more that 15 minutes to make him understand what exactly we wanted to eat. It was as if he didn’t understood what Indians want in terms of Pizza ..Well all this delayed our departure by 30 minutes for Airport. We left at 2.30 PM from Candolim and taxi took the usual charge of 700. He told us that it will take 1 hour to reach Dambolim and whew…tension started to creep in. Now add to more there was Carnival going on enroute but thank god driver knew the alternate route and he dropped us at 3.25 PM. It was exactly 30 minutes and we hurriedly got the boarding passes, delayed due to a scissor while checkup, then a hair pin in the pocket and finally a call for exemption to stand in queue for the go air flight passengers leaving in next 10 minutes . We finally boarded the flight in all that hustle bustle and reached Delhi at 6.30 PM.

This concludes a trip in which there were as many as dozen first times and I fell this what travel brings in, "FIRST TIMES" adding to personal growth and individuality

• Exploring Goa | Colors of Goa
• Exploring Goa | Riding the Roads of Goa
• Exploring Goa | Valentines Day in Goa

Day 5 – 14th February, 2010 | Candolim – Chapora Fish Point – Chapora Fort – Vagator – Anjuna – Candolim

Well after the most rocking day of GOA this one was dedicated for sight seeing and basking in sun at Anjuna Beach. We got tanned almost completely and I was sure by today that we won’t be recognized by anyone at home. No matter what you used, we used SPF 50 sunscreen but don’t think it was of any use or I it was I cannot imagine what we would have turned into …After a fabulous dinner yesterday at Angaara Restaurant I wanted to have Breakfast at the same place. Moreover, it was in the premises where we were residing i.e. Ezue bia Guest House. We ordered french toast and vegetable sandwich and milky tea. Guys I must say I became the fan of the chef there, breakfast was even better than last night dinner. Amazing taste …

We started for Chapora Fort (Dil Chaahta Hai fort) first as it lies ahead of Anjuna. By findind the way to Chapora fort we managed to reach Chapora fish point somehow . The place looked extremely creepy, it was the back side of Chapora and as if foreigners there had cerated a village of their own . Actually there was a Y-shaped intersection from where we took a wrong turn that lead us here. Well although the whole place awfully smell bad we it was good place to take some photographs. Well the beach of turtles i.e. Morjim can be viewed from this point although we had no plans to visit it

After a while, we went towards the right trail leading to Chapora Fort. Well reaching there we found a steep climb and none of us was in mood of getting tired and reach the place. May be it had been first day, we would have surely attempted it but not this very day. so we clicked long shots and headed for Vagator Beach

Well the paths in this region i.e. Chapora – Vagator were very confusing. Some very narrow roads may lead you to a place you never expect and some roads which looked like main roads leads you to dead end, cool na . But anyhow we managed to reach Vagator as well and again from top of the ridge itself we wanted to have some photos. No plans of getting down here. It is here we had Narial Pani (Coconut Water) first time in Goa and man, it was not cheap as I initially thought or it had the tourist charm. In Delhi you can get for Rs 15 and there I got it for Rs 20.

Then finally we headed for Anjuna beach to spend the noon and had lunch there. Well yes of course the crowd was young here with the prime effect of in the heavens . Hmm…First time we saw hippie effect …well after long walk we decided to take the bed and rest. Beds were free if you have food at the shack. I don’t remember the name of the shack but yes food was just average sought of. But again PINEAPPLE, yes this time we got a very very big one. It was amazingly juicy and superbly sweet. See Anjuna through your eyes…

Me and my wife decided to leave for the room at Candolim as she was feeling a bit ill and needed some rest but my cousin and his fiance stayed on. So around 4 PM we left there to watch the last sunset of the trip in most serene and calm place "Candolim beach".

Well after having some rest at room, we went this time on the beach sand and sat there as is, to watch the sun goes down. Luckily there were no clouds at horizon so we could see it till the very end. Here is and eye candy of the same…

After the sunset we went in search of Sandwich and Tea at Candolim. We wanted to try one more restaurant for the same so we landed here.

