Smile! It's Goa - 2 days of sun, fun and rava-fried shrimps.

We decided to celebrate Diwali differently this year. Let go off the sweets and crackers and head off to Goa. And wasn't that a brilliant decision!

We are unfortunately not one of those super-cool, super-organized people who plan months ahead for a trip, create excel-sheets to track their last penny or mug-up route maps. We are one of those fla-fla guys who get a brainwave a week before Diwali, when the rest of the country have already packed their suitcases.
Our conversation with our friends went something like this...
Friend: "Hey, what are you doing during Diwali?"
Me: "Nothing much..."
Friend: "Then let's go to Goa?"
Me: "Will we get tickets at this time?"
Friend: "Baah! That shouldn't bother you."

With such 'detailed' planning, it's no surprise then that let alone train tickets, we didn't even get proper tickets for any reliable Bus Travels. We ended up travelling in a nondescript Travels called 'Bhavani'. The AC didn't work the entire time, the bus driver somehow found all the holes and bumps in the road, a tyre got punctured in the middle of nowhere and we reached Panaji glamorously 10 hours late at

8pm!    

Day 1 or whatever was left of it...

The bumpy beginning didn't deter us. We cursed 'Bhavani' for one last time and landed up at our resort in Calangute, Goa. Freshened up in no time at all and decided to explore the night life in Goa. We weren't disappointed. There's this 'happening-street' in Calangute called Tito's Lane where all the Cool and the Clueless spend their nights. The street magically comes live at night, with brightly-lit resto-bars, highly-expensive pubs, discos and way-side stalls claiming to sell the best seafood. Targeted mainly at the western crowd, you can expect a humble omelette to sell for a princely 92 Rs (Gulp)! At the beach a LED-lit, cheap plastic headband sells for Rs 150 to Rs 200. At Chennai these cheap gizmos wouldn't have cost more than Rs 20. Anyway you get my drift...

Apart from the costly fares, the street is pure fun and the beach is brightly lit like Diwali all-year-round. We had our dinner at a small restaurant, the name of which I forgot. The food was fine and the bill was finer ;)... it was a jaw-dropping Rs 3000 for 2 beers and a few sea food items. We spent a couple of hours sitting peacefully and admiring a little girl performing fire-acrobatics at the beach. Her father passed a hat around, in which foreigners dropped in notes of Rs 500. My heart went out to the little boy whom I had 'generously' tipped Rs 10 for his brave tightrope walk on the streets of Calcutta. The poor guy had given me a thankful toothy grin - maybe it was his biggest earning of the day. Just shows how packaging and place makes a difference to the price!

It was 11.30 pm. We decided to call it a day after that. We were dead tired after our Bus-ride to explore any further. 

Day 2 on our bikes

We woke up bright and fresh at 10 am next day. Had a hurried breakfast at the resort and headed straight to a guy who gives bikes for rent. Took 2 Activa bikes for Rs 300/day each and decided to explore Goa. Bought straw hats and roadside 'Raybar' sunglasses as it was blistering hot. 

The best part about Goa is that people are friendly and you can never get lost. We visited the ancient church of Lady Immaculate Conception at Panaji and clicked a few memorable pics. We all vetoed against having lunch at Tito's Lane and instead decided to try our luck with the local cuisine.

Discovered a small place called Hotel Sagar which served yummy, simple food at half the rates. Had second servings of 'rava-fried' shrimps and calamari which were delicious. The waiter was so friendly that along with food, he also gave us tips on the best places to visit in Goa.

It was a BIG no for the casinos for the simple reason that we were on a budget and didn't have BIG bucks to blow away in gambling. Instead we decided to have some adventure and try out Jet Skiing at Dona Paula Bay. At Rs 300, for one round, it was worth every penny. 

After exploring Goa for a few more hours in our bikes, we headed back to our resort. An hour of rest and then we went crazy shopping in the streets of Calangute. Haggled like there was no tomorrow to buy some awesome accessories and clothes.

In the evening, we dressed up to party at Tito's Club. Tito's is this hipper-than-thou club where you can party till 3 am, it's free for ladies, drink tell you're dead and the best part is the drinks are free! We got a couples' ticket for Rs 1,500 (Tito's regulars say that this is cheap. In December during peak season, you can expect the couples' ticket to sell for Rs 5000 and more) drank hard and partied harder.

