The Goan Holiday -January 13th, 07

What do I do when I have slogged for over a year and need a break desparately? I go away for a week to GOA!!! So from Jan 13th to Jan 20th, yours truly was enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes of this wonderful state of India.

We divided our trip in two parts, wherein the first leg was spent in North Goa and the second leg in South Goa. We decided to take the train from Mumbai to Goa and were aboard the Konkan Kanya express at 11:00 in the night from Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

As the eventful journey began, we decided to switch off our mobile phones and keep it that way for the rest of the trip. So for a week we did not know or care to know about whether the world other than Goa existed or not.

We arrived at our destination Pernem at about 11:00 in the morning. We were to stay at Morjim and Pernem was the nearest station. Haggling and negotiating forms a major part of a Goan holiday and we were at it since the time we landed in Goa. We haggled with the rickshaw fellow to take us to Morjim who finally agreed on Rs. 250 for the 30 – 45 mins ride.

We finally reached our abode-to-be for the next 4 days – Camp 69.

This is the oldest establishment at Morjim and is a perfect place for a peaceful holiday. It boasts of log cabins with ensuite bathrooms surrounded by palm trees on all sides. We were the only Indian revelers at this place and on the beach as well.

The Morjim beach is just across the road. We checked in, made ourselves comfortable and hogged at the hotel’s restaurant. This place was never dull when it came to food. I have not eaten such food anywhere. I mean, how exciting can an egg biryani get? But the chef managed to create wonders with this simple dish as well.

After filling up our rumbling tummies, we head straight to the beach. We walk and we walk and we walk along the entire stretch of Morjim and Ashwem and amazingly we never felt the distance. It’s a beautiful stretch of white sand and pristine blue waters.

Later that evening we hired a bike from Francis and head to Anjuna for dinner. Dinner was had at Zoories – a beautiful restaurant on a cliff overlooking the sea. It was Saturday and we HAD to go to the famous Saturday night market at Arpora. The market is an interesting sight in itself peppered with stalls selling trinkets, clothes, leather, silver, food and alcohol – all in one huge space. The stalls are leased by Indians and Europeans alike. The Saturday night market can be called a hagglers paradise. The sheer joy of getting something at 50% its cost cannot be explained.

The day ended with a bike ride from Arpora to Morjim through the eerie roads of Goa.
Goodnight Morjim J

Technorati Tags: Morjim, Camp 69, Saturday night market, Arpora