A Traveller’s logbook

“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” – Benjamin Disraeli

Traveling has been one of my passions I have kept alive. I made sure never to miss a chance to see new places whenever an opportunity arises. I have not been a globe trekker (as those opportunities are hard to come by :-) but have seen quite a few places in India. India is a world in itself, a country so big with cultural contrast so sharp that I sometimes wonder it is magical that this country is still so beautifully bonded together. It reminds me of those words I have studied in school – “Unity in Diversity”, so true for this country.

I was born in Assam, a state in the north-eastern part of my country India. It is one of the seven sisters (as they are sometimes called) of the north-east. North-east is a place which most people do not visit, or do not get a chance. Being born there, I had the advantage to grow in a culture so unique and different. I traveled to Arunachal Pradesh (Nirjuli, Itanagar) for my education and studied in a college situated in a valley between mountains and with a beautiful river at my backdrop. The college had students from all the seven sisters and also from all over India. This unique mixed cultural experience was enriching!

Moving to Uttar Pradesh (Kanpur) for my higher studies was a cultural shift. The Hindi heartland in the northern part of India is surrounded by 9 states (in today’s count). Being the guy with scholarships now, exploring places was much more affordable :-). I finally moved to southern state of India, Karnataka, for my job. Bangalore has been my “Den” since then. It has given me a chance to explore most of south India.

Here is a chart of the places I have visited.

It will be easier to list down the states I have not formally stepped in (as I have passed them during travel to some other states).

In the north-east – Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland
In other regions – Haryana, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa

Working in a global conglomerate comes with its own advantages, some amount of global travel. My globetrotting have been limited to only few countries including United States and 6 European Countries (Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy and France). Austria was on official trip when I explored its neighbors.

I actually wanted to list down my top 10 picks among the places I have visited. Every place I have visited is special and I have returned back with some special memories. I would like to exclude places I have lived in, as they will weigh down the others with emotions. I cherish the travel which has some of the strongest sweet memories, more than just the beauty of the place. My list might be a reflection of the same.

Here is the list in no particular order:

1. Coorg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coorg): This place is special for two reasons. I had a memorable bike trip there with my college friends (Sujeet, Jyodi Deka and Pankaj). This was also the first place I visited with my wife after marriage…

2. Goa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa): I have been there four times, once from college days, twice with office friends and once with my wife during my anniversary. Every time I wanted to go back for more. Goa has something that attracts…

3. Taj Mahal, Agra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal): I visited it with my parents. No wonder it is one of the wonders of the world. Can’t explain its beauty, you have to see it for yourself…

4. Kaziranga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaziranga_National_Park): Famous for its one horned rhino, I have visited it once during school days on a picnic. Lots of adventurous memories. For your information, I haven’t yet seen the rhino in Kaziranga, gosh; I have been planning to visit there again for ages…

5. Rajasthan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajasthan): I have clubbed whole of Rajasthan trip into one. Rajasthan is unique and a weeklong trip with Anil during Diwali was memorable. His house in Udaipur and the desert city of Jaisalmer was the pinnacle of this trip…

6. Manali (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manali,_Himachal_Pradesh): A visit planned with my wife before our marriage. We haven’t seen snow before and this was it. Missed the snowfall though…

7. New York (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_york): My first visit to anywhere outside India, and what a place to be. With a gang of young office colleagues, it was fun…

8. Europe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innsbruck): This was the awesomest place visited by me. Pick of the trip was Achensee, Switzerland and Paris. I have written about it in my previous blogs…

9. Kumara Parvata Trek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumara_Parvata): This was one of the most physically exhaustive things I did. But after it was done, it felt awesome…

10. Shillong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shillong): This was during my college days. The whole travel experience from Nirjuli to Guwahati and then to Shillong still comes in my dreams…

I know I have missed many, but unfortunately ten was what I wanted the limit to be. Hopefully many more great travel experiences are coming my way.

Sunday market @ Rum, Austria

"Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping." - Bo Derek

Shopping, everybody loves it…. Most of the joy comes from the fact that something new is added to our list of possessions. But, during my visit to Austria I came across a joy of experiencing something else.

About Rum

Rum is a market town (since 1987) located in Tyrol, Austria, on the eastern border of Innsbruck in the administrative district of Innsbruck-Land. Since World War II, because of proximity to Innsbruck and development of an industrial area in Neu-Rum (New Rum), which abuts the Olympic Village district of the city, its population has greatly increased and it has become one of the richest municipalities in the state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum,_Tyrol)

When I landed in Rum, I wanted to explore the places around where I was staying. One of the good way (or the relevant way) to explore a town and meet people is to check out its eateries. So I went to the hotel reception desk for enquiring about the good restaurants close-by. She informed that the closest is a McDonald’s that is a few block’s walk down the street, the other options are a few kms away. McD is something I can live with for a few snack, time-to-time when I am hungry, and thus decided to check it out.

Checking around

McD was just few walk down the street. It was quite crowded when compared to the number of people in the streets. Checked out the menu and ordered something. My vegetarian friends had some tough time ordering as there were very few vegie options (unlike India) and also there was this BIG language problem (Austrians speak German). They finally managed to grab something and when the stomach stopped screaming, we decided to check the place around.