We spent couple of hours on the Candolim road only walking from one end to the other, enjoying the mood of the people applauding their soccer teams and oooos and aaaas. After a while it was dinner time and where else besides Angaara we could have gone. Same chef, same menu, same order but Tuberg this time rather than draught Dinner was great again and it was time for sleep.

Last shot of the night..

The Journey ahead-

• Exploring Goa | Flying Back Home from Goa

• Exploring Goa | Colors of Goa
• Exploring Goa | Riding the Roads of Goa

Day 4 – 13th February, 2010 | Candolim – Baga (Water Sports) – Arpora – (Anjuna) Paradiso Club – Candolim

So after forgetting about the dinner last night and just having a sound sleep we felt amazingly fresh this morning. A fresh water bath did wonders to the mood and we were out on Candolim Beach at Bayview Shack (since 1991) to have a good breakfast. Although the preparation was very slow but servings were very fresh. It was here that we learnt that we shall explictly say Milky Tea in Goa so that we get the right thing. It was extremely difficult for my wife to drink that black sweet water even after having some milk. Rest food was nice and fresh there. As we were lazing there the guy at the shack came out with Salomon fish as their catch of the day. Here is how it looked like and when he scaled it it was 13.9 KG…WOW…

After spending some time at Candolim, the plan was to head towards Baga Beach and enjoy Water Sports. But here are few clicks of Candolim Beach

As we reached Baga beach immediately started getting deals for water sports. After bargaining for next 15 minutes we reached a price of Rs 2600 for four of us which will include 3 things i.e. Banana Ride, Jet Ski and Parasailing. Since we had to be in water for next couple of hours there were not many photographs clicked. Although we did shoot a video for Parasailing by my cousins digi-cam right now it’s with him.

After having loads of fun especially in banana ride where they make you fall right into sea with ofcourse life jacket on. My wife really got scared with the act and was almost not ready to leave my hand. But with life jacket on in water you are not allowed to hold other untill it is really neccessary. After getting the senses, we asked boat guy to pull her up first and in the process she almost drowned him He was like swimming beneath her body and as she was just floating with the current he couldn’t manage to come aside and up. Finally he managed to do so and screamed "Madam aap to mujhe maar hi daalti" (Madam you would have certainly killed me). But the whole ride was just super duper fun …

Now it was the turn of JetSki which I didn’t enjoyed too much. It was pretty OK to say atleast. Now the turn was for the big one "Parasailing". Well we signed the document stating our declaration, consent and responsibility of anything happening to us. Then we got on the boat which took us to the main streamer where parasailing  actually takes place. In the streamer a family was there with 2 very small kids, I beleive 4-5 years max. They were like jumping to get their turn to fly , amazing to see that. Slowly we went on flying for next 3-4 minutes and it was a wonderful feeling.  Well the most difficult part is to move from one boat to the streamer and then back again after you are done.

Well as a conclusion on Water Sports I must say that when I was into the sea while banana ride it was like a feeling I can never forget in my life. Right in the middle of the sea, water around you everywhere and feel as if no one is around…the only thing you can feel is water as if lines of a famous poem water water everywhere, still not a drop to drink…ohhh…it was an ominous feeling.

Well after this great couple of hours of fun we wanted to go back as to have some light lunch and moreover Baga beach looked over crowded due to weekend, I feel. On the way towards Candolim we saw Udipi Anand Sagar restaurant and after waiting for 5-10 minutes we got the table. We ordered complete South Indian. We can smell that each memeber of the staff had employee dis-satisfaction filled to their core … and guess what while having Uttapam we spotted an ANT in Sambhar/Rasam..YUCK.. … we left that very moment and paid the bill for rest of the eatables we had earlier. But you can imagine what we were feeling as Sambhar/Rasam is all common for everything

We went for the rest to our respective rooms. As it was saturday so our target was to visit Ingos Saturday Night Market at Arpora and a complete rest with fresh feeling was a must after the water sports fun. Well we left for Arpora but first we wanted to confirm while the Valentine Party was today or tommorrow at Paradiso Club, Anjuna. There was a jam in between on the way to Arpora from Candolim, thanks to a very narrow road and heavy traffic at one T-junction.

