Goa, India

I've been meaning to write this post for months. I've no idea why I haven't got around to it, but here I am now. 

We went to Goa in January. I spent two weeks there, Thilde, 5 (she did a yoga teacher training course at Whispering Lakes, with Tribe. You can read about it here). I was extremely excited about going to India as I've never been before, but I also knew that Goa wasn't quite as Indian as you can get. I hoped to see it as a good introduction, or rather, an easy way to get acquainted, albeit it a little bit, with India.

And indeed it was. Goa is to India as Egypt is to Africa. At least, that's how I felt. The Portuguese influence is so very strong (they were there for 500 years, and only left in the 60s) that it's hard to see India. European architecture and huge churches are all over the place, and (unbeknown to me) it's an absolutely huge Russian tourist destination. Many of the locals spoke Russian, and all the menus, keyboards, and adverts were in Russian. Very odd.

Of course you could find India nestled among all this. We visited markets, temples and even behind the beaches of Goa there were local schools and families going about their business. The food was absolutely delicious, the people friendly, and the cows non-intrusive.

It just wasn't the India you so often see portrayed. That's probably a good thing. I've heard of many people who've jumped into Mumbai or Delhi for 2 weeks and have sworn never to return. Thilde has been a number of times and spent a great deal of time travelling around, and was still a bit skeptical, even though she loves the country.  I'd like to see that side, as much as it might shock my Western self. 

We flew from London with BA, which was all very smooth, and headed straight to Agonda. We were to stay a week there, then head up to Arambol and Mandrem. Agonda was beautiful. A lot less crowded than Arambol and even Mandrem, the crowd were slightly older and more relaxed.

We stayed at Tina Beach Resort in a fantastic cabin. The cabin was clean, large and spacious, the staff friendly, prices excellent, and the resort clean, tidy, and very open. 

The beach was lovely, and we spent a very relaxing week chilling out on the beach, swimming, eating far too much naan and curry, and while Thilde practised her yoga in the evening, I supervised with a cold beer. It was bliss.

We set off for Mandrem early one morning. It was a 3 hour drive and we decided to split it up by stopping in Mapusa, a town about half-way, for some lunch and a market visit. This was a little more India. Busy, noisy and a bit of an assault on your senses. We browsed the market, and inevitably I got stuck in a spice stall. After a lot of talking with the lovely woman who ran it, I promised her I'd return later. Which I did and got a pretty good deal on some various spices (I'll admit that what made it all the more satisfying was seeing some other girls handing over huge amounts of cash, while I slipped my few hundred Rupees across). I also ended up buying some bowls too. They have the most amazing kitchenware. All bronze and silver and, needless to say, a fraction of the price back home. The food stalls are also incredible; fruit, vegetables (the size of which I've never seen before! Papayas the size of large watermelons), dried fish, sugarcane - it was beautiful. 

We found some lunch in a very small and local cafe with only one dish on the menu - a delicious daal with cumin, and chapati. We sat for a while and got our breath back, and then set out to find a bank - something which is easier said than done, oddly enough. We then jumped back in the car and set off for our final destination. 

Once we arrived, we visited Thilde's yoga school to check in and make sure everything was all good, then set out to find accomodation. After spending the best part of the day walking up and down the beach, we finally cut a good deal with the manager, Mr. Kumar, of a new place right next to the school, called Go-Ym. We stayed in a beautiful cottage, with a little balcony, real roof (!), and attached bathroom. This was pure luxury, but as it was to be Thilde's home for the next 4 weeks, we decided it was worth it (although the prices were very agreeable compared to what we had been asked for at other places down the beach. On top of this the food was excellent and superb value). We loved it at Go-Ym. Govin, Sarge, and Mr.Kumar were wonderfully friendly and helpful. There wasn't anything we asked that they didn't know, or didn't find out for us. As mentioned, the food was delicious, and once I said I liked spicy food, Govin tried to push me to my limit with each meal.

Thilde started her yoga school the next day, so I was left to my own devices. This meant a lot of reading, a lot of swimming, a lot of eating and a day trip to old Goa, which was beautiful (I was also accosted by a group of young Indian men who wanted their photo taken with me. I had heard about this before, but it was still very odd!). 

I was so grateful that we were in Mandrem and not further up the beach in Arambol (it's one very long beach). There seemed to be a much larger party atmosphere up the other end, with lots of bars stretching out on to the beach. It was still a good walk to go up that end and look at the shops both on the beach and behind it, but we were there to relax, and spend time together. 

Leaving pretty much sucked as I knew I'd be going home to an empty flat, leaving Thilde here for 3 more weeks, but at 4.30am, leave I did. The journey back was uneventful, and I crawled into my bed in Copenhagen just under 24 hours later.

I'd definitely go back. I'd love to see Kerala, and somewhere more central/further north. I'd love to see another side of India. I love to more colour, more temples, more elephants, more religion, and eat more food. I have no doubt we'll be going back. Thilde's a huge fan, and my appetite was certainly whet by this short stay. To be perfectly honest, the food alone is worth the visit. 

So there you have it. Our trip to India boiled down to a little blog post.