Mangalore - my granny and uncle's home

It has been really long since I did a post on this blog. I have been itching to post but I was short of matter with no time for travel holidays. Finally, this month we decided to make our much awaited trip to Mangalore.

Mangalore always brings back fond memories. I was born there and spent a year of my childhood in a sprawling mansion with my grandparents and uncles to dote over me. This trip was nostalgic simply because this time around I went there with my baby.

Mangalore to me now means, a doting grandma, a loving uncle, mangoes, jackfruit, freshly plucked coconut waters, yummy food cooked in granny's kitchen, whiff of freshly baked bread and cookies, vegetable garden, frontyard, lots of space and fresh air.

It has been pouring there since almost a month now. The place looks lush. One of the things I wished to do but could not was - relax :( But instead I made the most of my time with my near and dear ones. When I think relaxation, I see myself laid back on the easy chair in the sitting room looking out into the freshly watered gardens.

Mangalore is also known for its tiles (terracota), typical Konkani cuisine, bakeries, cathedrals, churches, temples, beaches and a fairly laid back life. A deep breath and the picture of the easy chair with my grandpa seated on it relaxes me instantly.

The drivewayThe annona plantJackfruits The sitting roomThis one is my great grandpa's possession.Graffiti by yours truly - @3 yrs
The town hall

To be continued...

This blog has gone off air since August 2007. The blog writer has had her hands full (taking care of the little one). Will hopefully renew it May 2008 onwards. Until then readers, feel free to browse through the older posts and insert comments (to which you will definitely receive responses); however don't expect any new posts for awhile.

Cheers!
Bon Voyage.......

A weekend at Khandala

"And the rains have left the bustling city of Mumbai completely crippled,...Milan subway submerged, low lying areas like Lower Parel, King's circle, Kurla under few feet of water....western express highway affected too...." announced a news reporter. The time was 10.30 am in the morning and we had booked ourselves at The OBs in Khandala. Our trip included a weekend stay there. We hadn't checked out the place before but all that we had heard and read about it sounded quaint.

After an unsuccessful attempt at beginning the journey at 2.00 pm in the afternoon, we settled down to give it one last shot at 4.45 pm. Lucky! that's what we turned out to be. A short pleasant journey of 1hr 45 mins on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, landed us directly at Khandala - thankfully with no traffic jams, water logging or breakdowns. We were greeted by the manager there - Sameer, who had been constantly following up with us since the time we had left Mumbai for Khandala.He reminded us while still on the express way that we should be a little watchful so as not to miss the "exit to Khandala" from the expressway.

We reached the designated spot "The OBs cottages" by 6.30 pm. The place, to say the least, was lovely and the ambience breathtaking. We were escorted by the helper to our cottage - a lovely little place with a Mangalore tile roof top, a bedroom, a kitchen (just incase we thought of cooking up something) and neat restroom. The cottage was equipped with a fridge, Air conditioner and TV, although we didn't need any of it. The interiors were done up mostly in wrought iron and stone with little or no wood. This primarily because the weather is moist for much of the year and wood is likely to decay in that kind of weather. Just outside the cottage was a little sit-out garden with a park bench and the view of Duke's nose.

The OBs are a senior couple who live in a cottage at 'Weekend nursery', and the 4 other cottages are lent out to guests. Each cottage is completely independent with a little garden of its own. After we had warmed up with some great onion pakoras and ginger tea, we opted to sit out at the Ghazebo. This was right in the centre of the property,surrounded by the lush greens. This place too had a Mangalore tile roof top. The Ghazebo had tall pillars supporting the roof. To make the place cozy, there were 2 marble top tables with wrought iron well cushioned chairs to sit out. While we were seated there, we noticed the huge earthern bowls just outside it, which supported a selfsustaining eco system. They were fish ponds with vegetation (lotus, algae) of their own. When enquired, the helper mentioned that they did not need to oxygenate these earthern bowls like an aquarium as it was earthern, and so porous to oxygen.

