25th September 2009, 13:15
| #16 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 420
Thanked: 60 Times
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25th September 2009, 14:16
| #17 |
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25th September 2009, 15:22
| #18 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Nice start nnandi. Possibly we might have crossed each other atleast in some places  |
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25th September 2009, 17:06
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25th September 2009, 19:00
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27th September 2009, 00:19
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27th September 2009, 09:00
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About DCH shooting, was not sure where it happened, some rumors floated in the group about Aguada. Nevermind, it gives another reason to visit Goa in the future, possibly as part of tbhp meet! BTW, I am extremely sorry that my posts are coming so late (almost 1 per day). Actually it's durga puja and we are "Pandal" hopping most of time, so not getting time to post the remaining. But should be complete by tomorrow- both the durga puja and this travelogue! Last edited by nnandi : 27th September 2009 at 09:02. | |||||||
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27th September 2009, 09:52
| #23 |
| BHPian | Day 4: Panjim and South Goa. Day 4: (21-Sep) Had a relaxed sleep (finally got used to the place) and woke up at 7:30am. Son woke up along with me and he looked much better. The cough had subsided, though he had a running nose. So we thought of going ahead with the day’s plan of South Goa and in-around Panjim city. Quickly called up Abhijit (“spitfire”) at 9am and asked about the important places in South Goa and the routes. Once I got the info, I was set for the day. We got ready, finished breakfast made of aloo parathas at a local joint (“Yash Restaurant”) opposite our hotel which cost me Rs. 110 and then hit the road around 11am. Yash Restaurant  First destination was old goa, to see the Cathedral and Mangeshi temple. The Basilica of Bom Jesus & Se Cathedral was quite old and looked like…a church! From the outside, it looked quite grand. And being a Monday, there was not too much crowd. We went inside and were pleasantly surprised to see the grandeur. It was undergoing renovation in several places. My wife had bought some candles, we lit them and vowed to come back again! Basilica of Bom Jesus & Se Cathedral    It was around 12:15 and the next destination was Mangeshi temple. It was way out of panjim city and was on NH17. The parking to the temple was about a km walk. But in the hot and humid climate, it seemed more than several kms. The temple courtyard was undergoing construction. The structure looked quite nice. It had a beautiful pond adjoining the temple. No pics were allowed inside the temple. So, took some externals pictures only. Mangeshi temple     By the time we started for south goa beaches, it was around 13:30. We reached Colva beach around 14:30 & stayed there for half an hour. Then we were hungry and thought of having food in a beach-side shack called Kentukee, which was overflowing with people. The waiter said any order is going to take more than an hour to deliver, which was too much for us to wait without fainting! So we drove back some 2 kms and found a restaurant called “hang out”. We ordered some starters, main course and some cold drinks. And we ate peacefully. The bill came to Rs. 450. Luckily it rained the entire time when we were in the restaurant and that cooled the outside temperatures. By the time we came out of the restaurant, it was almost 17:15. I wanted to see Bagmalo beach near Vasco, but time was running out and we had to finish the Mandovi river cruise by today. Reluctantly, we dropped Bagmalo and drove straight to Dona Paula near Panjim. By the time we reached Dona Paula, it was around 17:50. Because it had rained earlier in the afternoon, it was sparsely crowded and the walkway looked amazing in the evening light. Clicked some pictires and headed to the main Dona Paula area. dona paula        Water sports was going on in this place, a water scooter took people for a round in the sea. water scooter   People all over the area were catching fish and I witnessed my maiden experience of “how to catch fish”. Fishing    We left Dona Paula around 19:25 after having some Tea and reached Mandovi river at 19:40. Parked below the brigde (official parking area for cruises) and got the tickets for the 20:30 ride in “Coral Queen”. Each ticket was Rs. 150 and kids (whatever age) also needed tickets, no concessions! Coral Queen Cruise   We got onto the cruise vessel at 20:30 and sat on the lower deck where all the fun and dance was to happen. The steamer started at 20:40 and people started hitting the dance floor. After sweating the whole day, my energy levels were totally sapped; so I preferred sipping a drink and watched wife and kid dance their way to glory! Some cultural dance programmes also happened in between and those were quite interesting! cultural dance   We went past the casino vessels which were floating on mandovi river. Was quite tempted to go in and try my luck, but was quite exhausted by then and could only think of a bed! Floating casinos   Around 21:30, the cruise promptly ended and docked us back in land. We started for home, realizing that it was quite late and the streets were almost emply by then. At the deviation from Panjim to Calangute, we found a nice looking restaurant called “the urban dhaba”. Urban Dhaba  Since it was late, we thought we would eat and then reach the resort. We went in to find the décor quite neat and nicely done. Sat at a desk and asked the specialities of the restaurant. Finally settled on some Golden prawns fry, Chicken handi, assorted breads (for us) and chicken hakka noodle (for the kid). By the time the food came, my kid had already finished a coke and was not hungry. But seeing the food, me and my wife attacked with renewed vigor! The food was yummy and very tasty. Every bit of the chicken was perfectly cooked, the golden prawns just melted in the mouth! Even though after my stomach cried for break, I did not heed and stuffed more even after the internal auto cut-off signal. Wife feeding kiddo at Urban Dhaba  The bill came to Rs. 620 and was worth each and every penny. We paid and started around 23:30. By the time I reached our room, it was midnight and my kid had slept off in the car. I parked, carried him to the room and placed him on the bed; luckily he was quite tired and kept sleeping. Later, took a bath to take away the day’s exhaustion and retired from the hectic day at 00:45am. [To be continued: Day 5- Last few North Goa beaches]. |