Rum is really a small town (I guess a village for the localsJ) and there was nothing much around there nearby. Beside the McD was a gasoline filling station, and farther down was a big Metro Cash & Carry shop (You can see one in Kanakpura road, Bangalore http://www.metro.co.in/Stores/bangalore.asp ). A big parking area for the Metro shop overlooked it. Metro is a wholesale shop which required membership for any purchase. We crossed the parking and walked down to the store. We obviously did not have membership but still wanted in to explore the shop. Upon enquiry we realized that our company had special permission to shop there and we just need to carry our company ID badge for an employment proof. We decided to come back there the coming Sunday…

Come Sunday and we were outside the Metro shop just after finishing our breakfast. Surprise was awaiting us there when we saw – “The Metro store was closed”. We soon realized that all (well should I say most) shops remains closed on Sunday in Austria. But more surprises were awaiting us – we turned around to look at the Metro parking space and it has transformed completely.

Sunday market

The whole parking was filled with what looked like “Hawker” stalls. It was something that was not present the other day we visited here. Pleasantly surprised we decided to explore.

Just after exploring few stalls, I was quite amazed by the variety of things that was up for sale. Clothes, fruits, meat, electronics, paintings, old coins, antiques, shoes, fishing net…. u name it. We soon realized they were all used items and were sold by common people who loaded their van with stuffs and spread them out in the parking area. One antique beer mug with 3D carvings took my attention. I picked it up and checked the price – “Its goanna cost you 15 euros” – The old lady said. That was something too expensive, I kept it back. “If you want to buy it, I can give it for 10 euros” – The old lady told. There comes another revelation, they do bargaining here, hmmm…. Welcome India J

Over the next weekend when we visited Innsbruck and roamed around the popular tourist shops we figured out that the prices of items in the Sunday market at Rum is much less then what has been sold in other markets. But they are used items too though.

Henceforth, the market place became a favorite hangout place for us every Sunday, not just it was priced right, but the variety of items there was mind boggling. We typically spend a lot of time looking around, spending more time exploring things that we have never seen before. The whole experience was culturally enriching, meeting common people (old and young), and knowing their culture/dress/art form. Some sellers there would convert to shoppers as the day pass by. Quite fun to hang out and watch.

Some of the unique items on sale that I remember: Old worn out door knobs, deer horns beautifully decorated on a wooden plaque, one big garden statue, guitars and bike models, African wooden arts, Arabic artwork with gold colored carvings, skating and surfing boots, fishing rod and nets, a bike model made of cane, dried meat, old Olympic medals, badges, old swords, silverwares, antique brass utensils, and many more….

Some shopping

The things that attracted me most there was the antiques as well as the things that are very traditional to Austria. I zeroed in on an Austrian beer mug with lovely Tyrolian artwork of some famous historical monuments. The colors were beautiful, bright and traditional. I was able to get a good bargain (well that’s what I believed) and grabbed it.

To be doubly sure that I am collecting the right stuff I checked with my colleague in office about the things that can be collected as a memento from Austria. The inputs I received was, “Pick some beer/wine, they are famous here”. I wanted something else, they said – “Wooden items are good here, you can grab some”.

With their inputs in mind I started exploring the market again. A wooden plaque took my attention. It consisted of beautiful 3D carvings (looked like metal) at the center with the image of a Tyrolian soldier in three different moods. I checked for the price and the person agreed to give me a good deal if I buy all of them, three pieces in total. I was apprehensive to get all of them, so I decided to move on. But as I started exploring the other stalls, the plaque stuck to my mind. As one typical shopper I went back many time to the same stall, hesitated, avoided buying it, and finally decided – let’s buy it. I paid him the money and put the prized possession in my bag.

My wife Prantika visited me in Austria during my last week stay. I made it a point to take her too to visit the market, to give her a feel of it. She liked some artwork from Africa and we purchased that too.

When I finally left Austria, I came back with some great memories to cherish back home.

“Culture is the sum of all the forms of art, of love, and of thought, which, in the coarse or centuries, have enabled man to be less enslaved” – André Malraux.

I just got another flavor of it……

Visit to Paris

Preface

Paris - City of Love, Light's and Dreams. Dream destination of many, the name itself sounds excitement. Paris is also the most widely visited place in the world. So when I got a change to visit Austria on an official trip, I made it a point that I do visit Paris.

Since budget was also a constraint, a to-and-fro journey did not make sense. Visit to Paris was hence planned to happen on our return trip, as a stopover before we fly back to India.

Preparation

Once I reached Austria, the sheer beauty of the country bowled me over. The view of the Alp’s and its snow clad peaks were heavenly. The beauty of Austria though did not divert attention out of the planned trip to Paris. I had to book the train tickets as well as the accommodation well in advance to get a good deal.

The return dates were already finalized (same as to India) and the train ticket has to be booked for the fixed dates only. Over the first weekend went to the tickets booking counter of OBB (http://www.oebb.at/en/) and booked the tickets to Paris (~87 euro per person). Österreichische Bundesbahnen or ÖBB is the national railways system of Austria run by the federal government. Once the tickets were booked the responsibility of accommodation was delegated to one of my colleague, who took care of it.