Well there was a very interesting thing that happened in the jam. There was one dog, jet black in color, came and sat on the ramp of my scooty in between the space of legs of driver. I was holding a backpack in front so couldn’t see if anything is down and that too right between my legs. Well dog got the opportunity when we were standing in the Jam and my leg was outside. It was after couple of minutes ride when something wet touched my legs, I felt like what the hell. I parked the scooty aside and helped that dog got off our scooty LOL. It Thank god it didn’t bite me while riding otherwise it would have been a serious accident. But in the end it was the funniest moment of the trip.

We saw the market getting open on the way towards Anjuna and reached Paradiso around 7.30 PM. We confirmed from the manager named Raj and he said party is tonight starting in next 1.30 Hrs till 6.00 AM morning. It was like change of plans for us as we were expecting it tommorrow. Nevermind we bought the passes for Paradiso club which usually priced at Rs 1000 per couple with unlimited alcoholic drinks . That night they had altered it to Rs 500 per couple excluding the drinks but drinks were priced not like any bar in NCR. They were cheap like Rs 80/100 for 60 ml shot of Vodka(Romanov/Smirnoff) and beer was like Rs 50.

We decided that let’s first explore Arpora Saturday night, go to Candolim, get dressed properly and have dinner at the Angaara restaurant which was partly in the premises of Ezue Bia guest house as Paradiso Club don’t have anything to eat. After that late night we can join the groove in Paradiso.

Well as said Ingo Saturday night market was upto the expectations in terms of babes and live music. Well it is refered as World’s Local Market but ofcourse not for shopping. You can find everything what is sold in that World’s Local Market in Delhi at Janapath or Sarojini Nagar but but but BABES no way. Although you need to pay alot more than Delhi since the seller is non-indian I feel . It was like one of the places in Goa where you can find foreigners getting dressed up to something, everywhere else you only find very little to be named as clothes on them. Here is my try for the night photography very first time.

Well after spending  1 hr or so at Arpora we started back for Candolim. On the way back my scooty got disbalanced in the mud and I had to put my fractured foot to save us from falling. It was bad and painful. But somehow managed to control the pain and reached our room at Candolim. First-aid box was out and after the shower I put some volini spray and wrapped it in Crape Bandage. Then we went to Angaara restaurant for dinner. There we met one person who I think was the head of the serving staff. Meanwhile the order was getting ready he warned us not to go to Anjuna at night as for Indians the place is quite unsafe and creepy. He was very genuinly saying that at night Indians are mostly troubled but when we told him that we are going to Paradiso not the beach he smiled and said then that’s perfect way of celebrating Valentines Day. But don’t goto to Anjuna Beach at night just to make sure you remain out of trouble on your relaxing trip. Well when the order was served it was the best north Indian food I have eaten in Goa and very closely best ever.

It was 11.35 PM that we left Candolim and reached Paradiso. Again the route had gone much more lonely but luckily no trouble. Well the party was in full mood when we entered and there was booze, babes and beats(music). Many stags waiting for a chance to get in and many joker getting over over drunk and throwing out from terrace what they couldn’t digest . You will find them everywhere. For us already too many things had been done in single day and we wanted the bed facing the sea shore at the terrace there. Me and my cousin got hold of our drinks and got that bed as soon as it got vacant. Then four of us just enjoyed the fantastic music there and watched everyone dance like anything …

Well after 3 hours or so mood was like sleeping and party was too monotonous now. The trouble was to ride through that lonely road and reach Candolim. But we couldn’t have waited for the morning as well because it would mean killing the entire next day and getting frustrated for rest of the night. So we decided to leave at 3.10 AM finally and maintained to ride aside each other till Candolim. We just slept like anything that day which concluded yet another day in Goa…

The Journey ahead-

• Exploring Goa | More Colors of Goa

• Exploring Goa | Colors of Goa

Day 3 – 12th February, 2010 | Baga – Candolim – Clova Crossing – Dona Paula – Candolim

