We were on the bus heading to...hmmm...I can’t remember now. I was disappointed with our Goan beach experience. First we went to Baga and there were lots of touts, tourists and trance music clubs. Then we went down the road to Calangute. This beach makes its neighbour, Baga, seem tame. Here dance music played non-stop, hundreds, but seemed like thousands, of Indian tourists frolicked and jumped in the water, and Europeans on package tours baked in the sun. There was a constant stream of touts trying to sell anything from jewellery, books, chips to sea-doo rentals and banana boat rides. I immersed myself in the 900+ page novel, Shantaram. In two days, I read two thirds of it. It wasn't the relaxing beach scene we hoped for.
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| Calangute market |
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| Baga beach |
Luckily, while we were riding the bus we met a retired Canadian couple. They have a summer home in Goa. We griped about Baga and Calangute. They smiled, shook their heads and the wife said: “ you want to go to Palolem; it’s a remote beach with a low-key atmosphere. Baga and Calangute are zoos. Head to Palolem.” So Andrew and I heeded their advice. Just as tides crash against the beach so did our plans crash and flow back into the unpredictable ocean that is our itinerary.
I cannot thank that couple enough! Palolem was just what we wanted: a haphazardly built cocohut to sleep in, six rickety chairs lining our patch of sand, and Bob Marley playing somewhere in the distance. The beach itself was a long stretch of golden sand with lovely light blue-green water.
We even found a good restaurant which is hard in touristy areas. Restaurants catering to tourists in India tend to serve the same food. On one menu you can choose Indian, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, American and Israeli food. It isn't surprising that the food tends to be mediocre. But, we had a lovely meal at Dropati. The eggplant curry was a sublime dish: tender chunks of eggplant in a scrumptious curry gravy. Also, the mushroom tikki skewers grilled in the tandoor had interesting flavours. The mushrooms were stuffed with paneer, dried fruits and nuts. The smokiness from the charcoals complimented the sweetness of the fruits, while the paneer and nuts rounded out the dish. A long walk on the beach was needed after all that good food.
Palolem was the perfect place for us to get over our jet lag and it goes to show you how serendipitous life can be!
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| Our cocohut cost 400 rupees per night that's 10 bucks! |
Palolem was the perfect place for us to get over our jet lag and it goes to show you how serendipitous life can be!
Palolem is amazing although Arambol which is further north in Goa is quiter than Palolem. Happy you visited. I stayed in Goa rougly 6 weeks.
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