About:
Dr. Bharatkumar Bhate is M.S. General Surgeon (Gold Medalist) by qualification with an experience of 30,000+ operations and is based at Rajkot, Gujarat. He is an avid reader and a passionate writer. In this blog, he shares his travel experiences and creative writings.
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Blog:
Our Goa Trip in a nutshell
Next only
to the Taj-Mahal of Agra, GOA probably attracts the maximum number of Indian
and foreign tourists.
GOA is a beautiful and one of the favorite
tourist destinations in India, located on the Western coast, between
Maharashtra and Karnataka. It is popular not only for its beaches, but also for
its pleasant weather, unique museums, happening nightlife, delectable seafood,
thrilling water activities, drinks and modern free lifestyle. Casino and Cruise
are its special attractions.
View photos and videos of our Goa Trip on Facebook
Click here - https://www.facebook.com/DrBhateRajkot/posts/746143037251892
Goa is favorite for "Destination
Weddings" too. Also, it is a popular honeymoon destination. It is a
preferred destination of foreign tourists for sea shore relaxation.
Goa has many beaches. North Goa offers busy
and sprightly beaches like Baga, Calangute, Anjuna and Arambol. These beaches
make your holiday experience complete. The South is regarded as a more relaxed
and peaceful part of Goa. South Goa is rather mellow, with serene beaches like
Colva, Palolem and Galgibaga. These beaches are really worth paying a visit if
you are looking for some peace and quiet. Colva is a little more energetic,
regarded as the south’s most popular beach.
Calangute, Candolim and Baga beaches are popular
for water sports and sea shore enjoyment. I enjoyed exciting water sports like
snorkeling, banana boat riding, para-sailing, bumper ride etc. Five such rides
are offered as a package to the tourists, at only Rs.1300, which is quite cheap
and worth it. They also offer Scuba Diving and Jet Ski separately, but I did
not do them as they require in-depth training. Also there is Dolphin
exploration, which we both had done in a 50 seater comfortable ship, and gone
about 7-8 kilometers inside the waters, to see Dolphins in their natural
habitat.
Goa offers a happening nightlife to the tourists where they can dance, drink, eat, and party all night in various clubs. Tito's Street is very popular in Goa, where tourists love to hangout the whole night. This city offers amazing and exciting nightlife that starts from nightclubs, bars, beach shacks, and more with non-stop music, latest songs, perfect ambiance, dizzy neon lights, delectable food, and fancy drinks.
If you are a foodie with a
craving for non-vegetarian food, there are ample options of
mouth-watering sea food
cuisines. Over 1000 restaurants and cottages in Goa offer you delicious and flavorsome
dishes. The choice and variety for strict vegetarians like me is limited. I had
been to 'Plantain Leaf' which is a vegetarian restaurant and their South Indian
food is quite good. The other was “Kenny’s - The breakfast place”. Kenny’s
offers a lovely and sumptuous English breakfast.
I also had a thrilling experience of the cruise
at Goa. It was full of fun and happening moments on the dance floor with the DJ
music. Even many senior citizen couples like us were joyfully dancing. Night
cruise over the Mandovi river at Goa is a lifetime memorable experience.
If you want to enjoy the real beauty of Goa,
then you must not miss Old Goa and its famous churches. Goa was once under the Portuguese
control, and hence Churches and Christian lifestyle had dominated it for years.
Even today, you will find English as a commonly spoken language in Goa.
Churches, Cathedrals and Basilica's are also important tourist attractions in
Goa. Basilica of Bom Jesus is the most ancient church in Goa that is
mostly visited by the tourists. This 15th century church has been crafted with
precious stones and surreal works of impressionist painter. This church defines
the finest Baroque architecture. The body of Saint Francis Xavier is well
preserved and placed in a glass container encased in a silver casket at some
height. It can be seen by visitors.
Many years ago, family Goa tours especially with
children were avoided because of a large number of "Hippy" youngsters
lying down literally naked on the sea shore after taking hallucinogenic drugs.
These "hippies and spiritual seekers" made their way to India,
especially Goa, in the sixties in search of enlightenment. The Government had
then become strict and the situation is now quite healthy.
Goa is an affordable tourist destination as
hundreds of national and international tourists are poured in every day by tour
operators from across the country. Panaji and Margoa have maximum number of
star hotels and all are fully booked in Diwali and Summer vacations. Auto-rickshaws
are scanty and taxis are very expensive. However, two good and cheap options
are available:
1) The 'motorcycle taxi'
called 'Pilot' is available at all big squares of the state.
2) Two wheeler 'Activa' scooter is
available on rent at about Rs. 300 per day.
Many new entertainment modalities like Hot Air
Balloon, Snow Park and Wax Museum have been added in the last decade to the
list of worth visiting places in Goa.
Snow Park entry ticket is costly considering it is
a very small place. I have already seen Snow Parks at Malaysia and Hyderabad.
Goa Snow Park cannot be compared with them. It may be visited if you've spare
time and haven't visited any other Snow Park.
Wax Museum is another good location where you
can spend time with Wax Statues of popular celebrities and personalities. The
quality of all statues is excellent and comparable to Madame Tussauds Museum of
London. I loved this place.
I missed the Hot Air Balloon ride as I had
fallen sick on that day.
Apart from Vacations, the best time to visit Goa
is during festivals. December and January is the best time as the entire city
is celebrating Christmas and New Year. Churches and a lot of other buildings
are beautifully decorated and illuminated.
Let me mention about the World Famous GOA
CARNIVAL. It is a public festival that takes place on the streets of Goa with
music and dance. It is held in February for 4 days. Thousands of Indian and
Foreign tourists visit Goa to enjoy the carnival festival. This festival is
dedicated to the Portuguese era, where festival participants wear traditional
clothing as well as fancy dress. These 4 days are very special for every
tourist and specially for the local people. They all take pleasure to indulge
in the carnival where they drink, eat, dance and have lots of fun. Carnival
procession starts from the streets of Panaji, Mapusa, Margao, and goes through
the interesting lanes and alleys of the town.
If you don't want to limit yourself to crowded beaches and
attractions, you can explore new and offbeat places.
Other excellent tourist spots like Dudhsagar
water-fall and wildlife sanctuary are at a few kilometres distance from Goa,
and are worth visiting. Dudhsagar waterfall is the second highest waterfall of
India and it becomes spectacular in the rainy season and for some time after
it. Do not miss it if you are in Goa during this time.
Four nights stay in Goa makes you realize why it
tops the list of holiday destinations in India. Tour operators give four days
in Goa trip. One day tour of North Goa and next day tour of South Goa covers
almost all tourist destinations including temples, churches, fort and beaches.
There is one place on main road of Goa where you
will find a big iron pillar. It is called 'Hath Kattu Stambh' meaning hand
cutting pillar. It is said to be attached with cruelty of Portuguese rulers.
View photos and videos of our Goa Trip on Facebook
Click here - https://www.facebook.com/DrBhateRajkot/posts/746143037251892
Let me take a break here.
I added two more nights to visit altogether
different destinations namely Gokarna, Murudeshwar and Jog Falls, which I
visited from Goa.
Have a nice time and await for my description of
my trip to Jog Falls from Goa.