To More Inquiry
Why is it so difficult to think of Goa beyond its beaches? Even when I were to close my eyes a month back and think of Goa I too would think of beaches - pristine blue with golden sand and perhaps a bottle of Goa's favourite chilled beer King's. However, my last trip to the land changed it all. Here is my Travel blog story on Goa beyond the beaches.
Imagine walking through a lane in Goa with Portuguese houses all around you, and chatter in local Konkani and Portuguese filtering out of windows. The doors of these homes are open and families are happily wishing each other with cakes and hugs. If you are wondering this would be a typical day in colonial Goa in 1895, think again. The old world charm of Goa is not lost, not yet. It lives on in areas away from the overcrowded beaches, shouts of drunk men check women out and unlimited empty bottles of beer thrown around. If you have seen all of this, and want to explore something new in Goa - discover the Old Goa, discover Goa beyond beaches, alcohol and trance parties.
I was in Goa for Christmas and stayed with an Indo-Polish family in an old Portuguese house. And this was perhaps my best ever trip to Goa. I did visit the beach, but that was just a tiny part of the trip. I did so much more, things that can easily get overlooked if you spend all your time at the beach.
This is a quick guide on how you can spend days in Goa, exploring it's real way of life, it's churches in tiny villages, it's iconic Portuguese houses, street photography and of course, some unusual food.
Goa is home to some extremely old Heritage Portuguese Houses and many of these have existed for there for the last four centuries. These houses started getting built soon after the conquest of Goa by the Portuguese in the early 16th Century and continued almost till the time they left in 1961.
Over the years many pf these have disappeared while only a few have endured the test of times and live on to tell their tale to the world. One such house is the Braganza Pereira House located in the Chandor area of South Goa.
Goa beyond beaches: Divar Island
The best way to explore these gems is on foot, but be prepared for a lot of walking. If you are in Panjim, the walk can be interrupted by many coffee and cake breaks :) You can eat as much as you like because the walk will anyway digest it all.
We celebrated Christmas with them at a local Church where I stood out as the weird one out in my shorts and tiny pony, while everyone else was dressed in suits and dresses. A few eyebrows were raised, but I pretended to be a photographer and disappeared in the crowd.
We also joined them in the Christmas party at their home and met some really interesting people, including Shaun who runs a popular Vegan restaurant called xxx. More on that later.
Goa beyond beaches: Coffee and Food
Wherever I go, I always seek out the best coffee in town. The best coffee has two elements for me - great tasting coffee and interesting ambience. Goa has many places which offer both.
I can recommend a few here:
A. Bodega
B. Urban cafe
C. Hotel Venite
D. Baba coffee
E. Coffee Haven
While in town, we also experimented with many food types. I will talk about just one and it's called Bean me Up and run by Shaun. It's closer to Vagator beach, but the place is really quite. Covered by trees from all sides, it creates quite an ambiance for food. As the name suggests, all food served here is Vegan. The most impressive part of the menu are the desserts which taste exactly like their non-vegan counterparts.
There is still so much more that can be added to the list and it would still be incomplete. But if you do love water, I can recommend a waterfall in Goa which will simply take your breath away.