Enjoyed my days of stay in Austria, and finally Prantika joined me in May. Took some time off from office and showed her around. To our luck the weather was with us (bright sunny days as opposed to intermediate showerwhich was common during that time of the year in Austria). It was finally time to say good bye to Austria, and head towards Paris; and back to India.

The journey… 13^th May 2011

There is no direct train to Paris from Innsbruck and a connecting train via Munich was the only choice. The train leaves Munich @ 10:45 pm night and we had to plan out things accordingly. My experience with European trains was that it hardly gets delayed or cancelled, so I suggested a train to Munich that reaches 15 minutes before the connecting train leaves to Paris. But my colleagues were not ready to take that chances and we left Innsbruck at 6:30 pm, well ahead of time.

The train reached Munich @ 8:30 pm giving us more than 2 hours of free time at hand. There was nothing much to do and we decide to finish our dinner. I wasn’t feeling much hungry and neither was Prantika. So we went to “Burger King” to grab some snacks. Bought some water and headed back to the platform. The train arrived 15 minutes before its departure and we quickly settled down at our seats. They were 6 of them, 3 facing each other, no fall back arrangement and wasn’t very cozy for a night journey. The arrangements also did not allow sufficient space to accommodate the large luggage we were carrying on our way back home J. Somehow managed to get everything in and when it was time the train started on its journey to Paris.

I usually can sleep almost anywhere and had no issues in the train too. It seemed not the case for everyone else. I woke up in the morning when others were discussing how I was having a nice sleep and everyone else struggled. The train was scheduled to reach Paris @ 9:30 am and we got a chance to see France on the way. There are of course no mountains to be seen now. It was nice journey through farmlands, greenery and small towns. The train reached Paris on time. We rented a cab a headed straight to the hostel where we have booked a room for our night stay.

First reaction

Paris was just planned for an overnight stay, and we have to catch the early morning flight the next day. With such a less time in hand, we decided to make it a focused one. Like everyone who visits Paris, we decided to head straight to Eiffel tower. With few hours in hand we quickly got freshened up and headed out to explore the city.

Eiffel tower was at a walking distance from where we stayed. As soon as we hit the street, I saw history staring at me from everywhere. The beautiful city architecture amazed me. Almost all of the buildings, in every street I walked had loads of beautiful architecture built in it. Everything seemed to have been built just yesterday, just to welcome us. The Eiffel tower was nowhere to be seen (surprising for such a tall structure) and we kept following the map. We reached an open street and there was the Eiffel tower staring at us from top of the trees. It looked beautiful.

The Eiffel Tower

The tower was completely visible after walking for some more distance. The sun was shining bright with a blue sky and few clouds which was a perfect setting for clicking pictures. Everyone started taking pictures from different angles, me included. I took some time, just standing for amoment and enjoying the beauty. There were tourists all around, many Indians. Hawkers were all around selling mementos of Eiffel Tower, big and small. What surprised me was many of the hawkers were Indian, trying to sell stuffs to us speaking Hindi. May be you can find Indians everywhere doing business…. J

We wanted to go to the top of the tower, but looking at the length of the queue, we decided otherwise. With little time in hand, we decided to move on. Crossed the street and then took the bridge over river Seine. It is a major river and commercial waterway. Saw many boats ferrying tourists.

On the other side of the river were the museum and an Esplanade (open space). It had a great view of the Eiffel tower, as seen besides the river. The Paris skyline and its beautiful buildings beside the tower looked beautiful.

The aquarium

The next plan was to see the Paris aquarium (http://www.cineaqua.com/EN/index.html), as recommended by one of my colleague. The aquarium is just besides the esplanade, situated underground. The person in the counter informed that it will take ~ 2 hours to see it completely. As it was almost lunchtime, we took the tickets and started hunting for a restaurant. Settled into a Chinese restaurant and had a good lunch, trying out some new dishes. After the food, we were ready to explore the world of fishes.

The aquarium had different sections for Pacific and Atlantic species. The things I loved most were the beautifully colored fishes besides the coral reef (the ones I typically see in discovery channels only). Another star attraction was the shark tank. The huge tank was filled with many sharks swimming besides other species, including stingrays. Some kids were having some great time, getting extremely excited when the shark swims by. There was supposed to be a movie show later on the day, which we skipped.

Walk to Ark De Triomphe

Arc De Triomphe is another famous monument in Paris. It stands in the centre of Place Charles de Gaull (large road junctions). The Arc de Triomphe honors’ those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces.

The Triumphal Arch is approximately 30-45 minutes’ walk from the Eiffel Tower. The walk is through the streets with the architecturally rich buildings. The walk was long and tiring after the busy day. But the excitement of the beauty let me forget everything. When we reached there the sun was touching the horizon.

The Arch reminded me of India Gate, which also symbolizes bravery and victory. Many of the big streets meet the Arch at the centre (reminding me of Connaught place – Delhi). The streets were huge and there is a underpass leading to the Arch. The most amazing part was the traffic – it was quite chaotic with cars crossing each other at amazing precision (same as we do in BangaloreJ ). There were large pathways for pedestrians and lots of places to sit. I sat there waiting for the sun to set, and to have one special snap captured. The sun started to sink below the horizon and the sky felt warm. I captured one last snap of the Arch.

