It really surprised me that India let Portuguese to rule Goa till 1960’s. According to me, Operation Vijay (India’s military operation to release Goa from Portugal) happened bit late. Its worth fighting for this beautiful piece of land and no wonder why Portuguese were not ready to leave Goa even after India’s independence. But one thing for sure, I hate wars!!
Flashback: I am really lucky to have such enthusiastic and cheerful friends. They are my college mates then turns to colleagues. All are passionate about travel and especially on bike rides. And Goa was everyone’s dream destination from the college days.
crazy devils :-)
Here we are planning for Goa trip, after 4 years from college. And we chose to travel by the end of September 2007.
Bangalore – Goa route: We chose Konkan Railway for travel. According to Arun –my mate- “If you miss Konkan, You miss the trip.”
+Day 1: (28/09/2007 – Friday – Bangalore)
It’s Friday, last day of the week and also the least productive day of the week for professionals like me. I have decided to bunk office bit early by 3:00pm. So that I can join my friends @ majestic bus stand. Our aim is to reach Mysore by 8:00pm.
Everything worked as per plan. Bangaloreans(Sarath, John, Rakz, Nish and myself) met @ Majestic bus stand and board bus to Mysore by 5:00pm. I could make out from everyone’s face that all were excited about their dream trip from college days. We reached Mysore by 8:00pm and our dear Mysoreans (Arun and jay) were waiting for us @ Mysore bus stand. We had quick dinner and set for boarding on Mysore-Mangalore K.S.R.T.C by 9:00pm.
Bus route: Mysore – Hunsur – Madikeri – Mangalore
Good morning Mangalore!!!
I got up when the bus conductor was calling us for getting down near to Mangalore railway station. It was around 5:00am, we are in Mangalore and our real journey starts now, thru Konkan!!
Day 2: (29/09/2007 – Saturday – Mangalore)
The real journey. It is thru Konkan railway which is famous for its scenic beauty, longest tunnels and bridges. I am excited like my friends.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konkan_Railway
We got into the passenger train to Margao from Mangalore by 6:25am
Passenger train awaiting for us at Mangalore railway station, 6:26am
raindrop
It was raining in the morning, and the train started moving slowly by 6:50am. I was worried about the weather, fortunately I could see the sun in sometime and the smiles on my mates faces :-)
I just don’t have words to explain Konkan. Following pictures speaks by itself.
A River and paddy fields – view from the train
waterfall – view from the train
Fishermen in backwaters
Special KR designed High Strength Steel Boulder Nets
Tunnel (2km length)
Longest tunnel (3kms)
A Bridge
Another train
Our train: with jay
Train reached late to Margoa by 3:00pm, but it was not making any difference to us. Anyway today is the rest day in our agenda. We all were thrilled because of Konkan journey, and after stepping into the Goan soil.
We at Margao railway station (from left: john,jay,me,rakz,sarath,arun)
A tourist map of Goa (we were at Margao)
We hired 2 prepaid taxies (Maruthi Omni) to the hotel (Hotel Raviraj, Margao) where Abhi’s friend booked accommodation. Ohhh, I forgot to mention about Abhi, he’s in Hyderabad. He too is my classmate and was supposed to join us in Goa, but could not join us because of his health conditions. He was the one who arranged accommodation for all of us in Goa thru his Goan roommates.
We had a good, heavy lunch and I was not in a mood to sleep (also my mates). We came to Colva beach in a city bus. Initially the beach looked very similar to the beaches which I have seen in kerala. But later I have realized why tourists preferred Goa. The beach was very clean and beautiful.
Me at Colva beach
More excited rakz at Colva beach
(see the reflection, you wont find it in other beaches in India)
I was bit concerned about the plans for day3 because, we all were new to Goa and does not have much idea about the places. I was missing Abhi very much for organizing the trip. I left my friends alone at beach and came for enquiring about renting motor bikes. I had some information from Internet and also had a rough idea about the rent rates. But I was not sure about the location from where I can hire bikes. Later my friends joined me and we could find our bikes :-)
· Royal Enfield (2)
· Yamaha enticer(1)
· Pulsar (1)
4 bikes and 7 crazy devils :-)
I was more excited after renting the bike and waiting for next day morning for the ride.
Good night Margao!!
Day 3: (30/09/2007 – Margao)
Good morning riders!!
Margao – A commercial centre
1. “A ride to old Goa”
Margao: We all were ready for the ride by 9:00AM and checked out the hotel. Plan is to visit old goa and a ride to Panaji, the capital.
Riders during a break
Easy riders
There was traffic police checking in between, and they stopped our bikes. I was not having driving licence in my hand, Damn it!!! How could I forget that? But they noticed that Rakz was not wearing helmet and they charged a fine for that, and I escaped.
