Finally my most awaited and long deserved vacation arrived…..and the beautiful Goa beckoned…

Goa…synonymous with everything positive…everything happy…everything fun….

Some call it heavenly….some call it, a paradise on earth….

But as for me….Goa gave me the best 5 days of my entire life….it let me live…it made me shed all my inhibitions….it made me let go….it made me feel free…..it made me happier than I ever imagined I could be!

I know, it all sounds clichéd, but such was life in Goa!!

Goa may be the smallest state in India, but it is perhaps one of the most beautiful. This emerald land exudes an aura that is unique in its own right….its charm, mesmerizes minds…and its culture entices hearts….the narrow cobblestone streets, ornamented by never-ending stalls, that meander its way to the beaches….the vendors bellowing out prices and sales ….the streets bustling with activity.....the tempting aromas of a variety of cuisines that swim through the streets…..the timid looking dogs hunting for food on the constricted footpaths…. the sprawling white sand beaches that stretch throughout the boundaries of the state, complimented by the sparkling turquoise blue waters that skirt it….the enormous palm trees bordering the beaches…the myriad colorful umbrellas and hammocks splashed over the sands….the infinite happy faces bobbing up and down everywhere….the resounding laughter and delighted screams that float around you….the prettily decorated, cozy little shacks that beckons….treading barefoot on the hot sands and running to the soothing waters every now and then…..the beauty of it all…..that’s Goa for you…every sight, every sound, every feeling is an experience in itself…..Smile

31st December 2007, 5 a.m- Our journey began

Excitement and skepticism brimmed inside me as we headed for panvel to board our train. As of now, there were 6 of us….more people were to join us later, according to devina. So I’ll introduce all of them now, and as and when the characters increase, I shall take the pains to introduce them too ;)

Here we go-

Disclaimer-

I solemnly swear to do justice to the entire trip with this post, however if anyone feels I have missed out something or someone in this post, kindly keep it to yourself! I’m doing the best I can! Any resemblance to a character living or dea…umm…just living, is purely intentional and I sincerely hope I get the introductions and the thank yous right, for that, your cooperation is requested! Now get off my back, and read!! Hope you enjoy….Tongue out

Devina lalla- my best friend in college, my sanity, my support, my faithful partner in the loser gang.

Sailee mandhare- my childhood buddy, known her since I have known myself, my loyal friend and partner in every crime.

Joel alenchery- my dear darling Joel, the nri, the mallu, the clown, the adorable uncle… Open-mouthed

Sneha hingorani- the ever ecstatic and perennially high chic, my batch mate and my ‘giggling for no reason’ buddy.

Gautam sethi- I don’t know him. He’s sneha’s friend.

And of course…

ME!! The nut-case, stupid, bratty, cynical, annoying me!

There we are…

The train journey was extremely tiring and for some weird reason I couldn’t sleep at all! The maximum amount of sleep I got at a time was like exactly an hour! Not to forget, the seats were bloody uncomfortable! Ok enough cribbing for now….more later Tongue out

Finally reached old goa at around 3 I guess and did I mention that we had free accommodation during peak season!? Muhuahahha! Now u know! So, Hemanth, a resident of goa and also a friend of Sneha was kind enough to provide his place to us since we hadn’t been able to book accommodation…god bless him.

Shower.food.beer.plans for new years….woohoo!


New Year’s Eve, 7 p.m, Baga beach

Now we were joined at the beach by 8 others. Yaz yaz I’ll make the introduction again!

Anjana ravindran- devina’s school friend from Bangalore, presently studying medical at Belgaum, and is an absolutely sweet person AND a great dancer!

JD- Devina’s school friend again….from Bangalore and that’s about all I know about him. sorry jd…didn’t get time to talk at all!

Shyam Nair- the ‘proud IITian’. Devina’s school friend from Bangalore. Has a very interesting hairstyle and insists very hard that he should not be hated only coz he is intelligent!

Pradyumna - a.k.a Praddy. From Bangalore and the school friend! I’ve heard a lot about him and hence will sum it up like this ‘praddy’s the MAN!!’

Adarsh- a.k.a Addy. Again from Bangalore and all that jazz! The sweetest guy ever and is wary of people who chuck a LOT of sand on him for no reason. Sorry Adarsh Open-mouthed

Konark- I think he is JD’s friend. The only fellow who didn’t drink that night! Had more ‘serious responsibilities!’ Presently doing law in Gandhinagar, gujju land. Chivalrous, funny, and the self proclaimed ‘Sea of God’ Tongue out

Tarun – Konark’s batch mate

Abhishek - same same.


Phew! Lot of people!

