PART-I
When you are just married,and decide to live with someone forever,you also want to share every moment of your life with him.A honeymoon is just another clandestine concept after marriage,which you have to have,so that ,you might be able to tell about it,but for us,it was not exactly that way.After marriage we were living alone,in Bangalore,and so we already had our days of togetherness,but this was something different.I had toured almost all of India during my college days except south India,and that too with college friends and juniors.It was an old wish to go together with my husband only,to any place,which was a different experience.
After much dilly dallying,and consulting friends and relatives,sharing and rejecting ideas,we finally decided to give Goa a go.Both of us were apprehensive,and so we decided to have a short trip of 3 nights and 4 days,because we were not sure we would like the place enough to stay there for a whole week.We booked a luxury room with a package,in a 3 star resort,the name of which is soul stirring-Soul Vacation.Since the flight timing did not match with our check- in time,we decided to go by bus,and come back by flight.Accordingly,we boarded the AC Sleeper coach from race course and at 9:30 at night,we set off.It was a beautiful journey,and both of us together enjoyed the sights at night all through our journey.It was quite comfortable,though my husband was a bit skeptical as to such a long journey by bus,but even he seemed appeased.My worries became few.
Next day morning,it might have rained late at night,my husband woke me up at 7 o clock to show me a beautiful sight-we were traveling through dense forest,and at each turning,it was a hair pin bend,on one side it was a gorge,and on the other,the mighty majestic Western Ghats.Spellbound,we could only let our eyes and camera follow the whole trail of dense tress and shrubs.We were leaving Karnataka,and entering Goa by the NH17.Already the surroundings had started to change,the architecture of the houses that stood were changing to typical Goan or shall we say,Portuguese architecture.I was loving every moment of it.At 8 o clock,we alighted at a beautiful restaurant to have our breakfast,earlier the only break was at 12 0 clock night for a dinner break.After that,we again started and finally some of us got down at Margao,as we were to stay in Colva,which is just 7 km from Margao city.The last stop for the bus was Panjim.
We were whisked away by a chauffeur driven Toyota Innova to our resort.It took 15 minutes and we were there before our check in time of 12:45.It was just 11:45 then.We decided to have a look around and so,left our luggage at the reception,where,we were told,our room was being made ready.
PART-II
The sun was shining hard,and it was just 500 m away from the beach where we lodged.It was necessary for us to buy a hat for myself and a cap for my husband,and we set to work,bargaining with the lady of the nearby shop.There were many foreigners,in fact there were few Indians there.It was altogether a different price game for the foreigners.
We slowly walked to the beach amidst other tourists and the regular hackling of local people for going para sailing,or scooter riding,or dolphin viewing,or renting a car.We gave the usual replies,that we had just arrived and are in no hurry to go away soon and we will definitely contact them.Many of them still followed us to the beach,we were unperturbed,and amusingly saw the foreigners trying to explain to them or inquiring after them seriously.
The beach was beautiful,calm and,most of all, not crowded,for,in India,in any place that you visit during peak seasons,you will get everything but peace of mind,as there is always a great crowd to be reckoned with.Thankfully,this place was a far cry from such a regular affair,and we were relieved and happyat our choice of stay.
At 12:15 we came back to our resort,only to be told that we had to wait for another half an hour,as our room was still being made ready.We were hungry,thirsty,and tired after the 14 hours long travel,and still more,we were quite burnt out by the sun for the short time that we stayed on the beach.Sensing our mental and physical state of mind,the staff served us with a refreshing mock tail.It was then that I remembered that a welcome drink was included in our package.Just to think we forgot all about it!!!I cursed myself for not having remembered it,at the same time thankful that they actually remembered it and served in time.
At 12:45,with hunger and fatigue gnawing at our bodies,(and we did not even have a proper breakfast as it was so early in the morning that we last stopped for breakfast)we finally made our way to our room,climbing up almost 10 steps,(the risers of which felt too high for me),and entered our room.The man servant wished us a happy stay and closed the door behind us.
The room was beautiful,clean,truly luxurious,just as we saw in their website.The size of the room was almost 500 sq ft,with a separate writing table,a separate siting area with a table,and a separate cupboard with a mini fridge with well stocked bottles of juices and liquors.There was also a water kettle for boiling water and all arrangements for having coffee or tea at your own leisure.I was elated,but the actual part was still not surveyed-the toilet.
It is my habit to scrutinize the toilet first of all whenever I go to any place,and this toilet did not disappoint me.Well stocked toiletries,gels,and shampoos,moisturizers,vanity kit,sewing kit,comb,paste,everything was provided.Soft white towels were kept on the basin area and large soft white ones at the shower area.Bathrobes,white,hung on a wall.The Water Closet was sanitized.There was a large cupboard where laundry bag and other things were kept,we also had a in room safe where we could keep our precious belongings safe.I was DELIGHTED.So was my husband,I was sure from the look on his face.Quickly we had a long refreshing shower and then ordered lunch,most of them sea food,by room service.My husband immediately after lay flat on the white soft bed and began surfing the television,I was admiring the view we had from the windows in our rooms,well covered by white blinds.The food was delicious,to say the least,and all was in perfect harmony.
