I’ve been to Goa before, but you can never get enough of this place. Goa keeps calling back again and again. The best part of being in Goa is that you can be yourself, and do whatever you wish to without even caring for anyone around. And living in Bangalore is an added advantage as one can drive to this place, and so did I. The drive from Bangalore to Goa really takes you through some of the best scenery - sprawling yellow sunflower fields, green paddy fields, waterfalls, the wild and yet mesmerizing Western Ghats, beautiful river valley, the confluence of a river into the sea, and many more things always keep you company. The magic is such that you, at least me, always wish to be on the move to discover some more of the beautiful unknown.
And what a better time to travel to Goa than the New Year, and my anniversary too happens to be around this time. So two celebrations in one - welcome the New Year and cherish the beautiful marital years passed by!
Preparation for the trip? Pack some shorts and t-shirts and most important, take print of the google maps to guide through the trip.
Day-1 Bangalore - Shimoga: Left Bangalore on the 30th Dec in the afternoon and headed straight to Shimoga. Reached there around 8 in the evening and checked into the hotel. Had typical South Indian thali in the dinner and walked out to explore the city on foot.
Day-2 Shimoga – Jog Falls – Karwar – Calangute: This was a beautiful sunny morning. Started without breakfast as we didn’t want to waste a moment on this last day of the year. The first stop was Jog Falls, some 100kms from Shimoga. But these were a major disappointment at this time of the year. Frankly it seemed more like someone has left open some water pipes on top of the hill, and water running down the hills. Still we will always cherish the moment of being standing at the highest waterfalls in India!
But the majestic view of the Sharavati river valley (formed by the Jog Falls) further down the road compensates for everything.
Soon we joined the highway along the coastline and passed Gokarna, but didn’t have the time to explore this place. After some amazing drive, we reached Karwar, which marks the last point of Karnataka towards Goa. Karwar has the clearest waters I’ve seen in India.
The road winds along the blue waters and the view of the awesome Naval base along the coast is a visual treat. Then we saw confluence of the Kali River into the Arabian Sea, first time in my life. Then onwards after driving through some of the narrowest but beautiful roads, we finally reached our destination, Goa at around 4PM. Our hotel was at the Calangute beach, and believe me, being in Goa on the New Year’s Eve is a different story altogether, you have to be there to experience it! After taking some necessary rest after the long drive, headed to the beach, and had delicious candle light dinner on the beach.
The fireworks at the midnight to welcome the New Year was simply a breathless moment. I haven’t seen so much fireworks at one place even during Diwali! The sight of whole coastline, from Baga to Condolim beach, lit by the firecrackers and their reflection in the sea was truly amazing.
Day-3, 4 Explore Goa: The best way to explore Goa is to take the map and head towards whichever place you wish to see. We enjoyed short trekking at the Chopara Fort, Anjuna flee market, a very beautiful church and roaming in the markets at Panjim, and spending evenings by the sea, sipping feni with some great seafood and watching the sun say adieu to the day!
Day-5, 6 Journey Back: This is the part of journey which I don’t like much, and it becomes even more uneventful if one back-tracks the same route. So we decided to take another route and make the journey back home more interesting. This time we took the route via Old Goa – Belgaum – Hubli – Bangalore.
We started by visiting the Taj Aguada and then passed the Old Goa churches, some beautiful backwaters and breathtaking sight of the Dudhsagar waterfalls. The scenery this time was totally different from what we saw during the onward journey. This time we took night halt at Hubli. Next morning, after refreshing breakfast at the rooftop restaurant of the hotel, we started back and reached Bangalore in the evening, missing every moment for many days to come.
1 comment:
learned a lot
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