Sun sand and the beaches.. Goa, part 1

“Just got for it girl, go on , have a lovely time” was all it took to convince me that i can make the trip on my own... Was used to travelling alone, and so this was nothing new... where was i headed? Goa....

Accommodation: Taken care of, it was the birthday gift from Anita...

Transportation: I had to just book train tickets... rest of it will happen as I land in Goa....

The date was set... I was booked on 30^th Oct, in the sleeper Class in the Chennai Margao train, leaving Chennai central at 1.45pm, and reach Margao, Goa around 12.30pm next day [yep, nearly 24hrs, and it plies only on Fridays from Chennai and Goa] !!! Wasn’t really sure what to expect on the train, but what i did see and enjoy beats anything that could have envisioned up in my head... initially the coach was empty, but soon filled up, and I even managed to make 2friends, a guy and a gal travelling to Goa, their 1^st time as well.. We shared tit bits, news, wondered about food on the train, shouted when we crossed tunnels, swapped chips and drinks through our windows ... good fun... J

Dhoodhsagar falls that is a sight for sore eyes.. supp to be even more beautiful during rainy season...

Heart was beating fast, and a new sense of excitement filled me as i landed in Goa... An elderly gentleman helped me find a cab to Bardez, near Calangute, which is where Sterling Sunshine Park Resort was [this was their leased accommodation].. 

Church of our Lady of the Immaculate Conception facade, Panaji. Goa

Took nearly an hour, but the roads were beautiful, some going up, others winding down. The cabbie was my tour guide, pointing out to places, temples and even the wholesale fish market near Panjim, which i crossed a zillion times during my stay in Goa.

Checked into my room, and fuelled myself with some lunch before heading off to explore the town, and figure out if there were any city tours that i could hop onto.  Decided to just hop on the local bus to Calangute market[ here buses are super comfy, they stop at the sight of a person on the road, small buses, and cost of ticket was Rs5], found a travels guy, spent an hour yakking away, and booked myself on 2 tours- the North Goa and South Goa. Thought that was the best way to get a feel of the town, and make the most of the 4days I was there. Fernandez, an interesting man shared information about Goa, his experiences in other parts of the country and about Chennai as well.

Renowned  for its shimmering beaches, architecturally rich churches, beautiful temples, not to forget feni, sinful local delights and water adventures, Goa sure lived up to its fame!!!  I never thought I would enjoy myself this much.. With advice and suggestions from friends, i was armed with enough information and looked forward to exploring ever inch of this town... J

Sunday morning 8.30am I was ready and waiting for the North Goa tour bus.... Around the bend i saw the orange colour of the bus appear, that was to be my ride for the day... I was the only one travelling alone, which was a surprise to many!!!  

The 1^st stop for the day was Dolphin cruise in the ocean, near Fort Aguada... What fun it was..  we were taken into the ocean, to a spot where Dolphins frequent, and waited for half hour before one made an appearance. They teased us , jumping into the water showing only their fins... There were about 10boats, and the minute another boat saw a dolphin all would rush to that spot [am sure the dolphins were playing a game of cat and mouse with us] ,like this the tour continued for an hour... we ended up spotting about 4dolphins.. but the sights and scenes around were worth the ride... mountains filled with lush greenery, the Fort aguada sitting majestically on top, the old and new light house.. 

The Goa jail [which was underground] and the Diamond smugglers’ palace on the mountain... Wow... beautiful~!!!

From there, we drove on to spend a few mins at the famous Dil Chahta Hai’s Fort Aguada...

Would have been fun had it not been blazing hot... Click click and back in the bus onto Vagator Beach – beautiful... Noticed that in goa,  beaches don’t have direct access, unlike in Chennai!!! Vagator has us climbing up and over quite a few steps.... rugged path.. rocky.. but picturesque..

Following that we stopped at a govt authorized booze store for those who wanted to load up on local  stuff... urs truly also bought some!!! ;) Go to goa and  not bring back Port wine and Feni..!!! tsk tsk..  J Following that we headed to Anjuna beach, called the Rocky beach, it is famous for Wednesday flea market... 

if you enlarge the pic, you can see a dog taking shelter right under the shade near the rock

This woman was from a nearby village.. asked to pose for a pic, she gave a big smile and said i will, but you should but something from my shop...!! Bot a pouch a bracelet... 

Risk it and find your way to the beach, but on the shore, you find a lot of locals selling stuff – bags, trinkets, T shirts, temporary goa tattoo and booze.... i did come back here to do a bit of shopping and lounge at Curlies [highly recco. by a friend of mine]...  

...... where else did I go? read on.......