Goa... finally! (one place in India my Dad hasn't travelled to =p )

Last weekend, Joanna, Iman and Yamini headed WEST to Goa..the bus journeys (to and particularly, fro) were horrendous and I have taken the oath never to take a overnight bus around India again (unless trains don't go wherever).

And Goa was gorgeous..especially since we went to the idyllic South side of Goa..all the way to pretty Palolem. Not too many tourists but not too little for Palolem to not have shops either. ..and the food, was HEAVENLY..Masala Omelettes, Banana Pancakes, SweetLime Juice, TEA for brunch..Seeeaaaaffoooddddddd and Kingfisher Beer for night..awesome stuff.

We ended up fighting twice with ppl from the service industry in Palolem..We had a semi-accident with our scooter when we returned from Old Goa (7hrs driving on a scooter, yeah major butt-massage, and had a HUGE red helmet)..the semi-accident resulted in semi-fights with the scooter owners back at Palolem beach.
We also fought with the nice waiter at the seafood restaurant, but we were RIGHT. He said 'Tiger prawns, baked tandoori style, 6 for hundred" We double-checked, became psyched (naturally), ate well, and even fed the last prawn to the dog at our table. The Bill for the tiger prawns came 'Rs 400'...the waiter said 6 prawns FOUR hundred..this is what happens when people don't talk well..it's 6 prawns FOR four hundred, FOR heavens' sake! Well, the manager cut the entire Rs400 from our bill, but we're not cheap of course, so we paid Rs200 for them instead =p

Anyway, about Palolem..it's unlike Calangute and other beaches at North Goa which are party-centrals. Palolem beach lies in a beautiful sheltered bay, with Canacona island at the left side and another offshoot of the land at the right. The tide goes out waaayyyy out in the afternoons..which means u can see loads of tiny tiny crabs and wade across to the beach at Canacona island and lie on the beach, and have the creepy dog stare at you. If u're the kind who tends to easily get bored after a delicious 15minute nap in the sun (i.e. someone like me), I recommend a BOOK. I didn't re-commit my usual beach mistake and brought Rushdie's Midnight's Children along (recommendation by Triin! =)) Sure as hell keeps you un-bored.

And in case I didn't stress it enough, Palolem was gorgeous. Worth many re-visting trips. The crowd is not so great though, no parties at night, not as many chatty tourists, but it's a nice place to get re-acquainted with urself. And paying Rs200 a night for a beach-hut facing the sea full-on is REALLY a steal. Worth the friking 15hour bus journey, for sure. Enough said, PICTURE TIME!


Pictures taken on the way to Old Goa and at Old Goa. And some scenes from Palolem beach. Buffaloes, Curvy Trees, big RED motorbike helmet that couldn't fit into the scooter compartment.


Yeah,the trees are as green as they look here

This weekend, I'm staying in Bangalore. It's shopping-capital and I haven't gone shopping in 5 weeks. Now that's saying something.