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This is a love story. This love story unlike others does have the usual elements of romance, mushy stuff and lots of details but is however one of true pure unadulterated love.

The discerning reader might question the appropriateness of a love story in a motoring forum but bear with me as the story unfolds.


After spending countless hours reading the so many travelogues on team-bhp since the past 3 years I have decided to unlurk and post this account of our trip to Goa. This is my way of giving back to the community something small in return for the pleasure that I have got from the community.

I am typing this post as we are crossing an awful road and level crossing after Ranibennur. We have been making good time compared to our previous visits and I have handed over the car control to my better half as I discover the children’s laptop and start typing. This narration is going to be quite rambling since I am typing this is bits and pieces. We might be jumping from present to past to future as the account carries on and there is not pretense at continuity. Stay tuned

Note: I typed the whole travelogue in bits and pieces and edited it after completion. As I edit this travelogue before uploading it seems to be more a foodblogue or resterauntblogue but since we have spent most time during our journey eating it does seem appropriate

Act 0 Scene 0

Planning a holiday in our household is a complex affair. With two high school children it is always difficult to find a time to take a vacation. Battery of classes, tuition and hobbies makes getting the exact time slot a challenge. The way we go about it is that 2-3 months before the slot is identified the planning begins in right earnest. Planning involves asking all and sundry about good places to visit, reading team-bhp travelogues section and general googling and interneting. If the need for the vacation is very strong then visits to travel agents are also made. If the travel expo held periodically at the Kanteereva Stadium overlaps with the planning phase, we visit the expo, pick up tons of pamphlets and try to convince millions of time share resort representatives that we are serious about not buying a time share in their resorts even though we know we are loosing an opportunity in a million. Having these volumes of pamphlets, bookmarks, mails and information the next step is in shortlisting the destination. My wife likes to go to a different place every time with Kerala being the top in the list and we almost decide on Kerala. The next part is however where the process breaks down. 2 daughters and I then ignore all the information and material we have collected and decide on Goa which normally is #3 or #4 on the list. This is much to the chagrin of my wife who would like to visit a new place every time but does not have a hope since she gets out voted 3-1. We do assuage her feelings by committing that we will go to Kerela the next year but I suspect that she does not believe us.

Traditionally this trip is made in the first week of October and having missed this annual pilgrimage last year, the need for a visit this season was very strong. The plan was made around September and the next steps of decisions had to be made.

The questions which kept cropping up were:

1. Should we drive down as usual or try something different like train/flight?
2. On which date should we leave?
3. If we drive down what time should we leave in the morning?
4. If we drive down should we take Lucia (Honda City) or Steffi (Chevrolet Beat)??
5. Should we stop on the way somewhere instead of making the single non stop trip we usually make?

The decision making went on till day D-1 and in fact was being debated as late as 12 hours before departure.

Why Goa one might ask? After all we have made so many trips in the past, why not see some place new. This is where the love angle comes in. When I have a dreamy look on my face and far away look in my eyes, it is clear to all that I am thinking of my love - Goa. The images of the beaches, sun, sand, surf, landscape, food and of course the wonderful people brings out the poetic instinct in me. The only known element that almost brings out this instinct is Scotland's best – Laphroaig but that does not come anywhere close. Since a trip to Goa almost a decade I have become a committed Goa-philes and my family shares this love. There is something about Goa that can only experienced and cannot be described or read about.
Why is that the air suddenly changes as one crosses the border shortly after Karwar ? After all a border is simply an artificial line drawn by people. I suspect that wall of the first bar after Karwar is the Goa border. But the air has suddenly changed once we cross this line and smells different. The trees look different. The attitude of the people is different. This fact is confirmed by my family and it may some collective hallucination?? I keep pondering over these mysteries of life.

