The Loon In Goa - Part 2
Now, I know that this installment has come rather late, but you will see why. Let's pick up from day 2 in Goa.
The first priority on my mind was to try and find a way to rent a car to drive around in, but I couldn't get through to those guys on the phone in the morning. This is after I went out for a quick trip to the beach early in the morning and a nice western breakfast in the room (3 egg omelette, toast, sausage, hash browns and fresh fruit; it was goood). I remembered the name of the nearest car point from one of my conversations with the car rental guys the day before, and it was the city nearest my hotel, called Madagaon. There were only 2 options, rent a scooty (heck no!) or take the cab outside the hotel. I went with my only option, and they know they are your only option, so they overcharge like crazy. I paid INR 600 for just 9 KM! Anyway, so I arrive in the town market, slightly pissed off, but looking forward to exploring the area and maybe find something interesting.
As it happened, it was just another small town, in a hilly area. It was pleasant, with lots of one-way roads, lots of shops, many closed, and great weather. It was all very nice, but nothing remarkable. It did have a uniqueness to it, but it wasn't surprising. I ended up walking a lot again, just trying to come across something interesting. I walked around and across the town market area and then away from it and back to it when I wanted to find a place for lunch.
The amazing roads in Goa totally justified the cool car culture I saw. Rims, body kits, upgraded engine kits, performance oriented cars being plenty in number. However, it did annoy me that I COULDN'T drive around in this amazing place. I finally managed to catch up with the car rental guys, and by that point in time, I did not qualify for the minimum 2-day rental requirement, apart from the fact that I couldn't take the car to the hotel anyway.
I had to walk around for a long time before I could find a place to have lunch, a place which had the aura of a local cafe that made simple but good food. As it happened, I came across it by chance, when I was near the point of giving up on lunch. The place is called 'Longuinho's Bar & Restaurant' and its a really nice establishment, ideal for a peaceful meal with good food and beer and a nice ambience. I tried the prawn vindhaloo with rice and beer, and I'd totally recommend it if you like spicy foods.
The next challenge was to find the best way back to the hotel. I could look for a cab, or take an auto, OR try taking the local bus. The nearest bus stop would still be 2 Km from the hotel, but that's not much when you have to walk in that amazing weather. But considering how dull the day in town had been, I was eager to try the bus. Now, bus routes in Goa don't have a high frequency, so when the right bus does come, it always gets packed to the limit. So, when I boarded my bus, I missed all the empty seats and instead I became the guy standing at the back of the bus while the rest kept piling in. I had no room to move my feet, or to move forward, I had both my arms holding on to the bars to keep myself from falling over on anyone. I got a good workout if I might say, but when I got near enough to my stop, I panicked and got off the bus too early, about a kilometre early from the stop. It was stuffy, tiring, crowded, but extremely cheap. The fare was only 10 rupees. It'd have been 15 if I got off AT my stop, but still, that's a helluva better deal than the cab.
Anyway, by the time I got back to the hotel, I'd had enough walking for the day, 13 KM according to my fitness app. After a nice long rest, I spent the rest of my day doing nothing and watching videos on my laptop, as it had started raining again. For dinner, I tried the Seafood pizza and it tasted pretty good, and the quantity was more than enough, even for a pizza lover like me.
That's pretty much for day 2. I'll be wrapping it up in the next and last post. Thanks for reading, hope you liked it. Feel free to comment and share.
The first priority on my mind was to try and find a way to rent a car to drive around in, but I couldn't get through to those guys on the phone in the morning. This is after I went out for a quick trip to the beach early in the morning and a nice western breakfast in the room (3 egg omelette, toast, sausage, hash browns and fresh fruit; it was goood). I remembered the name of the nearest car point from one of my conversations with the car rental guys the day before, and it was the city nearest my hotel, called Madagaon. There were only 2 options, rent a scooty (heck no!) or take the cab outside the hotel. I went with my only option, and they know they are your only option, so they overcharge like crazy. I paid INR 600 for just 9 KM! Anyway, so I arrive in the town market, slightly pissed off, but looking forward to exploring the area and maybe find something interesting.
As it happened, it was just another small town, in a hilly area. It was pleasant, with lots of one-way roads, lots of shops, many closed, and great weather. It was all very nice, but nothing remarkable. It did have a uniqueness to it, but it wasn't surprising. I ended up walking a lot again, just trying to come across something interesting. I walked around and across the town market area and then away from it and back to it when I wanted to find a place for lunch.
The amazing roads in Goa totally justified the cool car culture I saw. Rims, body kits, upgraded engine kits, performance oriented cars being plenty in number. However, it did annoy me that I COULDN'T drive around in this amazing place. I finally managed to catch up with the car rental guys, and by that point in time, I did not qualify for the minimum 2-day rental requirement, apart from the fact that I couldn't take the car to the hotel anyway.
I had to walk around for a long time before I could find a place to have lunch, a place which had the aura of a local cafe that made simple but good food. As it happened, I came across it by chance, when I was near the point of giving up on lunch. The place is called 'Longuinho's Bar & Restaurant' and its a really nice establishment, ideal for a peaceful meal with good food and beer and a nice ambience. I tried the prawn vindhaloo with rice and beer, and I'd totally recommend it if you like spicy foods.
The next challenge was to find the best way back to the hotel. I could look for a cab, or take an auto, OR try taking the local bus. The nearest bus stop would still be 2 Km from the hotel, but that's not much when you have to walk in that amazing weather. But considering how dull the day in town had been, I was eager to try the bus. Now, bus routes in Goa don't have a high frequency, so when the right bus does come, it always gets packed to the limit. So, when I boarded my bus, I missed all the empty seats and instead I became the guy standing at the back of the bus while the rest kept piling in. I had no room to move my feet, or to move forward, I had both my arms holding on to the bars to keep myself from falling over on anyone. I got a good workout if I might say, but when I got near enough to my stop, I panicked and got off the bus too early, about a kilometre early from the stop. It was stuffy, tiring, crowded, but extremely cheap. The fare was only 10 rupees. It'd have been 15 if I got off AT my stop, but still, that's a helluva better deal than the cab.
Anyway, by the time I got back to the hotel, I'd had enough walking for the day, 13 KM according to my fitness app. After a nice long rest, I spent the rest of my day doing nothing and watching videos on my laptop, as it had started raining again. For dinner, I tried the Seafood pizza and it tasted pretty good, and the quantity was more than enough, even for a pizza lover like me.
That's pretty much for day 2. I'll be wrapping it up in the next and last post. Thanks for reading, hope you liked it. Feel free to comment and share.
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