Day 3 and the last day in Goa

The boys woke up in the morning with a severe hangover. So we took it easy and spent the rest of the day at the swimming pool. In the evening, we got up on our bus back to Bangalore. Our bad luck with bus travel continued the way back too. The AC duct in the bus caught fire after just half an hour's travel and we sat on the road for two hours waiting for a replacement bus. Thank god, we had Lays chips and a stray dog for company. But that's a story for some other time....

Must Do's at Goa!

• Hire a bike and explore the non-touristy spots - There's so much more to Goa than pubs and beaches. Bikes can be hired for low rates. Just let the adventurer in you free and discover Goa the way that travel brochures can never describe.
• Try water sports - Holidays are about trying something new and bold. Goa is about water and there's no better way to feel the adrenaline rush than trying out different water sports.
•  Rava-fried Shrimps - I have become a huge fan of rava fried shrimps. Don't forgot to try them when you are at Goa.
  
• Party at Tito's - Let your hair down and have a blast at Tito's.  It's the best fix for months of stress-filled, deadline-jammed office hours.
• Haggle like hell when shopping - There's no shame in haggling. The shopkeepers expect you to bargain if you're an Indian. :) That comes with the territory. If you haggle hard, you can expect a reduction in rates by 60-70%.
• And finally don't forget to try out the seafood. it's fresh and tasty.

I plan to visit Goa again whenever I get a chance. It's beaches, parties, people, food... make for a memorable holiday. And hopefully I will plan better next time! :)  

Shoot! I've got a Scooty!

I had always thought of myself as an independent, modern woman who can make her own decisions and stand on her own feet. And for me, the ultimate symbol of any woman's freedom is when she can ride her own bike. Instead of the little black dress, I had always dreamed of the little, red Scooty that I would one day buy. In my dreams, I was this super cool chick  in her red Scooty who handled India's crazy roads effortlessly, whizzing past cursing car owners and cranky auto drivers, twisting and turning around alleys and impossibly small lanes and all this with a smile on my face. Of course, I owned a bicycle in school so how difficult it would be to ride a bike.... right? wrong!

My nightmare started after my well-meaning husband gifted me a red-n-white Scooty Pep Plus on my birthday. 4 months and 2 days later, me and the Scooty have to still come to terms with each other. I haven't even taken my Scooty alone for a ride. I always ride with my-knight-in-shining-armour-hubby-dear sitting behind me, ready to grab me and the bike (which embarrassingly happens more often than i would like to admit) if we were to fall.  I have now got a new-found respect for all those silk-sari-clad women with 2 kids, 4 bags and 2 water bottles in tow riding past me while i try to beg my bike to move an inch without stuttering. Their bikes blink back at me sarcastically while mine wheezes at the sight of a regular Indian pothole!

No Peppy ride this!

After much research and thought, I've come up with a few roadblocks that come in my path to become a true biker-chick:

1) U-turns are a complete no, no - My bike has a life of its own and finds it below its dignity to make a U-turn. Instead like royalty it takes the straight path and nothing else.

2) Parking Blues - I really don't get how people park their monster BMWs and Audis without breaking a sweat, while my little chihuahua refuses to enter a space where two bullets would have happily lounged. but my woes don't end there - I have realized taking the bike out of the parking area is a more tricky prospect than parking the bike. By the time, we find our way around a wall, a FZ, 3 splendors, a beggar and a tree and just avoided a yelling autowallah, my bike and I am in tears.

3) OMG, it's a Bump! -   Mysteriously, my bike stops right in front of a road bump and refuses to go over it. and this often happens in the middle of a jam-packed road during peak hours. I can almost feel hubby dear fuming behind me as angry horns blare around me, while i try to coax my poor bike to 'just do it'.

4)What traffic rules? - In Indian roads, there's an unwritten rule that everyone follows - that there's no rule! So even if my bike and I keep religiously to the left and follow all the traffic rules, there's always an idiot who almost runs over me, and shatters whatever little confidence I had in my riding ability.

5)The Free Advisers - Then there are the generous by-standers who are always ready with their truckloads of wisdom - 'No missy, take left' go right' 'didn't eat properly today.' 'that's why women should stay at home' 'In our days...". By this time, we both have called it a day.

I still dream of the day when me and my sleek, mean machine will ride together on the highways of Chennai in utter peace and pride.... until then its more potholes and roadblocks on the way for us!