Probably the best destination to start off with, Goa is one of the most sought after locations in India. Millions of tourists across the globe come over to Goa to have a glimpse of the nature at its best. From beaches to mountains, pubs to churches, Goa has it all. The best time to visit Goa is between November and February as the weather is pretty good and the beaches are electrifying specially in the evening when all shacks are open and alcohol flows like water. Tourism is at its peak during this time and so are the expenses. While you would not want to miss out on such an experience, I will talk about a different experience altogether.
20-22th August 2011
I took a bus from Hyderabad and reached Goa early morning on 20th. August is the time when it’s raining badly there. The beaches are closed (you won’t find shacks, pubs or even lights on some of the beaches). However, one of my friends who works as an area sales manager for Kingfisher in Goa suggested me to try it out and find out what’s more in Goa than the so called hyped beaches. A third friend joined us from Mumbai on 20th morning and we were a small old group of old buddies ready to unveil GOA.
We started off from Panjim and headed to Chapora fort (20kms from Panjim – on Vagator beach) where the famous scenes of Dil Chahta Hai were shot. 
Chapora fort is one of the most beautiful forts of the country with a panoramic view of the beautiful Vagator beach. The most important point is to ensure that you cross the fort and go towards the rocky side near the beach to have a better view (you might as well get to see some peacocks). Since the downpour was heavy we decided to leave the fort and headed towards a pub. On our way to the pub we took a diversion and went to Morjim beach. To my surprise, the beach was totally vacant and there was not even a single person around. The roar of the sea hitting the shore was ecstatic. We decided to pull out a chair and enjoy a drink in the drizzle before we head to the pub.
The next day we started at around 9am and headed towards Agonda and Palolem (the southernmost beaches of Goa). It is a long journey from Panjim (almost 75-80 kms, 2 hours drive) but the drive is more thrilling than the beach as it marks the beginning of the western ghats. We reached Agonda at around 11 and could actually coun
t the number of people on the beach. However Palolem was a bit more crowded and some of the permanent shacks were open as well. We had an awesome lunch (try shrimps and squids) at Draupadi restaurant. On any normal day, Palolem is one of the busiest beaches with lots of buzz around (kayaking, boating, parasailing etc.) but during this time of the year one would not find many activities happening. Transportation to some remote islands (butterfly and honeymoon islands) are shut off as well. However, we decided to walk along the beach towards a rocky side. We lazed around on the boulders rejuvenating with the splash of the sea water bang on our faces. A quality time spent in the lap of nature away from the hullabaloo of the otherwise crowded Goa. We headed back towards Panjim and had an awesome dinner at the Martin’s Corner in Madgao (supposedly Sachin Tendulkar’s favourite restaurant). Post dinner we spent some time here and there in some pubs (not worth mentioning :P)
The third and the last day was the most exciting day of the trip. We woke up early and left for the Chorla Ghats at around 6a.m. Chorla is about 60 km from Panjim on the border of Goa and Karnataka. The ghats offer excellent landscapes, waterfalls and lush green surroundings especially in the rainy season. We had our own car (it’s advisable to travel by car as it drizzles most of the time) .
The route is thrilling and risky as well during rainy season. However the drive is totally worth it. We stopped at a wooden guest house to have some tea and view a beautiful waterfall at a distance. Accidentally my friend’s BlackBerry slipped out of his hands into the woods. He rushed down the cliff searching the phone. Luckily we managed to find out the BB after sometime unaware of the fact that there was a beautiful green pit viper watching crazy people like us running around. We had some tea and spent some time clicking some good photographs and then returned back.
The journey was short, but undoubtedly a memorable experience.Time to head back to our normal routine but with a fresh thought. It is very essential to have the right company in every journey. The experience magnifies when you cherish those memories later writing blogs like this.
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