Aug 06, 2010 11:12 AM
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Last week of July, I was invited for a Business IT Seminar at the Leela Kempinski Hotel at Goa. The invite came from a Company called “Saltmarch Media”. It reminded me of the lesson we had learnt in history about Gandhiji’s Salt March. I normally avoid accepting invitations to Seminars because they are sometimes so boring & talk talk, talk, this “Saltmarch Media” invitee seemed to captivate me, into accepting the Invitation. & the keenness with which the ‘Saltmarch media’ staff did the co-ordination & followed up with me at every stage, really made me feel quite elated. A special mention of one Mr. Roman & Ms. Alice, they two were constantly in touch with me, & speak in such a soft & respectful voice & helped me fill up the forms etc, making everything easy for me.
So came the day, I flew down to Goa to attend this seminar with another 50 to 100 more delegates. Little did I know, that the place I was going to was actually ‘Heaven’.
As soon as we landed, we were all welcomed by the Hotel Staff with a kum kum on our heads & a garland on our necks & a nice wicker basket with a sweet coconut in it. As we savored the sweet coconut ‘amrut jal’, we were warmly escorted into the Seminar Hall for registration & then whisked away into cute little buggies driven by the Bell Boys to our own individual cottages. I was surprised to note that they had taken the trouble of even removing all those Flight Stickers & tapes from the bags.
I skipped the High Tea on the Agenda, as I was curious to explore my room & the view from my balcony. The furniture was so majestic & arranged so well. My cottage had a large comfy Sitting room, a Cozy bedroom, two balconies & two bathrooms. There were two TV’s, Recorders, DVD Players, Fridge & the room was equipped with Everything you could possibly need ! And I think, Leela’s bathrooms are made for Kings & Queens, with such beautiful accessories all around, a large marble cabinet filled with sweet smelling soaps, shampoos, creams & all the toiletries. And added to it, there was a separate Shower Room, maybe, for those, who don’t like lying down in the tub, like me. Inside the cupboards were everything you could possible need, right from Bathrobes, Nightgowns, Soft Cushion Slippers, Iron, Ironing Table, Umbrella, it was like a treasure ! There were phones all over in every room. Art statues adorned the hall. The sofa sets were rich made of Wicker & soft cushioning. Cabinets were made of solid teak wood & artistically carved. Every piece of furniture was a work of Art by itself.
The thing I liked most was, that there were no Drapes, like in other hotels. Instead all windows had wooden venetian blinds, which you could easily open & close by just moving it up or down. The French Doors, also had the same wooden blinds. As I moved out into the balcony, I was astonished to see that there was a Stream outside both the balconies. & flowers & plants all over. The view of nature here was Breathtaking!!!!
I then got dressed in my tasteful outfit & went for the Opening Gala Dinner at the Aparanta Hall. There was a nice little ‘Illusion Magic show’ before dinner & it all had us laughing. I was surprised to note that we were only 3 girls in the whole crowd of nearly 100 odd delegates. By this time, I was real hungry & though I normally skip dinner’s (to maintain my figure), I just could not resist the delectable dinner awaiting us. There was such a huge variety of Soups, Salads, Main Course & Desserts, that people were actually standing & wondering which to take in their plates….Hehehehehe!!!! It was past 9.30 p.m., by the time we finished, & we were all driven to our respective cottages, in the cute little buggies. It was pitch dark, but the weather was so cool & the palm trees & thick greenery everywhere, was so enchanting, I felt like Cinderella, riding home in her horse stagecoach.
This was ‘Just’ the place for me, Nature, Art & Serenity with a Class of its own. Ah! What a Pleasure it was to sink into that big huge soft bed, clean & pristine white, & 4 huge soft pillows. & what a great difficulty it was getting out of bed the next morning with the Wake Up Call !!
This day was the main day of the Seminar, I was thinking of escaping back to my room, thinking that the seminar would be boring, but to my pleasant surprise, it was so interesting & so lively & the topics discussed was so fascinating, ‘Cloud Technology’. We hardly knew how time flew by and it was time again for a sumptuous meal, Lunch. Then there were one to one Discussions and surprisingly I found myself (my company) the most sought after for discussion with the sponsors / vendors. So well managed, each sponsor with his own table space & his small team, each having a lovely reception girls, waiting to escort you to the discussion table of each sponsor. I thought that this session of one to one discussions would hardly take much time, but I ended up being the last person leaving the Discussion room ! (Cattie was in Great Demand! hehehehe !!). All the others had very coolly gone to the exquisite Dinner Hall & the men were at the bar, enjoying themselves.
Really, Leela Kempenski, just does not fail to keep you enthralled, with their hospitability & perfection in everything they do. A Lovely Goan Band was bought in during dinner, & they had two wonderful female singers & the Drummer was too just good with his beats. The ladies sang old Portuguese & goan songs, some Jazz & some classic sentimental. I am a Music buff & the music was mesmerizing me. I ended up making friends with the two lady singers, who surprisingly complimented my outfit & asked me if it was from a designer!. No wonder that Conference photographer was following me all over & clicking away happily … hehehehe!!!
The next half day, we were given freedom to do what we wanted, till our flights in the evening. I seized the opportunity to do explore the entire grounds, alone, & savor each & every beauty of this Heavenly Hotel. I got up early, & was the first at breakfast buffet. Then, I went off on a walk across the lawns & little wooden bridges, all over, as there was a small stream running through the resort. The greenery was so thick, so lush & flowers blooming all over. Tall Palm trees & endless number of Coconut trees. Little cane shacks at each & every spot of beauty, to serve you drinks & coconut water. A Spa near a small neat swimming pool. There was a Bountiful Nature Treasure here to explore. I walked & walked, clicking away with my mobile camera, every lush tree, flower beds, river bridge, shacks & cottages. There was a road leading to the Mobor beach, which was happily dancing with huge white waves & foam & soft white sand beneath your feet.
This was Paradise personified ! While walking back from the beach, I saw a unique thing, a tree with a ‘tap’ & a ‘shower’. I was so flabbergasted, that I stood there nearly for 10 minutes, trying to figure out, how they made the tap, coming out of the tree bark and a shower on one of its branches, for the people who went swimming, to shower before going back. You must see this photo of that tree, which I am posting in this review.
