8th January 2008, 19:09
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8th January 2008, 21:47
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2nd February 2008, 20:05
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Bangalore
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| PART III - Goa-Gokarna-Mangalore-Cannanore-Calicut Ok, so where did I trail off...ah, Goa it was. Allow me to take it from there... Day 6: Jan 1 2008 The time just after the New Years bash is usually spent in recovery and rejuvenation. None of that for us. We were up at noon on New Years day, thinking of ways to spend our last day in Goa. Since we had done most of the North stretch of beaches - Candolim-Calangute-Baga-Anjuna-Vagator, we decided to head further north to the new hippie hotspot, Arambol. Ever so reluctantly, we got our lazy backsides out of bed and crawled into the shower. Arrgghh...had one of those splitting headaches. Five minutes under the cold water and an extra large coffee took most of it away. All set to leave and we cant find Vix. It took a couple of calls before: Me: Vix, where the &*%$ are you?! Vix: laughs..getting a head massage. Me: Cool, shall pick you up on the way then..? Vix: er..actually I dont think thats possible..I have taken the car. Me: Ok, we are stepping out for breakfast, join us once you are done. Vix: cheeky tone well....the masseuse tells me shes going to be a while AND I have to take a shower once I am done cos I am all oily! Me: Right, see you in Kerala then. Once we had the car and driver back, we set course for Arambol. Heading North,we could see the change in scenery towards the Maharashtra border. About 10 minutes before Arambol, little shops selling touristy knick-knacks start to appear on both sides. This wasnt a get-away beach any more. Hippies clung to this beach as if they were in sight of Mecca.   [url=http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=505&i=31713383mb6.jpg][ Hit the beach shacks and ate the fresh catch to our hearts content. Decided to climb the hill at the north end of the beach. This place was full of small, cheap rooms for hippies to rent out. Found a quiet spot on top of the hill. Just us and a couple of new-age phoren sadhus basking in the sunset, light breeze in our faces. Ah, the small pleasures of travel.   On our way down, we chanced upon a shack with superb views of the beach. Settled down with some of the local brew to take in the magnificient sunset. Post-dinner, we headed back to Calangute and called it an early night. Day 7: Jan 2 The time had come to head back. With a heavy heart we stuffed our things into the back of the Swift. Surprising just how much it swallowed considering its size!  The drive out of Goa was a quiet one, almost as if each one of us were leaving home for a far-off land. Thats the impression Goa has left on me, each and every time. This time was no exception. Ash broke us out of our reverie: 'Guys, havent done a single south Goa beach..how about Majorda for lunch?' And the next thing we know, Jun takes a turn for the beach! Majorda turned out to be next to empty...great. But hey, whats with all these shacks with Russian sign boards and menus?! Picked a nice looking shack and ordered. Looking around, we could see that most of the clientele were Russians. Many of them were the Russian owner's friends too. Realisation dawned upon us that we could be in the esteemed presence of the infamous Red Mafiya  The beach itself is a bit different from those in the North. It was clean, sparsely crowded and the sand was grainy...in a good way. Found a comfy sun lounger for a quick snooze.    On our way back, we were stopped at the Karnataka border. The excise official poked his head in and asked us if we were carrying any liquor. We showed him our permits. He asked us to come into the 'office'. Here, a senior officer scanned the documents and in a sinister tone, pointed out that our destination read daman in all our papers. Dam(a)n! In all our excitement, we had forgotten to tell the liquor shop owner where we were headed to. And I cannot fathom how he came up with 'Daman'?! We were told to pay a fine of Rs.300/person. Realising that we had to minimise damage, we offered to pay a flat rate of 300 bucks for the whole shipment. Being the fine public servant he is, quietly accepted and send us on our way. Close to Karwar we came across a VIP convoy. The car at the back had a red sign that read 'Tail'. Quickly dispatched a couple of cars to land up behind the 'Spare' car, an old beat up Contessa with karnataka plates. Next up was the 'VVIP' lancer. I have to say the lead 'Police' vehicle wasnt happy seeing a little white swift making swift work of the lot of them. Bye Bye Bureaucrawl !!  