Goa Discussion Forum

Discussions regarding holidays in Goa.
Reply
great review so far Goan crazy, glad you like mayonnies!! ;)
chilly
Reply
:rofl
loving it so far and looking forward to next installment !
Reply
Loving your report. We thought Nicks Place was good as well. Nice food, immaculate toilets and the place is so clean and new.
Dont eat in All Spice anymore. Had a very upset tummy a few years ago after eating there (and lots of people in the MD were the same) so we give it a miss now.
Looking forward to the next instalment.
Reply
A shame you didn't like All Spice, we love the food in there and go every year but we all have our own experiences of places, great report though. We liked Mayonnies as well but unfortunately you have to be in there so early to get a seat and we don't usually go out until after 8.30 pm as we like to make the most of the day so it was probably a one off for us.
Reply
great report Kevin I hope you write more soon ....colleen
Reply
Enjoying your report kevin, looking forward to the next installment. Gel
Reply
Actually I have to disagree with Allspice report. I never order anything too price/exotic so I base every restaurant on their curry 'gravy/masala'. I must say after going to AS for the first time in Nov' (i've been to goa 8 times) I thought that their 'gravy' was the best I have had in Goa.... I could just eat the sauce and rice alone, was SOOOO good. I don't know what their recipe is but it is THE best I have tasted. I do however think it is too pricey though. I am a total curry freak and been to many Indian restauants in UK (some of the Balti houses in Bradford were good and also in Glasgow). But AS has a master masala wallah IMO.
Reply
Thanks for your comments everybody, and agree with Neil that it's very difficult to compare Restaurants when ordering different dishes every night...

Anyway, here is part 2 of my massive missive...