Baga beach was fucking crowded!! But once the fenny shots started…nothing else mattered!! Horrible tasting, but I loved it! Most of them did, I guess…

2 shots down, and I could feel my head swimming….i remember being really happy…but I don’t much remember what all I did that night…no no…nothing scandalous!! Don’t get ideas!! I just let go!! Of everything…every thought…every pain…every worry…felt amazing…

I remember trying to dance…I remember falling down a lot…sand….beer…more sand…. firangs….giggling uncontrollably….water….little more beer….loo…loud music…louder talking…smiling faces… introductions….posing for pictures…chucking sand at each other….fireworks!!! Happy New Year!!! Feeling drowsy…no place to sleep….random idiots wishing you happy new year…shooing off spectators….laughing some more…talking…loo...more introductions…Shyam defending IIT for over an hour and insisting that all IITians aren’t jerks…Shyam doing the robot dance with me…joel doing balle balle and repeating continuously ‘but I’m supposed to take care of you guys!’

Feeling cold….half of them dozing of…..the sunrise…welcome 2008…

Anjana, JD, Shyam, Praddy, Adarsh were to leave on 1st afternoon (shyaa!) so we parted ways and headed towards old goa whereas, the rest headed towards panjim to pack their stuff…we bade our goodbyes and promised to keep in touch.

Looong Shower.hangover.chips and biscuits. Sleep.

We took an evening walk around old Goa and decided to have a booze party that night…but then made impromptu plans to go to Panjim instead and watch a movie with the other guys, i.e Konark, Tarun and Abhishek. (yeah i know what you are wondering…such fools to watch a movie when in goa….but in our defence, we didn’t have other plans and we didn’t have cars or scooters to go elsewhere that late! )

After movie, went for a late night walk in the park at 2 a.m (lol, it gets rather juvenile from here)

Walking…jumping…singing…Devina enlightening us with general facts….laughing….playing on the swings…me racing with 3 others and beating them all!! Muhahaha!...feeling high! Posing for pictures….mounting the merry-go-round(nope, not kidding!) Konark and Joel showing off their brawns, while trying to rotate it with 2 girls on it..lol…then my turn! Then sailee’s turn! And then our very own superwoman, devina’s turn! More goofy pics….discovering a huge totem in the middle of the park, illuminated sinisterly…debating if a certain funny looking shape on it were balls, butt-cheeks or simply a hand! Bloody scared dogs! Singing….more fun facts….walking towards the riverside…..the soothing sound of the water gently lapping the shore…the bright stars reflected on the water, sparkling with the ferry lights….observing someone’s sand sculpture…rather interesting civilization…..walking back….more laughs….walking in the middle of the road and singing (coz I Can!) walking past a graveyard (shudders)…dogs howling….ahh finally home…watched some tv…then sleep…

2nd january 2008-morning

We were supposed to pick up all our stuff from hemanth’s place and drop it off at konark’s place at panjim and then hire cars and make further plans for the day. The same day, devina’s friends (yeah 2 more!!) were to join us from dabolim airport. Yea yeah I remember the introductions! (I usually suck at this, but according to devina I have gotten better at it!)

So, two new characters!!

Saumya – another NRI from the U.S. childhood family friends of devina lalla, has a cool sense of humor and is perpetually sleepy!

Christin (I hope I got the spelling right)- saumya’s school friend, with absolutely pretty hazel eyes and a prettier smile, from U.S, had come to visit family(her mom’s a goan) in goa but joined us before that....


Yeah so Devina and Sneha proceeded to the airport to pick them up, Sailee and Joel headed towards panjim to book Joel’s ticket back to Mumbai (so sorry Joel about the mess up!! I still feel bad about it!) and Gautam and I got everyone’s luggage back to Konark’s place and hire 2 cars.

Plan of the day…after confusions, confirmations, cancellations and re-confirmations…

Pick up devina, Sneha and friends, from the airport, proceed towards Colwa beach.

Our chauffeurs of the day… Konark and Tarun *grins* (no offence dudes, but u were the only ones who were good drivers!!!dont' hate me! Tongue out)

Drive to the beach was quite uneventful, except for a small drooling session at the airport, over Saumya and Christin by all the guys *rolls eyes* and some posing for pictures in the car.

Destination- Colwa Beach.

Time- 5 p.m

The only thing visible to everyone at this hour was the beach shack, as we all wanted to hog!! No one had eaten anything since morning (except for devina, Sneha and company, coz they ate at the airport waiting for us! Hmmphh!!) And everyone was dying of hunger!

One enormous order after another, of drinks and food alike….we all devoured our food as we watched the sunset…and laughed our asses off watching Konark flirt with the waiter shamelessly (mind you, ‘waiter’ not ‘waitress’) he kept asking for ‘sex on the beach’ and ‘jump and kiss me’. The waiter’s blush was priceless!! Those who know cocktails will get the beauty of the pun, those who don’t, well…they’ll just get scandalous ideas!! Lol …

Beer…lotta food….one fenny shot and we’re all set to enter the water!!

