Tuesday, October 07, 2003

Back after a long vacation at Goa. Goa is THE place for a laid back vacation - beaches, babes and beer. We (friends from KREC - had to convince quite a few about thier last bachelor vacation ;-) ) took 5 days off and travelled to Goa by a Tata Sumo. Please book your tickets in advance as you would have to do the same as we did. Seemingly, the best option would be to go to Mangalore by bus and reach Mlore the next day morning. Catch the Konkan railway early morning ( the view is gorgeous) and reach Goa in the afternoon. We decided at the last moment and had to be content with the Sumo. Also we booked our acco at Ronil Royale b4 we left blore.
Talking of Ronil Royale, it is right next to the baga beach/tetos and is a great value for money hotel. Also you get continental food which tastes exxxxcelent and to top it, the great service. Seriously speaking, hotels around the country should learn from the service in Goa. It is par excellence. (it is the same story everywhere in Goa).
The trip itself - if it is for the vacation, i wd suggest that u skip the temples and the churches. If time is a constraint, Baga, Dando, Vagator beaches are a must. Baga - for playing, Dando - for playing with less crowd around, and vagator for the view. Also make it a point to reach the beaches early morning for the first round of playing (around 6.30 - 9.30). They get really hot in the afternoon.
The forts - Chapora, Aguada are good for a evening sunset. The mayem lake is really good for a paddle boat ride in the evening. Visit the dona paulo in the late morning (11.00 am) types for the scooter and boat rides.
Then coming to the nights, it is really heaven for the boozards. Go anywhere and u will find booze. Fenny is cheaper than water - can u believe it?? Try out the bacardi breezer in all its flavors ( i am not sure whether u would get it in such quantity anywhere else). It is quite an innovation - tasty with the same alcohol content as beer.

The lowlights - no adventure sports as they are putting together some regulations for safety and insurance. Also the so called "cruise" was a letdown. Probly try out Santa Monica cruise - looked better atleast. Also we didn't try out the south goa beaches - especially valvo, miramar - probly not required as this was as good as it could have got. Another thing - dont ever try to go by a sumo if you r not driving or u r sure about the driver.

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