Morning 6 AM we were supposed to leave Baga and Check-in at Monte Villa, Candolim but due to room lock mess up it was delayed to 8 AM. Well we planned to leave at 6 AM because we had to travel 90 odd KMs to reach Paulolem beach in south goa. Already two hours behind Christo rang the bell at 8 AM and was frustrated to see us not even out of bed and again my reaction was why this idiot is bothering us when we have paid him till 12.00 noon. We told him that we will leave at 11 AM now and he went telling us that we should leave by 11 AM for sure. After that me and my cousin went to take some packaged breakfast and decided to prepare the tea/coffee in the working kitchen of the apartment. We came with breakfast and in between my wife wanted the spare mattress to be kept in the balcony which I was not in favor. But my cousin said we should so we moved it outside and had breakfast in the open air. BTW we got the breakfast from Sagar restaurant, Baga road from where we got the reference of South Indian food, last night.

After breakfast we packed our bags and it was 11 AM, guess what, bell rang . It was Christo again and immediately he entered he was furious to see that mattress being kept at balcony. He started uttering this and that and I was like give me a break from this guy. Without wasting anytime and ignoring whatever he was up to, I feel again some money extracting stuff , we left the place.

Now biggest worry was to get our luggage on a scooty till Candolim. I asked my cousin that shall we take taxi and he said no we can manage. So his fiancé took that heavy bag sideways on her lap since my wife old fracture got hit by scooty stand and I couldn’t carry heavy stuff due to very fresh fracture. I must say the girl looked skinny but had the courage to hold 2 bags on a scooty, one being too heavy, for more than 15 minutes to reach Candolim. Once we reached Candolim they couldn’t even stopped for a photo click but effort was really commendable and appreciable. When we weighed that bag on the way back at airport, it was like 23 Kg odd.

Now we needed some rest and it was like 30 minutes and we shall leave for Paulolem … Don’t know why but our needle was stuck to Paulolem where else we could have done something better . Finally at 12.30 PM we left for Paulolem (90 KM) at our scooty Now I feel we were just gone crazy at that moment.

All set to go…

Our rides…

We got the petrol filled on the first petrol pump near Nerul and kept going. After a long time we finally saw a hoarding written Paulolem Beach 50 KM ahead, at Clova Crossing. It was 02.15 PM i.e. more than 100 minutes and we had just covered 40 KMs. Then we realized the difference between scooty and bike because by this speed we would reach Paulolem around 4 PM at scooty and we had to come back as well . So what we decided is to wisely turn back and explore the Goan city rather than breaking our backs.

Well on the way back we read a sign board of Dona Paulo and right away we turned towards it to explore it. The road to leading to Dona Paulo was extremely lonely and on the way my wife even lost the cap in the process of learning to drive scooty from behind . As soon as we reached the Dona Paulo we needed to drink something and nothing was better than fresh lime in such conditions. Then after that we had first photos of the morning. We saw a lot of crabs here.

After spending an hour or so we left from there and someone told us that we can go straight through Panajim city to catch the highway leading to Calungate / Baga / Candolim road. We followed that path and first time we were into residential sought of area. Besides that roads ran a river, again don’t know the name, with 6-7 big ships / small cruises floating on it. Finally after half an hour or so we were on the highway connection mangalore/cochin.

Since it was Shivratri that day my wanted to visit the temple and on the way from Nerul side we saw one Hanuman temple and she insisted to follow that route only but it god’s leela that from highway we were leaded to Shiv Mandir (Temple) only. There we had the usual rituals of Shivratri, had the prayer and went on towards Candolim beach to rest in the evening.

Once we reached Candolim beach we went to the same Boat View shack, had a milky tea and sandwiches as evening snacks. We had skipped the lunch in the process, thank god we had a good heavy breakfast. Then we spent rest of the evening and witnessed the sun go down there.

