A Little Known Goa Welcomes Travellers But A Big No For Tourists!
Prologue – If you are one of those who hugs monuments for a selfie, and ambles in a foreign land with a camera dangling around the neck then a better place for you is: tripadvisor.in or travel.in, because this article is strictly written for those who disapprove gadgets while travelling. On a serious note, no tourist culture allowed when you are exploring the corners of an untouched world.
On hypothetical terms, if Vasco Da Gama had a camera lacing around his neck, would he had ever discovered India? No.
I am not anti-tech but when you are going into the wild then just dump any sort of disturbance in the butt of your rucksack.
I’ve seen herds of humans crashing, drinking, partying, and then eventually passing out at the wonderful Goan beaches. During their entire jaunt, all they could answer about Goa was: Where to buy cheap alcohol? Where to party like a drunk dog? The best rave parties to barter weed, and, of course, the inevitable monument love and the selfies. These dunces return to their abodes with no idea of how different it could have been in Goa.
So this is to those travellers who always wanted to avoid the mainstream drama of Bagha Beach’s water sports and Shiva Valley’s rave parties.
My lovely wayfarers this is to you and to your big-ass love for travel. Listed below is a panoply of bohemian activities which you can execute with minimal moolah. So here goes:
Listed below is a panoply of bohemian activities that you can execute with minimal moolah. So, here goes:
Walk A Dog
To balance out my relentless alcohol consumption and delights of high seasoned Goan food, I strolled along the Anjuna beach line, leaving my friends back at Curlies. It was a great sunset that day. A group of local boys were playing volleyball, a couple of foreigners were resting on sunbaths, 2 local girl vendors were selling flea market jewellery. After walking for 10 minutes, I realised I was followed by this little Golden Labrador Retriever. I patted him and he started wagging his tail. I saw its dog collar, it read “International Animal Rescue”. Later when I enquired about International Animal Rescue team, I discovered a lot more than I planned to. International Animal Rescue is an NGO for stray animals in Goa. They are even open to walk-in volunteers from morning 9 to evening 5. If you are a dog lover then it’s a perfect place for you. You can bathe the puppies and even walk them. Well, what can I say, Perfecto! = walk+ beach+dogs.
Drop by the headquarters of International Animal Rescue in Assagao, quite close to Anjuna and Vagator. If you find trouble locating the headquarters, walk behind St. Sebastian’s Chapel, just down the road from the Assagao Panchayat. Give them a call if you need any assistance +91 832 2268 272 and they are always happy to help.
Live like a Hippie
Well, if reading at the beach is one of your many favourite things, then you should undergo an adventurous stay at the hippie Tantra Shacks, couched at the frontiers of Anjuna beach. A perfect blend of a hippie atmosphere and vibrant tents which will make your perusal even more splendid!
Interiors of Tantra Shacks are highly inspired by vibrant colours – atypical of a gipsy abode.
An escapade of sleeping under stars, in a tent, scores a point over any 5-star-hotel. Oh yes, apart from having a total scintillating interior and exhilarating tree houses, the shacks are at the beach. So, anytime you feel like taking a walk along the shore, you’ll always have a thumbs up.
Though there are not many stories about skinny dipping in Goa but still if you can save your naked ass from voyeurs and cops, you can try giving this a shot. If nothing happens then at least you will be the first person on Goan land who went on a skinny dipping venture. So, Good Luck in making your first ever Guinness World Record.
For an advance booking, give a call 9970444637 (Kamal). He is a nice Goan guy, tip him if you want but don’t believe his stories.
PS: The tents here cost around 150-200 a day. Cheap, isn’t it?
Captain a Kayak
Keeping yourself away from the mainstream Goan water sports will not only save a pocket full of money, but also a few hours of bad experience. This time make it grand and sail the harbor like you own the goddamn sea. You can feel like the Captain Jack Sparrow and make the local kayak your pearl. You can easily rent a kayak at Palolem beach – one the most beautiful beaches in South Goa. If you are reluctant to ride all the way to South Goa then you can come down to Curlies, and kayak for as long as you want. Sometimes – if you are lucky — the slap-happy owner of kayaks forgets to take the rent money and everyone goes home happy.
Fishing with Fisherman
If you have a great capacity to outdrink local Goan booze, and can make it to the beach early morning without a hangover then you are the luckiest of all your friends. Your unlucky friends who will still be clad in their last night’s stinking rags will miss out this great opportunity to go fishing with the professionals but not you. Yes, give the local fisherman a hand and I bet you will have a gala of time learning the traditional fishing tricks and trying to converse in broken Konkani. (If you know any)
