Trip To South Goa

Quote of the Post- "Let's Go A" - Quote about trip to Goa - Sachin Kumar Gupta

Previous Day 1 Goa Trip : Calangute Beach, Dolphin Trip, An eve at Bagha Beach

Day 2 Goa Trip: Sunrise at Calangute Beach, St. Alex Church, Dona Paula - Panaji, Miramar Beach - Panaji, Paradise Cruise, Saturday Night Market
Next Day 3 Goa Trip : Aguada Fort, North Goa

Sunrise at Calangute Beach:

It was quite early in the morning when we rushed for catching the Sun waking up, at Calungute Beach...Meenal was more excited than me. Two of us enjoyed serenity of the morning while the sun rose, and with a cup of tea while playing with shore waves. Ah! What more can we ask for. She clicked some of the best snaps of the day - birds flying towards the sun, me trying to catch the Sun on my palm, my jump into the water etc.

Next destination was South Goa. We had booked for the evening Paradise cruise and we had whole day with us to explore southern part of the tiniest state of India. On our way to Panaji, the first stop was at St. Alex Church, which is just at the first round about turn to Calangute - Panaji way. 

Dona Paula - Panaji:

I visited this place again, but this time as a free biker with Meenal, Piyush and Monika. The panoramic view of the huge Ocean and Marmagoa Harbour, makes this place even prettier and hence it is a popular venue for film shoots. All this while, the sun was at its best. To beat the heat, we helped ourselves with Kokam juice and moved ahead for our hunt for lunch & our next destination. 

Post a good vegetrian lunch, we visited Panaji Police Station - (of-course from outside)

Miramar Beach:

On the banks of the river Mandovi, lies the beutiful Miramar Beach. There are very good facilities for children to play here, the highlight being a giant concrete fish. The place is much suited for people from age groups, For the couples there are many places like "Just for two of us" under the coconut and palm tree, walk along the beach hand in hand. For the groups 'to play at the ground lying between the road and the beach. For individual 'just to relax and calm' or 'to have eye-tonic' oops. We spent quite enough time here.

Sunset Paradise River cruise along Mandovi River:

We clubbed up with Amit Ladge, Divya, Ravi and others at the cruise entrance. Cruise sailed along the river Mandovi, while we enjoyed the glimpse of Goan culture. We were greeted on Cruise by Goan traditional songs and dance live performances. After that the stage was open for all of us, and we were the first one to rock on the floor. An hour's journey was completed within blink of an eye, with we all dancing, singing and enjoying. It was a totally worth, must-enjoy experience, just INR 150.

'Mae De Deus' church, Saligao:

While coming back from Panaji, we saw divine lights, that was coming from 'Mae De Deus' church at Saligao. We stopped here for some time, and clicked some pics in yellow and orange lights. After seeing this church, You can say that beautiful churches are not only in Europe, but in Goa as well. It looks simply magnificent at night. It enshrines the statue of Mae de Deus the literal translation of which is 'Mother of God'.

If you are idle on one of the evenings in Goa, and interested in visiting exquisite church, then visit the Mae De Deus church during night and enjoy the spectacular views of the awe-inspiring structure.

Mackie’s Saturday night market:

For Mackie’s Saturday night market, you have to follow Calangute - Anjana road. *** Open from November till April, unmissable, every Saturday 6.00 p.m. onwards. *** This market is very famous among foreign tourist birds. Here you can see different kind of bric-a-brac, clothes, trinkets, exotic delicacies and Goanese Cuisine. You'll see the most outlandish shows and some colorful people from all around the world roaming around with a drink in one hand and a shopping list in the other! If you want to buy something from this Saturday night market, then be prepared to bargain hard. There is also a stage for spectacular performances like, acrobats, fire dancer/ Jugglers, Oriental belly dancers and many more.

Other places to visit in Goa:
Nightlife and watersports at Calangute

Goa in a day: The Bom Jesus Church, Tropical Spice Plantation, Shree Mangesh Prashanna, Dona Paula-Panaji, Princesa Cruise

One day visit to North Goa: Calangute Beach, Dolphin Trip, An eve at Bagha Beach

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Aguada Fort, North Goa

Quote of the Post- "Let's Go A" - Quote about trip to Goa - Sachin Kumar Gupta

There are many forts in Goa, but we just had time to visit 'Aguada Fort' on the last day of the trip. If you just came across by searching best fort to visit in Goa, you are at  the right place.
Day 1 in Goa: North Goa - Calangute Beach, Dolphin Trip, An eve at Bagha Beach
Day 2 in Goa: Sunrise at Calangute Beach, St. Alex Church, Dona Paula - Panaji, Miramar Beach - Panaji, Paradise Cruise, Saturday Night Market

Day 3 in Goa: Aguada Fort, North Goa

Timings: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

It was morning 8:30 am when we were on our way to Aguada fort. As the clocked ticked 9, there we were, standing at the entrance of the huge Fort Aguada and its lighthouse. It is a well-preserved seventeenth-century Portuguese fort standing on Sinquerim beach. Earlier, it was a reference point for the vessels coming from Europe. A freshwater spring within the fort provided water supply to the ships that used to stop-by. That's how the fort got its name: Aguada (Portuguese for water). A four-storey Portuguese lighthouse, is the oldest of its kind in Asia. A part of the fort is converted to central Jail. 

