What Lies Yonder the Horizon? (Prologue)

"Let's go for a trip." These five words are easier to utter than we think.
When I said this to my roommate, she made me realize it was easier to agree to it, too.

DT asked, "Where?"

To that question, we both did a quick check... which took about 5 hours. Travelling inside India was the only option, due to some of DT's constraints.

We sat and thought.

Manali? Verdict: At risk, due to the tension between India and China. Why, China? Why?

Kashmir. Too risky.

Punjab. Too far. Travel time would eat up our hols.

Delhi. DT's been there.

Rajasthan. DT's been there.

Bangalore. We both have been there.

Chennai. Been there.

Hyderabad. I've been there.

How about Goa? Hmm...

Dear Zindagi. The movie had a left a beautiful picturesque Goa in our minds. Let's go there.

Sounded good enough. People were always travelling there. Let's find out what the fuss was all about. Goa is not so far from Trivandrum. Well... compared to Delhi.
I mentioned that I didn't want to see all the places where tourists see. I wanted to go off the beaten track and experience the real Goa.

We checked the flights for 2 weeks from then. Ridiculous rates.

We checked with one of our friends, who had been there. She suggested to try the train option. We said, "Ok."

Opened IRCTC app, just to find that the trains were all booked. Why does everyone have to go to Goa the very weekend we have to, too.

So, Goa... Hmm... Let's check something else.

Dhanushkodi. What's there to hang out a whole weekend?

Pondicherry. What! Really?

Pune. Hmm...

Mumbai. Err... DT.

Cochin. Oh my! Look where we have reached. Hmm. But it won't be interesting when we tell our friends and family. We took a trip to Cochin.

And they would be like, So?

You know, Cochin.

We both were scratching our heads. When finally I said. "I still want to go to Goa."

DT said, "Yea, Shirl!"

So, we again checked the flights. Rates became a bit more ridiculous. Return flights were affordable enough. But return alone weren't enough.

"How about if we book tatkal onward and take a flight back?" I queried. Not a bad option.

After some thinking, we decided to take Monday off to spend one more day in Goa. I went ahead and booked the return flight tickets. At that point in time, it didn't occur to me how odd it was to return without going to a place.

Then suddenly, we both had a query - what if we don't get nearby seats while booking tatkal. Two girls travelling alone. We need to have close seats. What were our options in flights, again?

I searched for flight tickets from Cochin onwards. The rates were half ridiculous.

So, the plan started forming a shape. Take a train to Cochin, then a flight to Dabolim (Goa), with a halt in Bangalore. Spend 2 days in Goa and come back to Trivandrum.

Great! So we started doing a deeper analysis of fares. We checked with more friends. None got the notion we were planning for just the both of us.

We decided to book the tickets the next day. Hoping that the rates would not increase.

Next morning, we still kept searching. DT did a last minute check with her friends and finally... finally... we booked from Cochin to Goa. Now we would go at any cost.

And next... a train ticket to Cochin. Hope that is not full. If so, we would be in a fix.

So we checked and yes there were plenty for Bangalore Express, that has a stop in Kazhakuttom.

Booked that, too. We were on a roll.

Now hotels. Err... we didn't know where to stay. What is there in Goa?

So we again called a friend, who frequented Goa. He said South Goa is beautiful but North is more crowded. It would be wiser to pick where people were around most of the time.

So, North it is.

We checked hotels and shortlisted the one very close to any center of attraction.

Finally, we picked Hard Rock Hotel, Goa. Rated 5. One reviewer said that it had the best beds he had ever slept on. We were intrigued to find out what was so special about this bed. Onnu kananamello...

After all this, when I mentioned this to Sreejith, he said it was a good idea. And he asked if we were planning to rent a scooter or a car there.
"No."
"How are you guys planning to move around Goa?"
Apparently, to roam around Goa we needed to rent a vehicle - either a 2-wheeler or a 4-wheeler.

Jango! Nee arrinja... Njan pettu!

Since I'm the only one with a 4-wheeler license, I had to don the role of the driver.
Oh, man! I didn't want to drive during my time off!
But by now, we had already booked everything. So, we decided to take the bull by the horns and rent a car in a place that we didn't know very well.



Thus, begins the odyssey...