Back with a Load of Memories and Selfies

7:00 a.m. When the whole world was overshadowed by the Monday morning blues, I stretched lazily on the world's best bed. BAM! Suddenly it hit me. We still had 2 more places to visit, plus, we had to enjoy at the Calangute beach! Why am I stressed out thinking about it? Who cares! No more time to lose!

Downstairs, a lovely buffet spread was waiting for us. What should have been relished, was quickly gulped down. As we were heading out towards the beach, I stopped at the reception and checked the rates for hiring the hotel's cab to the airport. I wanted to know how much they would charge extra if we were to stop at Aguada Fort and the Immaculate Conception Church on the way. The receptionist said she would collect the details and give it to us as soon as we returned.

Off we headed towards the beach. Without Google maps.

Suddenly, DT suggested, "Why not check out Baga beach?" Though Sreejith had said to avoid it because it was always too crowded, judging by the climate and the lack of people at Vagator, the case could be the same for Baga. Sounds like a good idea to check the place out. One more beach to our list of places visited in Goa... and only 1 km ahead of Calangute beach. The plan changed and we walked towards Baga.

It was as we had predicted. Very few people. Calm and serene. Walking along the shoreline, we took many selfies and pics. The beach was what it was created to be. Beautiful. I could stare at the horizon in the distance... forever. For a moment... it was just me and the sea. Man and nature.

@ this point in the blog. Venda! Baaki parayenda! Nirthi!

Disturbing my reverie, some small lads shouted loudly, "Tattoos!" They offered permanent and temporary ones.
I was slightly inclined to get a temporary one but DT pointed the big question mark next to 'HYGIENE'. Oh! Ignored the lads, we did! And continued walking.

@Baga

Once we were done with "relaxing", we decided to move to our next stop. We checked with a lifeguard the shortest path to Calangute. Should we get out through that exit and walk? Or this exit?
His reply was simple. "Walk straight along the shoreline and that would be Calangute."
And to think that we came to Baga all the way around, by road.
I would like to add here, according to the map, if we start down from Vagator along the shoreline we would reach Calangute.

As we traced the shoreline with our feet, we reached Calangute. From there, we got out on the road and walked towards the hotel.

The receptionist was waiting for us to give us the fares. The person arranging the taxi, introduced himself as Sandy. As soon as the receptionist was out of earshot, he told us that he could arrange the taxis cheaper from outside if we would just nod. We accepted the offer. Goodwill still exists in this world.

After a shower, we checked out of the hotel. Before leaving, we took some last minute pics with the guitars on display. Thank God, I went for 2 guitar classes. At least, knowing how to hold a guitar came in handy.
That day we taught the Goan people the meaning of the Malayalam proverb - Alpanu artham kittiyal ardharathriykkum kuda pidikkum.

After the lesson of the day, we set off towards Aguada.
Luckily, here we didn't have to climb as much as to get into Chapora.
We quickly ran in, went to every nook and corner and posed as much as we could to take cool pics. DT asked me to take her pic as she stood posing, holding onto a grill door.
I walked over to her side and said in a low voice, "Err... DT! I think this is the jail." (Below Aguada Fort, is the largest prison in Goa.)
DT seemed the least bit perturbed. I didn't want to ask why she would want to preserve a memory of her standing in front of the jail. So I did what any good friend would do, I shrugged my shoulders and took her pic.
After walking around for an hour, we got out and into the cab. Next was Immaculate Conception Church.

@ Aguada Fort entrance

As soon as we reached Panjim, the driver said that the Immaculate Conception church would be another 12 km and we might miss our flight. DT was fine with missing her flight. I stood against that idea. And finally, I won her over with the argument that in order to make the most of this taxi fare, we might risk losing our flight fares. She was left with no choice but to agree with me.

We told the cab driver to reduce the fare now that one of our destinations were cancelled. He was of the policy that a deal was a deal. So we turned towards Sandy. Sandy did some talking to our driver and to his boss - some Paul. After that, the guy reduced the fare by 200 Rs. We weren't so happy with the offer but we took what we could. And we got down at the Dabolim airport.

When we passed our checkin bags through the scanner, DT's bag was confiscated by the security. They kept asking if she had a phone inside. She kept denying. Of course, DT knew her bag well. If she said there was no phone, there was no phone. So I stood by her... until she finally remembered she had a backup phone in her old hand bag, which was packed way inside her checkin luggage. She was carrying the new bag which she had bought from Calangute. Luckily, the phone was switched off and it wasn't a Samsung. Just a small Nokia. So, they let the bag through.

We cleared the security check and decided to have our lunch. There was only one restaurant there and it was heavily crowded. So, we decided to eat at the Bangalore airport.

As soon as we reached Bangalore, we headed towards KFC - mainly because this was the only place which had the same absurd rates as anywhere else. Well, if you are cheating me, I'd rather you consistently cheat me, irrespective of the place. I ordered a Virgin Mojito. And I finally had it, without splashing it anywhere.

While we were waiting for the next flight, I decided it was time to break it to Papa and Mummy, who were in US that time. Yep! I had not told them the plan that this weekend I would be in Goa.

I checked the time and I realized it was their early morning. They might be sleeping. I quickly broke the news to them via WhatsApp and added an FAQ (a little humor might ease the shock and the reaction):

Q: Who was with me?
A: DT

Q: How much did it cost?
A: Total around 15k. Need to check.

Q: What's there?
A: Beaches, forts and churches in Portuguese style.

Q: Ennalum parayathe veykaan arriyamello?
A: Yes, I would like to bring to your attention about the time, mummy, you drove the car when I told you not to. You drove and only then told me you did. I didn't say anything because I knew it would come in handy.

Q: When will I reach Trivandrum?

Sathyam paranjaal... Ee nimisham... Athu mathrame nammudethayittu ollu...
Athu thirichu arriyaan ingane oru yaathra vendi vannu...

A: Around 10 pm maybe.

Q: Will I be writing a blog?
A: I have to. It was a different experience.

Q: Did I drink or do drugs? (You didn't ask but in case Shine and Sheeb are wondering.)
A: No. I wasn't interested.

Q: Will I go again?
A: I don't have time left before you guys come from the US. So, nope.

Q: When did I go?
A: Saturday morning. Today I was on leave. Tomorrow will go to office.

Mum woke up to this horror and sent a message that she would talk to me once she got back. Shine and Sheeb, my sisters, were happy. Sheeb asked what took me so long to go.

Amidst all this hullabaloo, it was time to board our flight to Trivandrum.

Once we reached Trivandrum, we booked a prepaid cab. The driver saw us and for some reason thought we were North Indians and started speaking in Hindi and English.
That's when I spoke in fluent Malayalam and explained the route to him.

As soon as we reached hostel, we took a shower and quickly went to sleep.

It was one heck of a journey. But it was exactly what I wanted to see, the outskirts of Goa and what it really was.

Would I go to Goa again? Yes, I would love to keep that option open. Kyon ki...

I want to fly. Run. Maybe even fall. But never stop.

And next time... South Goa, it is.