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27th September 2009, 12:12
| #24 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: MH42
Posts: 2,006
Thanked: 334 Times
| Nice pictures and a proper travelogue.  |
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27th September 2009, 12:26
| #25 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: BLR/EWR
Posts: 780
Thanked: 368 Times
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27th September 2009, 20:16
| #26 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | I am also pleasantly surprised to see that you have taken pain of shooting pictures of each restuarant you visited and posting them here, it indeed provides a good insight. During one of my trips, I misplaced my purse in a car (Alto) that we test drove for hiring and ultimately decided on a zen. I realized about the purse after i told the Alto guy who had already left by then, so immediately raced behind him and caught the driver going into Urban Dhaba and luckily found my purse in the space between the front two seats. Thankfully, driver was not even aware it was there. |
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27th September 2009, 20:24
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| Senior - BHPian | Quote:
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28th September 2009, 09:37
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BTW Abhi, when are you back in "namma bengaluru"? @mobike008, JMaruru, Ashishpallod: there were 3 reasons compelling reasons for me to go to Goa. First was beaches, 2nd was food and all varieties of cuisines and 3rd was for something which I cannot mention here. So, my travelogue has careful details of the restaurants where I freaked out! Last edited by nnandi : 28th September 2009 at 09:41. | |
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28th September 2009, 10:34
| #29 |
| BHPian | Day 5: last day in Goa. Day 5: (22-Sep) Today should be a relaxing day. Or that was what I thought! Only thing left to do was adventure sports, but was informed that it starts only from Oct, which is the beginning of season time in Goa. We started the day leisurely at 10:30 and hit a shack in Anjuna beach for breakfast. We ordered some sandwiches and sat at the cliff facing the sea. It was a wonderful view from there of the rocky Anjuna. Anjuna beach shack restaurant  Son getting ready for the beach games  More Anjuna  By the time we finished breakfast, it was almost 11:45pm and then we climbed down to the Anjuna beach. My kid was very excited and wanted to play in the sand. After 45 mins, he was happy to come out only when I promised to take him to another beach. From there, we went to Vagator beach at 12:45. This beach is simply awesome, with a lovely spread of sand on one side and rocks on the other side. The rocky cliff side had coconut trees shooting out in the direction of the sea and made it a photographer’s delight. The color of sand in this beach is different than other north goa beaches. This beach was silvery compared to other beaches which were yellowish/golden. Also, the wet sand had quite some blackish color which came and hit us when we were bathing in the sea. The beachside shops selling clothes/jewelleries/Goa mementoes were also cheaper than Calangute/Baga areas! I clicked some pics and headed to the sandy side for a long sea bath. Vagator beach      Played in the sea for around 1.5 hours; kids and their parents had a blast! The sun kept burning us to higher shades of darkness and we enjoyed getting the sandy seawater hitting our bodies and scrapping the skin! The beach bathers  Finally returned to our resort around 15:30 for lunch. Our resort served a unique Bengali thali which we wanted to try. Since they said it would take 20 mins for getting the food ready, we quickly went to our room and took bath. By 16:00, we finished our thalis like hungry ravens. The food was simply awesome, for a Bengali it was like a special day! The spread had rice, aloo posto, shukto, ghee, daal, calta fish curry (small boneless cubes), chatney and gulab jamuns. It was so yummy that we instantly pre-ordered for 2 plates for the night, though we had other ideas for dinner. The bill came to Rs. 450. Around 16:45, we went to the room and fell asleep. We woke up at 18:15 with my son’s cries of ear pain. Because of bath in sea, a lot of sand & water had entered his left ear and he had a severe pain and an infection. He kept crying and I ran frantically to get some medicines. Finally after putting medicines and some pain killer ear drops, he was better and by 19:50, his pain had subsided and he was in his mischievous self again. My wife knew I wanted to go to Brittos desperately but didnot want to risk my son's condition, she herself told that since he is better, let's go! Reluctantly, a little selfishly, we went out Brittos with our ailing kid! Brittos   After having a couple of starters and drinks, my son’s ear pain started coming back. He started crying again and I started to panic. Quickly settled the bill (Rs. 250) and returned to the hotel. Headed for room and by 21:45, son slept off though kept tossing and turning. We took turns to finish the dinner at the resort cafe. I first asked my wife to go the restaurant and finish her food. She returned at 22:15 and then I went for food. The order was the same Bengali thali which I ate quickly & returned to the room at 22:30 after putting the bill against my room (Rs. 465). Talked with my wife about the seriousness of the condition and decided that tomorrow, we would alter our plans if my son did not get better. Our initial plan was to leave Goa late in the morning on 23 sep, stay the night at Shimoga after seeing Jog Falls and then reach Blore on 24 Sep afternoon in a relaxed manner. But if my son did not get better, we would make an early start and drive straight to blore. With this, I went to bed a troubled man and kept an alarm of 5:30am for the next morning. [To be continued: Day 6- Return to bangalore]. |
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28th September 2009, 13:16
| #30 |
| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chennai
Posts: 86
Thanked: 10 Times
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