It was close to 8.00 pm now, and we continued to chat at the Ghazebo while we enjoyed the pleasant sounds made by the bugs, cricket (they were noisier than us!!!) We then walked around, and couldn't help but notice the cottage that the OBs lived in. Although exteriors were no different from the other cottages, the interiors were done up in typical colonial English style. A little peek through the french windows and we noticed a stone mantel, a huge stone arch, beneath which was a largish dining table. A fair haired gentleman remained seated at the head of it, and to his right was an elegantly clad lady. The setting looked simply beautiful.....right from old English (read - British) movie

A while late Mr. OB (the fair haired gentleman we had noticed earlier) came out of his cottage and struck a conversation with us. He informed us that he was a retired Fashion photographer from Mumbai, and had moved here nearly 15 yrs back. He still owned apartments in Mumbai which he had put up on rent, and his son ran the OB studio there. The son, he said was a photographer for the Taj Group and handled their campaigns nationally. That kept him busy most times. He sorrowfully admitted that the son was so busy at times that he didnt turn up to meet his folks - "like today" he mentioned. He also informed us that earlier he would often visit the city - Mumbai for medical and dental needs, but no more he said. He was quite happy with the facilities in this small town and had to make an occasional trip to Pune if some more advanced treatment was required.

He asked us what kind of music we liked, and when Pari mentioned Western Classical, he quickly disappeared in to his den. A while later while we continued our chat at the Ghazebo we heard music emanating from the lush greens, it seemed to be coming from some rocks! Mr. OB then explained that the speakers were installed in the rocks - what he called the "singing rocks". He had managed to sell a few over the past few years. He guaranteed that they were water proof and could be left out in the rains.

Hungry tummies - we had most meals within the premises - either at the Ghazebo, or the little garden bench outside our cottage or within our cottage itself; they were freshly cooked in the OBs kitchen. Since they also run a nursery, we were surrounded by some lovely plants, shrubs and trees - bonsais, lemon, chickoo, mango, palms, crotons, poppies, button roses, colocacaie, asparagus, peepal tree....what a splendour - and the credit goes to the OBs and their efficient staff.

The rains had still not ceased. We walked around with our "head high in the clouds" - quite literally. The clouds floated in and out of our cottage while we had the windows open to the lovely view of the Duke's nose.

"How I love to watch the clouds
Peacefully, peacefully drifting by
Silently upon the breeze
They ease across the clear blue sky.

How they build and roll and tumble
Just like angels out to play
Dancing with the sylphs and fairies
Head o'er heels along the way.

Each new shape is quite amusing:
Puffs to great majestic towers
Building for their loving gift
To bless the earth with vital showers.
By - Craig Nicholson

The next day - Sunday, we rose early. The weather hadn't changed much. It continued to rain incessantly, the clouds had only grown darker. The fog, restricted vision - the view even a few meters away from our cottage was unclear....but it was all so beautiful and romantic.

We drove down to the Lonavala market (~4 kms from Khandala) to pick up some walnut chocolate fudge from Coopers and some chikki from Navratna - both places located near the station. As we reached early (10.00 am), we had an hour to while away before the shops opened, we drove down to Lion's point, Walvan dam- where the Tata's have their Power project, passed quickly by the Bushi dam - no halt. The drive was quite daunting as it was constantly uphill with poor visibility owing to the fog. The view (the little that we managed when the sun occasionally peeked out and the fog cleared) was scenic. Went past INS Shivaji at the cantonment area a little short of Lion's point. Back in the market, we picked our goodies and set back towards the cottage.

On the way back we took a slight detour to check out some of the other resorts and training centres - companies viz L&T, Marico, Hindustan Lever, O&M- North point, HDFC and many others have their training centres in and around Lonavala. Lonavala is a favoured weekend getaway amongst Mumbaikars. Most of the place is dotted with independent homes/ bungalows - of all hues, shapes and sizes. There are some completely grand like Krishna Kunj with three tiered garden extending in to the valleys while some are quaint & old fashioned like the Weekend nursery too.

