Go Go Go Goa

Two weeks after our Singapore trip, we decided to visit Goa, one of the most popular vacation spots in India.  Goa is located northwest of Bangalore, and the best part is that it only takes a little over an hour to fly there.  We decided to stay at the Marriott Goa Resort, which is approximately an hour away from the Goa Airport.  It was a fairly scenic drive with beautiful water views.  Goa, being a vacation town, was a huge departure from the hustle and bustle of Bangalore.  The roads are mostly one lane per side, although traffic was minimal.

Our gracious driver gave us a quick overview of the history of Goa.  It was a Portuguese colony prior to 1963, as such, the architecture and food of Goa are heavily influenced by the Portuguese culture.  Moreover, unlike the rest of India where only 2% are identified as Christians, 25% of the residents in Goa are identified as Christians, another legacy left by the Portuguese.

The Marriott Goa sits right on the beach and it is stunning.  We arrived in the morning, prior to the standard check-in time.  For two trips in a row, we lucked out and received superb service.  The front desk personnel was apologetic that our room wasn’t ready yet, he directed us to the buffet breakfast and comped our meal.  The room was ready soon after we finished breakfast.

This was the first trip that we have taken where I did not plan anything.  I’ve decided to just “wing it” since we were only going to be in Goa for less than two days.  That turned out to be a pretty big mistake as I found out belatedly that Goa is not just beaches and pools, it has so much more to offer, such as spice plantations, hiking trails, waterfalls and beautiful old churches.  I tried to book a last minute tour while we were there, which unfortunately did not work out.  So we stuck to our original plan, i.e. lounging at the pool all weekend.  We alternated between taking dips in the pool and drinking at the swim-up bar next to the pool.  The hotel was doing a “cronut festival” while we were there, and of course I had to try one.  I thought that Dominique Ansel trademarked the term “cronut”, but perhaps the trademark is only valid in the US.  Regardless of the legality, I really enjoyed this faux cronut.  I would dare say that it is almost as good as the real deal, perhaps the beautiful scenery helped…

The favorite part of the weekend was watching the beautiful sunset at the end of the first day.  Watching the sun sets over an ocean has always been one of my favorite activities.  I love picturesque sky and the calmness that lingers as the sun disappears over the horizon, it feels like the world is at peace, even if it is just a short amount of time.

We decided to go to the popular Fisherman’s Wharf for dinner.  We ordered Butter Garlic Prawns, Squid Tempura, Rawa Fried Prawns and Rawa Fried King Fish.  While the dishes looked very pretty (see pictures below), they were underwhelming.  Perhaps we should’ve ordered more variety, instead of just fried seafood…  The dinner wasn’t all bad, the restaurant had a great inhouse band that played some fun oldies, also, the frozen drinks were super delicious.

We ended the night aboard the Deltin Royale Casino Boat.  There are only three states in India that allow gambling, and the vast majority of the casinos are in Goa.  The only catch is that these casinos are all located on large boats docked offshore and you have to take a small boat to get to the casino.  We picked Deltin Royale because it is the largest casino in Goa.  It was an interesting experience, but not something that I would recommend.  The entrance fee for the casino was extremely high and the casino floor felt like a sad, small casino in Atlantic City.  It appeared that the majority of customers were there for the free buffet and entertainment.  We played a little, but spent most of the time hanging out at the top open deck and watched some of the dance performances.

Overall, Goa was a fun short getaway.  If I could do it all over again, I would’ve either booked a tour to see a spice plantation/hike a waterfall, or stayed at the south side of Goa (we stayed at the north side) where the beaches are renowned for their white sand and calmer oceans.  The one lesson I took away from this trip was that ALWAYS plan ahead for a trip, no matter how short the trip is.  That really came in handy for the remainder of our trips in India.