Paradise revisited!

When daily routine gets into your nerves and you want a break from the regular home - office - home schedule, the best thing you can do is to pack your bags and head out. We decided to go to Goa this time. Though I have been to Goa multiple times, but the place never ceases to amaze me. Goa with its pristine beaches, laid back livelihood, the Portuguese architecture, the old roads and lots of greens around makes a perfect getaway from the mundane routine.

Doodh Sagar Falls

The popular belief is that the best time to explore Goa is during Christmas as it is not too hot and you can also enjoy the festivities. However, I prefer going during monsoon. To watch rain falling on the sea is an experience to cherish forever. This time as well we planned our trip in the month of August so that we can enjoy the rains there.After deciding that we will go by train, we booked our tickets in the Vasco Express. The overnight journey from Bangalore to Mudgaon, is relaxing like ay other train journey and the site of the Doodh Sagar Falls on the way is amazing. As it was raining, the water fall was in its full volume and looked breathtaking.

View of the Ghat Section from the Train

Walk down the lonely roads

Day 1 of our trip started the moment we got down from the train. We had booked a resort in South Goa, Hotel Kennilworth. We had pre booked a taxi to take us to the resort from the station. After the initial formalities, we were informed that it will be some time before we can occupy our rooms. My son who was super excited to go to the beach, dragged us out of the resort. We obliged as we were excited too!! A little controlled excitement that's all ! The beach was clean and well maintained. There was hardly anyone in the sea. Most of there were sitting on the beach enjoying the view. As all the kid's around my son also started playing with sand and water (the thing he loves most, to get dirty !). My husband and me also joined hands with him and forgot that it was way past lunch time and we were hungry. When we realised that we rushed to a nearby restaurant, Zeebop for lunch.

Beach neat Hotel Kennilworth

Zeebop is a beach shack near Kennilworth where people come down for drinks and meal. It is a little cost effective as compared to the food prices in Kennilworth. Post lunch we went back to the resort, got freshened up and then spend the entire afternoon in the beach. My son playing with sand and us staring at the sea and playing with him. After sunset we went out for a walk. It was only 7 in the evening and there were hardly anyone on the roads. We took a lazy stroll and then had dinner at a roadside restaurant before going back to the resort.

View from Dona Paula

Day 2, which was also my son's birthday, we hired a bike and decided to venture out different beaches. Our first stop was Panaji. We drove down the sides of the Mandavi river and halted at a small joint for coffee and some snacks. It had started raining in the meantime, which was one more reason why we went to the coffee joint. When the rain stopped, we started again and went to Dona Paula, Candolim, Calangute and Bagha. We also drove to Ford Aquada, however, the place was so crowded that we decided not to go inside. Came back to our resort after driving 180 km in a bike!! Evening we ordered a small cake for my celebrated my son's birthday in the our room and treated him with Pizza (his favourite) for dinner.

Vasco Station

Day 3 was more about lazying around. I was still enthusiastic to go out and have fun, but the other two decided against me and majority won! I still went out to the beach and spend the whole day out there reading. Though the sun was hot and blazing, but somehow it never makes me uncomfortable. Such is my love for the sea. As the sun went down, I pushed the other two out for a walk in the lonely roads followed by dinner.

Day 4 was all about packing and checking out. Finished our breakfast and boarded the cab which took us to the Vasco station. The station was not very crowded. As we waited for our train to arrive, we were already planning our next trip to GOA !!

Me, myself and...

Ideally, this should have been my first post in this page. But when I started writing, I realized that it's easier to write a travelogue than write something about myself.

About myself? Really? Sounds like the most dreaded interview question isn't it? And it is. The toughest thing to explain. Countless number of times did I type and delete this paragraph !! A mother, a professional in an IT company, a homemaker, it is quite a manic life. But inspite of all the rush, I somehow manage to notice the gulmohar blooming at the corner of the street or make some paper boats with my son to sail them in the small puddle after the rain. I am the "interested in all" kind!! From cooking to traveling, reading to photography, baking to gardening, I love it all.

Blogging is the newest addition in my ever growing list of interest. Almost halfway through my life, I thought that it wont be a bad idea to start my own blog. But the question is about what? Travelogue? Food blogging? Life at large? Finally I decided that I cannot stick to one thing. So this blog will be my experiences, as and when I feel like documenting them.

A fun day out !!

I think long weekends make us a little restless. Though we feel happy that we do not need to go to work, but we are at a loss about what we should do at home too. We are so tied up in this routine that the moment there is a change to it, we are lost. One such weekend was the last one, Friday being labour day was holiday for most of us, we decided to make a day's trip outside Bangalore. After a lot of various choices of where to go, we decided on the Jaladhama resort in Talakkad.

We started from Bangalore at 5:30 AM. A total of 9 people with 6 adults and 3 kids. Leaving Bangalore we took NICE road and then went through Kanakpura. The long twinning road seemed never ending when suddenly the road ended on the bank of a river. We parked our cars at the river bank and had to cross the river. On the other side of the rive was the resort Jaladhama. The excitement among the kids on the mere thought of riding on a speed boat was something amazing and to be treasured forever !!

 The group before crossing the river

 View of the river from the boat!!

The approach of the resort was nice. Lined with bamboo and other trees it gave a nice misty look. However, the maintenance was not that great. The room given to us to keep our luggage and for changing was also not properly kept. But we didn't pay much heed to that as we were there on a day trip and did not intend to stay.

After dumping our bags, we went out for a boating ride. As there were 9 of us in total, we took 2 pedal boats. 6 in one and my hubby, me and my kiddo in the other. My little one, declared himself as the captain of that boat and wanted to pedal. We had to concentrate more on him than on navigating the boat. So most of the time we stayed at one place in the middle of the river. The situation was the same in the other boat too. They had two kids there !! But the view was amazing. Only water and water all around. One side was our resort covered with trees, on the other side was the road leading to Chennai.

 The pathway in the resort

 Kids enjoying the trampoline

After about an hour in the boat we came back and engaged in various outdoor games. Basketball, badminton etc. The kids were happy jumping in the trampoline. They never got tired. The blazing sun, the scorching heat, nothing could tire them. They were happy playing and jumping. 

Lunch was served at 1:00 PM. The menu was decent and the taste of the food was really nice. We gulped our food down and then headed towards the most amazing and most awaited event of the day. The poooooooollll !!!!

We jumped in the pool around 2:00 PM and stayed there for 2 long hours. Everyone was brushing their swimming skills. Expert or not, they were just lost in their own world trying to swim. The kids stole the show here as well. With their floaters on, they were climbing the side of the pool and jumping into the water. Oh what fun was it !!

Around 4 when we finally decided to move out of the pool because the pool was getting too crowded, we were completely sloshed. There was no strength in us to even get up and dry our clothes. Somehow we picked ourselves up and had the evening tea they had to offer, crossed the river and got back in our cars. 

It was a long 4 hour journey back home, though tired, we were all happy that the day was well spent, in god company and lots of fun !!

 Boat Ride

 Games