India Part 5: Goa

Last blog I mentioned that we were currently in Mumbai. We were in Mumbai from May 28th to June 3rd. From there we took a train to Goa. We were in Goa from June 4th to 7th and have now returned to Mumbai.

Since we are using Mumbai as a hub for the rest of our time here in India I'm going to wait till the last day to write a blog about it. So here's my Goa blog.

Goa

Goa is a state located on the west coast of India. Unlike the rest of India, Goa was never governed by the British. Instead it was Portuguese ruled until it joined the rest of independent India. This fact has caused Goa to be a bit different than the rest of India. Some of the most obvious traits are that the state is predominately Catholic and the architecture style is very Portuguese in style.

The fact that the state is Catholic actually some far reaching effects. The main ones being that beef and booze are easily available.

Now, Goa is world famous as a good party/beach destination. This is reputation that is well earned. The beaches are beautiful, there are bars aplenty and everyone is quite laid back. However, we had the unfortunate fact of visiting Goa during the rainy/low season. That meant there was not much partying and a lot more just chilling out, which wasn't that bad of a thing.

It should be noted that saying I went to Goa is a bit of a far reaching statement. It's like saying, "I went to Alberta" when I went to Calgary. There are several cities in Goa, but most (if not all) travellers head towards one of the beach towns that are located along the coast. The beach towns are pretty close together and each have their own flair.

We stayed at Baga beach which is apparently one of the busier beachs during high season. For us though it was pretty empty but there were still some people to chat with so it was a good place to go to during off season. The closest train station to Baga beach is about a 11-13 hour train ride from Mumbai.

Elections

When we were going to Goa, we knew that it was off season and the party scene was going to be affected. One thing we forgot to consider was the fact that we were going to Goa during the elections, which further reduced the party scene.

You may be wondering why elections would put a damper on the party atmosphere. Well it turns out that India, at election time, booze is either banned or restricted. But not because of it affects peoples judgement in determining their leaders. Booze is limited because it's the only to reduce the drunken fights that would otherwise take place around election time.

Baga Beach

The beaches of Goa rock. Each one is a bit different but the ones I saw consisted of basically the same thing. Sandy beach as far as the eye can see, huge waves and conveniently located beach shacks.

Shack is a bit of a deceptive term. The shacks are better described as a restaurant/bar located on the sand looking at the surf. Basically you chill at the shack all day and occasionally go for a swim/walk.

We were lucky that for 3 of the days we had nice sunny weather. It rained the last day, but it was nice sitting in the shack watching the rain, drinking beer and playing chess (Richard beat me but I was avenged by the shack owner).

I thought that my time in India had prepared me for the Goan sun. I was sorta right. The skin not covered by shirts was could handle the sun. Unfortunately I couldn't say the same about my back and shoulders. So now my upper torso is made up of either tanned or red skin. I don't feel too bad about the burn since even Kiran got his back burned by the sun.

Anjuna Beach Flea Market

One of the days we tried walking to the nearby Anjuna beach to check out it's flea market and get some souvenir shopping done. After getting seriously lost trying to walk there along the high way we grabbed a taxi and went to the market.

The flea market consisted of locals selling handicrafts along a road. These were people who made there living on this flea market, it was the last market of the season and there weren't any other tourists. It took all my bartering skills to avoid getting completely ripped off.

After 30 minutes of shopping all 3 of us had spent all our money and I had traded my watch. That meant we had to walk back. Luckily we stuck to the coast line and had a much better time not getting hopelessly lost.

Wrap Up

Goa was a great experience. Even though we got here during the off season I'm glad we came when we did. It was a great way to relax and it would have been painful to leave the beaches of Goa for the deserts of Rajasthan.

We spend the weekend in Mumbai then we head to the cities of Ellora/Ajanta to check out some awesome Budist caves.

Next Time: Ajanta & Ellora