Goa March 17-21 2007

We had a fantastic family vacation in Goa in March. The weather was good and the food great. The beaches were crowded but then we found Palolem. We got to Goa on the 17th evening -all 7 of us and rented a self driven Qualis. We drove to Cavelossim, which was an hour from the airport.

We stayed at a 2 bed room apartment in the old anchor resort. The apartment was small but decent. It was located right next to a park with swings and it was great for the kids. The beach was not far away at all. We bought some vegetables and stuff for the kids from the market on the way to the resort. We also bought beer and breezers for everyone. After checking in, we put all these things in the fridge and decided to eat the the resort. This was our only bad meal during the entire trip.

On the morning of the 18th, we were pleasantly surprised to see a beautiful river right next to the resort. It looked really beautiful. I left to go Scuba dive with Barracuda diving at 7AM. I barely made it in time. I had to drive to Miramar beach from Cavelossim. It look me close to 1:15 minutes early in the morning. I called them to say that I could be late.

Scuba diving in Goa is ok. The visibilty is poor and there is a lot of silt in the water. There aren't that many interesting things to see. Everyone recommends diving at Netrani Island in Karnataka. There is a lot more to see there and the visibility is better. We did two dives - Suzy's wreck and one other place I can't remember. Like I said, the dives were not that great. The equipment and the company was good though. I recommend Barracuda diving.

Meanwhile, the family went to cavelossim beach and had breakfast at the shack on beach. They had a wonderful time. They really liked the food as well as the beach. The water was cool in the morning. The kids really had a fun time with everyone and did not miss me at all :).

I drove back to Cavelossim and had lunch at a really nice pizza place called Samantha's. There Pizza and sandwiches were really yummy. And, they gave you a free beer with every pizza ordered. Their deep dish pizza was out of this world. I really wanted to eat there again but did not get the time. We then decided to drive to Colva beach - it is supposed to be a popular beach in south Goa. We were disappointed when we got there. The beach was over crowded but had stuff for kids to do. So, the kids went on rides and did other fun stuff while Ketaki and Neha went parasailing. At Rs. 400/person it did not seem too expensive.

The kids freaked out when they saw their mom up on a parachute. Well, Anya really did want to parasail but she was too young. We then went to a cafe coffee day nearby and had a cold coffee each. We were really tired - atleast I was. We went back to the resort and put the kids to sleep. Ketaki, Neha and I went to eat at 10PM. We ate at a cheap chinese restaurant in Cavelossim. I forget the name of the place but it was really cheap and decent. We ate too much, went home and slept.

On the 19th we took the kids to the pool. They had a blast. Anya refused to swim but really wanted to walk in the water and run in it. She spent most of her time in the shallow part of the pool. Anay was more adventurous. We ate breakfast in the apartment and then drove to Anjuna beach at 12PM. It was hot as hell but we wanted to eat lunch somewhere in north Goa today. This was to be our only day in north Goa. I had really fond memories of calangute and baga beach. We had seen a lot of pretty people there 10 years ago and wanted to go to all these beaches.

The drive to Anjuna was long. We got lost and ended up close to vagator at around 2PM. We then started heading down towards baga. I spotted a sign for German Bakery in Anjuna and we drove to it. I was impressed that we persevered. The German bakery was far and the road was narrow. We kept driving our big car till we could. Eventually, Ketaki and Neha got out of the car and started walking towards the bakery. Here are some pictures of German bakery at Flickr.

I was surprised to find good avocado there. We ate a lot. Mom and dad had Indian food. Ketaki, Neha and I had pasta, sandwiches and shakes. It was good really good. It was a little bit hot in the afternoon but I think this place would be fab at night. There were lots of spaced out people sleeping or doing ganja at the tables in the back of the restaurant. The whole ambience was very san franciscan hippy-ish. I'd go back there again.

After a big meal we drove to baga beach. It was nothing like I remembered it to be. It was crowded as hell. There were people every where and they were not that pretty. Mom and dad went parasailing there. The kids played in the sand. Ketaki and Neha got a massage. After the fun was over with, I went to a paid shower with both the kids and got them cleaned up. I took a shower too and I had sand all over me. We were tired but the women wanted to walk around and shop. They did. Dad and I walked around too. Eventually we decided to drive back to the resort. We ate at an ok Indian restaurant in Baga. We got to the resort and slept.

India had lost to Bangladesh and we had lost interest in the world cup. So, we did not spend much time watching TV.


On the 20th, we decided to go to the beach again - since I had not been there. We had loads of fun. Anya really enjoyed being in the deep with papa and I. Anay played on the sand by himself. We all ate at Tom's shack again. We then went back to the resort and took a shower. Anya really enjoyed the shower. After the showers, we lazed around for a little bit before it was time to eat again. Ketaki, Neha and I went to the Leela Goa to see if we should have dinner there.

The Leela was beautiful. The golf course, pool and the large open spaces made the place look grand. We decided to eat breakfast there the next day.

We had a buffet lunch at Haathi Mahal. The lunch buffet was really good. The salad was fresh. The Indian food and the pasta were all tasty. We ate a lot. Anay kept running around while Anya slept. Once Anya was up, I took her for a walk in the resort and found it to be beautiful. The whole resort runs on a time share basis and seems to be frequented by Russians. Russian airline crew, for some reason, gets to stay there for free.

After lunch we decided to go to Palolem. It was the best decision we made. We drove for almost 1:30hrs and got to this really remote beach at about 4PM. This - to me - is the most beautiful beach in Goa.

It is cresent shape and has few people on it. There is still enough activity here that you cant call it a peaceful beach. Luckily, people were not trying to sell you things here. Ketaki, Neha and Mom went shopping. Papa and I walked along the beach with Anay. It was a really enjoyable walk.

We decided to have dinner at Palolem. We ate at Magic Italy. The restaurant is owned by Italians and there is a old italian chef in the kitchen. The food was great. The pizza crust was thin and the toppings fresh. The cheese was tasty. The hostess humored Anya and Anay. Everyone over ate - a tell tale sign of good food.

We returned late to our resort. Ketaki and I decided to check out a beach party at Cavelossim. It was only beginning to get going at 11PM. I was dead tired. Ketaki was mad that I was so tired. We came home and slept.


We had a fastastic breakfast buffet at the Leela. The assortment of juices, fruites, omlette and dosa stations made it a fine meal and a good good bye to south Goa. It was troubling to see people on strike outside the Leela. I just ignored the banners and the people on the side of the road.

After breakfast, we checked out of our hotel and drove to Old Goa to see the Bom Jesus. It was really hot so we quickly saw what we could see and drove to Panaji for lunch. We ate at the Delhi Durbar there. The food was great. Anay and Anya had fun playing with and eating noodles. We had DM (Dal Makhni), CM (Chana Masala), KP (Kadai Paneer) and were the last ones to leave the restaurant. We returned the car at the airport. We rented from Velankini cars. They were great. We got their number from Frommer's of all places.

We reached Delhi at 10PM. Exhausted.