It took an hour to reach old Goa. And we headed towards “Basilica of Bom Jesus”
You can see Basilica in the left hand side of the road
Infront of Basilica, parking the bikes
About the history of basilica
We – the people
John told to me that 3 of your wishes will come true, whenever you pray for the first time from a church. And I did that, I prayed for the 3 wishes. My fingers are crossed now!!
Arun in front of another church – located opposite to basilica
2.”Ride to Panaji”
Old Goa: Its 11:30am. According to jay, we were behind the schedule; we were supposed to reach Panaji by this time. But we are just starting from old goa to Panaji now. (Distance: 10kms)
Heading towards Panaji
Jay wants to ride bike and even I felt that’s the best option, because riding bike without licence is risky in city. And we hit Panaji in 25-30 mins and it took sometime to settle in a hotel. We did not do any advance booking, but rooms were available as it was just starting of the season.
We started the ride to Baga beach soon after the lunch by 3:00pm. The aim was to reach beach by 4:00pm.
3. “Ride to Baga beach & Ferry”
Panaji: We all were wearing same t-shirt, and riding bikes on the roads of Panaji. John found that we could save time if we are using Ferry to cross the river instead of taking the bridge. In simple words, Ferry is a large boat which can carry people as well as vehicles. We took our bikes on Ferry.
Shortcut to Baga beach- on ferry
You can see the bridge in the background
Riders heading towards Baga beach
The sea shore
nish : Water skiing
Arun: Tattooing
It was a great evening, but some hiccups happened in between. Traffic police caught me and Arun for riding bike without driving license and fined. It’s sad to give fine for not carrying your DL. Anyways, my mistake.
Another miss was Titto’s pub. I heard that it is the most happening place in Goa. Also wanna experience that, but sadly they were only allowing couples.
I am taking the positive side of the day (thanks to arun and nish for reminding about the positive sides) and it was a great day. And a cool midnight ride to hotel room in Panaji (30kms).
Good night Panaji!!
Day 4: (1/10/2007 - Panaji)
“Ride to Aguda fort”
Panaji: Last day of the Goan trip. The fort situated on a hilltop, facing to the sea. It is constructed in 17th century.
It’s Friday, last day of the week and also the least productive day of the week for professionals like me. I have decided to bunk office bit early by 3:00pm. So that I can join my friends @ majestic bus stand. Our aim is to reach Mysore by 8:00pm.
Everything worked as per plan. Bangaloreans(Sarath, John, Rakz, Nish and myself) met @ Majestic bus stand and board bus to Mysore by 5:00pm. I could make out from everyone’s face that all were excited about their dream trip from college days. We reached Mysore by 8:00pm and our dear Mysoreans (Arun and jay) were waiting for us @ Mysore bus stand. We had quick dinner and set for boarding on Mysore-Mangalore K.S.R.T.C by 9:00pm.
Bus route: Mysore – Hunsur – Madikeri – Mangalore
Good morning Mangalore!!!
I got up when the bus conductor was calling us for getting down near to Mangalore railway station. It was around 5:00am, we are in Mangalore and our real journey starts now, thru Konkan!!
Day 2: (29/09/2007 – Saturday – Mangalore)
The real journey. It is thru Konkan railway which is famous for its scenic beauty, longest tunnels and bridges. I am excited like my friends.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konkan_Railway
We got into the passenger train to Margao from Mangalore by 6:25am
Passenger train awaiting for us at Mangalore railway station, 6:26am
raindrop
It was raining in the morning, and the train started moving slowly by 6:50am. I was worried about the weather, fortunately I could see the sun in sometime and the smiles on my mates faces :-)
I just don’t have words to explain Konkan. Following pictures speaks by itself.
A River and paddy fields – view from the train
waterfall – view from the train
Fishermen in backwaters
Special KR designed High Strength Steel Boulder Nets
Tunnel (2km length)
Longest tunnel (3kms)
A Bridge
Another train
Our train: with jay
Train reached late to Margoa by 3:00pm, but it was not making any difference to us. Anyway today is the rest day in our agenda. We all were thrilled because of Konkan journey, and after stepping into the Goan soil.
We at Margao railway station (from left: john,jay,me,rakz,sarath,arun)
A tourist map of Goa (we were at Margao)
We hired 2 prepaid taxies (Maruthi Omni) to the hotel (Hotel Raviraj, Margao) where Abhi’s friend booked accommodation. Ohhh, I forgot to mention about Abhi, he’s in Hyderabad. He too is my classmate and was supposed to join us in Goa, but could not join us because of his health conditions. He was the one who arranged accommodation for all of us in Goa thru his Goan roommates.