Eiffel Tower at night

We walked back towards the tower. Darkness started to cover Paris and we saw the tower getting lightened up. We decided to finish our dinner at an Indian restaurant we saw on the way and walk back to see the tower when its fully enlightened. The dinner was good, some Indian food at Paris. After the dinner we started our leisurely walk back to the tower. The tower was fully glowing by then. Bright yellow lights magnified the beauty of the tower. A bright flashlight at the top of the tower directed the focused light everywhere around Paris. After we spent some time there it was time to head back to the hotel. As soon as we lay on the bed, deep sleep took over us.

Bye Bye Paris

We woke up early in the morning next day & quickly freshened up. The cab came to pick us up at 5:30 am for the airport. Had a last look at the city. Paris with more than few hundred places to see we just got a flavor of this amazing place. Reached the airport on time and walked towards the check-in counter. Just halfway stopped for a moment, looked back and said bye to Paris.

Trek of a lifetime @ Achensee:

Thursday, 17^th March 2011: Its lunch time in office and Marc (my colleague working in GE Jenbacher Austria) and I was talking about the beautiful weather. He suddenly proposed we should go for a hiking trip on the mountains near his home; and I readily agreed. We decided to do it this coming Sunday. I informed my India colleagues about this plan and they also jumped in. So we were ready for some real action for Sunday.

Sunday, 20^th March 2011: It was a bright Sunday morning and I got quickly freshened up, finished my morning duties, and headed for the breakfast. To stay afresh until afternoon, I filled up my stomach completely. I filled my backpack with some eatables and fluid for the trek. All of us got together and moved towards the railway station. Informed Marc when we boarded the train to Jenbach.

Jenbach is ~ 25 minutes of train ride from Rum. Train ride from Rum to Jenbach is really scenic with great view of the Alps. You can see the Schloss Tratzberg castle just before reaching Jenbach. When we reached the station, Marc was already waiting for us. We jumped into Marc’s car and started our journey to Achensee Lake. It was around 15 minutes ride through a curving road. The Achensee is a lake north of Jenbach in Tyrol, Austria. Marc parked his car at his home and we took a walk down to the lake. It was breathtaking view of the lake between the mountains. We also saw the railway station for Achenseebahn (http://www.achenseebahn.at/en/home.html). Achenseebahn is operational during summer (starting in May) which carries passengers from Jenbach railway station until the lake by a steam engine driven coach. After walking few distance on the tar road, we moved towards the hiking trail.

It was just beginning of our trek uphill and the trail was already covered with snow. This gave an indication of what awaited us ahead. The snow was hard and walking on it was not very difficult, but fun. As we started moving upwards, the views started getting better. We started getting full view of the lake, which looked much bigger and much blue from this height. We kept walking with some brisk breaks, regaining our energy, and also capturing the moments in our camera. It was clear blue sky and the lake looked beautiful between the snow clad mountains. After some time, we were completely surrounded by snow. The route had marks of deer foot on the snow, suggesting their presence in those mountains.

We reached a place which had a sharp vertical slope full of ice. On inquiring Marc informed that we are actually crossing a skiing route. There were few skiing marks suggesting somebody must have already passed by it. It was snow all around now, and the worse part, it was getting softer. We left the hiking trail and now had to walk straight up the hill beside the skiing route. It was steep, and really scary, as the soft snow started slipping below my feet. We walked for a small distance after which we left this sharp hike. Now it was walk through the trail left by some earlier hikers. The snow now got really deep and soft. We started falling on the knee depth snow quite frequently. It was my first experience walking on so much snow. It felt like walking on very soft sand which kept slipping away as soon as I keep my foot on it, and the energy required for each step amplified. It was fun to see everyone falling down on their knees quite frequently. I just had my normal sneakers on (big mistake) where snow has already sipped in wetting my socks. The shoes were also wet and my legs froze. Marc kept telling that the peak was nearing but it felt really far. After some distance the snow became harder. It became much easier to walk, and we knew that the peak was near and the worst part of walking on soft snow was over. The peaked seemed nearer now, and after few more minutes of walk, we were there. It was almost 3 hours of trek with fun all the way (though the feet’s were really cold by now). Picture time…

Marc took us to a place where we got the most awesome view of the lake. There were many people now at the peak, most of who came there for skiing. There was a ropeway which also carried tourist to the peak, passing by the awesome views of the Alps. Everything was beautiful everywhere, and took some time out to enjoy the view.

We were feeling really hungry now. There was a restaurant at the top and we quickly settled in. it was quite sunny now and we took one table out in the open, with great view of the snow clad mountains in front of us. Time to grab some food, and we started gulping in. Marc informed that we will be taking a different route on our way back. The hike has already been a hit for us and we were hoping for some even better scenery on our way back.