We ordered a plate of pakora to be packed as we wanted to have them at our guest house terrace restaurant. There we had the best milky tea so far in Goa and pakoras we had packed from Boat View were nice as well. By the way owner of the guest house told us that we will have a 60% discount on whatever we will have on his terrace restaurant but that was not the case like, they declined at the time of payment.

Then we all went to our room for full rest and as soon as my wife opened the bed sheet there was a lizard which jumped out of it and she was screaming like anything there. Soon my cousin and his fiancé came and we decided to leave that shabby room. We had given the rent in advance but that had to be left out of mind as of now. We quickly went to Ezue Bia guest house nearby (which me and my wife really liked yesterday) and checked with aunty for room availability. Thank god that only one of the two rooms we saw yesterday got booked. So we finally got very decent place to stay in Goa. It was as if burden was relieved from the mind as that earlier guest house looked shabby right from the start to both of us. Even the location of Ezue Bia was very nice, right on that Candolim beach road and environment outside was really really good. My cousin and his fiancé continued to stay at that guest house only and mobile phone was the mode of communication and coordination for the 2 couples

We decided to meet at 11.00 PM for dinner but none of us woke up once we got on the beds . This concluded the second day in Goa for us…so far not so bad

The Journey ahead-

• Exploring Goa | Valentines Day in Goa

So guys as you can see above there is a dozen of things which happened first time in my life . Yes of course this was a rocking trip not so adventurous yet whole lot of fun, entertainment and laziness

Day 1 – 10th February, 2010 | Delhi to Goa

Well me, my wife and my cousin left for the Delhi domestic airport around 3.30 PM, checked-in and board the flight with little butterflies in the stomach being the first air travel experience Flight was to depart 5.15 PM and reach there by 7.30 PM. Apart from those little butterflies nothing happened and we reached Goa on time. From the Airport itself we had to catch a Taxi for Baga and had to pickup my cousin’s fiancé from Paulo Travels near Mapusa. She came from Pune to Goa in morning Volvo which took almost 13 Hours to reach. After some here and there at the pickup spot we finally picked her and headed straight towards Baga. My cousin had assured that they a place to stay as they had visited Goa earlier. Meanwhile driver spotted that we don’t have any place to stay so immediately in his Goan (Konkan) language, I believe, setup the agents to follow the Taxi. We reached Baga and the agents caught us with their offering of an apartment at 2000 per night for 2 couples. The apartment had only one room but they had an extra mattress.

In the mean time my cousin showed me where they stayed and I didn’t like it at all at the very first glance. So we had no choice part from taking that apartment which was near that place for next couple of days and may be if we find a better location we will take that. As mentioned it was the first time I didn’t have the clue where I had to stay and I felt that time it was a big mistake considering the fact I had my wife with me. But nevertheless we got the room, rested an hour got fresh and out on the Baga road for the dinner. As we walked on the road we got the feel Goa with booze, beer and babes all over the place, the happening night life which inclined more and more as the night passed. Finally we came a stop at Bharat Restaurant had some beer and then dinner. The quality of food was just average or I shall say below average but yes Draught tasted great in that environment . At last We went to the room for complete night rest as next day surely was supposed to be beach day. No pictures were taken on this day apart from this one which was just a test of whether I can use my camera or not

Day 2 – 11th February, 2010 | Baga – Calungate – Baga – Fort Aguada – Sinquerim – Candolim Beach – Baga

So it was first morning in GOA and the day to see Sea for the first time. But the first task was to get scooties on rent. Luckily just adjacent to the apartment building there was a shop which rented them. After some negotiation we rented 2 scooties for Rs 1600 for 5 days i.e. Rs 160 per day (I thought it was a fair deal). Immediately my cousin got some drinking water as in Goa  most of the hotels either charge for them if they provide water bottles or if its an apartment then you have to get drinking water for yourself. Meanwhile I came to know that I forgot the printout of the itinerary so we headed for the search of Internet Cafe. That’s the first time I ride scooty and believe me I felt really uncomfortable because of no brake paddle, no clutch … Every time I need to make it stop I pull the breaks thinking it of clutch as in scooter or bike LOL…It was fun…it took me an hour or so to properly get accustomed to it. Coming back to the Internet cafe since it was 10 AM in the morning everyone told us that most of the cafes would be closed and may open in couple of hours which was like another effect of dominance of night life. So we didn’t get the print out and it was now like from the rough sketch I had in mind we have to take on GOA.

