A good Goan beach shack makes you feel comfortable |
A blog titled ‘Calanguta to Baga’ describing the hub of North Goa had been a great success when I wrote in 2010 (http://rohin-arora.blogspot.in/2010/02/calangute-to-baga.html). Since then we have been to Goa several times but now five years later we were back in the same hotel at Calangute and amongst the same eateries we had loved half a decade back. Things had changed considerably since then and unfortunately most of it was for the worse.
Road under repair
We had hired a car which was delivered to me at the Airport.
Self driven option is a boon but only possible when you stay in North Goa. Taxi
Unions of south Goa are very troublesome and don’t let you hire cars so that
they could charge whatever they wish for even short rides. The drive was very smooth till we reached Calangute
but as we turned towards Baga, the dug up roads and huge sewer pipers stared at
us . Not only did they look ugly but
driving on them was tough considering that unruly traffic attacked you from all
sides while the car hobbled around the craters. Goa roads were not meant for heavy traffic but SUV's were all over the place. Sewer lines were being put in
place to augment the infrastructure in this area. And the work had been going on since a
long time. “This is nothing,” a local told me. “Next year the entire Candolim
road would be in this state.” A warning which we much heed before planning a
holiday.
Only Nostalgia Remains
Hotel Vila Goesa
seemed a bit run down since the last time we were here. Or it could be that our standards have gone
up considerably and we are now used to staying at better appointed places. Each
time we have stayed here, it had been full of foreigners and young people from
Mumbai. The crowd looked much different now with hardly any foreigners and many
families from South India and Gujarat. A family had come in a Mercedes and another in Audi. They were constantly fighting with management about parking space. I couldn't understand why they were staying here.
The biggest advantage Vila Goes has is the direct approach
to the beach through a path created under the swaying palms. As you look up you can see the green coconuts
on these palms and I had to warn the children to be careful as the falling
coconuts are bigger killers than shark attacks worldwide. They did laugh me off
but I was just quoting an expert on this issue who had stated that while Sharks
kill at an average of 5 people a year,
falling coconuts kill around 150.
Beaches are not deserted at nights |
As we walked towards the beach the same evening as we
arrived, the first shack to welcome us was strangely called the ‘Love shack.’
It had no hidden corners nor did it have dim lights so I really don’t know why
they gave it such a name. As you start
walking on the soft sand and you look all around, each meter of space seemed to
be occupied by the shacks. We walked to ‘Souza Lobo’ on Calangute for our
dinner. The food was just about ok and I think ‘Souza Lobo’ and ‘Britto’s’ are
doing well due to their past reputation. Their food is no longer exceptional
and many more better restaurants have come up giving them competition. Even
after darkness had enveloped the beach, thousands of people were milling around
and hundreds of picnics were going on simultaneously on the beach. Plastic
bags, liquor bottles and Styrofoam boxes were littered all around. The stray
dogs were running from one group to another and getting a good meal out of the
leftovers. As we walked back to the
hotel , we didn’t feel too happy as groups of men were drinking all over the
beach. The sea breeze was lovely and the decorated shacks were playing loud
music giving a lively atmosphere to the dark beach. You could see the lights of
many ships in the horizon. In spite of all these pluses, it wasn't a very pleasant walk.
Domestic tourists in action
My precondition with Vila Goesa before booking rooms had
been to get the 1st floor room with balcony overlooking the swimming pool. This condition had been fulfilled. As I got up in
the morning after the first night in hotel, I walked out to the balcony where
Devicka was reading her book and enjoying the freshness of morning. Some men and boys were in pool making a lot of
racket. Two of the ladies apparently from the same group walked towards their
husbands. One was a huge hulk in a Sari and she was accompanied by her friend
in salwar kameez. They tested the
temperature of pool water with their feet and on being satisfied that it was
tolerable, the lady in Sari
plunged into the pool. Her friend also got excited
and jumped in with her salwar kameez. The husbands and other friends all got
excited and there was more noise and frolicking and laughter. I watched all
this with my mouth wide open. Do I have to clarify that I did not venture near
the pool in the next 4 days ?
The swimming pool I avoided |
After our breakfast we moved to the beach to our favourite
shack called the ‘Big Banana.’ The beach
was crowded but most crowds were either on Calangute or Baga and we were in the
middle of these 2 points. Big Banana also looked a bit rundown but we relaxed
there with beer, prawns and pineapple till lunch time and made intermittent
trips to the sea. It was soothing and relaxing and luckily there was no deluge
of tourists. Once again I must mention is that very few foreigners were
present on this famous belt. This used to be full of foreigners not too long back. We decided to go nearby to a restaurant called
‘The fat fish’ which was not too far from where we stayed on Arpora road. Fat
fish must be pretty popular as in spite of being a large restaurant the place
was totally packed and people were coming in for lunch even at 4 PM. I loved my
fish thaali there though Devicka did not care much for the grilled chicken she
had. The kids had pastas and those were alright. A lady seemed to be in charge
of the restaurant and I really don’t know
if she was the owner. The restaurant is well located, parking is not a problem
and the atmosphere is nice. The next day also we had lunch here and I had Goan
Prawn curry and rice. I think whenever we are in North Goa, I will make a trip
here.
