Goa 2013

The travel lust was beginning to settle in again, I was tired, restless and cranky, and so, before It could consume me, I took a break from the twists and turns of everyday life and landed in Goa for a short vacation.

It wasn't the first time I was going to be in Goa, but it was the first time when I had 3 days in Goa to be explored at my own leisure. I had no set itinerary, no list of places except a few diners which I wanted to explore, but nothing else.

I decided to stay on Baga beach, my hotel Ronil Beach resort, was just 5 mins walk away from the beach and also right in the center of all the happening places around, since I was travelling alone and India is probably the most unsafe place for women travelers on their own, I decided to play safe and stick to exploring areas in and around me. For 3 days I stole myself away from work, from the knick knacks of daily life and let Goa seduce me with it beauty, peace and quiet (of course Baga is not the place where u will find peace, but I went exploring and found quieter places). It was a mixed bag of experiences, sometimes thrilling and great fun, filled with discoveries and interactions, sometimes filled with loneliness and longing for company.

I met random people, An artist, who gave me a lot of tips on painting, A hotelier, with whom I discussed about local goan cuisine, beach shacks etc etc, A Scottish psychotherapist at a bar, who had been living and working in Goa since a couple of years, An old couple in their mid-nineties, having an evening walk together, on the beach and heard their story. Explored beaches (Baga, calungate, the noisier one's and  Bardez, Ashwem, the quiet and peaceful one's), Clicked pictures, chucked caution in the air and did para-sailing and water skiing, played with the sand, watched sunset, partied late and danced, explored diners, discovered some good local dishes, had my spectacles blow away from the top of my head by a strong sea breeze !!! ( and then stumbled around the streets of Goa, nearly blind for a one whole day and had a few hilarious incidents ) or just sat in my room doing nothing except relaxing.

But I had my break and was happy to have one. Though at the end of it I was wishing, I had been a little less prudent and cautious and a bit more adventurous. I wish I had stepped farther out of my comfort zone than I did, but then to most people whom I met in my trip, the fact that I was a girl, having a vacation on my own seemed an adventurous ( and to some strange, after all who the hell vacations alone in Goa!!!, well I did) undertaking in the first place.

Up in the air

Baga beach, in morning

Dodol, a local goan sweet dish made from jaggery, molasses and coconut milk.

A dream left abandoned

A dream in making

A dream come true.
what more can one seek from life,
than
to be able to find love
such as this.
To have lived, loved and aged together.
To have dreamed and seen those dreams come true
and
in the twilight of life
still
have one another.
What other treasures can one seek
except
to love and be loved
what greater treasure can life bestow
on one
than
Love such as this.

May we all be as blessed as them.

foot prints in the sands of time

Ashwem Beach

Sunset