Basking in Laungurous Goa

This summer we took a road trip to Goa yet again!!? Why Nu why??? We’ve been there so many times ... 14 times in 19 years of marriage ... SIGH ... please please do lets try a new destination! But it is a great destination and plus we can drive there!!! The week of 16-23 May was booked, leave was applied for and sanctioned and as the time came closer we started getting excited about the trip!

16 May 09 -- We were on our way with our bags, boogie board and gaddi at 5 in the morning. The kids slept thru quite a bit of the journey while Fruki drove pretty much non-stop all the way on NH 14 with a 45min halt at Kamat's at 8.30 for south-Indian breakfast a little short of Mahad. We reached the outskirts of Goa at 2.30 and decided to do lunch at Coqueiro (which is coconut in Portuguese). We ordered fish curry and prawn curry rice while the kids drank iced tea and Nu and I ordered a beer and Margarita respectively … and we were feeling groooooovy :) The goan relaxed mood was set in and we embraced the Goan hospitality with open hearts. We reached the Haathi Mahal, which is situated in South Goa and checked into Villa112. The kids ran into the pool while we stocked the fridge and kitchen with key provisions. After the kids came back we learnt that they had already made friends and they had made a plan to meet up after dinner. We freshened up, ordered room service and enjoyed dinner together while watching Jab We Met for the nth time (it is always a treat to watch) … while flipping thru the channels during a commercial break we came across the ManU vs Arsenal match which ended in a draw thus declaring ManU the winner of the season … My thoughts went out to little Mishal and Abhinav watching the match live in the first row at the Old Trafford Stadium at Manchester … we had made it possible for him and it made me feel warm from within about the fact that we had been able to keep up to our commitment. I had developed an allergic sneezing bout by the time dinner was over so I popped an anti-allergent … I passed out while trying to read a few lines of Shashi Tharoor’ India.

17 May 09 -- We rose early considering we were really tired from the journey the day before and the anti-allergent. I made our favourite elaichi chai and Nu and I sipped on it in the balcony as the kids sleepily slumped into chairs too. Raunaq fed two cats that had found their way into balcony with some milk – they lapped it all up hungrily. We then quickly changed into our costumes and hit the beach. The water was great and the weather perfect so the kids and Nu rode the water scooter and also did the parasailing. We then walked back to the hotel and jumped into the pool and enjoyed breakfast at the floating bar. We lunched at Mikes where I had the best ever Veg Xacuti with rice, lime and green chillies and a Mojitto to down it :) I sacked out for an hour post the heavy lunch and then joined the kids at the pool in the evening where they participated in a swimming competition with other children. Roshni and Raunaq came in 4th and 5th respectively. We had elaichi tea and toasts at the pool. This was followed by Pool Volley Ball with adults and kids alike. Nu joined in to play VB and later played water polo too. We changed after this fun activity at the pool and went for dinner to the Casa Lisboa restaurant at the hotel where we had some traditional Goan performers dancing for us – this was followed by dancing to loads of fun live music and dinner. The kids met their new pals Vijit, Pritham, Sanaya and Gauran after dinner while Nu and I chatted at the pool-side.

18 May 09 – The next morning we did breakfast in the room – eggs, toast, milk and juice and then got ready to receive Ma and Pa at Madgaon. It was so good to see them :) We had lunch at the Lisboa again and Mum and I enjoyed a Margarita each while Papa and Nu had beers. Post lunch the kids freaked out with their new pals while we caught up on some sleep. After tea in the evening, we changed into costumes and went for a dip in the pool – the best part was to see Ma and Pa there too in their adorable costumes :) Mum looked unsteady initially but eventually did some paddling around while Papa joined in with the kids and youngsters to play a few rounds of water polo. We ended the day with dinner at Fishermans wharf where we had a trumpeter serenading us with some of the best melodies of time.

19 May 09 -- We started the day with a cup of tea and a walk on the beach with Ma and Pa which was very refreshing and we got some great pictures too :0 We then drove to the famous St. Francis Church in old Goa -- Mum wanted to join the ceremonies but that was not allowed. We bought a few memorablia and then went to Panjim on an endless tiring walk in the sun to buy Kajus and then later had lunch. The kids ate Dominoes Pizza while we had Mughlai at Moti Mahal. We formally met with Sandeep and Dolly Mehra (Gauran’ parents) and Puneeta and Rohan Singh (Vijit and Saisha’ parents). Mum and I then relaxed in the pool while the kids, Nu and papa played water polo – we ended the day by ordering room service instead of stepping out as Ma and Pa were very tired from the days activities. We taught Ma and Pa how to play UNO and had a blast as the two of them erred continually and kep ket caught as they kept forgetting to say pUNO ;)) Papa kept saying PUNO loudly instead of UNO while declaring his game! It was really funny.

20 May 09 – The next day was a blast in its own way as we decided to hit the beach with all the other friends we made i.e. The Mehra’s and Singh’s and all the kids and us with Ma and Pa. The gang included – 6 of us; Sandeep, dolly, sanaya and gauran; puneeta, vijit and saisha; ananya, jhanvi, devika, divya, kancha and their dad and mum – over 20 of us freaking out together. The waters were roaring and hence an absolute thrill to be in. The kids had a blast, boogie-boarding as well and playing water polo in the midst of the huge waves that pelowed us :) Papa also played ball with the boys while mama waddled around in the water and sat in about 5 inches of water next to dolly and believe it or not but she slipped and actually swallowed a bit of water in the process ... she was quite dazed for a bit after this sudden mishap but enjoyed the rest of the beach experience. Breakfast consisted of sandwiches and juices at the poolside and followed up by lunch in the room. The evening was spent playing UNO with Ma and Pa and having chai. They also had sandwiches and juice before leaving for Mumbai and packed cutlets for their onward journey. Nu and I went to drop them off in the Neeta sleeper bus – which was really very odd from the inside as they expected two complete strangers to share a berth. Very very odd indeed!!!?! We had planned to go for dinner to Martin’ Corner but by the time we got back to the room from dropping Mapa; Rosh was fast asleep so we ordered some room service instead of going out anywhere.

21 May 09 – The day was spent lounging at the swimming pool, eating some delicious fish and prawns for lunch at JoeCons – Rosh stayed back as her stomach was aching. When we got back Sandeep was over with his kids. We spent the afternoon talking about our families and watching the IPL match. In the evening the activity centre organised a dance competition which was being judged by none other than Nu :) It was great fun watching all the kids of all sizes freaking out to their creation of dance steps ;) Raunaq did a "maa da ladla bigad gaya" jig with Gauran while the girls Rosh, Pranika, Sanaya and Ananya danced to "Desi Girl" with the boys i.e. Gauran, Raunaq, Dhruv and Dev joining in towards the end ... The evening ended in a crescendo with all the children on stage grooving together. We spent the evening at the Mehra' Villa 92 where Dolly treated us to baked chicken and bhel along with drinks and snacks. All in all a great evening spent perfectly. We returned to our villa close to 11PM and packed furiously. The kids were forced to return back much to the chagrin of Dhruv, Gauran, Dev and Sanaya but we did retire nevertheless as we just had to get to bed as we returning home the next morning.

22 May 09 -- We started the drive back at 6.40 and took the route via Nipani and the Kolhapur national highway 4 and stopped only at Macdonalds for a quick drive thru burger. I took the wheel from Pune to all the way back and we were home by 6.30PM ... although we had a great trip and got back some fun memories it was good to be back to "home sweet home"!