For a couple of weeks now, I’ve been trying to gather a few friends for a trip to Goa between Aug 15 and 19. Although there were a handful of takers initially, no one seems to be up for it right now, work being the main reason. Nonetheless, I’ve decided on making a solitary trip if need be, rather than can it altogether.
Travel can so often be a vanishing act, as I have realized myself. Sometimes, barely a week after a memorable trip and I’m looking at the last vestiges of it, nostalgic. Travel can also be an escape. Ever watched a movie where the dialogues and characters are funny and entertaining but you can’t follow the narrative at all? There may not be any central theme of your journey or any one thing that you may bring back home. You may alternate between feeling like an insider and outsider, shuffle between unfulfillment and peace, or swing from end to end, but be gripped by a host of feelings throughout.
For each one of us, there are places and situations we wouldn’t want to be in. But time and again, maybe at regular intervals, we still have to pay our visits. It’s like being under the weather and still having to go to your nemesis to answer disconcerting questions. Although you may have people for support, the intensity of the journey almost transmutes it into a solitary trip for you. Traveling is a reprieve from running such enervating errands. Time and space assume bigger dimensions than they really are, but then do you know their ambit? Travel, above all, necessitates being selfish and being with yourself, sharing a little less of you, and trying to make sense.
In trying to reproduce a sense of familiarity in excursions, much of the meaning of travel is lost. There are more memes to be imbibed in a cup of coffee at a café that is seemingly estranged from humdrum than at a watering hole that resembles your favorite bar.
What I do with my time and space is an experiment, and if I choose to recount my expeditions, it wil be a to-and-fro between memory and reality. While I’m there though, I’ll raise many a toast to crisp mornings and balmy evenings, and to Goa.
P.S.: If you have any suggestions to offer to me before my Goa trip, please do so. I may try out your advice and in turn give you feedback.
Monday, August 06, 2007
To Goa
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11 comments:
I like the new template of your blog, I dont remember exactly what it was before but this one really looks good...
Hey, if you going to Goa, you could also try spending a day at Karwar, It is a beautiful place...While Goa is a pubs, nude beaches (though I never found any),crowded kind of thing... Karwar is kind of quiet, amazingly peaceful, clean beach, lot of navy ships, extremely good sea food kind of place. :D
Thanks..
I haven't been to karwar, but i've bene to gokarna, which is quite a nice getaway.
However, this time i want to see Goa beyong the Calangute, Anjuna, Vaga beaches and beyond Tito's and Club Cabana..There are umpteen places in North and South Goa that many don't know much about cos its not commercially known
Have fun in Goa!
Try visiting Dona Paula way after sunset. There is not much there that would truly captivate a discerning tourist by way of the sights it has to offer. However, do make your way up the stairs to the "vista point" and find yourself a bench that overlooks the sea. Hoping that there's no rain and mist, you will hear the waves crashing on the rocks below. You will see ships twinkling in the horizon, and the lights from Marmugao harbour will appear nothing less than enthralling. If u can, try to locate the spot where the Mandovi and Zuari rivers meet the Arabian sea. Take no one with you and think of nothing while you are there. By night and under starlight, the humdrum city of Panjim will take on a new meaning.
Do visit south Goa. Go to Salsette district,in particular, Cuncolim and Chinchinim. Take a bus from Madgaon; not the fancy ones, but rather those kooky buses that have hilarious names like "Zam-Zam" and "Loveboat." I use the word "kooky" because these buses seem to have a life of their own. South goa is not without its eccentricities. You will see notice this first thing as you approach a village. The wealth of their land is measured by the number of coconut trees; try spotting a pair of shoes tied to the trunks of coconut trees; they are meant to ward off evil. Seriously.
And if all this appears too commonplace, and you would rather get sozzled, (as one expects to in a place like Goa),well, you are most certainly not without options.
swry abt the typos tht i had to delete..but i must say something abt 2 things regrding this..the frst one to anonymous...whatever you have said..reading it just gave me a "wow"..and i can actually feel the reason for the " dont take anyone with you part". trouble is..if it EVER becomes possible with me..i am not sure if I will be happy or sad on the bench. in anycase...thanks awesomely..
and to satyajit: just something caught my eye..why is it that you see travel as an ascertainment of the "selfish" tag..not that i mean the word any disrespect..for me..travel is freedom..reconnecting to the lost something for sometime, and then coming back to ground zero happy it exists at all..if u mean that then yes..i agree travelling is selfish ( and i still cant seem to agree to it..). you may not find answers or you may. you may end up sad or you maynot..but its the liberty you get inside you..the subroutine of the big program..an inner loop....to get lost withing oneself as much as to lose oneself amongst so may others that you lose every idea of a self existing somewhere. travelling can be this...evolutionary..a sanctity attached to it. or so ( with a wry smile from my side) I sincerely do hope
P:S:- I will visit this page if I ever manage to use a knapsack for the purpose it intends to carry :)
ergo: that i sure will
anonymous: thank you muchly. I had decided to spend some time at Palolem& Bernalim (in the south) and mandrem and Arambol (in the north). Now, i'll make sure to try all that you've told me.
sucharita: traveling alone is selfish in the way selfish is meant
I have always wished I could do the vanishing act and spend a few days by myself someplace new, where routine and familiarity do not dictate how I spend my time. I envy you your trip.
I don't have any suggestions about what to see in Goa but I hope you don't go with any sort of itinerary in your head. You've wanted answers in your last few posts. I've said it before - I don't quite know what it is you're looking for. I only hope these few days with yourself doing what your heart desires will help you come closer to what you seek.
Looking forward to hearing about your trip in a future post. I somehow have a feeling it won't quite be a travelogue, but rather an unraveling of thoughts through this journey :)
nutty: I dont really have an itinerary in mind, although I've researched a fair bit about places to see through friends and the Lonely Planet guidebook.
gimme a call be4 u leave for goa
I love travelling.. but I've never done it the unfamiliar way... I'd love to explore the less beaten paths of a certain place, but never really done it ever... always gone to the touristy places, or the well known hang outs etc... we used to do that when we were in school, see new places in a different way, but unfortunately not anymore.. We went to Goa last yr, a bunch of almost 10 of us... but we went to the usual places.. BUT it was great fun! Would love to go back! Have fun! :)
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