We were back in time for lunch. After a leisurely lunch, a few pics shot and back we were on the path well travelled. Back home!

Alibaug

At the time of sunrise

Fresh clean air, small busy town, and most interestingly just a stone's throw away from Mumbai. Hard to believe eh? That Saturday, 16 Dec 2006, was quite a warm day in Mumbai, and we had an appointment to keep with the small beach town by the coast - Alibaug. Unfortunately although we were supposed to be 8 of us; busy city schedules and unplanned activities made it possible for just the 3 of us to keep that appointment. Although at first we were a little disappointed that the others dropped out, the place and our host, R made the holiday worthwhile.

We met at the docks, and embarked on to the 5.30 pm launch to Mandwa. No ferries go upto Alibaug since the waters on the coast are shallow. The weather changed gradually in the next 45 mins as we drifted away from Mumbai towards Mandwa. We caught the lovely sunset.

Ship at sea

The sea was dotted with a few cruise liners, one particularly good looking Luxury Liner, many launches, some catamarans (the only difference between these and the launches are that they move on 2 hulls, making them more sophisticated and stable -with fewer jerks...I am talking about the physical ones and not the human jerks ;) While we sailed past, the birds were returning back to their homes, and the seagulls tried to grab their last bite in the vast oceans.
At 6.20 pm sharp we disembarked at Mandwa. Had we been 8 as planned earlier, we would have to take a bus to Alibaug, but then R was sweet enough to play the gracious host and came specially to pick us up in his vehicle. The car looked brand new and we were surprised to know that he had already done 1,00,000 kms in it!!! I guess these are the benefits of living in Alibaug - even the car shows it :)

The ride to Alibaug was ~25 mins by road. The winds were chilly, and the air fresh n clean. An hour fm Mumbai, and here was a different world. Dotted with wadis - small independent houses with their own little orchards/ back + frontyards. Some modernised, while some still retained the old world charm.

We first went to grab some food since we are forever hungry souls. We had some "ragda pattice" at a popular corner and moved on to Versoli beach, just 3 kms from Alibaug. This is where we would stay until the end of tomorrow. After depositing our bags there we moved on to the beach. The time was well past 8.00 pm. The sun had set without a trace. We walked on the sands under the dark night sky. It was closer to new moon, so we had a panoramic view of the night sky, with very little moonlight. We were lucky to see a shooting star too. It looked so beautiful when it shot right past the skies across zillions of galaxies. I hummed to myself ...

"Starlight, starbright,

The first star I see tonite.
I wish I may, I wish I might.
I wish my dreams come true tonite"

Interestingly, we four were not the only souls that night at the beach. There were other beach bums, some merely drinking, some enjoying the sea breeze and some others contemplating at a distance from the shores whether it was safe to take that nice walk along the sea. Luckily we had R with us, who is a local and so we felt safe just by his presence.
While we strolled, B suddenly remembered some ghastly tales. She said they were true tales about ghosts which she had watched on the channel Travel n Living. She went on to relate the ghastly tales about a haunted home. The channel name she dropped did lend the whole tale credibility.

Then suddenly a thought crossed my mind. The conversation that transpired....
Me : R do you believe in Ghosts?
R : No
Me : is it because you believe in God and so you dont believe in Ghosts?
R : No I dont believe in God either
Me (surprised) : and whyever not?
R : It would be hypocritical to believe in the positive or the negative alone. Where there is good there is evil too. So I would rather not believe in either :)
M (thoughtful): Hmmm... that's interesting

The night sky was a delight. The walk got us all hungry and I was keen for my plate of fish. R took us to a nearby joint which served some delicious varieties of fish and local fare.
We then split, promising to meet at sunrise. Just before that R reminded us that the guesthouse we were put up at belonged to an Exorcist :). Thank God! for that.

