What exactly is inside Goa?

Almost done with exams, I opened my diary for the tenth time on that Saturday. Felt like it was almost impossible to get the tickets, yet we were trying our best, yet nothing was working properly. I knew very well I needed a break from everything. I am sure, the audience will agree to my statement as well. I knew it is going to be tough but I had to go anyway. I had been planning this since last December when I came back from Madhya Pradesh; that was another nice trip as well. Finally I got a text from Ashwini. Madam had booked a hostel and our train seats as well. I was so darn happy finally, imaginary fireworks exploded all over the sky.

Train: Mangalore Express.

Time: 10.35 pm, Thane station. Who won’t be excited when their dream comes true? I almost fell down on the ground in excitement running all over the house with clothes lying around. For the first time in my life I was going for a properly planned trip without my parents accompanying me. Caught the train finally and settled down in our compartment. Reached next day morning, we reached very late. I was expecting us to reach by 7.30 max, but we reached by 9.30 am. As we all know how beautiful Goa is, here are some pictures of my stay in Anjuna, North Goa. For those who have been asking me about my stay of location in Goa, I hope this will help you properly:

Location courtesy: Roadhouse Hostels, Anjuna, Goa (India)

Address: #954, Grand Peddem, Off Flea Market road, Near German Bakery, Monteiro Vaddo, Anjuna, Goa 403509.

            Contact: 08326525552

A beautiful hostel with facilities of mixed dorms, female dorms and male dorms as well. Ac/ Non-Ac rooms available according to your convenience. 10 minutes walking distance from Anjuna beach. Anjuna, Baga and Calangute are the beautiful beaches if you wish to spend your night at the beach. Candle light dinners, drinks, clubs, amazing food! Makes your day complete.

Location: Vagator Beach

 We spent the first day in sleeping our Ac cosy dorms and got up by 3 pm, so basically we only saw Vagator beach. One of the beautiful locations in Goa is Chapora Fort in Anjuna.

Location: Chapora Fort.

The beach which is seen below the fort is Vagator beach. The fort opens at 8 am and closes by 5 pm. It is indeed beautiful, we were there for like an hour. I started walking by the sides of the fort, found a place to sit for 15 minutes. I never felt so peaceful before! You feel like the sea waves are actually talking to you.

As we all know, Goa is very popular for its Portuguese culture; Goa was the capital of ancient Portuguese India so we can see many Goan Catholics present in Goa who speak Konkani, Marathi, English and some of them can speak Portuguese as well. Must visit churches in Goa are:

 1. Panjim Church or The Lady Immaculate Church (Panjim, South Goa).

2. Bom Basilica Of Jesus, Old Goa. (The body of St. Francis Xavier from Spain, a Christian missionary who came to India is kept inside the church till today)

     3. St. Cajetan Church.

I am sure, you will have to spend your whole day in visiting these if you choose to stay in North Goa. Choose to stay in south if you have immense love for Churches! I did a lot of study before visiting Goa this time. The church structure belongs to medieval renaissance period when the Portuguese invaded India and made Goa as their capital. ‘Baroque’ architecture is commonly found in Goa. Mansions of the viceroys and chiefs Mascarenhas Mansion and Albuquerque Mansion are there who have an amazing influence of this art. Basically if you love cultural history, visiting churches and mansions is a must.

Of course try sea food or proper Goan food when you’re in Goa! I’ll suggest you Ritz Classic Restaurant and Bar in Panjim. It has amazing food quality. I cannot stop imagining it still! Decide your choice of places. Are you interested in beaches or only churches and the history of Goa or just there to have some fun?

The hostel where I stayed was in North Goa so it was pretty far from the popular churches in Goa as they are present in South. But anyway, I managed to see most of them and covered them all.

                                 Location: Panjim Church, South Goa

                          Location: Basilica Of Bom Jesus, Old Goa.

Specially note: Do not forget to carry your identification card anywhere. One of the most important lessons to remember while travelling. They’ll ask you in hostels, check points or anywhere else so keep it as a safety option. I have a huge crush on Goan Catholics since I don’t know when, but Goa makes me feel like home. I can be myself there; the people are lazy and are relaxed all day which I love! Konkani language is one of my favourite languages after French. Try bicycles and bikes during winter and cars on rent in summer. Try to cover as much of Goa as you can, because who would wish to miss such a beautiful and pleasant place?

I know people visit Goa for partying and fun. But I had my kind of fun this time. We went to the beach at 2 am, decided to stay awake all night. I might sound poetic to you right now, but I could feel like the waves talking to me, stars looking right at me and there was no fear at all. It was totally dark as Anjuna is still a village area and not properly civilized. But I don’t know, I felt very safe and homely there. Go outside, take your friends with you, sit with them, have some nice deep conversations at the middle of night right in front of the beach. That’s some crazy shit and the risk we took at such dark hour. But it was definitely worth it. As the morning came, we could almost see shades of blue walking all over the sky.

My alarm rang by 12.30 pm, and that’s when I saw, “7 missed calls from my parents!!! What even?!” So basically it’s a mini heart attack when you get so many missed calls from your parents, right? Well, surprisingly she didn’t scold. Spoke nicely and I kept the phone down. We visited Panjim again and shopped for the evening, went back to the hostel by 2 am.

My last day: Travelogue:

Sitting in the train. Window seat. Pen. Book. Thoughts rushing all over my mind. A drop of tear shed through my eye. I am a really homesick person when it comes to travel. Any place where I travel, I might cry for sure when I leave that place. I am homesick for other places. It is the memories which keep us reminding of that place. Taking a wooden rosary in my hand, I started plotting down my thoughts in my diary. Goa has always been my favourite destination since childhood. I still remember the day when I was in 6^th standard and I asked dad to take me to goa for a few days and he was like, “Get good marks in 10^th and I’ll take you to goa for sure!” Well this happened late but it did happen. He did take me to Goa two years ago, so I got a glimpse of how beautiful and peaceful a city can be. I am for sure visiting Goa next year. All I can say is, the show has just begun guys J Sayonara and stay tuned!