Act 1 Scene 1

The trip almost did not happen. The original plan was to take Lucia and leave on the 8th or 9th. There was some talk about forgetting Lucia and taking Steffi since Lucia has already made so many trips and crossed 55K while poor Steffi has just made one trip to Mysore and has yet to cross 5K.(Refer question 4 from Act 0 Scene 0) To prolong the decision making process we got both Steffi and Lucia roadworthy. This is not to suggest that they were not roadworthy to begin with, but a oil check, filter cleaning etc, does not do any harm. Deciding where to stay is a no-brainer since we have a standard place in Benaulim where we stayed in the past, like to stay and looks like we will continue to stay whenever we visit. Tourist Season not having started made things easier since there was no need to be very firm on dates. The original trip of leaving on the 8th got stuck a bit due to pressures in office as well at my wife’s work. To remove the uncertainty date was shifted to 9th. School exams and high pressure at work prevented any serious planning except for phoning JLN to find out route conditions since he seemed to be the last one at team-bhp to have made the trip, had the most accurate route info and also seemed to have meticulous details along with a photographic memory. A print out of his post was made and added to the Goa folder. Around the 8th it became obvious that the trip would have to be postponed and we reluctantly shifted the date by a day. The problem was that we would miss out the Saturday in Goa. On a vacation every day is the same and one does not need to distinguish between Sunday and Monday. Goa however has some life on weekends and it felt bad to miss this. Things continued to deteriorate on the work front on the 9th and there was a chance that we would need to call of the trip. At 6:00 evening on the 9th I took a GO decision much to the relief of the household. Questions asked in Scene 0 Act 0 were also answered and we decided that Lucia would take us. Earlier plan of leaving at 2:30 was shifted to 3:30 and finally frozen at 4:00


-to be continued-

Super! :thumbs up

You've kept me at the edge of my seat with the way you've captured the essence of the drive! I've posted a Bangalore - Goa - Bangalore travelogue recently as well, and although I haven't finished it, I feel like I haven't prepared enough information and pictures! Your style of writing is oh-so-captivating. I fear my thread wouldn't be half as good, although I'm not one to compare!

Looking forward to reading more! Oh, and some photographs would be great as well! :)

Thanks a lot. You have inspired me to complete the next installment and I will post it in a short time

Deepak

Hmm I see some parallel travelogues about Goa. Maybe we should have had a mini Team-bhp meet there ?



Sunday 10th : 4:30 AM IST on the dot. Airport Road

The 4:00 AM deadline for departure has passed but we are not yet ready. I have been ignoring the last and final boarding calls from my family and continue sipping a cup of coffee. The threat of leaving without me is an idle one since I have the car keys in my pocket. Finally at 4:30 Luggage packed, checklists checked and trip log filled in we set off. There was a thought of going through the NICE road but the early hour and the assumption on lack of traffic has tilted the scales in favour of Yeshwantpur. It is exactly 2 years since I had gone on this road stretch and the improvement in infrastructure is amazing. The last time in 2008 it had taken me 1 hour to cross the first 29 Kms , today we covered 60 kms in the first hour. It might have been even faster if the Neelamangala flyover was opened. It seems to be ready but waiting inauguration. One of the stretches seems to have just been opened and the personnel manning the toll booths are in training. The toll booth guy goes through the motions of collecting toll but does not actually collect the money and waves me through.
The general condition of the road is getting better now and a lack of traffic at this time allows us to whizz. Since breakfast had been packed we do not have to waste time stopping for food and simply dine “in-flight”. As I compared my log with the previous trip it was clear that we were making much better time which inspires us to skip some more customary stops and try and reach our destination as soon as possible. Detailed timing logs have been posted in routes forum. Driving is a pleasure and I goad Lucia to reach 150 on a straight stretch. This is more to check Lucia’s power and I decelerate to cruise at a more comfortable 110 - 120. Indian roads are just not designed for speeds above this. Dawn has broken and I hate the plain stretches and hope that the highways authorities and forest department get around to planting big native trees instead of shrubs they are so fond of.


How do you overtake with such road hogs?





We soon cross the windmills and take the customary photograph.









We do stop for a coffee in the Reliance Kamts and winded up having a couple of Idlis too. This is the Kamats before Hubli, Food is okay, service super efficient, restrooms not exactly okay and words cannot do justice to the dustbins outside.



This photo below might.






I had eaten in this place when it part of Reliance A1 and been disappointed when Reliance suspended operations. These restaurants filled in void in having a comfortable place to stop. It is nice to see that this place has reopened now under a different management and has healthy competition all across.

The stretch after Hubli bypass is also very disturbing on the eyes with lots of garbage left on the road and also a continued lack of trees and cover. The roads from Hubli to Ankola are much better now and I manage an average of 60+ kmph. From my previous logs I see that 50kmph was the average earlier. The problem is the 2 lane and truck traffic which makes overtaking difficult. However the time does fly and then stretch through the forest is relaxing in spite of all the speed breakers. To the best of my knowledge there is no wildlife in this forest and driving fast is no risk to the non existent denizens of the forest. We did see a pitiful site of a domesticated small calf run over and lying on the road. I am careful of domestic cattle thereafter.


