Goa!!!

It’s funny every time I recall how I ended up in Goa.

I got a call from a friend out of nowhere. He was leaving for Ratnagiri the next morning. I had heard from a lot of people that Ratnagiri is the most beautiful patch of Konkan. My friend asked if I wanted to join him for a day’s trip and come back in the evening. Although it takes a lot longer to shoot good photos, I said why not for the sake of some fun!

It was a beautiful ride! We left early in the morning passing through the Sahyadri mountains (mornings are often very picturesque in these ranges), Karad, Patan, Ambaghat, the Mumbai Goa highway and finally came to the destination Ratnagiri!

My friend had to run some errands and by the time he was free it was five in the evening. We decided to go to Malvan, stay there over night and come back to Pune the next morning. At the hotel some one told me that Goa is just 3 hours from here and the next thing I remember was boarding the bus to Goa in the noon.

Goa is not a place where one should go alone. It’s a safe place but one needs company to enjoy the quite afternoons else it can get very boring during the day time. I don’t like to eat alone. I need company. So I decided to return to Pune in a day. I was in Goa for 24 hours and I enjoyed every bit of it.

First I took the ferry ride (which sucks btw). Next I started the hunt for the cheapest room in the Panjim and got one after a little struggle. I paid Rs. 200 for a single room with a bed and a table fan and a single electric point. I could either charge my camera or my cell phone or turn the fan on.

Next morning at 5:30 am I checked out of my grand hotel. From that point on I covered almost every bit of Panjim on foot. I visited the Fontainhas, Panjim, the Portuguese quarter of Goa .Beautiful architecture and vibrant shades of yellow, blue and red. What a fantastic site!! A perfect eye candy! I was hypnotized the whole morning clicking one building after another.

Carrying a heavy camera bag and a bag full of clothes, I was too tired. I had lunch and then I headed to old Goa. I came back to Church Square and took some photographs. So much of travel and fun made me tired and I needed to rest. After taking rest I boarded on the bus back to Pune. That was one heck of a trip!!

Goa! It’s about friends, fun and ferry rides. It’s about the beaches, beer and Bangda (the fish). It is indeed very beautiful, refreshing, vibrant and full of life. Goa is worth visiting at any time of the year. However, Goa’s true glory is in the winter.

Goa

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