GOA - Its beautiful. Review on Goa

I visited Goa just on 17th March'07. We were total five people i.e. my mother, father, brother, wife, my 1year old baby & myself. We left Mumbai by Jan shatabdi at 5:30 am. We had got the hotel bookings in one of the GTDC hotel i.e. Panaji Residency. The bookings were made nearly 20 days before by a GTDC agent in mumbai. To reach our hotel (Panaji residency) we had to get down at Thivim Station instead of Margaon. At Thivim station we took a pre-paid taxi which took us to our hotel. It was really very hot at that time.It was already 2:00 pm by the time we reached the hotel. Since we didn't had anything to eat in the train so after getting into our rooms we came down to 1st floor of the hotel where there is a restaurant called "Ruchira". We had our food & went to our rooms to rest.The restaurant is very neat & clean & the food served is really good. In the evening we went walking around the hotel.

The Panaji Residency overlooks the wide expanse of the Mandovi River and gives you beautiful views of the city of Panaji. The landmark of the city is the Majestic Church of Immaculate Conception, built in 1541. We came to know that this is the same church which is seen in the Shahrukh Khan & Aishwarya Rai movie"Josh".After returning to the hotel we booked an A/C Travera for sightseeing. The manager at the hotel helped us with the bookings. So the next day we decided to go to North Goa & the next day to South. The manager told us that it will cost Rs 3000 for both the trip. We agreed to it as we wanted to hire a private vehicle since I had my baby.

The next day we got ready & started for North Goa at 10:00 am. We started with the Vagator beach. The beach is clean. After a halt of 10-15 minutes we left the beach. The places we saw were Anjuna beach, Calangute beach, Baga beach, Aguada fort. Calangute beach is the most popular beach of Goa. We went for a boat ride (per head Rs 100), it was really thrilling. Aguada Fort at present, houses the central jail. the upper part is for the tourist & the basement is used as the central jail. A 19th century built lighthouse is situated inside the fortress but it does not work. This is what we covered in North Goa. We had to hurry back as we had booked our tickets for the cruise (per head Rs 150). We reached our hotel by 5:45 pm got fresh & left for the cruise. we had booked tickets for "Paradise cruise". At about 6:15 pm the cruise left.

The cruise people had arranged lots of programmes like traditional dance of Goa. It was a 1hr sail. Our hotel was at walking distance so we came back walking. We had our dinner at "Ruchira".The next day we planned for South goa. we started with Dona Paula. Then we went to miramar beach. Our next destination was the church Basilica of Bom Jesus.The mortal remains of St Francis Xavier are kept inside. The next church we saw was Se Cathedral & Museum of christian art. Then we went to the Manguesh temple & shantadurga temple. We had our lunch at sahakari spice farm. At the gate itself u have to buy tickets (per head Rs 300). At the entrance we were welcomed with traditional Aarti, Kumkum and Garlands/ flowers. Then we were made to sit in the restaurant and a welcome drink i.e. lemongrass tea & Cashew-nuts is given to each of us. After  refreshing , the guide takes us around the plantation for a visit. He showed us many spice plants. After returning from the plantation we went to the restaurant for lunch. We were given "Kaju feni"  for drinking . then we had lunch which is served in the form of buffet with a large variety of delicious Goan dishes comprising of Fish, Chicken and Vegetables, all cooked in typical village style.

After food, a large variety of fresh seasonal fruits are served. After lunch we went for shopping. At the sales counter one can buy spices, medicinal ointments & oils & much more. Our experience at Sahakari spice farm was really wonderful. I think one should visit this place once.After sahakari spice farm we went to Colva beach. Stayed there for some time & left for our hotel.The next day we had our flight from Dabolim airport.Our trip to Goa was really wonderful. the city is well planned. there is not much traffic on the roads.