In search of Cafe we even reached Calungate beach which was not very far from Baga road. It was the first time I saw sea and I was like OMG..it is huge huge huge…noise of waves were like amazing music for the ears..it was great. But Calungate beach I found was over commercialized and populated. We didn’t bother to stay there any further and headed to our apartment to pick girls from the room. At the beach itself there was a Goa Tourism resort we checked for room. The price was like 1500 per night and room even was not such good quality and I found it over priced.

Now rats were jumping like hell in our tummies and where else we headed straight towards Brittos, Baga beach for the breakfast. I had heard a lot of things about that place and of course it kept the promises it made. It was a great place with nice view and yummy food/tea/shakes. We ordered breakfast and it was the time for photos to be clicked. Here they goes…

First Click of GOA…

Brittos…

Catch of the day…who eats them???

After a great and yummy breakfast it was the time for Beach. The water sports guys kept coming up with their all sports package and all stuff of high-low tide etc but this was not the day for any sports. It was the day for contemplation and dedicated only to feel Goa, Sea, Beach and Water. We took 2 pair of beds after a bit of bargain at Rs 200 as Brittos don’t provide them free of cost even if you eat there. It was the time to play in water…

Getting a shock from behind…

Floating Foreigners…

Trying Depth of Field…

Baga Beach…

See what I can see…

Measuring Horizon…

After 2-3 hours of sea water fun we were again hungry and thirsty. So as said in the land of beer what else can be best to satisfy the thirst. Well beer just tastes different at beach don’t know why but it did. We also ordered the lunch from Brittos only. Guys who rent beds at beach serves the food as well from the restaurants or beach shacks. Thank god for this they don’t charge at least from us. Again the food was quite good and as we turned around the Brittos was fully packed and there was no single table. People were queued up for it. Well I forgot to quote if you visit GOa then just do try the Pineapple for sure. It is the best thing I ate in Goa and the taste was so fresh,juicy and sweet that I have no words of it. May be having it on beach is altogether different but really it tasted great. It was one of the thing I will never forget from this trip.

It was the time to head for Fort Aguada which lies south of Baga. As we ride heat / sun was taking its toll on us on the road but sitting on the beach breeze was nice and cold.

Getting a shade from the sun…

Going from baga once you reach a T-point from where you take right for Sinquerim Beach / Taj resorts and left for Fort Aguada,the road was really nice. Riding on that road felt really good as sun was covered with some clouds and those were small hills. Finally we reached Fort Aguada. Nothing much to do apart from photographs and here they are…

Entrance…

Let’s go up…

The Aguada…

Sea view from Aguda…

Getting a breather…

Four of us …

After spending some time and a nice photography session we left the fort and outside had some Fresh Lime soda. Finally something tasted really like north there …Now we wanted to visit Sinquerim Beach and we had to track back till that T-point from where we took left. Enroute I found I think a view of lake (or may be it could be sea but it didn’t look like) which and seeing it I couldn’t stop myself from clicking few pictures of it…

So Serene…

Are we invited to touch the sky…

We reached sinquerim beach and here is what It looked like. It’s a beach where huge 5-star Aguada Taj Resorts sits with it’s private beaches scattered and ship which I feel is stationary there for ages. It was scenic in it’s own sense but some how it gave a feeling of rough and hard beach but that’s my opinion only… Well here as well we didn’t find the cassatta ice cream. We hunted it right from Baga till sinquerim but finding no success my wife finally agreed to quit and settle for cornetto only, seems Goa doesn’t like cassatta ice cream.

