Well moving on from my Gujarat experience, I still have many more places in India to review, as you can see a hell of a lot in 6 odd weeks. My next destination was one that I always wanted to go to, even as a child, however only experienced it in 2005, we went to the beautiful and tranquil place that is Goa. I had always heard such great stories about Goa, the people, the landscape, the whether etc, and my family had gone many times before I was born, and hearing them bragging about their experiences only made me more determined to visit it the next chance I got. This review, will focus about my time in Goa, I spent four days there and managed to see and do a hell of a lot, ill try giving some tips about what to see and do, the culture and lifestyle, some historical background and so forth, like many of my other reviews, so ENJOY.
History of Goa:
Goa, located in the western region of India, is the smallest state in India, in terms of area, and forth smallest in terms of population. Goa's name was originally derived by the Portuguese who ruled it over 450 years ago, and translated means "Patch of tall grass". Although Goa's past can go back a thousand years, its most important period was during the late 1400's when Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese explorer become the first foreigner to step foot their, and its Portuguese influence then made an ever lasting impact on the nation, with is religion, industrial architecture, sports and governing politics. About 65% of the population is Hindu, however over 38% of the population are Roman Catholic, whom were influenced during the Portuguese control. This makes Goa on of the most densely populated Christian Populated region in India, however several other cities do follow the religion.
My Hotel:
Now there are so many hotels in Goa, largely due to the fact that it has become such a global tourist attraction in recent years. Hotels range from small hostels, to 1 - 5 star resorts, along the beach or nearby the beach. We at the Holiday Inn Goa resort, which was one of the best hotels ive probably stayed in, better than Dubai I guess. This section will discuss the facilities of the hotel, the staff, the price, food and drinks, and general ease of getting around.
Price:
Price ranges can vary upon how many rooms you want, how many beds in each room and the duration of your stay. We stayed for four days, with 8 of us, sharing between four rooms. Each room included two single beds and cost us around £65 per night, we stayed in a standard room, however they also offer a balcony view, a pool view, and so on, however prices are more steep for those rooms. So all in all we spent £260 per room for the four nights, which included breakfast and dinner, so it was a really good deal. For more info on price range and room availability visit; (http://www.holidayinngoa.com/tariff.htm), prices may have changed since our 2005 visit.The Rooms:
We stayed in the Plaza rooms, because they were the cheapest for us; however they all seemed to be just as good as any other room. Each room came equipped with two single beds and a fold out coach that could also be turned into a third bed if needed. The rooms were fully equipped with air conditioning; however we were not too far from the sea, so you could really feel the sea breeze in your room, which was a big advantage. Each room came with the standard shower and toilet facilities, a colour television with most cable channels, CNN news was our main one, as well as a kettle, sink and small fridge to out your water in. The room included a standard safe, which meant we didn't always have to carry our precise passports or money we didn't need, I suppose the best bit was they had a mini bar, and sharing a room with my cousin meant we pretty much finished it once we left. Each morning, they would replace the bed sheets with new ones, place fresh flowers on the table and a mint under the pillow, just brilliant.
Facilities:
Like most of the top hotels in Goa, they offer numerous facilities to their guests, including a gorgeous swimming pool, use of gym, tennis courts and steam room, sauna etc. I used the gym every morning during my stay, woke up at about 5, because it was so sunny, gym was opened by 5:30 am and I would say I spent about two hours in their, working off all the food I eat the night before. Although the hotel had so many other facilities, we didn't see the point in using them too much, as we wanted to explore Goa, not its hotel, time spent playing tennis could be used to go the market and so on.
Food:
The hotel had many restaurants and food complexes, some of which you would have to make a reservation the night before. Food ranged from anything from North to South Indian food, to European and Continental cuisine. I would recommend trying the "Fish Grill", which is a sea food barbeque during the night, they serve their local fish, crabs, squid you name it, but it must be tried as Goa is famous for its seafood, for obvious reasons. Breakfast and Dinner are served in all the restaurants; however breakfast closes at 11:30 so make sure your awake early. The hotel also has a great bar, with vodka, run, Jack D, try their Coconut Rum, its brilliant.
