WCR 1110

10^th Nov 2014: Goa:

Waking up was at ease, except for Ashok and Zaheer who woke up at 6 am and went for a morning walk to the beachside. They must’ve got an empty beach to themselves at that hour. When everybody had gathered for the complimentary breakfast, Ashok brought his old Goa map purchased from his previous visit years ago. We shortlisted the places to visit today taking care not to exert ourselves.

But first came the time to have a dip in the hotel’s swimming pool. The “water babies” were very excited. There were two pools at the hotel, one besides the main restaurant and the other in a secluded corner between the apartments. We opted for the latter preferring privacy and not to expose our glamorous bodies to the public. The life guard was very strict though. He didn’t allow anyone to enter the pool without proper costume. This left me and Zaheer disappointed and we vowed to have our revenge. We managed to sneak in for a dip though.

First on the list was Fort Aguada. The movie Dil Chahta Hai has made this place a must-visit even for repeated travelers. Lots of photos were clicked along with the usual promise to visit Goa every year. 

Next on the list was Sinquerim beach. We hadn’t visited this beach earlier. But the place was close by and the name sounded exotic.

Adventure sports were on offer here. Now began the long process of negotiations. Finally, four of us, Rohit, Ashok, Zaheer and me got ready for parasailing. It was thoroughly enjoyable. 

Nilu and Gyan meanwhile enjoyed body massage. We were then misled for the Banana boat ride. Our agent had agreed to take six of us for the ride and all of us got ready for it. But the organizers at the desk plainly refused. Playing the tune of unity, all of us refused rather than let one person be the sacrifice. The next hour passed lazily. Some of us went for a dip in the sea while some lazed around in one of the shacks.

We had to plan our budget carefully now. Expenditures had to be curtailed for the long travel ahead. Looking at the prices of food in the shack, we just opted for snacks and decided to have lunch somewhere else on the way to the rooms. We reached a small restaurant where basic fish curry and rice were on offer for Rs 90 a plate. The adventure sports had left us hungry and more plates were ordered. 

Zaheer and I shopped around for swimming trunks and immediately went for a dip in the pool as soon as we reached back to the hotel. Much to our annoyance the life guard was absent. We had to bury our vengeance.

The evening plan was to shop for ingredients for homemade food. Nilu had volunteered to cook dinner for all of us. Maybe it was the marriage effect. We went out to buy prawns, chicken and spices. While the masterchefs were busy in the kitchen, the others just strolled around and collected material for the evening’s BBB.

The beer-battered prawns came out brilliantly. For the non-alcoholics, a separate chicken dish was prepared. I was surprised by Nilu making so much effort on his vacation, but then why complain when you have great food and a bottle of beer in your hand.

We needed to leave early the next day so that we could cover the distance to Mangalore and also visit sights along the way. But things wouldn’t happen that way as Gyan, Ashok and I had to rush out to get more beer before the wine shops closed.

The next day would be exciting as Nilu, Gyan and I would be revisiting our Undergraduate College after more than 10 years.