PART III
After lunch,we had a good days nap,and when we woke,it was almost past seven.Quickly we dressed,and went downstairs,had some pleasantries exchanged with the reception desk,kept our key and went out to the beach.It was lovely....the water was warm,and we removed our shoes and walked barefooted along the beach as we had never walked before,my husband,averse to long walks,or any kind of walking for that matter,even was not complaining.The sea looked beautiful at night,with the white phosphorous waves lapping our feet happily now and then.After some exhaustive walking,watching the little population enjoying themselves by the beach,and watching the brightly lit beach shacks along the beach,we sat down in the wet sand,oblivious to what was happening to our clothes.It was a time for carelessness,and I couldn't care less.That day,we decided to have our dinner also at the resort,and had a candle lit dinner on the tables that were laid out,within a beautiful mediterrenean architectural set up.The pristine white of the resort and the swaying palms made us feel at sea,and provided a perfect backdrop for a leisurely dinner.The service,was excellent,and the staff at their best,occasionally chit chatting with us as they served us dinner.The foreigners were at the sunset bar,sipping drinks,some laid down,and some,like us,were dining.The day was quite hectic for us,and we decided to sleep early,so that we could go early morning to the beach and spent most of our time there,this time,by being wet.
PART III
The next day,we got up,not real early,for my husband's view of a holiday was to get up when you wanted,so we got up at our own sweet time,had breakfast down,and then came up again.I wore my new swim suit that I had so fondly bought in Bangalore,and my husband put on his swimming trunks.We dashed off to the beach.I was wearing a T-Shirt over my frock type costume,as the dress was cut deep down,and I was sceptical of the middle aged Indian men folks at the beach.Together we frolicked on the waves,often hit and run down by the big splashes.I was determined not to let my hair get wet,but then the sea can read your mind,and it made a point when a huge wave passed over me and I was standing,wet,from top to bottom.A foreigner lady came near us and was telling me something,I could not hear what.As she came near me,she gestured towards me and told' open your shirt'.I was surprised because all this time i was thinking she was asking me to mind my dress.So when I heard what she actually said,I was happy,and opened my shirt.She came near me and told me'You look very good.Why are you wearing the shirt?Keep it open.'Then she joined us from a distance and started frolicking like us.We were thoroughly enjoying ourselves by then.It was already noon and we decided to go back and have a dip in the pool of our resort.Back there,we got down and I refreshed my swimming skills there.My husband was afraid that at 5'8",he would get drowned in water of maximum depth 5'5",and he never budged from the idea.Nevertheless,we got up,went to our rooms,had a good shower and by the time we went down to have lunch we were hungry enough to eat a horse!As soon as we finished,we jumped into bed and were soon fast asleep.In the evening when we woke up,we decided to have dinner by the beach shacks which so many of my friends had recommended,and we chose one,called Bob's Shack.We had the best lobster of our life,beautifully decorated,and one was enough for the two of us.We also tasted Kaju Fenni,a local popular drink made from Cashewnuts,and it was very good.Later,when we took our trip to North Goa the next day,the guide informed us that Kaju Fenni was not only popular as a drink,but also used extensively to cure bad colds,and joint pains.The owner of Bob's Shack was a young man,(though I am not sure whether is name is Bob),and when we were talking in our mother tongue,he asked us whether we were from Kolkata,as he understood we were Bengalis,and informed us that he himself was from Guwahati.Now my husband's brother is pursuing his PhD from IIT,Guwahati,and so we felt an instant connection although we never went there.Just thinking of someone who came from the eastern region made us feel warm and we engaged in a free wheeling chat with the guy.The waves in front splashing and the candle on our table made it the perfect candle-lit dinner which I have always dreamt of,and have often seen in movies.To see it come true was what excited me the most.Strolling by the beach after dinner,we felt a bit sad that we had only one day left and so much to see.
PART IV
We waked up early the next day,and I was feeling tired and wanted some more sleep,but we had to be ready by 9:30 for our guided tour of North Goa.Later we saw that everybody was taking their own sweet time to get ready and have breakfast and we were the two foolish eager children all decked up and raring to go before 9:30.So when we boarded the bus and the bus picked up other people from different hotels,we found ourselves again at our hotel for the last couple to be picked up,and you can well imagine our annoyance.Nevertheless,our tour began and the whole day we took boat rides to catch a glimpse of Dolphins in the sea,midway,the Portuguese Aguada Fort,sea beaches of Vagator,Anjuna,Calangute,and Baga.We saw some beautiful villas and I wished I could buy one by the beach side.Even to this day I cherish a secret desire of owning a bungalow in Goa.Each beach had character of its own,some rocky,some rough,some calm,I had never seen more varieties in beaches at one place.The much publicized Calangute Beach was so crowded we wanted to run away from it.Nothing like home,I thought.Of course, by that I meant Colva Beach and its resort,since we were still in Goa.
At the day's end,during evening,we went abroad the Cruiser Swastik,for a one hour cruise,with songs and dances performed by the locals.The dances were good,but the songs were pathetic and all were hindi songs remixed,the ones that they sang were very badly pronounced,and so we hoped to see more dances.They even made couples and children come on stage and dance along with their songs.When they asked for newly married couples to come up on stage,we just skipped raising our hands and were amused to see other couples go up and shake a leg,some willingly,others,quite unwillingly.We were just happy to see them fool around and enjoyed the breeze and the setting sun.
When we returned,we were dead tired,but as it was our last night,we thought we would go to dine downstairs and have a talk with the staff who so devotedly served us.Dinner was a pleasure,as the staffs greeted us and wished us back whenever we came to Goa.The service,as usual,was very good,and we took snaps of the night lighting around us as we sat for our last candle light dinner in the resort.
The next day,when we were being driven by the chauffeur to the airport,I badly wished we could stay on for another week.So much to see,and so little time!But I am determined to come back,at least once,again,to Goa,the heavenly beaches,the beautiful people and the tranquility that it has to offer to any soul.
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