We book an early morning call for 07:00 and Jill sets her mobile too - No problem though as the call comes through on time and we pack an overnight bag and go down for breakfast. We both opt for omelette and coffee again, and once more it's very nice although we are a little tight for time. We meet Rob from CWT in reception and hand over a Laptop (courtesy of our long-standing friends Phil & Veronica) and a pair of in-line skates. The laptop is running Windows 98 and doesn't have a CD-ROM drive so, dear readers, if you have something better and are planning to upgrade your old machine for something bigger during the summer, hang on to the old one and take it to Goa for the kids next year - it should guarantee that you'll go to heaven!
At twenty past eight as agreed, Peter turns up in a Minibus and explains that we are his only pick-up this morning. We are soon heading down south through the early morning traffic towards Cola Beach. It takes about an hour and a half to reach Margao with a short stop to pick up a block of ice, then a further hour through interesting new territory for us, taking in a number of small villages and passing the Naval Academy where Jill is disappointed to discover there are no navels on show. After a while we turn onto a dirt track and after about half a kilometre we reach our destination, Cola Beach, a collection of seven tents under a canopy of palm trees right next to the beach. Sanjay the manager greets us and leads us to a tent called Evening Primrose, and tells us that we are his only guests for the evening. This is initially a big disappointment to us as we were quite looking forward to a knees-up round the camp fire in the evening, however our tent is beautiful with rugs on the floor, a huge bed, and amenities ‘on suite'. We explore the beach before lunch and discover that apart from some local fishermen and their families we have it to ourselves. Sanjay calls us for lunch which comprises Egg Curry with Vegetable rice, Spud Bhaji, Salad and Chapatti's. I'm not a great egg lover (apart from chocolate ones) but this is delicious and I pig out on seconds. We spend the afternoon on the beach snoozin', readin', and generally chillin', and then watch the locals harvest about thirty coconuts from some very tall palm trees - there's no way you'd get me up there!
Tea and Tiffin follows at about five and we decide to go for a swim which brings me to the only downside to this resort - due to the large rocks strewn throughout this bay there is only a very small area that's safe for swimming, still, who knows if paradise is perfect? We relax on the beach again until about seven when the smell of barbeque smoke tells us it's time to get dressed and ready for a few pre-dinner drinks. Sanjaya apologetically tells us that due to todays poor catch there is no fish, but to eat slowly as there are still a few boats out. Dinner is Chicken with spicy mushrooms and various other dishes - the last fishing boat is dragged up the beach and it's clear from body language that things have not gone well, but there is far to much food for the two of us so probably a blessing in disguise. Our host offers to start the bonfire but the evening is warm and we elect to take our drinks down to the sun beds (moon beds?) where we are soon joined by the resorts Dog and Cat. Not much is said or needs to be said but we all feel at four with nature.
I finish the evening with a large Old Monk but the other three decide to pass - cheap round!
After breakfast Sanjay offers us the chance to go dolphin watching at 300 rupees extra and we jump at it (OK, actually we don't because Jill gets sea sick and she's seen the boat!). She knows I want to go, and she knows I'm going to come back with tales of dolphins jumping right over the boat so despite her better judgment she decides to give it a go.
We board a fisherman's outrigger and head out between the rocks and towards the open sea, then turn left to run down the coast past a couple of other similar resorts untill suddenly the engine is cut and we are among dolphins. They are feeding and not in the mood to play, however who can remain impassionate in the presence such beautiful creatures? We run down on two motorised fishing vessels with large nets out but again the catch is frugal and we can see they are not overjoyed by our intrusion - we go back to the dolphin area again and then it's time to return to the resort. Our guide hugs the shore this time and we get close up views of about three other resorts, all slightly bigger than ours but with differing layouts. We land and it's time to settle the bill and return to Arpora. A slow journey back especially through Margao, but there's a world of difference between being stuck in English traffic and Goan traffic - even after three visits the hustle and bustle of street life is still fascinating and different. There are no tourists here and we come under curious scrutiny ourselves with mothers pointing us out to children whose mouths drop open with surprise - My goodness, we're not that different are we?
That reminds me of a story recounted to us by a shack owner last year where an Indian couple from the interior confided to him that they thought his business would improve if he chased away the white people sleeping in front of his shack - couldn't they afford a hotel?
We return to the MD at about one o'clock and after a quick shower decide that ‘Nick's Place' is convenient enough for lunch and this proves a good choice - we are determined to catch their ‘early bird special' at some time during our trip though!
The afternoon is spent by the pool as the sun has crept round just enough to afford some shade, and we discuss our options for the evening, eventually choosing ‘Over the Flames' on the Calangute to Candolim road - another favourite haunt from our previous two visits, as I believe there is entertainment on Wednesdays. Unfortunately I get this horribly wrong as the show is actually on Thursdays. Oh well, even perfect people get things wrong sometimes!
We take some time over our choice and Jill elects for something described as ‘mild and creamy' whereupon the waiter says this is not very nice and suggests something different. We both feeling like saying ‘If it's not very nice, why is it on the menu then?' Jill tries to fight her corner but the waiter is overly insistent telling her she can slap his face if she doesn't like the meal (as if she'd ever do that!)
Well the meal was OK, but the mood was spoiled and we left with a sense of disappointment. Yes I know we should have been firmer but that's not in our make-up for better or worse, and we wander along to book a table at last years favourite ‘Kebabs and Curries' for later in the week only to find it closed for the last weeks of the season - Not the most perfect evening we've ever had!
We hail a Tuk-tuk back to the MD and the mood is restored somewhat by a late drink at ‘Nicks Place', even though we suddenly realise we are already over half way through our week.

To be continued"¦
Reply
Thanks for your comments everybody, and agree with Neil that it's very difficult to compare Restaurants when ordering different dishes every night...


Actually most restaurants only have two sauces (masalas/gravys)....

