Goa, India

Goa was not ticked off my list yet, FOMO got to me and we planned to visit Goa. We stayed at Goa tourism guest house. It was a moderately a good hotel. Room was good. But who cares about the room when the beach is only a minute away. We went to Calangute-Baga beach. It is crowded but Goa beaches have this vibe you know, the high strung vibe of life. We felt alive the moment we set foot on Goa sands.

It was evening, sun was about to set. Both of us felt dizzy being on the junction of a heated day and an approaching comparatively soothing evening.

That night we tried oysters. There was a brochure in our room, in that we found one restaurant specialized in oysters. We looked at each other and went out on our venture. I don't know when it became a dare to finish the whole lot but we are glad we did it. And as far as oysters being the aphrodisiac, I don't know, I cannot say anything, its classified!

Oysters with Caviar & Prawns at Cafe Fiori

Next day we decided to just relax in the morning. Those beautiful yellow umbrellas were surely very inviting.

Where are you?

We came back to hotel after having a mandatory soak in the ocean water. It was crowded for sure but  we enjoyed nonetheless. So after having lunch at our hotel's own restaurant we went to Chapora Fort.

Chicken Xacuti & Pomfret fry

Chapora Fort was made famous by the movie Dil Chahta Hai, but when we went there it looked nothing like the movie. It was quite bare except tourists. 

That guy on the extreme right looked like Bob Marley!

From the fort high above we could see another famous beach in Goa, Vagatour.

Vagator Beach

Did a mandatory photo session. You know how the peer pressure is nowadays - FB, IG, YT, SC, FT etc etc.

Came back and went for a little spin in the sea. Hated it. I looked like a whale with those goddamn life jackets. And remember camera adds 10 pounds and life jackets add another 10!

Hurray! Finally we found land

That night we decided to spend time on the beach with plates n plates of chilli prawns and feni, feni and feni! When we were on train a lovely senior couple told us to try feni. And the tip was to always have it with Limca. Feni is a local drink made from cashew or coconut. We were having cashew one. Every place has its own local drink. We are from West Bengal, and there one can find "tadi", a drink made from "taal", a kind of palm fruit. Just like in Kerala you can find "toddy". In  parts of West Bengal and in central India there is a famous local drink called "mahua" made from "mahua" flowers. People have even seen sloth bears eating "mahua" flowers to forget their problems. My apologies, I digress. So yes, drink feni when you are in Goa, and no I was not asked to sponsor it by feni makers! 

We were wearing those glow in the dark bangles on the beach. So when we were coming back to hotel somebody shouted from the crowd, "Girl, you know those bangles glow in dark, right?" So my tip is when you are too tipsy from too many tumblers of feni keep the tips of your fingers off from tumbling over territory of tooshie, specially when you are wearing glow in the dark bangles, okay? Last tip of this trip, do not drink anything else other than feni. It is heaven. (I must stop now.) "Humko feni hai, feni hai, humko feni hai", (seriously I am stopping now.)

Fishing boats along the banks of Nerula river

Touch me not

Shopping and Tattoo parlours

A stroll around the night market is a must.

Few beautiful magnets from Goa. Scary fact - the octopus crawls at night

 

Also, if you happen to travel from Bangalore to Goa (Madgaon) by train do not forget to catch a glimpse of Dudhsagar falls. There is a famous trekking trail through Western Ghats here. Enthusiast trekkers get off the train at Dudhsagar station (please note: it is a technical halt and ticket reservation cannot be done). Take lots of deep breath while passing through Western Ghats because the air is pure, fresh and green.

Dudhsagar Falls in March - Best time to visit is Monsoon.

Ridges of Western Ghats

Dudhsagar Stn.