Ahh yes….possibly the second-most fun evening in the trip, after the New Year’s Eve!!

The war begins…girls v/s guys….*dramatic sound effects*

Dunking each other into the water…although the guys had a considerable lead here, the girls didn’t quite give up….screaming….laughing….running….wading…gasping for air…swallowing the salty water(eew!)… getting covered in mulch and squelchy sand (more eww..)….more fenny shots….some more beer…..running back to the water….losing balance….lying down…..more screaming…some singing….few abuses….lol….3 girls together trying to bring down Konark and Joel respectively but failing miserably!! oh well...if you can't beat them...join them and then beat them!! Open-mouthed Konark proclaiming self as the ‘Sea of God’ rather dramatically….Joel running the marathon with me and sneha and trying to convince us both to come back to the shallow side....we obviously being difficult about it Tongue out….finding a stray bottle in the midst of all the chaos….ideas start rolling....

SPIN THE BOTTLE! Yes!! Back to the 6th grade!!

Saumya kissing Tarun (on the cheek of course)

Konark kissing Abhishek (kinky!)

Joel kissing Konark (aww….)

Saumya kissing Christin (woohoo!)

Now truth and dare….back to 4th grade Open-mouthedWinkOpen-mouthed…ahh those were the days!

Devina Lalla punching gautam sethi (I love her!!)

Joel dared to eat sand! (eeyyuck!)

Sneha dared to dance (bah! That was easy!)

Konark dared to propose to me! He did get down on one knee.... ( if only it were interesting enough I would’ve said yes ;p) so I sang instead! Rather bellowed *with or without you……* lol

More running into the water…..finally exhausted….

Bonfire….welcoming warmth….some peace…and the stars…coffee…..and an annoying orchestra of rather unmelodious dogs!

After trying in vain to shake off sand stuck in unmentionable places, we finally decided to make a move at around 3 a.m.

We managed to turn the living room itself into a beach! All of us were dripping sand! Everyone took a shower and while some of them dozed off…some of us decided to go grab a quick bite at ccd and then go to the only casino in goa…which is situated in donapaula, and perhaps is the prettiest hotel I’ve ever been to…it had a whole spanish feel to it….and was absolutely charming, with tiny, sparkling lights, with beautiful ivy cascading over the massive iron gates, the welcoming ornate arch opened up to the lobby, which was as enchanting as the entrance and decorated with mistletoes and a huge, sparkling Christmas tree surrounded by colorful gift wrapped presents….multicolored and attractively patterned tiles carpeted the entire floor...flowers and scented candles placed strategically... and the lobby spread out to a cozily furnished balcony overlooking the river and the poolside….now you will have to pardon me, coz I don’t remember the place’s name! EmbarrassedIn my defense, I was really tired and wasn’t really looking for the name*looks a little embarrassed*….it was taverna or caverna something…..either way, the casino turned out to be the size of my bedroom! *grins* which is very small to speak of! Oh well! At least, I can add one more thing to my ‘been there, done that' list!Open-mouthed

And I vividly remember a signage saying ‘this way to grande de sala’ *grins widely*

Last stop that night, or morning you could say, as it was almost 6, was the river side….

Sigh….wish I could’ve stayed there longer, but my body was screaming for rest….so we headed back…..sleeeep!!

An hour later we had to wake up to clear up konark’s place as the three of them were leaving, i.e Konark, Tarun and Abhishek, and the rest of us were to find another place for accommodation…..sigh….Yay! For 3 days of free accommodation!! Again, god bless Hemanth and Konark for all their help!

We bade our goodbyes…and now we were 3 friends short in the group…we would miss them....oh well….

Next stop….Anjuna beach!!! Woohooo!!

Now most people know what this beach is famous for!! The firangs!! And not just that….firang chicks in bikinis and sometimes even topless …..i couldn’t care less bout the hot firang chicks, coz fortunately for me, I’m not gayWink and again unfortunately for me, the guys there weren’t bottomless either…sooo….too bad…Tongue out

Although Joel had a blast looking at so many different colored thongs! Open-mouthed and some talons too! Wink

Such was the incredulity in skimpy clothing, that even we felt overdressed, in our casuals!!!! Hehehe….it was quite funny to look at firangs gape at us and wonder why we were wearing so many clothes! *holds up middle finger*

Relaxing by the sea….lunch at a shack…had a peaceful evening at anjuna and then at the vagator beach…just lounging around and listening to the sea continuously crash at the shore…..i lou it!

Got my hair braided and did some jewellery shopping! the stalls there had such an enormous collection of junk jewellery, clothes, bags, bedsheets, hats, glares, umbrellas, tapestries, shoes, etc. it was overwhelming! But the vendors there can get annoying tho….

Dinner at another charming little shack….then Paradiso’s!!! woohoo!

