I hit the snooze button on my overwhelming work schedule and Go Goa Gone to take a much deserved detour

Day 1 - Thursday, November 24, 2022

The baniya inside the Aggarwal booked the flight tickets for Chandigarh-Delhi-Goa two months in advance. There were no direct flights when I booked. A week before our departure I found out 😲 that there were direct flights and that too around the same price I had booked for.

We arrived at our Airbnb in Candolim at around 9:00PM.

Dhillon had already reached in the morning from Bengaluru. We went to have an amazing dine-in in Uptown and enjoyed the live music there. Had a walk at Candolim Beach.

Day 2 - Friday, November 25, 2022

Went to rent Activas first thing in the morning. Had breakfast at a very bad place. Most of the outlets open late and if you are in a similar situation you will ask yourself, why you are a morning person in Goa 🤦‍♂️. We visited Aguada Fort, what a hot day it was!

Shopped for fancy shirts in the afternoon, the Goan vibe!

Got swollen thumbs by playing volleyball in the evening at Candolim Beach. Lost my spectacles by running and lying into the waves. Bought groceries for breakfast. We had dinner and at a highly recommended place - Inferno but didn’t like it much.

But Punjabis carry their Vibe and I gave a tribute to the legend himself, Sidhu Moose Wala.

Day 3 - Saturday, November 26, 2022

I made breakfast for everybody 😁. We played voleyball once again but this time in the pool.

I had to switch to my Prescription Powered Sunglasses for the whole tour. The first stop of the day was the Alcohol Museum, Candolim.

In the evening a visit to Old Goa was planned but was vetoed in the favor of a Cruise Casino. Maddy and I reached at one casino and booked tickets too quickly to avoid getting sold out on a weekend, even when TG and Dhillon had lost way and were midway.

When they reached an hour later, to our surprise, both of them were in shorts and were not allowed to enter 🤦‍♂️. Unable to find trousers nearby, they went all the way back to Airbnb, Candolim to change and then again came back. They were an hour late, once again 🫡. I got celebrity attention, thanks to my sunglasses which I was wearing at night. What a vibe there was on the Skybar!

Day 4 - Sunday, November 27, 2022

Dhillon made today’s breakfast. He learnt to make scrambled eggs at his Goa Tour! We checked out to move into our next location goStops Baga.

We had simple lunch to my delight and everyone’s dismay and played with a Frisbee at the Baga beach. I got a recommendation for a Pure Veg Restaurant nearby from the Bakery we bought TG’s Birthday Cake. We were back at GoStops.

Danced and partied hard. Sunglasses in the night, weird stares.

Day 5 - Monday, November 28, 2022

We are usually not on time, but this time we were, and waiting at the designated pick up spot for the Coach to take us to the water sports, but God doesn’t like the normal ways for us. The Coach driver was heavily drunk and had called us after he had left from our pickup spot. We had to follow the Coach on our Activas and then boarded a ferry to the Grand Islands, a one hour journey, where the water sports would take place. It was spanned over the whole day and we were scheduled to return in the evening. To everyone’s plight and my pleasure Poha was served in breakfast. On the way, a fellow traveller explained the possible danger of a jellyfish sting. The very first activity was Scuba Diving. I went in the water and could breathe in but as soon as we got a little deeper, I would start losing breath, so I didn’t do it and so didn’t Dhillon, for we both had the same diver, and thought maybe it is because of the diver who didn’t give us good enough training. We jumped into the ocean to take a swim where I was already panting because neither there was some safety rope nor I was able to swim because the really strong waves pushed me very far away from the ferry. To add more salt to the injury, someone shouted Jellyfish and I got really panicked. Thanks to TG and another guy I was safely escorted back to the ferry.

We got ferried again to a beach in South Goa, where the other activities - Para Sailing, Bumper Ride, Banana Ride, Jet Ski etc. were to take place. Since the wind was very strong and hence the waves - a lot of people were feeling nauseatic, some were vomiting and chose to board off. It was enough to make me feel nauseous as my heartbeat was already very fast. People were happy - making a lot of noises, in lunch fish was served - which was really smelly, and it made conditions worse for me. The guys went parasailing and I skipped.

I tried to catch a nap meanwhile and don’t know when I missed the call for other activities. In this way, all of the day went in vain and I just sat the whole day on the ferry 😔. A reason to plan another visit. I had loved 😍 yesterday’s dinner at Anand Pure Veg Restaurant and the cakes at Big Bakery, so I repeated the same. I became their repeat customer. Visited Tito’s lane at night.

Day 6 - Tuesday, November 29, 2022

This was our last day in Goa! Maddy and I were on one Activa and TG and Dhillon on another. The first stop was at the Shiva’s Face at Vagator beach. Yesterday’s windy day had tortured me, so today it was the turn of the scorching sun.

After that, we headed together for Arambol beach. TG drove too fast and went into a no-entry-zone and we just got saved from getting a big challan. With TG’s fast driving and Dhillon’s excellent navigation skills, they reached Morjim, while Maddy and I were at Arambol.

Then we headed for lunch at Morjim Beach where TG and Dhillon were already waiting for us. I had a sun bath, an amazingly simple Dal at Lunch, and a quick nap at the beach amongst the sea breeze! 🤩

Soon it was time to return back to goStops Baga.

At night, while Maddy and I were on our way to Candolim to return the rented Activas and buy some snacks for the late night flight, TG called me to inform that the taxi drivers around are not allowing our cab driver to pick him up from goStops Baga and are creating a scene. They had hit his car as well. I sighed why can’t we just get a single simple thing straight. TG got goStops staff to drop him off at a different location. One of the Activas broke down midway. We are very thankful to the staff at goStops Baga, who helped us deal with the situation, and made sure we board our return flight on time.

PS. We had a late night connecting flight, it was awkardly tiring. I had now been habitual, and wasn’t bothered at all of the stares I got, all thanks to my all black sunglasses, at the security check, airport and in-flight. Lesson Learnt - never book too early, never book connecting flights, and never ever a late-night connecting flight. Should lay a broad itinerary for the tour. Carry an extra pair of spectacles.

With our bags and memories packed, we flew out of Goa, until next time!