We got up at 5:40 this morning due to our early flight heading for Mumbai - and then Goa. In the airport during security check-in I placed the mobile and laptop in a tray and put it on the belt for a bit of X-raying - however the security woman pushed back my tray (for no obvious reason) and all of it ended up on the floor - I just barely managed to contain my anger at her lax attitude only to have to take everything out of the bag again for a re-scan by another security person.
These guys really love their procedures - and very slow-motion movements. Patience is indeed a virtue...
The flight to Mumbai went without incident and took only 45 minutes.
Because the next flight was nearly 4 hours away we have some coffee and breakfast while waiting - not an impressive array of options but at least they had some derivative of cereal and relatively safe soya milk ;-)
Our Jet Airways flight for Goa left more or less on time, which after talking to fellow travellers apparently is very unusual, for the second time today.
We arrived after only 1 hour of flying and as agreed with the Om Sai beach resort our transport and driver was there waiting for us. It took us 1 1/2 hours to drive the roughly 80km to Agonda beach and when we arrived it was around 16:00.
The sight that awaited us was astonishing; beautiful sand-coloured beaches, beach huts, bars & restaurants etc all relatively thoughtfully and tastefully laid out under palm trees (mostly coconut), many (including our hut) with a sea view. Our first thought was "THIS is what life is all about!" We also saw every aspect of society here, from the meditators & hippies (many probably still from the good ol' 60's) all the way to the young single people looking for some fun and a spliff.
There's certainly a thinly veiled availability here of what some people refer to as "substance" - although neither of us are or will be taking part of that aspect here. The driver certainly hinted as much - with a politician's abilities - obviously happy to supply if the need (or want) arose - but I digress.
We got a sea-side hut with a beach view and it turned out to be a family room because they had run out of the ordinary double rooms with a beach view. It was nicely presented (under palm trees) and the inside was basic but nice and clean; exactly what we need!
We spent a bit of time unpacking and then walking up and down the beach for an hour or so while the sun was setting - a bit overcast but still beautiful. People were friendly and unlike Aurangabad the local stall keepers were nowhere near as aggressive, most of them friendly, cheerful and saying hello.
We ended up eating in a 2-tier restaurant (D'Raj) with a very shaky top section that did make you wonder when you'd end up in the cooking pots below; but that was part of the fun, especially as the top section filled up and things were getting noticably more shaky. But it came recommended by our local manager/admin/handy-man Nelish who oversees Om Sai - and it didn't let us down; the local Goan food that we ordered (when in Rome...) was really nice and fresh. I had a Xacuti Chicken (coconut-based sauce with chillies and poppy seeds) and Claire a Goan fish curry with tuna. They also served bottles of Tuborg at around €0.50 per bottle (R.35,-), which was a refreshing sight for us, and me in particular - I'm afraid that a Tuborg beats a Kingfisher at any occassion, although the latter is OK ;-)
Afterwards we were both tired after 3 nights of not sleeping a lot nor very well in one of Aurangabad's dirtiest hotels (well, I hope) and we headed off to bed.
Notes:
- I will say one thing: the Indians definitely are not known for recycling - trash is to be found everywhere along roads and on plots of land. Whether it be Mumbai, Aurangabad or even Goa Especially for such a nice and tranquil place like Goa, it really is disconcerting to see mountains of litter everywhere - as well as people dumping it out of their cars, from their scooters or even their huts. You probably get used to it over time (although, I hope not) - but still, someone really needs to incentivise them into recycling before the whole country becomes a persistent layer of plastic bottles, crisp bags and what-have-you. In 50.000 years when archeologists (or even geologists) go digging they will go "oh, they had a rubbish time."
These guys really love their procedures - and very slow-motion movements. Patience is indeed a virtue...
The flight to Mumbai went without incident and took only 45 minutes.
Because the next flight was nearly 4 hours away we have some coffee and breakfast while waiting - not an impressive array of options but at least they had some derivative of cereal and relatively safe soya milk ;-)
Our Jet Airways flight for Goa left more or less on time, which after talking to fellow travellers apparently is very unusual, for the second time today.
We arrived after only 1 hour of flying and as agreed with the Om Sai beach resort our transport and driver was there waiting for us. It took us 1 1/2 hours to drive the roughly 80km to Agonda beach and when we arrived it was around 16:00.
The sight that awaited us was astonishing; beautiful sand-coloured beaches, beach huts, bars & restaurants etc all relatively thoughtfully and tastefully laid out under palm trees (mostly coconut), many (including our hut) with a sea view. Our first thought was "THIS is what life is all about!" We also saw every aspect of society here, from the meditators & hippies (many probably still from the good ol' 60's) all the way to the young single people looking for some fun and a spliff.
There's certainly a thinly veiled availability here of what some people refer to as "substance" - although neither of us are or will be taking part of that aspect here. The driver certainly hinted as much - with a politician's abilities - obviously happy to supply if the need (or want) arose - but I digress.
We got a sea-side hut with a beach view and it turned out to be a family room because they had run out of the ordinary double rooms with a beach view. It was nicely presented (under palm trees) and the inside was basic but nice and clean; exactly what we need!
We spent a bit of time unpacking and then walking up and down the beach for an hour or so while the sun was setting - a bit overcast but still beautiful. People were friendly and unlike Aurangabad the local stall keepers were nowhere near as aggressive, most of them friendly, cheerful and saying hello.
We ended up eating in a 2-tier restaurant (D'Raj) with a very shaky top section that did make you wonder when you'd end up in the cooking pots below; but that was part of the fun, especially as the top section filled up and things were getting noticably more shaky. But it came recommended by our local manager/admin/handy-man Nelish who oversees Om Sai - and it didn't let us down; the local Goan food that we ordered (when in Rome...) was really nice and fresh. I had a Xacuti Chicken (coconut-based sauce with chillies and poppy seeds) and Claire a Goan fish curry with tuna. They also served bottles of Tuborg at around €0.50 per bottle (R.35,-), which was a refreshing sight for us, and me in particular - I'm afraid that a Tuborg beats a Kingfisher at any occassion, although the latter is OK ;-)
Afterwards we were both tired after 3 nights of not sleeping a lot nor very well in one of Aurangabad's dirtiest hotels (well, I hope) and we headed off to bed.
Notes:
- I will say one thing: the Indians definitely are not known for recycling - trash is to be found everywhere along roads and on plots of land. Whether it be Mumbai, Aurangabad or even Goa Especially for such a nice and tranquil place like Goa, it really is disconcerting to see mountains of litter everywhere - as well as people dumping it out of their cars, from their scooters or even their huts. You probably get used to it over time (although, I hope not) - but still, someone really needs to incentivise them into recycling before the whole country becomes a persistent layer of plastic bottles, crisp bags and what-have-you. In 50.000 years when archeologists (or even geologists) go digging they will go "oh, they had a rubbish time."
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| Sunset Goan style |
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| The view from our beach hut |
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| Our beach hut at Om Sai |
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| A few fishing boats on Agonda beach |
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| Agonda beach North |
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| Our beach resort Om Sai from the beach side of Agonda beach |
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| Agonda beach South |
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