---------    Please Share Your Experience of Goa in the comments below    ---------

Review - The Hungry

Found Titus Andronicus in complete works of Shakespeare

Just watched a movie called The Hungry. It has Naseeruddin Shah, Tisca Chopra as its main leads. It is directed by Bornila Chatterjee. Did not know anything about the movie, just stumbled across it on YouTube. In the movie everybody gave a low key performance, everybody underacted. And that created a slow horror. When we used to prepare notes in our university days we used to use a line very often in our answers, "an impending doom lurking large on the horizon". This movie is that. Towards the end I felt I know the story, felt an itch you know! Then found out that the movie is based on Titus Andronicus.

Who could have written about such horror, brutality other than "the man" himself. Wanted to write "the bard", but thought "bard" is more relevant to  his sonnets and comedies. Titus Andronicus is Shakespeare's first tragedy, and probably his most brutal one. I read somewhere that Titus Andronicus foretold what to come in terms of his later tragedies, but I think those are mellower compared to this one. Yes, the blackness of hearts became darker and blacker, hatred became thicker mixed with malice in his later tragedies but something about Titus Andronicus makes you forget to breath for few seconds.

Nowadays every thriller-murder-mystery writer is strive to create a more brutal world, right now I am reading a Jo Nesbo where the murderer super glued a victim to the floor of a bathtub and then slowly turned on the tap. Recently, I saw 2 movies, Siccin 1 & 2. Got very scared, but realized everything has already been written by Shakespeare long long ago. And now do not say that no no all are written by Bacon or Marlowe or Blake or Queen Elizabeth herself! And tomorrow some eager aspirant of PhD is going to say that they were actually written by Queen Elizabeth's footman!

Shakespeare got this capability to create a world filled with flowers and fairies and beautifully scented forest and he also created this black hatred that made people embark on  such a journey of revenge. 

At the end I was more appalled by witnessing pure impossible hatred that can possibly reside in people's heart than by the sheer brutality of it.

Everybody is thinking I am a ghoul who takes pleasure from only gory stories, much like Raj's girlfriend Emily, but it is not true. But romantic comedies, sweet love stories often make me too much aware of its absence in the world, and as a result makes me sad. Philosophical bildungsroman makes me aware of the fact that I am not writing one, but reading one! End result...sad. But after watching an adaptation of Titus Andronicus, not to mention a much mellower version than originally how Shakespeare wrote, I feel so restless that now I am about to take refuge in cute cuddly cat videos!                                                     

St. Mary's Island, Udupi, Karnataka, India

St. Mary's Island

After meeting and fighting with the Arabian sea at Pennambur beach, Mangalore, we came to Udupi. Our destination was Malpe beach. Malpe beach is a nice, clean and a well mannered place.

Malpe Beach

But obviously you are going to be blessed with the scenic beauty of  "jangia party"(Jangia, bengali for underwear) at any Indian beach. Those butt cracks playing peek-a-boo from the briefs and drawers really redefine "uncouth". But I have to give it, they did not misbehave. I mean those briefs did, not the men. But we concentrated on the water, the sky. Loved the name Malpe by the way.

Rare rock formation at St. Mary's Island

We stayed at Paradise hotel & resort. It seemed like the only hotel near Malpe beach. It is one of those type of places where there is a hotel, then a road and then the sand and then...The Sea. It reminded me a little bit of Puri, Odisha.

Paradise Isle Beach Resort

Please note, from time to time I felt like "Samantha in Abu Dhabi." How come those "jangia parties" always get a free ticket and I get the sideways glares!

St. Mary's Island - coconut trees waving and welcoming us

St. Mary's Island, a sheer happiness. From Malpe beach we took the boat. It takes 30 minutes to go to the island, but I realized, on sea time stands still. I do not know how people used go on voyages, and how even now people go on cruise!

According to folklore, Vasco da Gama first came to this island, planted a cross and gave it its name. And then he went to Calicut/Kozhikode.

Pristine beach @ the island

At St. Mary's on one side the sand is as fine as talcum powder but on the other side it was still in its shell form. This was the first time I saw a dead oyster shell beach. The whole experience was unique and mesmerizing.