We had a good, heavy lunch and I was not in a mood to sleep (also my mates). We came to Colva beach in a city bus. Initially the beach looked very similar to the beaches which I have seen in kerala. But later I have realized why tourists preferred Goa. The beach was very clean and beautiful.
Me at Colva beach
More excited rakz at Colva beach
(see the reflection, you wont find it in other beaches in India)
I was bit concerned about the plans for day3 because, we all were new to Goa and does not have much idea about the places. I was missing Abhi very much for organizing the trip. I left my friends alone at beach and came for enquiring about renting motor bikes. I had some information from Internet and also had a rough idea about the rent rates. But I was not sure about the location from where I can hire bikes. Later my friends joined me and we could find our bikes :-)
· Royal Enfield (2)
· Yamaha enticer(1)
· Pulsar (1)
4 bikes and 7 crazy devils :-)
I was more excited after renting the bike and waiting for next day morning for the ride.
Good night Margao!!
Day 3: (30/09/2007 – Margao)
Good morning riders!!
Margao – A commercial centre
1. “A ride to old Goa”
Margao: We all were ready for the ride by 9:00AM and checked out the hotel. Plan is to visit old goa and a ride to Panaji, the capital.
Riders during a break
Easy riders
There was traffic police checking in between, and they stopped our bikes. I was not having driving licence in my hand, Damn it!!! How could I forget that? But they noticed that Rakz was not wearing helmet and they charged a fine for that, and I escaped.
It took an hour to reach old Goa. And we headed towards “Basilica of Bom Jesus”
You can see Basilica in the left hand side of the road
Infront of Basilica, parking the bikes
About the history of basilica
We – the people
John told to me that 3 of your wishes will come true, whenever you pray for the first time from a church. And I did that, I prayed for the 3 wishes. My fingers are crossed now!!
Arun in front of another church – located opposite to basilica
2.”Ride to Panaji”
Old Goa: Its 11:30am. According to jay, we were behind the schedule; we were supposed to reach Panaji by this time. But we are just starting from old goa to Panaji now. (Distance: 10kms)
Heading towards Panaji
Jay wants to ride bike and even I felt that’s the best option, because riding bike without licence is risky in city. And we hit Panaji in 25-30 mins and it took sometime to settle in a hotel. We did not do any advance booking, but rooms were available as it was just starting of the season.
We started the ride to Baga beach soon after the lunch by 3:00pm. The aim was to reach beach by 4:00pm.
3. “Ride to Baga beach & Ferry”
Panaji: We all were wearing same t-shirt, and riding bikes on the roads of Panaji. John found that we could save time if we are using Ferry to cross the river instead of taking the bridge. In simple words, Ferry is a large boat which can carry people as well as vehicles. We took our bikes on Ferry.
Shortcut to Baga beach- on ferry
You can see the bridge in the background
Riders heading towards Baga beach
The sea shore
nish : Water skiing
Arun: Tattooing
It was a great evening, but some hiccups happened in between. Traffic police caught me and Arun for riding bike without driving license and fined. It’s sad to give fine for not carrying your DL. Anyways, my mistake.
Another miss was Titto’s pub. I heard that it is the most happening place in Goa. Also wanna experience that, but sadly they were only allowing couples.
I am taking the positive side of the day (thanks to arun and nish for reminding about the positive sides) and it was a great day. And a cool midnight ride to hotel room in Panaji (30kms).
Good night Panaji!!
Day 4: (1/10/2007 - Panaji)
“Ride to Aguda fort”
Panaji: Last day of the Goan trip. The fort situated on a hilltop, facing to the sea. It is constructed in 17th century.
Infront of the fort
About fort from archaeological survey of India
we - the people
with the best rider in the group- John - The navigator
Guess??!!
Riders in front of an old church
We all..
It’s the time for coming back. We could cover few places, and which gave all of us a clear understanding about Goa. It was the trip of a lifetime for all of us. Because its always special to visit a dream destination with your college buddies long time after the college days.
We rode back to Panaji, had good meal, checked out the hotel rooms and headed towards Margao thru NH17, where we had booked return ticket to Bangalore. Return is on bus. And it was around 5:30pm. Journey time was pretty long; it was more than 15 hours sitting on the bus. But it was fun for the old college buddies.
Bus route: Margao – Karwar – Tumkur – Bangalore
Day 5: (02/10/2007 Tuesday)
Happy birthday Mahatma!!
It’s October 2nd, Gandhi jayanthi. I could see in the news papers that United Nations (UN) had decided to conduct October 2nd as World non violence day by paying tribute to the India’s father of nation.
And we are back home in Bangalore by 12:30pm after the trip of a lifetime!!