After an hour of break and a nice lunch we started on our descent. The route was surrounded by nice view of pine trees covered with a sweet layer of snow. Descent took away less of our energy and we could keep up with the speed, and enjoy everything around. This route had a nice closer view of the mountains. After some time the trail became small passing beside the mountain, reminding me of my exciting bus journey to my college in Arunachal. The route passed through couple of tunnels cut through the mountain. There was ice formation on the tunnel from drooping water, which solidified to form the beautiful structures. We finally reached a place where Marc said he would come down frequently to read his novels. It had a small bench to relax with great view of the mountains. I just felt jealous :-)

We took a short break and then continued on our descent journey. The lake started to show up, reminding us of its beautiful presence. The snow started reducing and walking became much easier. The descent was quick and we were soon walking beside Acehnese Lake. Few of us ran towards the lake to get a feel of its icy cold water. Took a last view of the beautiful lake and joined Marc to the return journey to Jenbach railway station in his car. We all thanked Marc for the great hiking experience.

It was almost dark by the time we reached out hotel. My feet felt numb and a hot shower was what I was craving for. After the nice shower jumped into my hotel bed to browse through the memories captured in my camera. What a day, something to remember forever.

Trip to Goa, an experience to cherish….

A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking. ~Earl Wilson

That’s what has been happening to me lately when I decided to go on a vacation. It was also time for my first wedding anniversary and wanted to have some time out with my wife. Started exploring locations, when Goa came to my mind. I have been to Goa many times, but this time I wanted to make it different. Wanted to spend a whole week there and explore the places I haven’t seen before. It was the first trip for my wife and thus kept all the standard places also in the itinerary.

Booked the hotel (http://www.marquis-beach-resort.com/) as well as railway tickets (http://www.irctc.co.in/). Planned things well in advance so that it is available.

Train Journey:

Traveling to Goa from Bangalore via train is an awesome experience for couple of reasons. Firstly, you go via the ghat section and the route is very scenic with great view of greenery and forests and also few lovely tunnels on the way. The tunnels are fun when the lights go off suddenly and people scream their throat out for fun :-). Secondly and most importantly, you get to see the Dudhsagar waterfalls from the train (both from close-up and from a distance). It was monsoon time in Goa, and I had the opportunity to see the waterfalls when it was at its best. Overall the train journey was awesome and geared us up for our week-long vacation in Goa.

Day 1:

Booked a cab from the Vasco railway station. The hotel reception informed us that

a cab might cost us around INR 800; my target was to negotiate with the cab drivers for anything lesser. Finally got one agreed for INR 600 and we hit the roads. Vasco RS is ~ 30 kms from Panjim and 40 kms from Candolim. It took us an hour to reach the hotel. It’s a nice place located in Candolim. They have a nice pool and also a path that leads to the beach. It was off-season in Goa (due to monsoon) and there were renovation work going on. They hosted us in a Deluxe room (as the standard rooms we booked were out for renovation :-). It was time

to get freshened up after the train journey with a nice shower. After a light snack (that was ordered in the hotel room), we decided to get going in the evening. The hotel reception arranged for a two-wheeler for our stay in Goa. We paid an amount of INR 250 per day for that (this amount varies in Goa. It can also be hired for as low as INR 100. So check the best deals out). It was almost evening and we directly headed to Baga beach. Had a leisurely walk beside the beach. The water level seemed a bit more then my previous experience (I was wondering if it was global warming). As planned headed for “Britto’s” for our first night dinner. Britto’s is one of the popular destinations for tourists. Great ambience, nice food and awesome view of the sea. Had stomach full of seafood and headed back to the hotel for a good nice sleep. Great start for Goa…

Day 2:

The day was reserved for the famous beaches and the water sports. Planned to have whatever was available. Got freshened up and headed for the breakfast. They had Poori-sabji and Allu-paranthas along with toast/butter & omelets. I have to agree the food was quite heavy for my morning. Time to head out for the beach…

We headed straight to the “Baga Beach”. Surprises waited us at the beach when we reached there. There were no water sports, nothing at all. My wife was really upset. Really, really upset. And also a difference from my last visit was there were lots of lifeguards stationed near the beach. I checked with one of them and I was informed that due to monsoon the sea is quite violent now, so there are no water sports around. (and I thought it was global warming, ha ha).The sun was shining really bright, and it made us more upset. Rented out a beach bed for some rest. There were vendors all around trying to convince us about having a tattoo. My wife wanted to have one and choose a flower-butterfly combination to have it on her arm. It came out really pretty. We spent some time playing in the water. Without any water sports there was nothing else to do. But being in the sea is always fun. Adults becomes kids, :). We finally headed out for lunch and planned to spend the evening somewhere else. Had lunch in a restaurant called the “Fisherman’s Cove”. It is located at the Calangute – Candolim road. Nice place, but the food was awful. (I am still not sure why we saw it quite crowded all the time we spend there. May be tried the wrong menu). Headed back to the hotel for some rest.

“Fort Aguda” was very near to where we stayed. So planned to spend time out there in the evening. My wife tried out her new dress, a nice cute black skirt. “She looked great”. Fort Aguda, as the name suggests, was a place for providing ‘aqua’ to the ships at anchor. Part of the Fort is now converted into a 5-start hotel part of it a Jail and part of it open for visitors. We first went to see the Jail. On the way there was a private villa belonging to a person from Mumbai. (I think its also part of Fort Aguda. Not sure how he bought it). The jail is not open for tourists, and it looked very old and ill maintained too. Took a snap and headed back to the main fort. Fort Aguda is surrounded by sea on one of its side. The other sides have huge trenches built in and made accessible via a single path. It has open space in the middle surrounded by huge walls. The tank is situated in a corner near to the entrance. We roamed around enjoying the views and capturing the memories in our camera striking poses. The view of the sea from the fort was breathtaking. The lighthouse was also visible at a distance. Spend some more time around there and it was time to head back.