It’s an awesome club…and girl’s entry free!! Yeah baby! House music rocked! And we danced!! Finally I danced!!

Next morning, trek to the Chapora fort a.k.a dil chahta hai fort, as it is locally known…

The view from top is simply breathtaking!! The anjuna beach stretching endlessly to its left and the vagator beach to its right….and the boundless sea up front….i could stand there for hours, just trying to come up with words that could justify what I saw and what it stirred inside me…but I guess my vocabulary ain’t that strong to support it….the morning sun sent colorful sparkles dancing on the surface of the sea as far as your eyesight could extend….and then disappeared where the sea and the sky just merged together….and beautifully so! Sigh….u have to experience it! The elation felt when you are up there….its astounding! It’ll leave you speechless….

Finally….water sports at baga beach!! (WOOHOO!!)

Tried the water scooter(killer speed!!) and parasailing(I finally flew!)…both of which were mind blowing! It left me high for hours!! 2 more additions to my list!! Yay!

Lunch….and then back to panjim, to see off joel… *makes sad face*

He had to leave early….had a reunion with other friends….all good things come to an end….will miss him so much!

Dinner at an absolutely adorable little place….called ‘Venite’ it’s the coziest, warmest and most welcoming place I had been to so far and with awesome food!

It was decorated with multicolored tiles with abstract patterns that ornamented the door frames and the floor at the entrance. A small winding staircase took us to a snug looking room with hardwood floors and small ornate balconies sticking out on to the streets. The room had the most charming chandelier made of pots with small holes and light pouring out of them and dry creepers entwined with tiny lights that reached out to the ends of the room. There were various shaped baskets that served the purpose of lampshades and cast a bewitching pattern of lights and shadows in the room. The tables were covered with soft sheets in attractive colors and stain glass windows and balcony doors added to the beauty of the place….so basically, eating food at such a place, was a delight!

Went to Miramar beach later, for a quiet walk and this being the last night at goa….everyone was quite upset and nostalgic of the last few days spent here…I lied down right next to the shore and listened to the quiet gushing of the sea ....the lights blinking from the ferries lit up my face....i could feel the cold sand tickling my back and felt goosebumps cover my body.….I looked at sky…it was like a pitch black ocean, glittering with the generous sprinkle of stars…with every passing second, I could see more stars, some twinkling brighter, some growing dimmer….what I wouldn’t do to stay there forever, entranced by its aura….but it was freezing cold, and we had to leave after an hour….

Visited the churches and cathedrals next morning, after Saumya and Christin left, so we were down to 5 now…. I recounted every moment of my trip as I traveled back from old goa to panjim bus depot, to take a cab to madgaon, so we could board our train back to Mumbai….*sigh*

It has to end sometime…I so didn’t wanna go back to the same routine again…the tension, the bickering at home…the frustrations at college…..i shook it out of my head…..and I decided…panjim is a beautiful city and if ever I have to leave Mumbai to work somewhere…it has to be panjim….Smile and if i do get a place there ever....all you guys are invited!!

We finally bade our farewell to goa….the place that gave me my life’s best 5 days! I owe it! And I also owe it to all the wonderful people I met there! I wanna thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for all they did for me and for others , even if it was a small gesture! I owe this amazing trip to them! Hope we all can do this again sometime!

Thanks once again…

Devina lalla- for your wonderful friends, for being you and for all the responsibilities you took!

Sailee mandhare- for coming along at the last minute, the laughs and for the back massage.

Joel alenchery- for coming along, taking care of me, for the hilarious high moments, for the long talks, and the hugs.

Sneha hingorani- for Hemanth and for the silly moments we had.

Adarsh – (m sorry I still dunno your last name) for not throwing back sand at me :D

Praddy- for the early morning jokes.

JD- for the new year pics and for taking care of us.

Shyam nair- for the one hour lecture on iitians (lol) and the robot dance and the ‘happy face’ picture!

Anjana ravindran- for the awesome new year’s eve night, the dance, and the sand shower!

Konark-for your place at Panjim, for the immense help you offered and for your timely jokes and for being there.

Tarun- for your company, for driving us to and back safely from Colwa and taking care of us on the beach.

Abhishek –for your company and for helping us out on the beach.

May god bless all of you and always keep smiling ppl!! Sorry if this post was too long….but hey, its goa we are talking about
SmileSmileSmileSmile slong!

Two weeks away it feels like the world should've changed
But I'm home now
And things still look the same
I think I'll leave it to tomorrow till unpack
Try to forget for one more night
That I'm back in my flat on the road
Where the cars never stop going through the night
To real life where I can't watch sunset
I don't have time
I don't have time

I've still got sand in my shoes
And I can't shake the thought of you
I shake it all, forget you
Why, why would I want to
I know we said goodbye
Anything else would've been confused but I wanna see you again
- dido (sand in my shoes)