DAYS 93 AND 94 – GOA
Day 93 – Monday, 27th Jan 2014
Day 94 – Tuesday, 28th Jan 2014
Traveling from Bangalore to Goa, we had a lot of options in terms of the route we could take but Khyati and I preferred to take the coastal train route going via the Konkan region. This is a very scenic route and the train would cover this journey in the morning part. This was our last overnight train journey of our India trip.
It’s 8 am Monday morning, our train pulls into Mangalore station. The train stops here for 40 minutes and the train splits into two. One heading North towards Karwar and another heading South towards Kannanor.
coastal train route to Goa
The coach is fairly empty all the way to Karwar. We are bestowed with breath taking scenery on this route.
MVI0116 from Paras Mamania on Vimeo.
Karwar is the last town on Karnataka side before we enter the state of Goa. Our final destination is Alto Porvorim, a small town in the interiors of Goa. We had to break our journey in four parts – a) Bangalore to Karwar AC 3 tier sleeper tickets
Train to Karwar
- b) Karwar to Madgaon passenger train
Karwar to Madgaon
- c) Madgaon to Thivim Second Class seating
Madgaon to Thivim
- d) Auto rickshaw from Thivim to Alto Porvorim.
Khyati and I are just in awe of the super rail and road connectivity that India has on offer. We could get to just about any place we wish to. We reach our host’s house in Alto Porvorim by 8 pm. Post dinner, we just relax for the evening and catch up with Minal ji and share our experiences. It’s midnight by the time we call it a night.
Goa can be broadly categorized into North Goa and South Goa. The last time Khyati and I were in Goa, we had explored South Goa. Today, we planned to explore parts of North Goa with Minal ji.
It’s Tuesday, there has been a slight scuffle in Goa. The taxi union in Goa had roughed up a bus driver carrying 12 Russian tourists and there was a police complaint due to which 300-400 taxi drivers were on strike and had held up the Calangute area of Goa. Minal’s husband – Mr. Vikarm Verma is a lawyer representing the Russian consulate and he was directly involved in the dealings of this matter.
Does that deter us from our plans to visit North Goa today, I ask? “No way” was the apt answer from Minal. We liked it.
Over lunch, we had Vikram ji and their son Ameya’s company and it was good catching up with them.
with our host family
Post lunch, we head out to see Minal ji’s boutique. She has an amazing collection of fashion clothes made from all over the place. Some exquisite Kutchi embroidery work adorned her boutique. Khyati immediately connected and was browsing through the collection while I just nodded at some of the jargonistic textile terms, hehe…
We head in Minal ji’s car to Fort Aguada area. Minal ji let me drive. It’s a really fun experience to drive in Goa unlike other parts of India. People are a lot relaxed here. The ride is 10 kms going up the hill. Fort Aguada is famous for the old and new light house, the fort where innumerable Hindi movies have been shot and the Aguada Jail where Charles Shobhraj was held up.
We climb around 70-80 stairs all the way to the top of the Light House. We have scenic views of the beach, Arabian sea and inland Goa town. A nice breeze is flowing and we enjoy our time here.
atop the light house
We walk around the fort area reliving Dil Chahta Hai moments. We drive down towards the beach now. I believe, Goa is the only place where there are many shacks on the beach and people can just relax and have food, drinks and just sun bathe. We got to witness the most amazing sunset we have ever seen. It was a clear bright red sky as the sun set.
It’s 7 pm, we head back home and have some light dinner before our onward journey to Pune. It’s 8:30 pm, we bid good bye to our host family and head towards the Kakori Circle bus stand. Does the name ring a bell? Kakori Circle is famed after the infamous criminal Charles Shobhraj was captured here in broad daylight while sipping coffee at a restaurant. Post that incident, they have placed a replica of Charles Shobhraj here. We chose to take a picture of that man.
Charles Shobhraj handcuffed
It’s 8:45 pm, our AC sleeper bus to Pune is there on time. We stow our luggage in the compartment below and settle on our seats. It’s an overnight bus journey and tomorrow morning, we will be back in good’ol Maharashtra and so close to Mumbai.
Hope you enjoyed Goa with us. Please let us know by leaving a comment.
Stay tuned for the last few posts of our India trip.
Best wishes,
Paras