Goa in a group I - South Goa

Sunset at Varca beach

We did no sightseeing, visited no church, did not hang around in the lanes of colorful Panjim and did not indulge in losing money in offshore casinos. Our 4 days in Goa revolved around the beaches and restaurants. When the program is so simple and to the point, this results in a lot of focus; a lot of bantering and great camaraderie  between different families and different age groups.

A combination of south and north Goa is a heady mix but an avoidable one at a time when one is in a large group and the group is  spending  just  90 hours on this gem in the southern-western coast of India. But we made no effort to avoid the pitfall and during this short trip our southern most point was Mobor Beach at Salcette and Northern most point was Vagator.  They happen to be 70 km’s apart. Actually staying in South and North Goa did work out pretty well. 

Our group reached Goa  in 3 different flights on the same day from the same Destination – Delhi. The last one to reach was my son Kartik who boarded the flight immediately after his class 12 board exam. He arrived almost at midnight . As the others were travelling in a larger group, they started partying from Delhi airport itself. Photographs were clicked liberally and shared on whats app group. It seemed that each minute was documented. In a short holiday, each minute does become precious.

Club Mahindra at Varca is a fine property but always very crowded. 

Club Mahindra resort at Varca is a popular resort for those who are the time share owners. It is a flagship property of the group and has given a chance to lakhs of middle class Indians to get a feel of 5 star infrastructure. The resort is well laid out and has fantastic spacious rooms. It is equipped with spa, swimming pools, cheap dining options , games  for all ages and is right next to a nice and clean beach. The big drawback here are the over energetic families who throng the resort in large numbers and are relentless in creating a lot of noise from dawn to dusk. And then the resort management gets into action by organizing a DJ and a dance floor for fun and frolic. The two large swimming pools stay busy as families from Gujarat, Kerela, Maharashtra and all over India jump into the tempting water. Many women do jump in with their salwar kameez and sarees and the lifeguard has a tough time convincing them that this is against the resort rules. Not many venture to the beach during the time the sun is up so for us that is the place to be. Much of morning and post noon we spend in the sea and in the shacks nearby. The food may not be great in these shacks but thankfully the  Beer is standard and choice is plenty.

At a shack near our resort. Capt Shayam Kalra made sure that each moment was photographed and shared.

We stayed in this resort for a short duration of 36 hours and took advantage by visiting the popular restaurants of South Goa. Fisherman’s Wharf at Mobor (just short of Leela hotel) was our destination on our very first evening. We proceeded towards the restaurant within 30 minutes of reaching the resort. It has a lovely setting by the river. The place is nicely done up and is obviously very popular as it is always full. The live band adds to the charm. As the evening progresses the dance floor fills up.  The reflection of shimmering lights dancing in the river looked very elegant and peaceful. The food is expensive here and honestly speaking, this time we didn’t find the food to be ‘value for money.’ The liquor prices also happen to be around 30% more expensive than other comparable restaurants. Each time we stay in South Goa we do visit ‘Fisherman’s wharf’ but now I think , time has come for a change . The options are Betty’s and Mike’s place which are very near the Fisherman’s wharf. Or we could just go to Madgaon which boasts of several top class eateries.

Our large table at Fisherman's Wharf at Mobor. On the left of this pic is the river and on the right is a bar and a hall with dance floor. 

 Our group consisted of 5 teenagers and 2 senior citizens. The other 6 members being middle aged couples. There were 3 vegetarians and many hard core non vegetarians. The biggest challenge was the common minimum program. Here comes the advantage of a place like Goa. Each person can co-exist with another in such a place and atmosphere. My dad, nearing 80 was as enthusiastic about the waves hitting him as the youngest member Rishab, who is around 15. Daal and Subzi were available at each restaurant  along with fish and crab. Each person wanted to have the fun in his own way and I think each one did. Some went for long walks on the beach in evenings, some stayed in water most of the time. Those who wanted to spend time in room and chill were given the space to do so. 

The teenagers were as much at home as senior citizens and middle aged couples !

Talking about crabs, there is no better place in Goa for crabs than ‘Martin’s corner.’ On our second evening we trooped into this extremely popular eatery (with reservations)  at Betalbatim and selected two live crabs each weighing around a kilo . One was converted into King Crab masala fried, apparently a favourite of Maestro Sachin Tendulkar (so says the menu), and the other one into King crab garlic butter. The crabs were devoured with great relish and nut crackers were liberally used for maximizing the value from these sea animals.

Crabs 'Before.'

Crabs 'After'

Renovations have taken place at Martin’s corner in last one year and now it has an impressive bar . This area had earlier been wasted. The music is mediocre but effective as tourists thronged the dance floor just as soulful English numbers were replaced by hindi pop. The liquor is more affordable here than Fisherman's wharf and due to the atmosphere, you do get the feel of being on a holiday. The menu is quite thick and you get all kinds of food here including Goan, Punjabi, south Indian, continental and Chinese. There were quite a few foreigners here just as there were many locals. The place is pretty large and you can see a fleet of taxis in the parking lot. Our drivers seemed very happy ( sozzled) and content when it was time to leave. I am sure the management of Martin's corner must be looking after them for getting tourists to their restaurant !

The swanky new bar at Martin's corner

Our short holiday to the southern part of Goa was coming to an end and next morning we were to move to North Goa. Normally we do travel further south to Paloliem and Canacona but this time we hardly had a chance to do so. 

Taxi Unions at resorts in South Goa are extremely painful. They don't allow you to hire self driven cars nor do they allow you to hire taxis from outside. This monoply translated into high taxi rates. Those who have tried defying them have learnt the lesson the hard way as these cabbies are capable of violence and breakages. Even I have had an episode or 2 with them in the past.

For North Goa we wanted flexibility and for that it was important having self driven vehicles. For that we needed impeccable planning so that we could hoodwink the resort taxi union and arrange the self driven cars. A difficult task but quite doable with a bit of planning !

We hired the resort cabs till a nearby place. Got off and relaxed under a huge tree with our luggage till the cabbies were out of sight. It may have looked strange that a large group of tourists was relaxing near Colva church under a tree with all their luggage, but strange things do happen in Goa. Then our contact delivered us with the desired vehicles and very soon we were crossing the river Zuari, bypassing Panjim, crossing river Mandovi , driving through Sangolda and reached Calangute/Candolim at 12 Noon. We now had 48 hours for part 2 of our trip.

That will follow soon ....................