Trip to Goa (Part 2)

Here it is, after a long long delay…finally I have decided to continue the narration. My earlier post is available here. Some photos embedded…

 

Sawani and Arjun in the car…

At Gokarna Beach

As you cross Panji and head towards Miramar beach, the place leaves you with never to end sceneries and you beg for more, wanting it never to end. The beautiful tree lined roads, extremely well maintained, row of houses/bungalows on the left and the sea/causeway at the right, with huge sea cruise ships making it an amazing sight. A sight that you rather want it captured in your eyes and heart, that one forgets to click snaps. Here are some..

On reaching “Panchavati” bungalow at Miramar beach, had clocked 14 hrs, trip meter showing 670 kms. Sawani, Arjun and I were really tired, but at the same time extremely excited to meet the folks who had driven from Mumbai/Pune.

 

Here’s Arjun in front of Panchavati, the bungalow where we stayed. So the gang was all there. It was the first time that all of us friends from college were meeting up with families together. We all met each other and the introductions were taken care and all of us and our better halves jelled fantabulously.

Families:-
Deore: Nitya and Shital with their daughter Gargi and son Arnav. In the photo below they are with Rhea, daughter of Mayur.

 

Here’s Gargi, photo taken by my son Arjun.

Dhokarikar: Vikram and Nital: Urf Mama & Mami (Seen at the back below)

Andu Chaudhari: This dude (in the foreground on the left in black) has not yet married, but being a post above the chief-engineer in the merchant navy, does come with the perks, that essentially translate to what’s the need for marrying eh ?

Kolwankar: Mayur, Mrunal and their daughter Rhea (and Gargi)

Nadkarni: Sanket, Sharmila and daughter Jenita (Unfortunately their not being at Miramar beach, I don’t have a family photo)..

and Ranade: Yogesh, Sawani and Arjun

So with the introductions over, we were treated to delicious and invigorating cup of tea made by Nital/Mrunal/Shital and all of us felt amazingly fresh. Goa does that to you. All of us relaxed, lazed around a bit for some time and then decided to head out to the Miramar Beach. All of us had a rollicking time at Miramar beach with the kids in particular literally having a blast.

We were really famished, so we decided to head to the Food Zone right on the beach, a nice beachside restaurant. We finally go the chance to parch our sore throats with the right kind of fluids that the body was craving for so much.

All of us gorged on beer, pizzas, burgers and truckloads of junk food. It felt good. Then headed back to Panchavati, our beer guzzling sessions continued way beyond midnight. All of us were in some sort of a frenzy…Vikram had got some cigars and we enjoyed them way into the night…all of us enjoying each other’s company.

The next day: 25th Jan

All of us decided to head out to Dona Paula in the bus.

It was great at Dona Paula, the pier was great.We carried all the drinks with us and had an amazing time. The kids were reveling in each others company and it was hard for us parents to contain them. Folks did some shopping, buying hats and loads of cashews..

It was lunch time and Nital and Vikram knew a great place for lunch at Calangute beach. So we decided to head out to Calangute beach, all of us had great time giving directions (since nobody exactly knew how to get there), with signboards on the road and Nital’s knowledge we reached Infantaria, a small joint. It was good, all of us enjoyed the meal. We spent time relaxing, guzzling beer accompanied by great food. All kind of items were ordered from fish, chicken, scallops to sirloin steak and lobsters.

We then decided to head out to Calangute beach for some fun and frolic. Sanket and family joined us at Calangute and now we were truly a gang. Calangute beach is extremely crowded, more so since it being a long weekend. But we managed to find a place and all of us went swimming in the ocean. It was great, kids and all of us really had a blast. We did have thoughts of indulging in extreme activities like para sailing, but the queues were horrendous…so decided to skip..We then found a shanty called the Blue Coconut Beach Shack and continued the fun. We drank like fishes and had an amazing time (time much needed and well spent)..Felt invigorating…

It was late till we headed back to Miramar beach…On the way back, in the bus, we had a program of story telling by Vikram to kids Arjun and Gargi. Arjun and Gargi reciting Shubhan Karoti, and then the “nav ghene” karyakram by Sawani and Yogesh (it seems they had done this program while on their way from Pune)..I totally flopped out on it…Sharmila had still to complete her quota of “nav ghene” but she just didn’t get the right words in the bus… The night was again spent having fun. Vikram and I headed out to order for some dinner and went to nice little restaurant. Food and drinks are comparatively cheaper in goa (unless you stay in some high end resorts). We relished on some Goan Made port wine and “Jambhul wine” , smoked cigars, had great food, catching up on all our college memories…We decided to extend our holiday by a day (everyone calling our individual offices informing them) and visit Tarkarli beach in Maharashtra.

The next day, got up had amazing tea made by Nital and all the ladies and sumptuous breakfast of cookies and biscuits. In the interim, I have an aunt who stays in Goa (Vasco), so thought of dropping her a line. My parents called me up and mentioned that they would be in Sawantwadi by noon. Considering that Vasco and Sawantwadi were in opposite directions, I mentioned to my aunt that I won’t be able to make it this time. She was disappointed, and I was profusely sorry for giving her such a short notice and not being able to make it..made her a promise that the next time we visit goa, we will definitely drop by her. She’s great and was more than accommodating. So the plan was that Sawani, Arjun and I would head out in the morning to Sawantwadi, meet my parents, have lunch and then head over to Tarkarli to gang up again. But there was a change in plan, these folks decided to meet us in Sawantwadi itself. Wet met my Dad and Mom at Sawantwadi. It was great…my dad used to work in Sawantwadi many years ago and we (as kids) used to visit him during our holidays. We saw the lake and the bungalow where dad used to stay. We met with Balu kaka, it was amazing, he seeing me all big with a kid.

Finally around 1pm the gang arrived at Sawantwadi and then we decided to head out for lunch in a local place where they serve some great local cuisine. The place was small, but smelt of lovely food. The service was pathetic, way under-staffed, but the food was delicious and homely.

After lunch by around 3:00 pm as we planned to head towards Tarkarli, some of the folks had second thoughts of going to Tarkarli and so the plan was changed to head back to Pune/Mumbai. It was a dampener…but it was allright..We then decided to head back to Bangalore as well…My dad mentioned to take the Amboli ghat, reach Belgaum and then back on to NH4. So we parted ways, these folks continuing on NH17 and we headed towards Amboli…We drove slowly, enjoying the ghat, debating whether to stay at Amboli ( I was pretty tired) but then decided against it..Lo and behold as we reach Amboli, we see the same Neeta travels bus and find the gang again at Amboli. Again all of us had some chit-chat but then we decided to continue our journey back to bangalore.

I drove all through the night  (sawani also didn’t sleep keeping me company…how sweet of her) and reached bangalore the next day at 6:00 am. Tired but invigorated…how’s that…

Was in office at 10:30 the same day…and then the reality sinks back in…

Cheers,
YVR