There is a van carrying vegetables. An old lady is sitting on the vegetables completely oblivious of the surrounding traffic. Photo does not come out too clear






The first glimpse of the sea comes at Ankola though I am not sure if it is the ocean or a river mouth. We just get a short glimpse and are soon at the outskirts of Karwar. The sea view is beautiful as usual though the navy or port authorities seem to have put some barricades on the hill where one used to get the wonderful view of the ocean. Spoilsports.



12:00 Karwar

Should we stop for lunch or have lunch in Goa ? We do stop at Lotus in Karwar to check out the place. The place looked very clean and neat but it also looked like food would take a long time so the decision was made to go on. At approx 1:00 we reach the border. This is the point we typically become emotional and also dread the customary useless questions from the police or tax auhtorities. Last time they made me fill some forms the purpose of which I was not sure. What do they do with these forms. This must be creating useless employment to lots of people I guess. Forms have to be collated, stapled, stamped filed which requires people. Lessons from School Economics on disguised unemployment flashes before me.



Border - The story of the wire you see is a long one and needs a separate post.


This time I just whizzed through the border. No idea why no one stopped us but I did see a couple of young people on a mobike with a dazed look held up on the Karnataka side. Never understood what the police or tax people are actually looking for at the border. I understand (not fully though) that they do not want you to carry alcohol, but that is into Karnataka from Goa. Why bother if you are leaving Karnataka for Goa ? This question has me baffled since a long time and I have not had the guts to go and ask them. Anyone knows?


Rear window just after border



The scenery suddenly changes as we cross the border. Is it the so many ramshackle bars and restaurants? Are the roads suddenly looking different? Are the houses different? Well something or everything is different but it is so difficult to pinpoint what.

At 2:50 we are at Benaulim
Benaulim is what western comics and books of the past where men were men would be called a “one horse town” There is a main cross called Maria Hall though that might not be the official name. The road west goes to the beach, the road east goes towards Margaon. The road north towards Colva and the road south towards Varca where many of the 5 star resorts are located.





Main Cross at Maria Hall


There is a bus stop and a small ledge where there are always between 2-5 people sitting. When we first saw this a few years back there seems to be always 5 people sitting and hence it got christened the Panchayat. The Panchayat members don’t seem to know the concept of time. They seem so contended just sitting and chatting with each other or staring at nothingness. It always makes me wonder on what sort of problems they might be having, if at all and if so do they worry about their problems. I have also been tempted to just go there and sit myself but am worried that I might be accused of usurping the Panchayat.





The Panchayat though not in full session

The beach is 2.5 kms from Maria Hall and is lined with a couple of shops on both sides followed by a stretch of fields before reaching the beach.

There is general irritation since all are hungry. Without unpacking we rush to the beach hoping we might be able to grab a bite if any of the shacks are open so late. The first shock hits us when we see that the Benaulim beach parking is full. Cars, mobikes and hordes and hordes of people. Johncy is supposed to be a nice place and is packed. We do get a table and I start hydrating my system which had got badly dehydrated. We order our customary sea food and pork and then leave everything to Karma. One important thing to note in Goa that time is a different concept as thought about elsewhere.. If one is short of time and is in a hurry, Goa is not the place for you. My normal patience (self assessed) is taxed when the food comes in the wrong order with the main course coming first followed by starters after some time and my pork chilly fry being forgotten. On reminding the steward I hear the usual “it is just coming”. However his expression of puzzlement followed by his surreptitious looking at the order book, banging his head and rushing to the kitchen confirms what I suspect - He has forgotten to place the order. He now refuses to make eye contact and finally after 45 minutes of waiting when I ask him to forget the food and get the bill he triumphantly and returns with the trophy of pork chilly fry. This is not a goanese dish as I had thought but is somewhat though not exactly Chineese. First meal in Goa has been disappointing. It is now 4:30 and it is latest that I have had lunch in a long long time. We get back home and unpack and plan for the evening. There is an elegant restaurant called Pentagon near Majorda that we had liked and we head there at 08:00 PM. The problem is that I don’t remember exactly the route to Pentagon and need to keep asking. Nice Goanese people like most of us are warm hospitable people and don’t like to be in a position where they cant help. If they don’t know the way, their hospitality prevents them for informing us that. If we are looking for Pentagon they will assume that it would logically be near Hexagon or Octagon. Go first left and then second right is the same as go right first and then second left. Lots of contradictory directions gives us a drive through many of the small roads and with some meandering we do finally find Pentagon.. There is a live band playing and the place is not too crowded. Place is as elegant as before though the food quality is not the same. It seems that there are very few Goanese actually in the services industry, Most of the people including chefs are from elsewhere and it is a pity that the number of places where you can get authentic Goanese cuisine is reducing, I assume that the smaller non touristy places away from the hubs might be the better places though as tourists I have never tried such places.
The atmosphere is still the same and the number of foreign tourists seems to be very high in this restaurant. The band is playing well and the music is inspiring people to dance. There is a couple waltzing so elegantly. Seeing too much of the bollywood dances I have forgotten what “classical” dance is like and we get mesmerized by the fluid movement and grace. Some resident expatriate doctor starts singing most of the popular songs dubbed in what sounds like French.