Stationary Sinquerim and the Ship…

Again I found a Crow…

So lonely…

Twilight starting…

Clouds in glory…

Taj Resorts…

After spending an hour or so we left for Baga and to take some rest but enroute we found a board saying Candolim Beach and we took the turn for evening snacks and Tea. As soon as we entered that road it felt really cool seeing the environment with open air restaurants, projector based TV screens in them, foreigners cheering to their soccer teams, beer all over the place and it was definitely very very clean. I thought of stopping and asking for guest house which I found on road but then felt we can do it when we return from the beach. So we went to Candolim beach and of all the beaches we saw today this was the most calm and peaceful and since it was the time for sunset it looked amazing. I never expected such beauty to be offered by sea. We went to boat view shack and ordered milky tea. Don’t forget this term when you want tea. You have to explicitly say milky tea is what you want else you will end up with black water Pictures below doesn’t justify how it looked. I tried to take some silhouettes but some how failed to really take them. But never mind it is my first attempt

Beach Volleyball…

Candolim Beach…

Enjoying Beach…

Twilights and with some silhouettes which I tried …

We had tea and french fries and then it was the time for heading back and searching for a room here only. I had made up my mind everytime I will come to Goa I will only put up here. It was amazingly peaceful. We went in search by that time environment had gone richer which sealed my thought of stay here. We went to Ezue Bia guest house and the soon to be 75 year old women owning it showed us the room. I really liked them and at Rs 1000 they were like far better than that apartment. Somehow my cousin wanted some cheaper room and we went further insides of the road and he found Monte Villa who rented the room for Rs 600. The rooms looked just OK to me and I never wanted to stay there but somehow me and my wife agreed. We gave the uncle Rs 1200 as advance and left for our room.

Reaching Baga we called up apartment owner Christo and told him that we will leave the room tomorrow. he said that he will come to collect the keys and we can auto lock it once we leave. We took a fresh water bath and Christo came and took the keys. He asked me twice whether we would need the keys or not if we want to go for dinner. But since it was long and tiring day we thought we would get dinner at home itself so I gave him the keys. After taking bath everyone felt fresh and my sweet wife wanted South Indian. We purchased a lock with many difficulties  and locked the room from outside and went out. Now it was 10.30 PM and as we started searching we didn’t find any restaurants serving South Indian at Baga road. Although there were many signs but all served them seasonally or I feel at availability of the cook

One restaurant at Baga road named Sagar gave reference of it’s branch at Calungate Beach entrance circle. They told us that if we hurry up we may place the order but have to reach before 11 PM closing time. We did obliged and able to get our order placed just in time. My wife seemed very happy now but meanwhile we three were hungry and decided that we will try Pizza at Pizzeria restaurant. Out of their menu we ordered the only thick crust Vegetarian Pizza available. Just adjacent to it the was a Cafe Coffee Day where cousins wanted brownie sizzler and a coffee. After that finally we agreed to go to room and rest.

Here are few clicks I tried at that restaurant and CCD….

We didn’t know a surprise mixed with our stupidity is waiting for us. As we reached room opened our purchased lock only for this  room we found that internal lock has no lever and by some complex setting from inside it is even locked. So we are out at 12.30 AM at night with everything locked in and owner Christo who lived in Vasco some 40 odd KMs from Baga …We called him, wake him up and asked to come. He had no choice rather to come and I was realizing the mistake now of giving the keys. It would take him 1 Hr or so to reach here so we went again to Cafe Coffee Day where my cousin just went to big time sleep. At 1.30 AM Christo came and gave us the keys and after murmuring few words he asked for Rs 300 as petrol cost. Since it was already had been a long day we were in no mood of anything. We gave him 260 as a change we had at that moment and he went away asking by what time we will leave. We told him we will attempt Paulolem Beach on our scooty tomorrow and had planned to leave at 6 AM morning after dropping our luggage at Candolim Beach. But because of all what happened we will postpone it to 8 AM. He told that he will come at 8AM then and I was like too furious at him. If if had to come in the morning he should have taken the keys in the morning itslef and I don’t know why did he came that very day. It was so stupid. I was under an impression that since he cannot come in morning he took the keys same day. But that was the end of first full day in Goa and it had everything as you can see

The Journey ahead-

• Exploring Goa | Riding the Roads of Goa