Holiday Contact Info:
Holiday Inn Resort Goa, Mobor Beach, Cavelossim-Goa. Tel.:(91-832) 2871303 Fax ( 91-832) 2871333
The next section of my review, will focus on the places I saw and the things I did, if I will only talk about the major things I did, as I could really go on and on, but it would make this review like 10,00 words long, so enjoy this next section. Goa has so many attractions that have such a cultural and historical impact, from the time of the Portuguese ruling. Many of the Cathedrals ,and building we saw were styled the same, and gave us a sense of how big an impact this had.
Dudhsagar Falls:
Perhaps one of the most famous tourist attractions in Goa is the Dudhsagar waterfall near the Mandovi River. Now my dad has visited this a few times before and thus it was his idea to come hear, now im going to be honest I didn't at first want to see a waterfall, because I had seen so many in and around India, and when I went to Canada, so I though if ive seen one, ive seen them all, boy was I wrong. The waterfall is so unique and different, from the rest, its surrounding wildlife and habitants made this a brilliant trip. Now the reason this place is called Dudhsagar, is because translated it means "The Sea of Milk", why you may ask? Well because the water actually at certain times of the year looks like a milky white colour, its almost as if it really is milk going down from the top to the bottom, clear enough to drink with cereal. We got their by a coach trip organised by our hotel, most hotels organise similar things, however ask in advance, the trip lasts about 35 minutes and cost about £7, the coach stops off at a local town called Mollem. Mollem is a small town in Goa were the waterfall begins and from here you will be put in contact with a tour company that will arrange for you to go to the top of the waterfall, via a jeep ride. We needed to jeeps, four people in each and the journey to the top lasts about 25 minutes, a lot of bumpy rides along the way, but it also gave you a chance to see different sections of the mountain and the surrounding regions, the local plants, trees and if your lucky a few wild dogs and cats, as well as parrots on the way. The jeep ride was about £15 per Jeep, which wasn't at all bad, considering they took us up, waited for us as long as needed and took us back down.
The waterfall was within a National Park, now they do charge a small fee, we paid £1 to enter and £3 to bring in cameras, but this money is like a donation, to preserve and look after the park, it was worth it, as it didn't cost much. Now before we got to the waterfall, we had to go through a stretch of jungle, it was actually a really good experience, I always wanted to go to the Amazon Jungle, but this was the next best thing. During the walk through, you see local wildlife, you can here the birds singing, and if you were lucky enough you could see wild monkeys, they were really noisy. Once you make your way though this amazing jungle of wild habitants you arrive at the top of Dudhsagar Falls. The view from the top is simply breathtaking, at times it reminded me of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the last scene were Indy is at the top of the mountains, with the army after him. The water really was as milky as it could get, the smell of the clear water was vibrant, and the mist that brushes back on your face from the force of it hitting the rigid rocks. You can also have a little picnic at the top of the waterfall, however they closely monitor that all rubbish is taken with you, to keep the park clean.
The Beaches:
Goa is renowned for its beautiful, simple and exotic beaches that make you feel in a whole as if you really are in paradise, I must have visited a few beaches during my stay, all of which I found to be breathtaking. Wild coconuts on the sand bed, the water touching the tip of your toes, crabs making their way into the water, and fishing boats scattered around the beach were a common sighting. There were also many foreigners along the beach strip; it was like not being in India.