My pork Vindaloo is disappointing making it 2 disappointments of the day. I have never had consistent Pork Vindaloo and maybe some experts in the forum can help here. Why is that this dish is so different in every place? What is really authentic Vindallo? Is Alu really an ingredient in Vindalo as Pentagon had done ? Anyway the atmosphere more than makes up for the food and we leave with a good feeling. it is very important in such vacations to set your expectations to zero so everything comes finally as a pleasant surprise. Today we would have been very happy even if our expectation had been set high

Driving back I observe the familiar fogging of the window with the humid air. Though it is not raining or drizzling the wiper needs to be on. Day 1 is over

lol: You've got very Good writing skills.
Keep it coming..Even without many pics it feels like being in Goa.

Good start Deepak, waiting for more snaps.

You mentioned Steffi and Lucia. Who is who? :)
The snaps do not reveal that secret!

Thanks - i was not sure if people were reading my post. I am now inspired to complete Day 2 which is awaiting editing and possibly masala-fying.


I dont have that many photographs - will add the few that I have to the next post


It was mentioned in the first post. Lucia is my Honda City GXi 2004 model named after Paco De Lucia the worlds greatest guitarist - in my opinion that is.
Steffi is the Chevrolet Beat belonging to my wife named after Steffi Graff, at one time the worlds greatest tennis player.

Sorry if that was an anticlimax.There are some photos of Lucia coming up if that is a consolation:)

Deepak

Its different, something different.

waiting for more!!!

HI Deepak

Am a bit of a experimental cook who likes trying out new recipes. Pork Vindaloo is basically pork+vinegar+aloo. So yes, it should have aloo. But regarding it tasting different at different places, your guess is as good as mine though I know that people in Coastal Karnataka and Goa use a powder called Bafat in all their pork dishes. Bafat is basically a mixture of various spices, like a garam masala, and that could be the reason for the difference in taste.

Good writing skills though and I agree with your comments about 'laid-back' Goa.

Subs

Hi Deepak,

As AP has put it, this TL of yours is definitely different. I really like your narration style. Looking for more.

This is fantastic! :thumbs up

To begin with, my memory of our trip last week is still fresh and after seeing these photographs, it just instantly takes me back there! That picture of the Maria Hall junction is exactly where we got a bit lost. Go 'west' from Maria Hall (towards the beach, I think!) and drive about 300 meters and on your left side, there is a bright-green house with a matching green jeep! Did you see that? I've even posted a picture of that in my t'log!

And I also noticed that you left for Goa on the 10th of October. Ironically, that was the day when we drove back to B'lore from Benaulim, Goa! For all you know, we might have crossed paths! ;)

This is where I am so sure. I have had both Alu and non alu versions though it seems mostly without Alu. I thought Vindalo is the paste ?? The best pork vindalo that I have had is the one that some Goanese family friend used to make and send across a couple of decades back. A close second is the one I make once in a couple of years. Both do not have Alu as a component. New Frosty's in Indira nagar as also bamburies did experiment for a short time with precooked Vindalloo but somehow it never caught on. You do get Pandi Curry etc. but I have not really seen ready to eat Vindalo.

Deepak

I dont remember the house or jeep but will check your TL once again and see if that jogs the memory. Yup we would for sure have crossed paths. I think we need to have some mechanism of figuring out who is where and see if we can catch up

Deepak

Somethings I forgot to mention in my first post. Flat owners in Goa need to fill “T-Form” and submit it to the police station whenever there is a change of tenant. I am a tenant in an apartment even though staying for only 5 days. I had filled in the form during the last trip but do enjoy filling in the form again and handing to the flat owber – sample follows ((sorry I dont know how to format it in a table - Italics are my response):


1. Description:
a. Height: 5 feet 8.5 inches
b. Built: Slim
c. Complexion: Brown
d. Face: normal
e. Eyebrows: Present
f. Moustache: Absent
g. Beared: Absent
h. Identification marks: Nil


Some of the questions are easy while some will stump you. My answers to the questions may seem a bit frivolous but I don’t know what else is appropriate. I am technically guilty of lying when I say I am slim built but hope that the Goanese police are forgiving for such minor transgressions.