The idea was to drive non-stop to kerala, into the night...till we saw signboards for Gokarna. This would make it easier we thought. The long drive back wasnt doing us any favours. Besides, all of us were secretly hoping the others would want to spend a night in Goks!! Found a decent room in no time and made for the beach. Night had set in and the trek down to the beach was, well...dark. Out came 4 mobile flash/torches. We walked right to the end of Om beach. Hardly anyone on the beach at this hour. It was dark as a dungeon and a no moon day to go with it. Saw a few guys camped out on the beach. sOuljah, I had a feeling you might have been there. Thanks again for the tips on Goks mate! We went into this cozy little shack. Just a few people around. The place had concrete platforms with straw mats to sit on. Hardly lit, we found this place charming! The brightest thing in sight was a standard yellow STD sign hung outside. Only beer we were told. Just fine, we said. Another bunch had sat themselves around a campfire outside. One of them was strumming to a Dylan tune. That and the soft sound of the waves washing in...and that was it. Nirvana! We ended with Jun toasting to more good times like these. Amen. Day 8: Jan 3 Woke early, miraculously. Hit the road after a quick breakfast of idli/vada and filter kaapi. The roads were dilapidated in some stretches. We sought solace in Neil Diamond and U2. Much needed shuteye followed. Made good progress while we came across a half decent stretch. We screeeched to a halt to take a toilet/tea break at Marvanthe beach. The guy at the stall proudly showed us the solar panel that he had installed. 'Light poora rath chaltha hai sir', he remarked. This green thing is catching on I tell you...   Ash had a severe bout of nostalgia when we neared Mangalore. He had spent a few years here in college. So we stopped at the local Coffee Day to see what the fuss was all about. We were not dissappointed, College town it certainly was! The roads improved after the Kerala border. Vix made short work of the road till Cannanore. Dropped off Ash and Vix at their place and bade goodbye. Jun despatched the next 70 Km to Calicut in just over an hour. We were home! My mom got the shock of her life when I off loaded the Goan merchandise - sausages, ready to eat packets of all sorts, sunburnt faces, lots of sand filled clothes and what not. Well, what can I say....4 guys, a swift diesel and 8 days of irresponsible, mind spinning, mad FUN!! Last edited by MaserQ : 2nd February 2008 at 20:11. |
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2nd February 2008, 20:35
| #19 | |
| Senior - BHPian  | Maser - cheers: Thats a brilliant write up !! I could feel the trip in your words ! Quote:
Goa - here I come !! | |
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2nd February 2008, 20:49
| #20 | |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: N.A
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Dil Chahta Hai ! Last edited by Steeroid : 2nd February 2008 at 20:55. | |
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2nd February 2008, 21:56
| #21 |
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10th February 2008, 17:38
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| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Bangalore
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10th February 2008, 17:50
| #23 |
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10th February 2008, 20:15
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13th March 2008, 17:02
| #25 |
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13th March 2008, 17:25
| #26 | |
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| GREAt write up MASERq. Quote:
Last edited by aah78 : 13th March 2008 at 22:49. Reason: Quote edited | |
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13th March 2008, 21:02
| #27 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Nice one MaserQ  How about writing a thriller ? Heard this one "Brother Pele's in the back, sweet Zina's in the front Cruisin' down the freeway in the hot, hot sun"? Reminded me of this song when I read your travelogue. Last edited by jkdas : 13th March 2008 at 21:04. |
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13th March 2008, 21:44
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13th March 2008, 22:06
| #29 | |
| Distinguished - BHPian   | Quote:
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13th March 2008, 22:13
| #30 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: "God's own Shaap"
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| Aah, the pleasures of being an untamed steed  |
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