Palms lining the beach

The next day, passed by rather quickly. A quick walk to Versoli beach, which was just a few minutes from our guesthouse, to watch the sunrise.

The first sunrays

R joined us by then, in time for our breakfast. Had a long chat, about travels and plans, over a hot cuppa. Spent a few more minutes at the guesthouse and then got going. B noticed some gooseberry and supari trees in the guesthouse frontyard. So she had them plucked...anxious to check out the taste :)

The Supari palm

On the itinerary next was a fort right in the middle of the sea. Called the Kolaba fort, the only way to access it is on foot or by a buggy. However care needs to be taken to make sure that whichever route you take you need to be back before high tide. At the time we decided to go there, the low tide had just about set in, so the waters were not very shallow; and we decided to take the buggy ride. Not easy! Dink, donk, clunk....those were my bones bumping into each other while the horse waded through the Alibaug waters.

The (in)famous buggy ride

It took about 30 mins to look around the fort - 2 old Brit Canons, the Someshwar temple and the magnificient view of the seas from the top.

From a distance (the Kolaba fort)Old Brit Canons

From the fort

Sorry R! I dont remember any historic details, thanks to that shaky ride on the buggy. My grey cells got completely jammed! ;) Also the heavy breakfast I had grabbed just before the buggy ride only made matters worst :p

Once back, we went quickly for our lunch, some desserts and then R dropped us off at Mandwa. We took a catamaran back home. This time since we had learnt from the trip the previous day, we asked specially for tickets to the top deck. The view was blissful. There were some funny humans with us who fed the seagulls(chips, biscuits, and God alone knows what else) almost the entire way back, so through the journey we had an entire flock of seagulls on our trail :). In case you haven't figured out, you would by now why species get endangered and then extinct. Whoever said Seagulls love Fritolays!

As we approached the shore, we could smell Mumbai....
Such a striking contrast, an hour away fm Mumbai lies a blissfully peaceful beachtown, which offers so much solace to the aching ears and tired minds. However, just like any small town, it faces shortage of infrastructure - power cuts for ~4-6 hours daily.

In this small town, our friend R, the enterprising guy that he is, runs a communications centre (the only communications centre). His challenge is to ensure that he is able to provide internet facility through the day, even when the power is cut. He runs on generators and invertors and makes sure that his business does not stop, and customers never disappointed. We need more like him don't we :)

As for Alibaug....would definitely be there more often :)

Special thanks to R for the lovely holiday and B for the great pics! :)

Before memories fade....

Alibagh

Ganapatipule beach holiday

Achoo! I went, achoo! again. Oh God! I hope I make it this time to Ganapatipule, a beach that has been on my check list for long. And thank God, we managed to take that weekend (1st weekend of Dec, 2006) off to G'pule.

There are 3 ways to get there. Either one drives down or opts for a bus or train. The journey being 8 hrs long, we thought train would be a better idea. The closest station to G'pule is Ratnagiri which is connected to the mainland by the Konkan Railway - all credits to the Konkan rail go to Mr.Sridharan, bless him for it and for the wonderful metro-rail network that he is putting in place in Delhi and Mumbai. I sure wish there are many more like him.

The Matsyagandha train beginning at Tilaknagar terminus, Mumbai and terminating at Goa, left the station at 2.00 pm and got us off at the Ratnagiri station at 9.00 pm the same night. The road journey to Ganapatipule from Ratnagiri was a pleasant one hour drive, complemented by good roads.

By the time we checked into the rooms, it was well past 11.00 pm. Our plans had worked out just fine so far. The nomenclature "Sea view" rooms was not a let down since the rooms were indeed right by the beach. They were on a hillock ~30 ft above sea level. The rooms had a porch which opened onto the sea and the sands.The path outside

Right by the room

While I lay on the ledge, there was nothing or no one that came between me and the pristine sands and vast ocean....I turned around to lie on my back to see the dark skies sprinkled with stars....almost like a part of designer bridal collection (a la Tahiliani) - dark prussian satin with shining silver sequins.

