Go, Go, Gooaa!!. Review on Goa

I have a special relationship with Goa since this is the place I started my career at. Way back in Aug 1993, I landed up in Vasco-da-Gama to undergo I basic officers training at the Indian Naval Academy in Betim near Panaji. All I knew about Goa was what was depicted in the movies(it turned out that all I knew about the Navy too was what was shown in the Movies!!). So I was on a high imagining the beautiful life with all the good looking women in town falling flat on this young officer whenever he visited town.

One week into basic training and you wont believe it that whenever any of us where lucky enough to actually make it to town on Satudarys/Sundays (if we werent on KP that is!!) women or the high life were the last things on our minds!! Each and everyone of us headed for the first available Hotel to gorge ourselves silly!!!(ahhh..how we relished the absolutely delicious Bibinca!!)...If any body doubts Maslow's theory of the need hierachy, I suggest he take a walk to the nearest Services Academy where ''the boys go in and the MEN come out!!''

:)

Anyway my adventures at Naval Academy probably will take up a whole article!! so I'll let it be. The important point I want to make here is that the sojourn at NAVAC(as it is called) has left many gaps in my memory!! So please bear with me if I dont quote the names of the places too accurately!!

:)

Coming down to Brass Tacks(yeah, U can take the man out of the Navy, but not the Navy out of the Man!!)...Goa!!

How to Get There

Goa is in the Western Ghats--south of Mumbai and North of Kochi. It is accessible by Air, Rail and Road. Panaji, the capital is accessible only by road. Both the Airport (Dabolim) and the Railhead (Vasco-da-Gama) are in the city of Vasco (some 35 odd kms from Panaji)

The People and Climate

Never ever believe what you see in the movies!! The people are gentle and very helpful with a laid back attitude. Definitely not the Hip Flask flaunting type made so (in)famous by Hindi movies!

The climate is mostly humid...when its not pouring cats and dogs that is!!!

:D

When to be there and What to Do

The best time to visit Goa is between October and Feb. Thats the official tourist season ending with the Carnival in Feb.Obivously during this time there is a huge crowd and everything sells at a premium.

While there ofcourse you need to check out all the beaches....the ones north of Panjim(Baga,Anjum,Bogmalo, Vagator...are my favs as the beaches are neat and not so crowded....there is a cute small beach in Vasco..it has a 3 star Hotel...I dont remember if it is Baga or Bogmalo....on this beach you have a shop called John's...the best sea food U can have in Vasco...not to mention that he plays some cool rock music in the background!!!...but then its a rather small and quieter beach....You can hire bikes/cars there for getting around. They are pretty affordable. Apart from that obiviusly you need to go to the Bom Jesus Church which is magnificient and where the body of St. Francis Xavier is kept. Opposite the church is a musuem(if I remember correctly). Both these structures are world heritage monuments. Goa is literally ''littered''(??!!!) with churches of various shapes and sizes and all of them are cute and quaint. Ofcourse Goa is not just ''Christian'' and you have the very famous Mangesh Temple in the South. Unfortunately I have not been able to explore the whole of Goa and consequently cannot offer advice. The best way to go about seeing Goa is to do in 2 stages and take the official tours available by bus. The first day they take you across places North of Panaji and the second day you can go across the places South of Panaji.

Places to Stay

Panaji is a better choice as its well connected to other towns. Hotel Mandovi and Park View are good places though Mandovi is a bit on the steep side. However, there is enough choice of hotels/motels to suit any kind of budget.

Things to Buy

Wine. Terracota stuff.

Must Do's

Be sure to take the river cruise on the Mandovi river in the evenings.Its loads of fun with lots of folk music.

And surely you must have a taste of Goan Fish Curry 'N Rice!! And while wine is fine I found the so much hyped Feni a real letdown(and a real stinker too!!)

:)

A Word of Caution

Dont ever believe (whatever the Wine Store guy tells you!!) that you will be able to take booze out of the state. Wine is fine, but hard liquour is absolutely not allowed to be taken out of the state even though the shop keeper might sell you a ''permit'' to do so. If you are caught, the cops will mercilessly smash all the bottles!!

You have been warned!!

:D