Let’s talk more about food
As a family we follow a very simple schedule when we are in
Goa. We have breakfast at around 9.30
and leave for beach immediately after. After a lot of swimming and snacking
(and Beer for me) we either have lunch
at the shack or find a good place to eat. Afternoon is siesta time . We
followed the same routine each day this time as well . While I would laze
around in the evening the kids and Devicka would walk down the market for some
Coffee at Café coffee day and for some roadside shopping. This would be followed by a
nice dinner somewhere. We had 4 nights so we had dinners at Souza Lobo, Wok
& Roll, Fisherman’s Cove and Cohiba.
Fisherman’s Cove at Candolim serves some really nice sea food. The fish chili masala on a sizzler was exceptional. All the sizzlers were pretty good. Wok & Roll restaurant was like a breath of fresh air. It is located in one hidden corner near Taj Aguada .The food was mainly Asian and very well prepared. Each dish had a great flavour and beautifully presented. The owner of the place Allwyn happens to be a close friend’s brother. He is himself a chef and worked for cruise lines before starting this venture. I had never visited his restaurant before and was more than pleased to have great seafood with great taste and correct spices. Malay, Sri Lankan, Indonesian , Cambodian….all kind of food was available here.
We had Pork, fish, Prawns, beef, rice, Noodles and god knows
what. Allwyn informed us that the nightclub Cohiba next door was also being
catered by him. So, a couple of days later we landed up at Cohiba but here we
ordered mainly the Goan food . When we
reached Cohiba at around 8.30 PM it was quite dull. But it started filling up
soon and an area near the bar became the karaoke lounge where some singing competition
took place. Some singers were pretty good while some were really awful. Net result was that it kept us entertained. The
DJ was just about testing his equipment for the night revelers when we decided
to leave. Cohiba is worth a visit and
even more so if you decide to spend a weekend late night there.
While on food I must talk about Ritz classic in Panjim which gave us great lunch on the way to airport. This is an old favourite mainly due to food quality and certainly not ambiance. The Goan food is great here and it is pretty cheap. I had a fish thaali and it was quite filling and amazingly tasty. All of it for Rs 160 ! We also had tiger prawns and a few more dishes here. Beer is available at reasonable price. They serve North Indian food as well. If you do plan to go there for lunch make sure you reach early or you will have to wait in a long queue and be prepared for pandemonium. Once you do manage to you get your table, please be prepared for groups watching you like a hawk so that they can jump onto your table the moment you ask for the bill.
Sizzlers at Fishermans Cove |
Fish Chili Masala |
Fisherman’s Cove at Candolim serves some really nice sea food. The fish chili masala on a sizzler was exceptional. All the sizzlers were pretty good. Wok & Roll restaurant was like a breath of fresh air. It is located in one hidden corner near Taj Aguada .The food was mainly Asian and very well prepared. Each dish had a great flavour and beautifully presented. The owner of the place Allwyn happens to be a close friend’s brother. He is himself a chef and worked for cruise lines before starting this venture. I had never visited his restaurant before and was more than pleased to have great seafood with great taste and correct spices. Malay, Sri Lankan, Indonesian , Cambodian….all kind of food was available here.
Wok & Roll had lovely ambiance and great food |
While on food I must talk about Ritz classic in Panjim which gave us great lunch on the way to airport. This is an old favourite mainly due to food quality and certainly not ambiance. The Goan food is great here and it is pretty cheap. I had a fish thaali and it was quite filling and amazingly tasty. All of it for Rs 160 ! We also had tiger prawns and a few more dishes here. Beer is available at reasonable price. They serve North Indian food as well. If you do plan to go there for lunch make sure you reach early or you will have to wait in a long queue and be prepared for pandemonium. Once you do manage to you get your table, please be prepared for groups watching you like a hawk so that they can jump onto your table the moment you ask for the bill.
The missing foreign tourists
It must have been the effect of Diwali holidays that
busloads of domestic passengers started arriving from Gujarat, Maharashtra and
other parts in hordes and took over the beaches. Special arrangements had to be
made to park the buses causing traffic jams everywhere. On our second morning after breakfast we arrived at the Baga
beach to spend the first half of the day and just one look at what was happening made us take a U turn immediately. The sight was a nightmare. It was as if you were in some mela crowd. Thousands of fully clothed people were in the sea, hawkers were doing brisk sales and the beach was a flood of humanity. To escape all this we got into the
car and drove towards Morjim and Ashwem. There was no point going towards Candolim as that would have had similar crowds. We stopped at rocky Anjuna but it had no life at all. Shacks were being set up at a very slow pace. These guys must have realised that the season was going to be a washout due to non arriving foreign tourists. Otherwise by mid November they would have been ready and in full flow.
The rocky Anjuna |
Normally Ashwem and Morjim areas are filled with
Russian tourists but with Russian economy in doldrums, the arrival of Russian
tourists is just 25% of previous years. The Europeans and Americans are hardly making Goa their favoured destination. But for us things were much better on these
beaches and not only the beaches were cleaner but the crowds were also more
disciplined. In the remaining days while we were there, this became our relaxing point. We tried 3 different shacks in 3 different parts and though the food was ordinary, the clean beach and cold beer made up for it.
It was pleasure spending time at clean beaches further North than Baga. |
Comments
Great writing Rohin,let me travel through your experiences till I can finally do it myself!
Stephanie Ellis