On the way back we saw a nice church and spend some time there too. It was not dark yet and so decided to check the

“Sinquerim beach”. This is the beach adjacent to the Taj Holiday Village. This beach is rocky, and the view and sound of the violent waves hitting the rocks was amazing. We can also see a wrecked ship near the coastline (this ship has been there for almost 8 years now. I was told Govt. is finally cleaning this mess up). We then headed to the

“Calangute Beach”. Was looking forward for a beautiful sunset, but clouds did not make it happen. Spent some time there and finally moved ahead for dinner. Dinner was at a place called “Stone House”. They have a nice ambiance, beautiful lighting and live music. They serve nice grilled items. After a hiccup at the start of the day (missed water sports), it ended well for the night. Great food, I love Goa…

Day 3:

Surprise waited us in the morning. Off-season surprise at the hotel; they are going to serve us the same breakfast even today (well we came to know later that they will serve us the same breakfast every day. We used to joke in the breakfast. When the waiter comes to take the order, we tell him bring the usual, ha ha).

The second surprise was monsoon. It started pouring heavily and didn’t seemed to stop. It continued on and off until lunch. We decided to have lunch at the hotel itself.

Post lunch the sky opened up and sunlight brought smiles to our faces. The plan was to visit the churches, but it was late for that. We decided to have the river cruise

instead. Took our Activa and hit the roads to Panjim. Found our way through asking peoples to reach the location for river cruise. Booked to tickets at “Royal Cruise”. We still had couple of hours in hand. Instead of waiting there we headed to the “Dona-Paula beach” (on the way got a glimpse of Miramar beach). Dona-Paula is at the extreme end of Panjim. Some of the official buildings are also located nearby. It’s a rocky beach too, with nice view. My wife was happy to finally see some water sports around, jet skiing. We first moved ahead to the viewpoint. There was the telescope guy who was charging some money to show us some important landmarks. Before we leave the place it was time for the water sports, jet skiing. My wife went ahead to tried it. She was braver then I expected (ha ha), enjoying every bit of it. We returned back to our river cruise.

River cruise in Mandovi River is an attraction in Panjim. It started at 5:30 pm in the evening. River cruise consists of dance performances by local artists and time given for the tourists to try their dancing talents (ha ha). The cruise ship (its not actually a ship, more like a ferry) was completely full. It was getting dark and the view from the ship was amazing. There were many other cruises and the brightly lit ships passing by looked beautiful. The attraction on the ship was one drunken dancer. His dance steps reminded me of my college days when we used to have some friends showing similar drunken dance skills (ha ha). Time to bid goodbye.

It’s my anniversary day, so planned for dinner at “Sweet Chilly”. It’s a nice restaurant on way to fort Aguda. It is decorated by bright red lights, which look like chilly. Nice green ambience.

The dinner was lovely, and the day that started wet ended great. Time for some nice sound sleep.

Day 4:

Planned the day for visiting places nearby Goa. Started the day with “Same Breakfast” (ha ha). Had a small walk around the resort. They have a nice small pond with fishes. A walkway from the restaurant takes us through their garden to the beach. There were renovation work going on, and the sea was also quite violent for a very small beach space. We did not move down and had a nice view of the sea from the top, and also got a closer look at the wrecked ship. Spent some time there and headed back to our room to get ready for the day.

First place on the list was “Dr. Salim Ali Bird’s Sanctuary”. It is located near Panjim at the Chorao Island. After reaching Panjim, you have to take the old goa road and stop by the Ribandar ferry ghat. The ferry plies every 5 minutes (there are couple of them simultaneously ferrying people from both ends). The ferry transfer is free of charge for people and 2-wheelers. They charge a nominal fare of INR 10/- for 4-wheelers. The view from the ferry reminded me of the river cruise. We can see the bridge at Panjim city. Chorao Island is at Mandovi river. The entrance to the bird sanctuary is located right beside the Chorao ferry ghat. There was a small government run office. When we checked out they informed us that the entry fee is INR 100/- and an additional amount for cameras. We can walk through the sanctuary, which is about 2-3 kms long. The preferred ways to visit the sanctuary was through the backwaters of Mandovi River and take a boat ride. Since it is an off-season, there are no govt. boats at that time. But he informed me that there are private run ones, and he can hook me up with them. He also asked us to visit the Mayem lake, and Arvalem Caves & Waterfalls.

