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Goa In the Rains 2024: Part 1 : Hosa & Purple Martini
So recently I had a chance to visit Goa in the Rains again and it is my firm belief that Goa looks more beautiful in the rainy season than at any other time of the year. While I had many nice experience on my trip, let me first talk about 2 excellent restaurants I went to. So while researching online for nice places to eat in goa, I had come across Hosa in Siolim. It is a venture by the same people who own Indian Accent and Comorin so I knew the place had good pedigree. Since we were staying in candolim the restaurant was a 45 minute drive away and the poorly…
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Stay at Taj Holiday Village , North Goa
While there are many luxury properties in North Goa , the one that fascinates me the most is the Taj Holiday Village. Recently we were celebrating a special occasion and I thought this would be a perfect to escape from the metropolis and booked a 3 day stay at my favorite resort in India. It took around an hour to get to the hotel from Dabolim Airport and this time is par for the course. While I had booked a base category room, one of my close friends who works with Taj group very kindly called the property in advance informing them of the special occasion and got is upgraded…
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Goa Feb 2022 : Antares , Titlie & Mikey’s Place
Antares Restaurant & Beach Club So even before going to Goa, I had a lot of buzz about Antares Restaurant & Beach Club. It describes itself as “MODERN AUSTRALIAN WITH AN ASIAN INFLUENCE” . It is helmed by Sarah Todd who was of course a Masterchef Australia finalist. Her love for Indian food and culture is well known and she has put her heart and soul into this venture. As we were celebrating a special occasion, we ended up for dinner there . The Stunning location is of course the stretch over Vagator cliffs where many posh joints like Bo Tai , Titlie , Yaha etc are situated. The famous…
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Goa October 2019 : Paradise Revisited
So recently some of my business colleagues from Africa were down in India for some medical tests and treatment in New Delhi and after they finished that they were down in Goa for some rest in recuperation so I joined them in Goa for 3 days to show them around . I landed there Goa in the 4th week of October but this year due to delay in shack allocations the season has started late. Many places which are prime attraction like the Beach Shacks , John’s Boat Tours, Saturday night market etc had not yet started. I reached my hotel in north goa in the evening and as my…
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Thalassa and The Fisherman’s Wharf : amazing restaurants in Goa.. Part 1
If there is one restaurant which gets talked about a lot in Goa among visitors, I would say it is the greek Taverna, Thalassa. Cuisine: Greek, Mediterannean Started by Mariketty who hails from the beautiful island of Corfu,Greece ( Gerald Durrell anyone? ) it has a view to kill for, looking out into the Arabian Sea over the hills of vagator. And trust me, the food is as good as the view and while I have been there only during the daytime, I believe they have amazing greek dance performances in the evening. I personally think the best time to go to this restaurant is just before sunset as you can…
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Mae De Deus Church , Figueiredo Mansion and the sleepy Hamlet of Loutolim : Goa in the Rains…Part 3
As I said in my previous post about Goa, there is more to Goa than Beaches, Shacks and Super luxury hotels along the beach.. As we continue on our Trail of Secret and Hidden Treasures of Goa our next stop is the Mae De Deus church in Saligao. Mae De Deus means Mother of God Now Saligao is just 10-15 minutes drive away from the c/c/b (Candolim / Calangute/ Baga ) belt of north goa which is the haunt of most tourists but very few people actually end up going to saligao because there are no “known” tourist attractions there. It could be on a different planet for all practical…
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Piedade village in Divar Island ..Goa in the Rains…Part 2….
Further to Goa in the Rains..Part 1….Chapora Fort Most people go to Goa and never manage to get beyond the usual beaches and restaurants/shacks . However, On my monsoon trip to goa I decided to discover the hidden places of goa which the tourists never get to see.. The first stop on this hidden list was Divar Island. As you get off the ferry , you get the feeling that Divar Island is the place Time forgot. Now you may never have heard of this place in goa and the reason for that is that the inhabitants of this place tend keep to themselves and resists attempts to connect the…
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Goa in the Rains…..Part 1…Trip to Chapora Fort
In the past few years, I have had the good fortune to visit Goa several times. I have been there in March, October , June and August. While it is true that there is never a bad time to go to Goa ( except maybe Xmas and New Year ? ) I have yet to see anyplace on earth as green as beautiful as Goa in the Rains. It is as if it gets transformed into Eden itself and everywhere you go there is a cornucopia of greenery and nature’s beauty at its best.. On my first day of the trip, I headed to Chapora fort by taxi.This picture was…