Early morning skies

The next morning, we were up early by 6.30 am. A lazy stroll on the virgin sands, the cool winds caressing us, sent a gentle chill down the spine. The sun was still wondering whether it was too early to rise. When it finally did, the gentle morning rays unvieled a flock of little birds busy with their morning ablutions. It was a delight to see them in flight.

As we continued the stroll, we looked back occasionally at the footprints we left behind in the sands, and were reminded of the Psalm of Life by Longfellow.......

.....Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labor and to wait.

Two generations...

It was 9.00 am and time to get back to the rooms for our morning chores. Had a good hot bath followed by some tasty Maharashtrian fare for breakfast - masala chai and kanda poha. Not bad. The morning was spent lazing around on the porch , dreamily observing the now azure skies and palms gracefully swaying in the breeze. The waves that moved back and forth tirelessly, the trollers that busily went about their daily routine.

So much calm & serenity; the only sound was that of an occasional bird and the waves that danced to the tune of the gentle breeze, almost like an opera to the conductor. Each time the winds blew harder, the waves lashed out higher......completely in sync :)

A quick lunch at the closest bhojnalay, and we set out to look around.Some places we visited.....

Ganapatipule temple

Ganapatipule temple, right by the beach. While the entrance to the temple lies along the roadside, the temple opens onto the beach. What a lovely sight. The deity worshipped is Swayambu Ganapati (the Elephant headed God).

An unusual banyan tree

We also saw a century old Lighthouse, albeit from a distance. On way to Jaigad fort was an interesting Banyan tree, with trunk at the extreme left and the foliage all bent towards the sea (pic above). Very little is known about the fort - who built it, who resided there, is pretty much a mystery. The fort remains on the list of the Archealogical Society of India, as a piece for preservation. The only reason of visiting the fort, was the view from the top.

Atop Jaigad fort

By the time we got back that evening, it was late. But were keen to watch the sunset. So back we went to take a dip in the ocean, and soak the atmosphere while the sun set.

Sunset at the beach

We then headed for dinner; the main course followed by some delicious 'modak' - a jaggery based sweetdish. It is almost like a sweet momo. Made of ground blackgram and rice flour steamed with a filling of coconut, jaggery and cardamom. Yum....

That night while I lay on my bed, I pulled back the curtain to look out at the ocean which was clearly visible on the moonlit night. The silhouette of the palms and pines made for a lovely picture.

The only time I regretted being there was when I could not have some good fresh catch (fish) for my meals. Imagine being on the Konkan coast and not being able to bite into some delicious fresh fish in coconut curry or simply in fried / tandoored form. But well as usual Pari, my kind, amiable better half came to my rescue. He said "dont you worry! we are not leaving this place until you have had your fill" and off we set out to Ratnagiri. The road journey takes an hour and fifteen minutes and is ~48 kms long. Unlike Ganapatipule which does not serve nonveg fare owing to the vicinity to temple (holy) premises, Ratnagiri has some good fish served at reasonably priced places.

Since the entire day was to be spent at Ratnagiri, we decided to make the most of it. We hired a vehicle to take us around to some popular, historic spots. We visited the home of Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak, the man who popularised Sarvajanik Ganapati celebrations (community celebrations during Ganesh chaturthi), with the objective of spreading awareness and support for the Indian Freedom struggle.

