Bye Bye Mundane Life!!: North Goa

Our journey began as the train pulled into the smallest country railway station you could imagine, luckily enough there were a couple of buses waiting to whisk us off to the nearest big town, Mapusa. Our first taste of Indian beach life was at a small travellers hangout of Arambol, billed as being the most chilled out relaxing place a traveller can go. We weren’t that impressed with this place due to the fact it only caters for travelers and this seems to give them the monopoly, charging what the hell they like for everything and anything. Even the beach itself wasn’t that great as it was covered in litter making it unwelcoming for sunbathing / swimming. Needless to say we left after two days praying that the beaches would get better! Our only use of this place was a full launder of our clothes that we then dragged down to the beach to hang between the palm trees to dry (much cheaper than using the local service).

Arambol Beach - what a lot of arse!

A slightly cleaner beach nearby.

Dohbi Wallah!

Next destination, 45mins down the coast was the towns of Anjuna, Vagator & Chapora, all linked together by small country lanes and an equal mix of locals to travelers. This was because the season is in it’s infancy with more than half the amenities closed or just starting to open, this suited us down to the ground as it meant accommodation was cheap and we could explore everywhere without being badgered (too much) or stuck in crowds. We spent many a day wandering between the three towns, each with its own character and appeal – our favourite being Chapora, thanks to its friendly, petite community atmosphere, made up of ex-pats and seasonal workers as well as a healthy number of locals ensuring the prices remained low. We stayed here for 5 nights enjoying the super relaxed lifestyle, not to mention the bars. This place is meant to be the biggest party scene in Goa in high season, but we were more than happy sinking a few quiet beers at the sleepy pre-season pace.

Our favourite picnic spot at Fort above Chapora.

One of many dazzling sunsets over the Arabian Sea.

Cut throat shave - 25p!

Inpromptu beach massage - 2.40p

Cows on the beach - priceless!

Half an hour further South down the coast are the Indian holiday resorts of Calangute and Baga, these are much bigger than our previous beaches and as much as this may sound like a bad thing it’s the opposite. A lot more choices for food, shops and bars, as well as an extensive beach stretching over 5km (and not that much litter!) creating a good opportunity to get away from the crowds and go explore by yourself. If only we could put the sights we’ve seen into words you could get a much better picture of how strange it is to watch Indians on holiday – fully clothed (normally jeans) they all stand together like lemmings running into the water screaming like kids, never moving more than 5mins away from the coach that’s dropped them off! What a strange race of people! Again we managed to stay for 5 nights, topping up our tans and starting to feel like we were on a proper beach holiday – eating & drinking to our hearts content, all at rock bottom prices!

Its away from the beach and onto the town of Panjim next as we enter our final month of travelling….the clock is ticking!