Anjuna Beach
Anjuna beach was one that we visited many times, it was actually very popular with tourists from American and Spain, and the beach stretched 8-km west of Mapusa. The golden sand, swift sea breeze, music and scenic views make this one of the most popular beaches within Goa. You can eat, drink and sleep within the beach, and depending upon what time of the day you come, there is always something happening. During the day, it's a place to just take everything in, relax, sip a coconut, and takes some sun in; perhaps go for a swim or even have some fresh fish for lunch caught only minutes before. However, in the evening this beach transcends into a musical carnival, with youngsters coming out to dance to the local music, a collection of Bob Marley, UB40 amongst other being played. A lot of the tourists their seemed to be Hippies, which was quite pleasant to see, since they were always looking for some cannabis to smoke. Other beaches that you should visit, if you get the chance are; Vagator Beach & Chapora Beach.
The Basilica of Bom Jesus:
Throughout your stay in Goa, you will really some breathtaking churches, the architectural designs, simplicity and colour really making them appealing to look at and perhaps visit. This holiday wouldn't be complete without visiting the St Francis Xavier Church, which was about 15 minutes drive from our hotel. A friend of mine, who has family on Goa, told me about this Church and so I decided to visit it. The church is in dedication of St Francis who came to Goa in the mid 1500's and has been a memorial of his work, faith and passion ever since. The church is open for both praying and tourist viewing and is usually open between 6:00 am till 6:30 pm. The church itself is simply beautiful; it has both an Indian and Portuguese influence, with a vibrant earth brown colour, spirals at the top of the roof. The inside has a simple layout, with pictures of the St's along with chairs to sit down on and. The wildlife around the church makes this place even more pleasant to see, we were lucky enough to see wild peacocks, and small wild money near by, whilst several palm trees are located towards the back of the church.
Shantadurga temple:
Along with many churches, Goa also has some of the most beautiful temples in India, and this one is no exception. What really attracted me to this temple was that you really got a sense that their was a lot of European influence in terms of deign, structure, colour position, unlike most Hindu temples across India, found this one to be very different. The temple was made to honour Shantadurga who was a Hindu Goddess who acted as a mediator between Vishnu and Shiva. However the original temple was destroyed in the 1500's when the Portuguese arrived however was reconstructed again later. The temple is located at the top of the mountains and is about a 30 minute drive to get to from the main town centre, 20 minutes away from Holiday Inn. The temple has three smaller sections, all with different worshipping areas, however one main worshipping area. Like most temples its free to enter, however they do expect a small donation, and be respectful to the faith, I.e. enter with shoes off, try not to make to much noise, they do however encourage people to take photographs inside.
Local Markets:
Local markets can be found throughout Goa, they usually sell hand made crafts such as necklaces, small pots, masks and religious artefacts; however they are really nice and relatively cheap so you should try to pick something up, maybe a gift. You can also purchase local fruit, sometime not found in the hotels at again a very affordable price, so it's worth looking out for this too. Entertainment:
There is also a lot of nigh time entertainment available in both the bars, clubs and beaches. As mentioned above the beaches at certain times of the year have parties, were music, drink and food is available on the beach, its worth looking out for this, or asking your hotel about it. With Goa's increasing popularity with tourists, they have introduced many nigh clubs, pubs and bars to help their guest have more fun. There is no entrance fee to most of the clubs or bars, however they always ask for ID, so be prepared to carry some with you. The drinks inside are relatively cheap, and they offer a wide range of selection, most drinks include, Cobra, Kingfisher and Fosters. They also have a selection of spirits. Some of the clubs I would recommend visiting are; THE ALCOVE, ZIGGY'S and JOHNNY COOL'S. These clubs close latest at 12:30 due to alcohol licensing, but they open early, so plenty of time to enjoy yourself.
Transport, getting around Goa:
The best ways of getting around Goa are either by foot, cabs or by renting bikes and mopeds. Quick warning, if you decide to hire a moped or bike make sure your licences and carry all your documents, as the local cops always stop tourists and if they don't have paperwork, will ask for money. The cabs are relatively cheap and we found them to be the easiest way of getting for attraction after attraction. The cab drivers are friendly and most of them speak English to cater for the tourists, they always ask friendly questions and start conversations and most importantly never over charge.
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