Some of the other places which deserve a mention are - Museum by the Fisheries dept; which houses the skeleton of a huge Whale (Devmasa),
Bhatye beach,
The Thebaw palace; home to the Burmese king Thebaw (1858-1916) which finds mention in Amitav Ghosh's The Glass Palace,
Thebaw point, an attempt by the inhabitants of Ratnagiri to have a recreational spot of historic significance,

Patita pawan temple, the first temple where Veer Savarkar allowed non brahmins to worship Lord Vishu and Lakshmi

After the regular site seeing, we went to a hot fish spot ;), and relished some freshly fried surmai and solkadi (a coconut milk and kokum based accompaniment)

There are friends who ask me whether Taarkarli or Ganapatipule is a better beach. While the sands are more clean at Taarkarli, Ganapatipule has some great views as the cottage is housed on a hillock.

I would cherish this trip as long as I am not down with Alzheimer's!, and as for you...I will leave you with something to look forward to....

Somewhere - Linda Harnett

Oh, to be lying,
On a beach,
Somewhere,
With sand in my toes,
And the wind,
In my hair.

And only the sound,
Of the seagulls,
On high,
On a beach,
Somewhere,
Under sunny blue sky.

The gentle caress,
Of the waves,
On the shore,
And you close,
Beside me,
Could I ask for more?

A soft sandy beach,
That goes on,
Forever,
You, me,
And a beach,
So happy together.

Goa

Thank you Manish for this lovely piece ....u guys sure ate a lot ;). We had been to Goa a long while ago, must be close to 7 yrs now. I did make a business trip there last year, but that wasn't as much fun as being there on a holiday :) Thank you for rekindling good ol' memories.

Over to Manish.....
We are back from our Goa trip and heres a brief update for your blog.......
We started from Delhi on Trivandrum Rajdhani which leaves Hazrat Nizammudin at 1100 hrs and reached Goa the next day at 1500 hrs a full 1 day and 5hrs. We have been enquired a number of times as to why we didnt take a flight and all about flight fares being cheaper. Of course, flight fares have nosedived and we have no nostalgia attached to good old train journey but still train remains cheaper especially if you are travelling with small kids. We had two, 4 and 6 years old and you have to pay full discounted fare for them whereas train you buy only 2 1/2 tickets.Anyway, we had kept a lot of activities books for the kids and Jo had brought a set of 5 Cosmopolitons , i thinks it was their 10th anniversary issue.

Marquis Beach Resort

We arrived in Goa and checked into our hotel by the Grand name of "Marquis Beach Resort" (seen above in pic) at Candolim Beach , bordering the Taj Heritage village and Kingfishers House of Vijay Malaya. It is spread over 4 acres of land , having a beautiful landscaped garden and a swimming pool. Its USP is that it is absolutely close to the Beach. As close as you could possibly be. You just walk out of the hotel and you are on the Beach.

The Candolim Beach is a beautiful strech and it is not very crowded. Not many outsiders snooping into your privacy. No wonder it is shared by the likes of Vijay Mallaya and Taj Village. It overlooks the Fort Aquada, on its left and has the Calangute Beach on its right. Lots of activities and water sports are available which I will tell later. The only sore point is a stranded ship "River Princess" which has been there for the past 6 to 7 years. Having arrived after a long journey we straight headed for the pool.

Cooling off at the pool

Later the evening was spent with live music at the resort, that had announced "A night with a lady singer" Somehow the lady always stayed in the background. Good Prawns are served here. We started our day by doing what became a ritual for the next three days i.e. jumping in the sea and playing the waves and then cooling at the pool. Hired two Honda sooters available at the hotel gate for Rs 300/- each with petrol extra.

Little Miss Muffet

We took a long trip to Arambol beach which is on the northern most tip of Goa around 30kms, and on the way visited the Baga Beach, missed Anjuna, stopped over at the beautiful Mandrem beach and finally hit the wild Arambol. Goa near Candolim was sophisticated but as you move north it becomes more and more wild.

At Baga we met Leo who handed us a surprise gift sponsored by a resort celebrating its 14th anniversary, a T shirt for me and a 7 day free stay for two at Bali, Thailand or 14 days at Goa for Jo. Of course we were told to participate in a 1 hour presentation which we wriggled out. The Baga beach in day time resembled Chowpatty. The surprise was Mandrem beach, which is surrounded by coconut trees and gives a magnificient view.