Got to know Uday T. Mandrekar, a private boat owner who is also an birds watching guide. It was time to negotiate the amount we need to pay for the boat ride. He finally agreed for INR 500/- for a 1.5 hrs ride. Govt. takes INR 100/-, which totally made it INR 600/-. We followed him to his house and he took us to his boat. The boat was the thin long type, machine powered. The boat initially looked scary and tough to balance. But once we started cruising through the backwaters, the fun started to begin. It was the beginning of the season for birds to come. Saw quite a few of them, kingfisher, storks, kites, and a few I can’t remember. He took us through the mangroves trees to a place for bird viewing. There were many peacocks. Huge storks made sound from their wings when flying. He then took us to a place where we say crabs moving around the trees and branches. We saw fisherman’s hut. These are small huts, resting above the water, where fisherman stays at night during their overnight fishing trips. There were places, where fisherman, to catch their fish, diverted waters. Wind suddenly started blowing and the waters started to become more wavy (and scary). It was also times-up and we headed back to the shore. We bid him goodbye and thanked him for this great experience. He gave us his card (Uday T. Mandrekar – 0832-2239114, 9822583127).

We now moved ahead towards “Mayem Lake”. This lake is on the way to Bicholim, ~ 10 kms from the bird sanctuary. They charge an entry fee of INR 10/- for adults. It was neatly maintained and had boat ride facilities. Did not spend much time there (not interested in this boat ride after the great one we just had). We headed for Bicholim for our lunch.

“Arvalem Caves and Waterfalls” are on the way to Valpoi. You have to take a right turn just after Sanquelim (~ 7 kms). After parking our vehicle, we walked down some very slippery steps (almost falling down couple of times). There is a temple at the base, and we can hear sounds of water falling besides it. We took few more steps upwards from the side of the temple; and there was the Arvalem waterfall. I was not sure if because it was monsoon, it was violent and thus was too gorgeous.

It looked almost 40 feet tall, and huge water falling down was creating water droplets that felt like rainfall. We got completely drenched, but enjoyed it. It was time to capture it in our camera. My wife was suddenly thrilled to see a rainbow beside the waterfall, and I was excited too as I haven’t seen a rainbow in years. Time for more click, click. We next went ahead to see the caves. The caves looked as if there were from a very old time, made from porous black rock. Couple of the caves hosted shiva-lingam.

It was a lot to handle for the day and we headed back. Took the ferry ride to Panjim and then back to Candolim. Time for dinner and we headed to “Souza Lobo”. They serve awesome seafood. I ordered an grilled fish. What came to us was a surprise, a huge fish grilled and beautifully decorated. I had tough time finishing it up. I needed some real big breaks and lots of motivational words from my wife before I finally finished it. The goa trip has started getting better by the day. I love Goa.

Day 5:

This day is to check the other beaches in Goa. The famous beaches further north are Anjuna and Vagator. We started the day with the same breakfast (ha ha).

Our first destination was “Chapora Fort”, better known from one of my all time favorite movie Dil Chahta Hain. Chapora fort is located at the end of the Vagator beach, built to ward off attacks from the Maratha warriors. Parked our vehicle at the base and walked up the hill towards the fort. The fort is in quite a ruined shape. Its wall encloses a vast open area. The best part was the view of the beach, BREATHTAKING.

On one side was the Vagator rocky beach, where the water hits the beach creating beautiful white waves. On the other side is the Morjim Beach, where the waves gradually die down before entering the backwaters. There is an extension of the landscape that goes further towards the beach from the fort. We decided to go on a small trek, expecting more breathtaking views. The walk was worth it, as from the end of that, the view was even better. We spent some time there before deciding to try other things out.

The nest destination was the “Vagator Beach”. Vagator is mostly a rocky beach. There are different colors of the rocks; the distinct ones are the extreme black ones and the yellowish ones. There were some small street shops where we picked up some memories from Goa. After spending some time there we started getting hungry. Looked for a place nearby and found one. It was home made food, great taste and economical. Sorry that I did not remember the name…

After a nice lunch we moved ahead to the “Anjuna Beach”. Anjuna is also a rocky beach. The rocks are porous (we have found these porous rocks in many places in Goa, Arvalem caves, all the forts). There were crabs all around, small ones. There were fisherman’s catching fish. Unfortunately we found a rowdy gang of youth’s so we insisted that we move on.

Baga was the beach we liked most so decided to spend some time there. When we reached Baga, some of the fisherman’s boats were returning from their day’s catch. Loved the way they arranged their prized catch.

Their wives came hurrying to assist. We planned for some fun in the evening, to hit the dance floor. So moved back to the hotel to change our dress.

When it got dark we became the party animal. Went to the “Titto’s, where else”. They have a nice restaurant, good food & lovely music. After having our dinner it was time to hit the dance floor. After some initial inhibition, we started get going. We were already tired from the days travel, so did not stayed back late. Decided to head back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep. WOW….

Day 6:

Day for the religious sight seeing. Had our usual breakfast. Plan is to go to the churches. The best churches in Goa are located at old Goa.

Went to Panjim and took the old Goa road. There are three famous churches in Goa – “St. Francis of Assisi, Se Cathedral Church and Basilica of Bom Jesus”. They are all located nearby in a walking distance. The church of “St. Francis of Assisi” of 1661 is noted for its unique Manueline style choir and entrance. The “Archeological Museum” located near the church is a place of must visit. They have collections of remains from 12^th to 16^th century. Pictures of all the governors of Goa, most of them from the old Portuguese rule. Visiting museums is always an enriching experience, as it reminds me of my countries unparalleled history which no other country in the world can boast of.

