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Palolem, Goa, IndiaFor the past one month, I googled everything under the sun to make my trip to Goa all the more worthwhile. I couldn’t find a beach that matched the perceived image of Goa that bore in my mind since I don’t know when. After running through a whole lot of web pages, I finally saw Palolem beach on the Internet. That was it…’I am so very going to this place’, I told myself.
The day before I left for Mumbai, I turned a little kid, excited, oblivious and nervous. Me and my friend left for Mumbai on March 7. There is something about traveling in trains that excites me. ‘IF YOU ARE TO DISCOVER INDIA, the way India is, YOU OUGHT TO TRAVEL IN TRAINS’.
We reached Mumbai on March 9. An hour and a half long taxi ride took us to my grandmother’s place. That very day at 2.30 AM, we left for VT station, where we had arrived from Kolkata a few hours back. I used the ATM counter there, had some coffee and waited for the Big thing…..Goa. Goa was calling…
The train ride was smooth. The Western Ghats looked gorgeous and Goa was all Green. There was a visible transformation in the landscape when we were entering Goa – the dusty golden brown landscapes gradually turned Green. We finally reached Madgaon at 2.20 PM.
I had researched about this place to such an extent that once I reached Goa, I felt as if I had been there a million times before. I headed straight towards the auto stand, took an auto that dropped us at the bus stand. We settled for a bus that took us to Chaudi, a few minutes walk away from the desired beach, Palolem.
It was a great ride up to Chaudi, something that I will treasure for the rest of my life. The bus snaked up the hill, beyond which was the great sea. On arriving at Palolem, we got to the hotel in no time. We left our bags, undressed and headed for the sea.
Chattai was where we stayed - absolutely an absolute delight to an urbanite. Be it the wash basin, the bed, the mosquito net or the large sit out area…everything was in place….the evenings were just about perfect.
The chic restaurant offered great ambiance and the food served was lip-smacking.
Circled by coconut trees, the large sit out i.e. the roof top was one of its own kinds. A perfect place to unwind...If any of my ex-Compare mates is reading this out…I must say - Remember the numerous articles we wrote about the hotels in Goa….the surrounding places…and all....well I have experienced all of that right here.
This was it….can this be true…..after visiting millions of web pages, settling for back to back train journeys, and having planned and sketched every move…here it is The Palolem Beach,,,’Thee’ place I was dying to see… All I could say at that point of time was just WoW…losing my speech temporarily out of sheer excitement…my eyes could hardly measure and soak up the depth and pulse of this Promised Land. How I wish, if I were to stay here for the rest of my life….though I do realize that it sounds unrealistic.
We bathed, bathed and bathed…the white sands, the twirling waves and the gigantic backdrop (thanks to the twin hills)…this place was just WOW…I keep repeating myself.
The sun had already gone down, so I couldn’t take any photographs.
We headed for one of the restaurants and treated ourselves with Kingfish, spicy noodles, port wine and salads. Then we went to the local market, bought a few bottles of Port wine, not to mention a whole lot of snacks. I shopped a white kurta for myself,,,,tested my bargaining skills here and eventually got it for a mere 90 bucks.
We wanted to get drunk very badly and so we did….the rest…certain things are better not to be told….Gluttons we are…so much so that we had specifically chalked out how much we would spend on food for this trip. We ordered parathas and Chicken vindalu at the restaurant in Chattai, where we stayed.
The next morning, I knew I had no option but to click some great photos. It was such a beautiful place; the pictures would automatically come good. I knew that even if I did not click good photos, I would not be disappointed, because all that would matter to me was how much I had enjoyed.
We had sandwiches for breakfast. Then followed the photo shoot.
We went back to Chattai, and had fish curry and rice for lunch - a must-have Goan cuisine. We geared up for another dip in Palolem.
At noon, we had some coffee at a café. Then the shoot began - sunset, the red ball, beach action, molten gold,,,,,I did not know which one to click.
"Nothing gonna change my love for u" - I spotted two beautiful people in love on the beach - There was something about this couple that took my attention…endearing in many ways than one…
Port wine was in the calling, once the sun went down. We had sizzlers, noodles, grilled snapper and salads for dinner. This time round we had dinner right on the beach amid a candle light setting. We were exhausted or may be just as we realized that this was technically the last day in Palolem we were disheartened.
The next morning we packed our bags to leave this place. We felt so bad. ‘HAPPY DAYS ARE SHORTLIVED WHILE SAD HOURS STAY LONG’. The ten minutes walk down to Chaudi from Chattai was something that I just cannot forget. We knew that the beach was close by and we could have had visited it for the last time, we looked at each other’s faces and said nothing, both of us knew what we felt.
It was a beginning - I know I have to travel to a lot of places, I cannot stick to one. But I will surely treasure this experience for the rest of my life...