A brown one and a white one... they use this as the base to make most curries... The white one made with cashews/almonds will make kurmas, pasandas etc, the brown one for anything else. It's what they add to them when making your choice that flavours them differently. That's why certain restaurants have a particular generic taste.
Reply
Trip report, part 3

Thursday morning, and after breakfast we catch the free shuttle bus down to Baga Beach and along to the Santa Monica shack again. Relaxing is once more the order of the day, although I do exercise my arm on a few Kingfisher's. Another excellent lunch at the shack and it's more of the same until about five thirty. Again we miss the shuttle back (never did get that quite right) and we walk back to the MD - It seems that once more my name is ‘taxi!', as unremembered friends hail me from all sides. Neighbours from back home have recommended ‘Rising waves' so after getting ready and imbibing another early cocktail at ‘Nicks Place' we stroll up to the square in Arpora and hail a Tuk-tuk. The driver offers to take us on a tour the following day, and mindful of the short time remaining to us we agree on a price for a half day tour taking in Old Goa and some Hindu temples on the way up to Ponda. Our driver has a little trouble finding ‘Rising waves' as it is hidden behind some buildings through a hotel(?) foyer. The décor and outlook is nothing special but the food is excellent, both of us opting for the ‘Surf & Turf' with salad washed down with a bottle of Madera for a total of 1200 rupees (about 15 of your English pounds). We return to the MD at about ten and have a couple of drinks at the bar, the first time we have used it.
Friday's breakfast is especially nice and seems to coincide with an influx of Indian guests. Jill sticks with omelette but I go for all Goan fare and I'm not disappointed. We spend the morning by the second pool which has more shelter from the sun in the form of palm trees and around twelve thirty we meet our driver for our afternoon tour. We had been through Old Goa before but never stopped so this is new territory for us and we visit the old Cathedral which is being restored and then cross the square to the Basilica of Born Jesus. We spot an Indian family dressed in their Sunday best for church - Beautiful kids and I ask if I can take a photo. They agree and just as I press the shutter, and in time honoured fashion known the whole world over, into the shot rushes mum with a licked hanky to clean a speck of imagined dirt off her sons face.
In retrospect we should have explored further but it is powerful hot and there is little shelter so we elect to return to the Tuk-tuk and press on to visit some Hindu Temples. Our driver is Hindu and is keen to show us around and explain his religion so we learn a lot - it's also very cool inside!
We return to the MD at about five and realising we haven't eaten since breakfast we hot-foot along to ‘Nick's Place' for the Early Bird Special comprising cheap cocktails, beer, and starter/main course combination. Sadly cocktails are off as the barman is late, so Jill joins me in a Kingfisher. Our meal is nothing special and my starter never turns up but it fills a gap, and the barman eventually arrives so Jill gets her Pina Colada. Afterwards it's time to return to the hotel and generally doss about for a couple of hours - we both love zipping around the Indian countryside in a Tuk-tuk rather than a taxi, but it is tiring and we need to summon up the energy for the evening. We decide to return to an old haunt from our first Goan adventure for dinner and to this end make our way through the woods to Arpora and the ‘Spice Oven'. This was our late night watering hole when we stayed at Lagoa Azil but we'd never eaten there - It's hot, our last meal is only a few hours old, and my Prawn Noodles are very ordinary but Jill's Mushroom Pizza really hits the spot and overall we declare the evening a success.
Saturday morning, our last day, and we already know exactly what we want to do. Life's a beach and that is where we end up. The daytime is almost an exact copy of Thursday and we are very pleased with our choice of beach shack this trip. Our walk back to the MD is punctuated by the purchase of a torch for 99 rupees as per Johnny 5's suggestion (thanks JF) and after getting ready we set off to walk to our planned destination.
Our previous trips have been nicely rounded off by a visit to Mackie's Saturday Night Market and we already knew that this wouldn't be an option this time round, so we set off for the walk to Ingo's Market instead. It takes about half an hour with help from the torch and we join a five minute queue to get through the metal detector(!) and into the market. It's a lot bigger than Mackie's but Food is there, Beer is there, and Music is there. A huge amount of people are selling things from stalls but, hey, I can put up with that"¦
We make our way round to the food stalls and Jill bumps into the headmistress from one of the schools where she is catering manager. I pick them both up off the floor and they chat for a while - it really is a small world!
The choice of food is very good with even a Sushi Stall, but Jill is attracted to Chicken Tikka in a wrap, and I go for Caribbean Fried Chicken with Johnny Cake washed down with yet more Kingfisher - disappointed that there is no 'Kingfisher Strong' on offer (Mackie's is still the only place I've ever seen it on sale) but by the end of the evening this is probably a blessing in disguise due to the quantity consumed!
We make our way to the front of the stage and enjoy the bands on offer although the first act is overshadowed by two Indians playing Air Guitar - they are great fun to watch and really look the part, like most Indians these guys really know how to enjoy themselves when they let their hair down. We are pleased to see that the last act is Prana Ji (AKA Stuart Hadcroft) who we'd seen at the beginning of the week, and he performs ‘Oh India' and rounds off with Pink Floyd's ‘Wish you were here' accompanied by a lithe and sexy fire dancer - wow!
It's midnight and we have an early start Sunday morning so we leave and look for a Taxi. The first wants 300 Rupees for the short trip back, quickly reduced to 200 then 100 when he sees our look. I agree to 100 whereupon Jill notices that the vehicle isn't a licensed taxi at all! We back out of the agreement and immediately spot a proper taxi and 100 Rupees lighter we return to the MD for the final time. Sunday's trip back to Diabolical Airport is painless and for once we fairly sail through customs etc, with only nine checks of our documents - extraordinary!
We decide to get an upgrade on the entertainment for the flight back but this is fractious at best and trying to get anyone to reset it each time proves frustrating. The food again is poor, reinforcing my hope that the marriage between First Choice and Thomson ends in divorce, and this is compounded by an unscheduled stop off in Cyprus to drop off Henry the Navigator. I should point out though that the staff on the ground, from the Travel Agent to the Rep's, were as excellent as ever.
We arrive back at Gatwick at about seven in the evening and straight away, believe it or not, we are off partying again!