The “Se Cathedral” of 1652 is the largest church in Asia dedicated to St. Catherene. This imposing structure is famous for its vaulted interiors and Golden Bell. Golden colored sculptures surrounds every parts of the church, which was really beautiful.

Built in the 16^th century, the “Basilica of Bom Jesus” is an important shrine for the Christmas in India and Goa in particular as the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier are preserved here. It is also a world heritage site.

Further down is the “ruins of the Augustinian Monastry and Tower” which takes us back to a fascinating journey back in time. The tower must have been so huge during its time; it can be made out when we compared ourselves against it in the picture.

The next stop was “Shri Mangeshi Temple”. The temple located at Pirol-Ponda dedicated to Lord Shiva boasts of an external seven-stage tower lamp. We did not spent much time there and moved ahead to the prized destination of the day.

Next stoppage was Ponda. We had a stop over there for our lunch. Our next destination was the “Dudhsagar Waterfalls”. Dudhsagar waterfalls is ~ 80 kms from Candolim. Our next destination was Molem. Reached the entrance to the “Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary”. It was showering on and off, and we did not wanted to spend time there. We took the road to the waterfalls. This road also goes to Colem. Once we finished the last motorable location until the waterfalls, we had to look for help for going the rest of the distance. During normal season there are jeeps from the forest department that take tourists near the falls. As it was monsoon time, this facility was not available.

BUT, there are folks there who were taking tourists to the waterfalls in their 2-wheeler, via a different route. They finally agreed to take us to the waterfalls for INR 720/- for both of us (INR 120 of it is for entrance fee charged by forest officials). We sat behind two bike riders and started our journey with no idea where we were going. We finally reached the first scary part; they took us through almost non-existent roads besides the railway tracks. We quickly realized it’s the same track we came by on our train journey to Goa. We had to get down from the bike at few locations, as it was un-motorable (not sure how this guy’s drove that way). It did not lasted for long and we finally got into the road in the jungle. That was slightly better, but still quite bumpy.

There were few streams that we had to cross, which they somehow managed. This road looked like a great trekking route. The bikes finally stopped and we thought we have reached (we must have crossed ~ 14 kms). But there was few more distance to be travelled. That was through the streams of water that had really strong currents. After crossing few of them we can see the waterfalls. All I can say was WOW.

The falls looked amazing. We shot a quick video and also took some snaps. The video can be viewed at the following YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aosYVytYCOA

After spending some time there we decided to come back before it gets quite dark. We also had to travel back to Candolim. On our way back we had a chance to see our train pass by. I was wondering what the train passengers might be thinking of us (ha ha), crazy folks…

Quickly hit the road back to Panjim and Candolim. Reached back home when it was quite dark. We were dead tired, but enthralled by the days adventure. We ordered our food via the room service. We couldn’t stop discussing the fun we had and finally dead tired, slept like a baby…

Day 7:

We had seen almost everything that we had planned for. We decided to see the “Tiracol Fort”. Tiracol fort was constructed by the local king and later occupied by the Portuguese in 1746.

We rested for most part of the first half and hit the roads for lunch. Wanted to have our lunch at “Xavier’s” in Anjuna beach. Heard a lot about it in the web. This is located near the “Anjuna Flea Market”. The flea market was closed due to off-season. Unfortunately, Xavier’s was closed too. There was a beach shack called “Curlies Bar” that was opened at that time. The shack was filled with hippie crowd. It was a neat place with great view of the sea. Nice food and crowd. After finishing our food, started our journey once again. Went to Siolim, crossed the bridge there (there are also ferry service). Our next destination was “Kerim Beach”. It’s the northernmost beach in Goa.

We had to take a ferry ride from Kerim to reach Tiracol. When we reached there we realized that Tiracol fort has been converted to a hotel. They do allow tourists to visit. So we decided to go in. It was really a very small place (disappointed we came so far for this). The hotel persons informed that there is a restaurant at the top where we can get a good view of the beach. We went up and sat down.

He was right, it does have a great view of the Kerim beach. Relaxed there for quite some moment before deciding to come back. On our way back spent some time in Baga.

Too lazy to go out, we ordered our food at the room only. This ended our great trip to Goa. Checked with reception for our checkout details for tomorrow. The reception guy offered to drop us at the Vasco railway station for INR 700/-. We agreed. Had our food and went back to sleep.

Day 8:

Time to bid Goa goodbye. We asked us to be stopped by at the “Naval Museum” at Vasco. This museum was close to Vasco airport, and you will have to take a diversion from the road to the railway station.

The museum was small and neatly maintained. They had torpedos, communication devices and models of Naval Ship and helicopters in display.

In an open-air display, they had real models of airplanes and helicopters.

What a great way to end our trip. Had lunch on the way and was finally reached the railway station. The train started on time, and we bid adieu to Goa with some terrific memories.

On the way back had another view of the Dudhsagar Waterfalls from the train. Captured this last moment in my digital camera. Good-bye Goa, this will be some time for us to cherish forever……..

No wonder people love coming back to Goa. Great vacation and a great anniversary for us.