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Published: November 15th 2007
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Goa
arambol- beautiful. Getting to Goa was a chore worth mentioning briefly-
We took a 16hr sleeper train from Jodhpur to Mumbai: so far so good. It was as good as a 16hr train journey can be...
Then we spent 2hrs in the blistering heat and humidity of the hottest place in creation (i.e Mumbai) trying in vain to book a train, before relenting and buying an over-priced bus ticket leaving later that evening.
So one substandard lunch later and we were preparing to board the bus...or so we thought...
Ultimately, we arrived in Goa 21hrs later, having waiting 3hrs on the foot path- as the bus was delayed- and then having sat for 18hrs on the back seat (cue whiplash & slipped disks) of a non-ac, non-luxury, non-worth-the-money bus- 7hrs longer than anticipated.
But we made it!!!!
(It was actually boarderline enjoyable at some points because it really is beautiful there, all jungle and palm tree groves and traditional farms).
The first of the beach side resorts we visited is called Arambol and it's the most northerly developed beach in the state. It was/is paradise. Diving into the Arabian Sea after 2mths of North Indian heat was incredible. We
Goa
The Arabian Sea got dirt cheap accomodation a stone's throw away from the beach and settled down to a couple of days eating and relaxing. But mostly eating. The food was amazing and the sea food is literally caught and brought from the boat to the restaurants in front of your eyes. The "resort" itself is entirely composed of bamboo shacks that are rebuilt after the monsoon each year and at night every where is lit up with fairy lights and candles. It is a real hippie town with a very chilled out vibe and each evening dozens of people converge on the beach with guitars and drums to sing and dance...very cool.
From there we headed to what was apparently the centre of the Goan rave scene, but arrived off- season and subsequently found another (very different) paradise. Vagator- the village in question- is set on a small cliff over-looking a stunning section of coastline and we stayed in a guest house with beautiful jungle gardens. We managed to find a small rave on the first night (it ended at 10pm!) that was open-air and had a sea view and, it was nice because there was a lightning storm taking place
Goa
Vagator- the storm's brewing... just out to sea that created a kind of natural strobe system! After a dance or two we headed to the beach to watch the storm and night swim. The following night was a wash out when a massive tropical storm erupted and we were home bound for several hours. From nowhere, a few drops of rain turned into torrential sheets of it that flooded our garden within minutes. The thunder and lightning were unreal and were right above are guest house. The owners said they had never seen anything like it before (neither had we!) and it was actually quite scary but spectacular also. Rain was a sight to behold after 2mths of seeing not a drop.
The following morning we waded out of the guest house and headed to the capital city, Panjim where myself and Dec took a four-day scuba diving course (i am now officially a qualified PADI Open Water Scuba Diver of course!). This was one of the coolest things i have ever done and i was very proud of myself for not being scared underwater, it was an unexpected achievement. We had two days of theory and pool sessions before having two days
Goa
The storm hits!! of open ocean dives. We dived off the coast of an offshore island called Grande Island where there was a pretty impressive reef. We saw pufferfish, sea cucumbers, urchins, lobsters, different kinds of coral and many different kinds of tropical fish- it felt like being inside an aquarium tank and it was quite surreal the first time. Best of all, on our second dive a dolphin showed up, jumping out of the water and playing. I didnt get to touch it because it was just too far away from us but it was amazing knowing he was in there with us! I now have major plans for future dives in more exotic locations!......
We ended up staying several days longer here than we'd intended, after i got ill, but thankfully it is probably one of India's nicest cities. As a former Portuguese colony the city has a very Mediterranean feel to it and Goa is completely different to and a lot more laid back than much of the rest on the country.
But the food wasn't nearly as nice as in the coastal resorts, so on my recovery we headed south to Palolem...the most beautiful beach of all.
Goa
Palolem. Palolem has a really long unbroken stretch of sand, fringed with thick palm tree groves and has an island just off the coast that you can almost swim to. We stayed in a little hut on stilts on the beach, surrounded by palm trees and about 50m from the water- beautiful. It was a lot busier than the previous beaches we'd visited but it wasn't so crowded as to be annoying or spoilt. We spent our last week in India here swimming every day and eating delicious seafood, relaxing and doing absolutely nothing.
Goa was /is a very beautiful and fun part of India but at the same time it was so different to the rest of India it was hard to believe we were still in the same country at all! For people who just see Goa and miss the rest it is a real shame; but for us to end such an amazing and crazy 10wks on such a high was perfect.
Next stop: Bangkok, Thailand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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