[frankmehta]

Hey guys, thank you so much for all those suggestions in my travel queries thread. Quite a brilliant set of suggestions and a great guide for us, with places to eat, stay and things to do. We actually ONLY visited the places mentioned by Team-Bhpians in my thread, and my friends realized the power of team-bhp this time. They had been calling me names like eyy Teambhp for quite a while now.. LOL!

We travelled by Neeta Volvo in their new B9R Volvo, which has semi sleeper seats in the middle rows and was very comfortable to travel in. The bus was very silent and killed all road noise. Even engine noise was kept to a minimum. The A/C cooled remarkably but it was a night journey both ways, so couldn't gauge the performance of the A/C. The air suspension was quite marvellous and needs a special mention.

Reached Goa and 'auditioned' 3 hotels, Paradise Village, Silla Goa(which the cab drivers took us to, and we later heard that Silla Goa gives the highest commission to cabbies) and the 3rd one was Raman Cottage. The rooms in Paradise were ok, but we felt there was quite a waste of space. Hence we decided to skip them and see Silla Goa.Rooms were ok but still not too god, considering we would be spending more than 1k per head per night on a tri-sharing basis.
Then the best thing ever happened and we reached Raman Cottage (thanks to rodie09). It's situated at Pobhra Vado on the Calangute-Baga stretch and it was the most beautiful hotel we have ever stayed in. There are nice a/c cottages in the cottages, and each cottage is connected to the other by a pebbled road in the sand. The rooms are spacious and well equipped. Clean place with a great pool and right on the beach. A pool table is also there, and its proximity to the beach is a big plus point. The A/C in one of the cottages was conked off but we got a new cottage later. Photos will show all 3 cottages. Room service is bad though, and the food in the restaurant is the weak point. The owner will not bargain much and they are particular about the pool and the surroundings, and that is the reason why it has been maintained well.

Places we ate in:
Brittos, Bosco's, Bobby's, Curlies, Souza Lobo, Infantria, Tito's, Mambo's
Things we did:
Ate, Slept, Drank, Slept, Lazed, Drank, Slept, Watersports, Ate, Slept, Drank, Shopping. The usual stuff everyone does in Goa.
We also went to the Night Market at Arpora that had some awesome crowd!! Also, that day there were some 21 contestants for the Miss India contest at the night market, since they had some knock out round at Titos before that. So even more fun

PHOTOs follow!

[prince_pervez]

Nice place there! Not so good food is sad. I was searching for any mention of Titos. And I got it in the last line. Your journey now stands complete!

[Spitfire]

Bring it on. Where are the pics of the contestants. You should start off with those.

Oh Home Sweet Home

[frankmehta]

More photos
Agua Lounge is also a nice place!

[T_Girl]

Hey the place looks cool!!!and location-the best.Infantaria is quite famous for its buffet breakfast.

[frankmehta]

it was soooooo difficult to weed out pictures with bottles them! lol. yep, that's all. contestants i didn't have a photo shoot with, but the 2 buttons in my head got a looot of pleasure :-P

[pulsar56]

The Banana ride is the best! I recommend everyone I know to take everytime!

it was soooooo difficult to weed out pictures with bottles them! lol. yep, that's all. contestants i didn't have a photo shoot with, but the 2 buttons in my head got a looot of pleasure :-P

Posting pics from a goa trip on T-BHP is very difficult indeed!

[dushmish]

Hi Frank, the hotel looks nice. I am planning a trip on the long weekend on 10th April. What is the tariff like?

[frankmehta]

tariff is as low as you can bargain. normally its 12 k per cottage per day for 3 people. we had 2 cottages :-) but its off season now and we paid 24k for 4 nights for BOTH cottages for 6 people. brilliant deal! ask the cabbies there to bargain for you, only at this particular place. the owner is slightly non compliant to new guests

[kannan666]

Hi Frank Mehta ! I really envy you............your crisp photos bring back a lot of fond memories that I have of Goa... - 'If there is a paradise on earth, it's here, here, here ! '

[dushmish]

Thanks Frank! I am not the best at bargaining. This seems a little costly for my budget. Shall check out some other hotels. Lovely pics you have posted.

[iceman7]

nice pictures mate.

Souza Lobo and Infantaria are sure great places to eat at in the Calangute-Baga patch.

The Banana ride is sooooooo much fun.

Miss India contestant pictures awaited

[lohithrao]

Wow nice report, Raman cottage looks neat...how much is the fare?

[nishantgandhi]

Originally Posted by frankmehta

tariff is as low as you can bargain. normally its 12 k per cottage per day for 3 people. we had 2 cottages :-) but its off season now and we paid 24k for 4 nights for BOTH cottages for 6 people. brilliant deal! ask the cabbies there to bargain for you, only at this particular place. the owner is slightly non compliant to new guests

12,000 per night per cottage? Thats steep for a couple looking to stay there. I thought it was a type and you meant 1.2k

Where are the pics of the contestants?? They would be more exciting than the regular Goa pics.

[frankmehta]

the contestants would not like themselves being shot by a complete stranger in half-chaddis. so i haven't taken them :-)
high hopes, tum log bhi