We were told that the sand at North Goa is golden whereas it is silver/white in the south, some difference. The way to Arambol is through a small lane where you bump into dirty looking foreigners riding bikes.Another 1 km ahead is the Arambol Keri beach , if you are looking for those nude ones.

We had dinner at "Sweet Chilli" as suggested by Leo. Its a place where the local crowds hang out. The place had lovely live music and the singer played to the gallery as he had few friends sitting and rooting for him.He even played " Una paloma Balanca" , "I just called to say I love you," and "Summer Holiday" for my kids.Good place to prawns and Goan Fish curry chawal. We started our next day deciding to stay put at the Beach and not to move out. After playing the waves, we took a ride on the water scooter, I thought Karthik would fly off. We then went for a ride on the speed boat for dolphin spotting. The speed Boat took us at a point from where you could see the mouth of River Mandovi.Amazingly , there were 20 other boats waiting to spot these dolphins, poor little mammals.We did spot quite a few travelling in threesomes diving to hide themselves being surrounded, rather hounded by hundreds of eager onlookers. On the way back Mahika slept off on the speed boat.

Watching the kids...

We got back to our resort and cooled ourselves in the pool. We had lunch at the "Calamari Shack". It is famous for hosting the grand beach marriages, the "Salaam Namaste' types. I had to try Feni, I was a bit >conservative so I took it with Sprint, otherwise i was told that It smells really bad. It gives a great feeling of being in trance and you feel being a part of the sea.Jo tried King Prawns which were sumptous and I tried Fish. A bit expensive and uppity, but highly recommended.A bit of afternoon seista, then swimming in the pool and then we were ready for a night out. this time we tried " The Stone house". It is a place frequented by mostly foreigners especially The British. a decent ambience, the service is slow but the staff will explain it to you that when you are in Goa you relax.

The next day was our anniversary, the most uneventful day, We met my brothers family who were staying with a group of friends at one of the celeb bunglows, closeby, were the gleterrati stays. Karthik and Mahika were most excited on seeing their cousins. While Jo went for an ayurvedic Massage I caught up with some gup shup with family and their friends and some beer. Played water polo with a bunch of 11 -12 year olds.Lunch was good old rajmah Chawal, I was getting sick with the sight if Jhinga kekras.

The kids took to the sea with me. Unfortunately Mahika started having slight temperature,but her spirits were high. She was not willing to miss the fun. The group decided to have a full fleged water polo match which was chaotic.In the evening we decided to be on our own. My bros family was sweet enough to baby sit my kids and the kids were thirlled to be in the company of their older cousins and their friends. We decided to go to Baga by the night on our hired scooter, which we were told is the most happening place in Goa. Went to Brittos. It is one of the oldest restaurants and opens on to the sea.We got a nice table near the beach, but there was no music. had our candle night dinner. One of our friends were also in Goa and we caught up with them. Went to a rocking place called "Mambos" It had an entry fee of Rs 300 per couple. They were having a Retro nite. Played great music ....."I want to break Free..., Doors and the works..... They crowd started getting more and more and the place got full when we decided to leave and enter. Had a couple of beers at a place called "Lazy Days, and caught up with some gossip. Called up the day at 0100 hrs suddenly remembering the call of duty, Picked up Mahika who was better after having couple of doses of crocin syrup.

Another day....

The next day was a final stroll at the beach and sadly time to say "goodbye Goa" . The kids refused to move insisting that we stay there for 20 days..... If not 20 we really feel one should at least stay for goa for at least 7 days, but then there is always a next time... this was our first trip to goa together as a family but we will be back again.... This time perhaphs will stay at South Goa , to see if the sand there is really white..... but that will be another story.... Until then.... Goa we love you.....

Yeoor hills