I am again stumped with filling in details of the current address. Village – Bangalore is clear but what Taluk is Bangalore a part of ?? I leave it blank

Question 12 is easy to answer

12) Party/Group/Organisation affiliation: PROUD INDIAN

I never did receive any summons from the police and assume that my answers have been accepted.

Some other photos



View from the balcony. it overlooks some plot with trees and dense vegetation



View from the living room



Chez Pentagon from Day 1

Day 2:

For someone who normally wakes up before 6:00 AM, 7:45 is really late. Guess we were too tired after the drive. Strangely the laptop is free and I manage to get some parts of the travelogue written before the children manage to snatch the laptop away. Breakfast is toast with chicken loaf which hides the liberal amount of butter applied on the toast. I can feel the cholesterol solidifying on my arteries and have started marking my blood group as UB+ wherever required to be stated.



Chicken loaf skilfully placed so as to mask the butter. Concentrated Cholesterol

After breakfast is time for the beach. Benaulim beach is a crowded beach better avoided and we prefer the relatively unknown Sernabatim which is one beach away. That is one of the major advantages of having a car - one can just keep driving till one finds a place one likes. Unusual weather has made the sea more dangerous with stronger currents and the life guards are more vigilant than usual. We pitch camp next to the life guards next to Sernabatim. The tide is coming in and it is great to swim in the water.

The pleasure of just sitting in the sand, looking at the horizon and enjoyment of unknowingly meditating on nothing is again an experience and cannot be described. No words, no photos can convey that emotion and it just needs to be experienced. Not wearing a watch confuses the system and time looses it meaning. A strange thing is that time seems to get compressed. When you are having fun time normally flies. Here we are having so much fun and it is only an hour and it seems like so long. Maybe this is what Einstein was talking about and managed to get the Nobel prize? Maybe if I meditate some more, I will also get a Nobel prize?




Sernabatim Beach

Slowly the tourist influx increases and a decision is made to keep the stuff in the car and simply walk northwards on the beach. We walk for a kilometer or so on the beach towards Betalbatim and then head back to Furtados, one of the eating joints in Sernabatim. The food here is okay and not great. The shack is on the beach and the photos below might convey a bit the atmosphere.











Attachment 440510

What more could a person ask for

The Furtado menu seems to have been scaled down and Chinese, Tandori and Mughlai seems to have more prominence. Food is nothing much to talk about and Food finished we head back home.

A debate starts immediately If we go home we are sure to siesta and it does seem a waste. A compromise is reached with younger daughter and I going right back to the beach. Armed with my sun glasses and a bottle of water we go to Benaulim beach. This is a fool hardy thing to do on a hot sunny day at 3:00 in the afternoon and the Sun is burning the skin. We bump into our old friend Bulu, Chief Sales Manger and also the operations manager of one of the parasailing setups whom we first met in 2007.. He is from Orissa (what we Bangaloreans call “my native”). He remembers us and I am surprised that he has been here for so many years and that he remembers me though we meet once a year. . He introduces us to his brother who has now joined him in trying to round up customers for parasailing. Business is not too good he says since the season has not started. We want to do parasailing but as usual he does not quote a price and says to “give what ever I think reasonable”. Commercial terms have not been finalized as yet but I tell him that we would be coming next day. Daughter and I walk down from Benaulim beach northwards and before we know it we are back in Furtados. We have long discussion on philosophy, life, its mysteries and a host of other topics before heading back to the car. It is now 3:30 and we still don’t feel like going home. We decide to drive ahead southwards find some other beach and walk there. Near Varca we get tired and finally decide to head back home. We see the sad sight of some school children returning from school. This is a subject that has always puzzled us. Do children really go to school in Goa? Isnt is cruel ? Do people really go to office here ? Do people have regular 9-5 jobs ? It seems so strange and we feel bad for the poor kids.

A short rest and we are off to Colva beach for a stroll and some small time shopping. The Colva of 2010 is very different of the colva of 1979 when I first went there. It looks now like a combination of Commercial street and Brigade Road. This is the most touristy part of South Goa and we normally try and avoid this place as much as possible. We do go there once per trip for shopping and withdrawing money from the ATMs.



This photo was taken on Day 4 in Colva and shows the crowds. it gets far worse

Dinner is at Pedros which is bang on Benaulim beach. The place is not too crowded and johncys seem to be a more happening place. However we want to eat in all the different places. . The pork Vindalo is far better then the one at Pentagon and I relish it – my ambition of having a decent Pok Vindaloo finally being achieved . It is now 23:000 and we are back at home