Goa: Where else would you be?

Friends are such a lovely thing to have especially when they love travelling. Not only do you get a good company but you can also entice them into writing a whole blog post for you! This is exactly what I did :D What follows is my friend, Prateek Gupta's list of recommendations for things one should be doing in Goa. I am going to do all these things when I next visit Goa, will you?

Traveling to Goa always feels like traveling home. There is this refreshingly calm and serene ambiance during the day and then there are nights when one would think all the party-loving people have assembled in a 30-km radius space and are willing to mingle and party with anyone and everyone around.

A piece of advice you can hang on to: If you are a peace-loving person and looking to just relax in Goa, try renting an apartment instead of a hotel/resort. I lived in a 2 BHK furnished apartment in the quite ambiance of Vagator which turned out to be an amazing experience. You can search for apartments @ www.airbnb.com.

Having been to Goa 5 times now, I have discovered many places, big and small, where one is recommended to go. Some of them might already be listed elsewhere, some may not. But then, read along if you are just too lazy to go blog-hopping.

Before I even get to the places you must visit, here is one you mustn't: Tito’s ! It’s like a booby trap and it will keep sucking you towards itself while you are in Goa with advertisements on every wall you will encounter and the huge buzz outside on the Baga beach. If you haven’t been there, you’ll probably think it’s the most happening place ever and this is one place you must must go. And as soon as you go inside, you’ll realize it’s the most dingy and down-market club you have ever been to. And if you have been there before, you’ll know what I am talking about.

What follows is a heart-felt review of some of the best places in Goa:

Curlies, Anjuna Beach

This is probably my and most others’ most favorite place in Goa. Reason is very simple: There is just so much to do there. You will probably need at least 5-6 hours (or more) there to enjoy every bit or probably need 2-3 visits instead. There is this normal café which serves probably the most amazing Arabiata Pasta I have ever had. It also serves Hookah if that fancies you. Then there is this arena with small mattresses and minimal lighting made of small bulbs hanging almost at the same level as your head. This is where you can lie down, take a power nap and rejuvenate yourself or just keep talking to your friends for as long you can. For some weird reason, this place is reserved for couples. Then there is this small open field, probably the size of a half Volleyball court. This place is heaven for trance-lovers since you would have only “high” people around, dancing their heart out to some never heard-before trance music. And then there is the best part: The beach ! The sound of the waves. The faint music. The chilly breeze. And the beach-side back-rests. If you don’t chill out there for an hour, you might as well have not come to Curlies. Trust me!

Image courtesy: Google Images

Deltin Royale, Panjim

They claim to be the best casino in Goa and I don’t find even one thing wrong with that claim. There is a barrage of casinos on that river along Panjim and all of them just serve as Plan Bs or Cs to Deltin. When you’re on the bridge connecting Panjim to North Goa, look out for the most expansive ship on your way: That’s unmistakably Deltin. They take you in a small jetty and then you descend to this amazeballs ship. Inside is everything you imagined about a ship after seeing Titanic. The food and drinks are free inside (of course they have to, since they burn a hole in your pocket before they even let you in on the jetty) and what you see is a sea of people happy, sad, excited, frustrated, abusing their throats out regardless. If you’re a first timer and there to just experience the life inside a casino, don’t even dare to go near the Poker table or the Blackjack table. Just keep playing small bets on the Roulette and you’ll be just fine.

Image courtesy: Google Images

Mango Tree, Vagator

Imagine partying till 4 last night and waking up at 12 Noon, famished so much that you can go eat an entire Turkey yourself. Where do you go? You come to Mango Tree to indulge yourself with wine and one of the most amazing English Breakfasts being served in Goa. The place is just so chilled out, you’ll see folks in their night ensembles with one eye still closed with sleep, all around. So just walk in in those cute pyjamas and boxers and gorge away to glory.

Image courtesy: Google Images

Café Laval, Baga Beach

This is one of the many nondescript beach shacks you’ll see in Baga and you’ll never be able to figure out where to go. So my suggestion here would be instead of going to an expensive place like Britto’s, try Laval. Once you enter Laval, you might wanna come back and whoop my ass that why should you even go to this place. I’ll tell you the reason: the Music. Every shack in Baga will offer you cheap beer, Hookah, massage and tattoo services but not everyone will play Bollywood, Guetta, Axwell and Honey Singh on the same music system like there is no effing difference whatsoever. There is no dance floor as such, but I have never come back from that place without dancing.

Image courtesy: Google Images

Club Cubana

Imagine a small hill converted into a night club: That ladies and gentlemen, is Club Cubana for you. There is an entry fee but it’s peanuts considering the drinks are free inside. It feels like a big resort when you go inside and the biggest challenge is where to go first. There is this kickass disc (needless to say, playing trance) with a separate area for women to dance. You might see some beautiful latino women gyrating better then Shakira, if you’re lucky that is. There are three bars, a pool-side area and countless cozy places to chat with people you meet there. They say it’s one of the best places to mingle in Goa because somehow the crowd that comes there is so very open to conversations. Imagine having a conversation with a hot and/but cute media person from Mumbai while one of your friends is being hit upon by a Russian hunk and the other one hitting on 3 girls with mixed nationalities, simultaneously.

Image courtesy: Google Images

Down the Road, Panjim

This place is literally, well… down the road. Located opposite a small bridge in Panjim, this is a really small and cozy café. You can spend hours looking and observing the local Goa cadre while sipping your beer while there are couples (both blind dates and actual couples) happily chatting away in the back alley. Unlike a typical café in Goa, they also serve amazing north Indian food which is usually hard to come by in Goa.

Image courtesy: Google Images

So, this is a list of places which I usually visit when I am in Goa. I am sure there are many more which I haven’t visited and are equally amazing or better. Would love to hear about such places from you guys and visit them in my subsequent visits.

Prateek Gupta is a 24-year old soap-addict, compulsive traveler, blog-hopper and Quoraholic by choice and Strategy Analyst by profession during the day. By the night, you can find him either partying at a friend’s place or curled up in front of his laptop listening to electronic music.