There is not a grain of sand on the beach. Its all shells!!

According to sources, 88 million years ago this cluster of four islands was formed when Madagascar got detached from India. Was it a loss for India? Now how do I know, I have never been to Madagascar, did not even see the movie! But formation of St. Mary's Island is definitely a gain for India.

St. Mary's Island is also known as Coconut Island

Because of the mood swings of the earth 88 million years ago, hexagonal basalt columns were formed in the island. It is a rarity. Why these columns are created in hexagonal form? Why it has not become a single rock but a cluster of columns? The rules of nature as well as the freaky behaviour of it never stops to amaze me.

Hexagonal Basalt columns - Geology Rocks!

A treasure map

I am always gloating about floating through days and time. I am just a passerby on this earth, floating by! But the feeling of lying on the surface of the ocean gives a sense of freedom and peace not comparable to anything. There is someone I know who gives "floating on the ocean" lessons, it is free for the bikini clad beauties, or if you are a Monica Belucci lookalike or Miss Belucci herself!

Dead Sea

There was a very happy ending to our Udupi trip. We were waiting for our train at Udupi station. The man went on a search for food and came back with fried Bangda/Mackerel. The bestest mackerel we have ever tasted. At the station we also had onion vaji, aloo bondas and medu vadas. There we met a lovely couple from Bangalore. They went to Manipal to run a marathon. They saw my shameless munching and spontaneously gave me very useful tips for running. The lady actually won the marathon. Good advice she gave. But a heart wants what it wants - Fried Mackerel!

A painting at Coconut Island - close to my heart and my stomach

How to get to St. Mary's Island:
Ferry service is available from Malpe beach 300/- per head for to and fro. Visit to the island is restricted during the monsoons.

Must Try: 
Fried Mackerel, 
Chicken Kori Rotti, 
Chicken ghee roast,
Prawns Masala Dry Chutney.

Mangalore - Karnataka - India

We went to Mangalore (or Mangaluru). The city itself is like any other city, just that it was showing off too many Mercedes, medical colleges, Mangalorean mind blowing beauties. Oh and Mangalore beaches have jellyfish too! You know what to do when a jelly fish stings, right?

Jelly Fish washed ashore at Tannirbhavi Beach

We reached Mangalore in the afternoon and it was almost 6 in the evening when we went to Tannirbhavi beach. We took the ferry from Sultan Bathery. The ferry ride itself was very brief but very beautiful. I think you are going to hear a lot this adjective "beautiful" on this trip that you are taking with me.

Click here to enjoy the ride: Ferry to Tannirbhavi Beach

Tannirbhavi beach was beautiful. The sand was clean, water was clean, the crowd was well behaved, maybe a little too well behaved! I guess in the evening everybody calms down to a state of serenity.

While on the beach I continuously kept saying, "We're gonna miss the last ferry, we're gonna miss the last ferry.". Loved saying that, never thought it was a sentence I would ever say!

Last ferry at 7:20 PM

After coming to this side we ate at the cafe by the river. Fried prawns, fried mackerel. By the way mackerel is locally known as Bangra or Aila fish. There met a doppelganger of my cat I left at home, if you are interested, her name is Inmin. And now I am gonna bother you with her photo.

Burdwan's Inmin's doppelganger in Mangalore. Spooky!! (bottom left in cozy bed is Inmin)

Next day we checked out of our hotel and went to Panambur beach. There we tried to conquer the sea, I mean I went on screaming in the waist length water. Everyone fought bravely with the waves while I was just scolding the sea for its unpredictability!

Cafe's on the beach are only available during the season

At the beach sack had crab masala, prawn masala, egg fried rice and realized with regret my gut dislikes crab. But the disciple of Andrew Zimmern digested everything while making me supremely jealous.

Panambur Beach

Best time to visit: November - February

How to reach Mangalore: Mangalore is well connected by Train, Road and Air

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