Upon re-reading this it does seem to be full of moans but I have to reiterate that we had a great time, and photos are on Flickr to prove it,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22406034@N03/3499790399/in/set-72157617694630988/
Just click on the ‘slide show' icon towards the right hand side.
- roll on next year!
Reply
Thank you Kevin for taking the time to post your reports. I really enjoyed them.

I have just looked at your photographs and they are lovely. I especially liked the ones showing the tents as I have often thought about staying in one and now I will the next time we are in Goa.

Sheila.
Reply
Great report and lovely photos, thankyou for sharing! :tup
Reply
Lovely report , really enjoyed it, your photos are great too. I am hoping to visit Cola beach sometime and would like to try Rising Waves too :tup
Reply
Wonderful report and pictures! Thank you.
Is there a name for the tents on cola beach, is there more than one owner?
Reply
Kevin great report and wonderfull photo's thankyou for sharing them with us. Could you give me a rough idea how much you payed for the tent on cola beach please.Gel
Reply
Enjoyed the report and pics, Kevin. Mrs Roma and I remember nearly colliding with "Schumacher taxi" on our scooter adventures!!
Reply
loved reading your report, really enjoyable, your pics bring back lots of memories of cola beach, and the pic of Sanjay cooking on the barbie, and i see you did the boat trip the following morning, i really liked this trip and thought it is the best we have ever done. :tup
Reply
hi loved your report,and the pics were great,brought back great memories of the MD,have to say Nick does do the best pina colada i keep trying to recreate it but can`t quite get there,also you can get kingfisher strong in pinto`s corner of c.s.m and baga road
Reply
Holiday Truths Forum

Post a Reply

Please sign in or register an account to reply to this post.

Sign in / Register

Holiday Truths Forum Ship image

Get the best deals!

from our cruise, ski and holiday partners

You can change your email preferences at any time.

Yes, I want to save money by receiving personalised travel emails with awesome deals from Holiday Truths group companies which are hotholidays.co.uk,getrcuising.co.uk and getskiing.co.uk. By subscribing I agree to the Privacy Policy

No, thank you.