That was from history; let's not get into much of it. If you want to get a feel of ancient forts in Goa which represent strength and beauty, Aguada fort is your destination. It is worth a quick visit with its superb panoramic sea-view. The enormous fort envelops the entire peninsula at the south western tip of Bardez. Best time to visit this place is early in the morning. Outside the main entry point, you can see a small market of souvenirs and snacks.

While returning we did a small hop-over at 'St. Anthony Chapel'. (Ofcourse for clicking some pics) and, this was the end of our "Trip to Go A". With our bags packed we headed back to Pune from Vasco-Da-Gama via train. Must not miss on mentioning about our fun-filled train journey; when we spent most of time playing, Tombola/Bingo, UNO, playing cards (Teen Patti -Poker with 3 cards).

What you can bring from Goa apart from beautiful memories - Please don't forget to purchase dry fruits, chunky jewelry, country made liquor, eatables, Goan feni, ethnic handicrafts, traditional Goan clothes etc etc etc...

Other places to visit in Goa:
Nightlife and watersports at Calangute

Goa in a day: The Bom Jesus Church, Tropical Spice Plantation, Shree Mangesh Prashanna, Dona Paula-Panaji, Princesa Cruise

One day visit to North Goa: Calangute Beach, Dolphin Trip, An eve at Bagha Beach

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Trip to North Goa

Quote of the Post- "Let's Go A" - Quote about trip to Goa - Sachin Kumar Gupta

Yo!!!!!!!!!!! Go went gone to Goa ....

Year 2012, and here we are again back to Goa... Another memorable trip with the Amdocs Team... Goa express at 4:20 PM again but with couple of new add-ons and special one "Meenal"... With all fun, masti and a quick nap, we said a Good Morning to Goa at 5:30 AM. Then it was quick one hour trip to Delta Residency near Calangute Beach, with all asleep during the journey... Zzz. Once at Delta, we were free birds to explore the beauty of Goa on bikes.

Day 1: North Goa - Calangute Beach, Dolphin Trip, An eve at Bagha Beach

A rushed breakfast and we were on our Aviator off to Calangute Beach. *** Best way to enjoy and roam around the Goa "To rent bike or scooty and just take the wheel wherever you want to". *** It was a small amount of INR 250 as rent per day with costly affair of PETROL, i.e. INR 80 per litre.

Dolphin Trip from Calangute Beach:
We started our day with the Calangute beach and booked Dolphin trip on a speedy boat. *** You need to bargain for the charges for Dolphin trip. It's usually INR 1200 per boat for 6 persons. 200 INR per person. ***

Sun was up for the day and the rays were swimming in the silent ocean. It was then, we stole a glance of a beautiful Dolphin. *** If you want to be fortunate of catching a sight of quite a few of them, go early in the morning. *** At one point we saw the huge Aguada fort touching the sea-shore, and the clean Candolim as well as Palolem beach curves. Our boat trip way back to Calangute was fast, furious and fun. We enjoyed it with the Ocean Waves as they welcomed us with smooth sprinkles. Now was the time to relax, refresh and enjoy at the Calangute beach; which we captured randomly. Many facilities for water sports and para gliding are available here. Amit Ladge, Piyush, Brahmanand and their better halves were with us. After the joyful half part of the day, we went back to hotel to refresh and late-lunch. 

An eve at Calangute Beach:

As per our schedule timings, during the eve, some of us met at the Calangute beach again, and just enjoyed sunset, DJ, and snacks. The streets of Calangute were packed with shops offering a wide range of food, goods, souvenirs, metal crafts, clothes and jewelry, not just from Goa, but from other parts of the country as well. As the clocks touch 9, music going down slow in this area, we proceeded to Bagha beach post Pizza. 

Night music and entertainment at Baga Beach:

Bagha Beach is an extension to Calangute beach with clean white sand. The beach also has many beach shacks and beach huts that sell delicious Goan food and thirst-quenching Feni (local wine of Goa). Throughout the night music (approx till 2 a.m.) and live bands that create a carnival like ambience simply makes the place rock and fun. We enjoyed here till 1:30 a.m. where karaoke songs were also being sung. After a joyful day, we went back to our hotel, as we don't wanna miss next day sunrise at Calangute.

Next Day visit to Goa: Sunrise at Calangute Beach, St. Alex Church, Dona Paula - Panaji, Miramar Beach - Panaji, Paradise Cruise, Saturday Night Market

Other places to visit in Goa:
Nightlife and watersports at Calangute

Goa in a day: The Bom Jesus Church, Tropical Spice Plantation, Shree Mangesh Prashanna, Dona Paula-Panaji, Princesa Cruise
Aguada Fort, North Goa 

Read More