T H E F I N A L D E S T I N A T I O N .......................... G……..O…….A……..

Have you ever had the feel of the kick that you get after having the intoxicating ‘feni’?Do you like the soft and crunchy cashew nuts?Have you ever had the experience of going around for a thrilling journey in a banana boat?If you like any of the above things than the place you should visit is GOA…the beach capital of India,A city wet to its core with man- made and god made- water.I am pretty much sure once you go there you feel like being there for all the 365 days. The last and the most memorable trip of the four years took place at GOA.Filled with a lot of energy and a sigh of relief the trip got off with a surprise.The surprise was in the form of chidananda who was going to be with us till shimoga.As the bus started moving at tortoise’s pace everyone fell asleep except a few who kept a sharp eye on the driver and the lonely deserted road.Finally when the darkness gave way to light it was high time and everyone felt a need to refuel their engine.And with that came the first break of the trip at shimoga…chida s birthplace.After refueling their engines with steam hot south Indian snacks it was time to take off some calories…especially for the size conscious people.

So chida the host in this case took us to a river where a few of them enjoyed boat ride and others simply loved watching them go around in boat.Then it was time for some serious business and next on the card was a short trekking on to the top of a hill.The view from over there was majestic and beautiful.But the main purpose to climb that hill was something other…it was for taking snaps as I found girls and guys joined in different permutation and combinations and did what they do the best…pose for snaps.Back to the bus ,chida got off to a place nearby to his home and from there on it was a long journey heading towards goa.

We reached goa in a record time of only 22 hours.I bet you its hard to beat that time!At least the force India guys will find that difficult to beat!The long journey took its toll on all and everyone was completely exhausted.But then amongst us was a girl whosw hometown was goa and she played a very good host and seeing her running all over her place even we got charged up.This smiling host was Lynda.And the lull gave way to noise as people started giggling again.We reached hotel had some food and finally it was all wickets down.

Day 2-We got up in time in morning as it was time to hit the beach.As it was decided earlier we were going to make BAGA beach as our base.We reached there by eleven and by that time the sun was shinning bright and the weather was fine.I mean to say that conditions were pretty much favourable and one would love to be in water the whole day long as the scorching heat otherwise would have taken its toll on us.The banana boat ride was adventurous and exciting,

The jet ski was all about speed and balance,And a few of them had the awesome experience of a thrilling para gliding.The god made water was accompanied by man made water on the beach,

The boozeleaders had ensured that we don’t fall short of water and so they got one entire crate of it.The guys got better off crate and within one and a half hour or so the crate was down and out and the stock got exhausted , so now there was only the saline beach water to drink ,for the tee totallers and the others too.So from dusk to dawn the day 2 was dedicated to BAGA and rightly so.

But the night had even more enterprising event lined up as it was time for all to let their hair down and burn the dance floor.And I would like to say that all of them did total justice to my above statement.A few of them practiced the saying which goes like this,”Dance as if no one is looking at you”.Tapping thy feet to the music it was 3 in the morning and we had other things lined up for the following morning.So it was time to say good bye to titos and good night to each other as everyone retired to bed.

Day 3-This can be termed as a day when we explored the other side of goa.To put it in simple terms, apart from the beaches that it boasts off we got to know that goa also houses cultural heritage in the form of beautiful forts.But before the much awaited visit to the DCH fort we went to the Anjuna beach in the morning.The beach was not as friendly to beach-friendly people like us as BAGA was.The sharp edge of the exposed rocks could have broken any of ours soft and brittle bones(and would have given him/her a ride to hospital for his/her money).Even the waves were violent over here and it could have easily entangled one into the troubled waters.So,as a result we decided to just appreciate it by looking at it and not getting involved in it.Nevertheless,it was fun.We were afraid of the occasional drizzle that we had to bear, as there was enough water in front of us and we didn’t want one falling right on top of us.And thankfully, the drizzle remained as drizzle and soon it vanished far away.

One of the highlight of this tour was the domino’s pizza.I have lost count of it by this time and I cant recall as to how many times we had it while in goa but surely it makes me feel that we should let everyone know that we had them as many times as possible as if they were our official food(not beverage..you dirty minds)partner.

Next on the list was the DCH fort.The fort was mighty and it gave a beautiful view of lake.One could not help but keep gazing at that calm and silent water.But on such a important place like this the height of bad luck,co-incidence etc whatever you want to say struck us.You know why?Because we didn’t had the digital camera.So we had to store the view in our memory.Again the scorching heat of noon was troubling us while we were inspecting the fort and so to take some respite we went directly to BAGA from there.We had about two hours of amazing fun in the water.And this third day’s night I would term it as a night filled with spirituality with ‘spirit’ being the operative word.I will come back to this a litlle later.But before that,

While having a lavish dinner we were entertained with some beautiful songs.And we had Lynda who rendered her voice to one of the karaoke.There had to be some representation from boys side too and they gave a fabulous performance with summer of 69.What followed after dinner was something most of them would have never expected or thought of even in their wildest dreams……..as wildness crept out when they got a dose of spirituality.All of a sudden the silent sages had turned into roaring lions.Thanks to some tee totallers otherwise that day one or two like me would have drowned…well not in the baga but definitely deep into ‘spirituality’.Before we got deep into it we were made to realize that, ‘enough is enough’, and so helter-skelter with the help of others we reached the hotel.Without thinking too much on it and in a half conscious state most of them went for sleep and others discussed about the sad state of their friends.

Day 4-This morning was not the one anticipated ,and also it was

not a welcome one.Apart from it being our last day in goa the ‘spirituality’ debacle that had taken place the last night was taking its toll on the ones involved.We started pretty late,I think it was twelve in noon whe

n the day began for us.First on the cards was a visit to the fort.The fort had historical significance.The portugese used it for docking their ships.But off late, there was not enough of water, a few of them took pity on the situation and watered it.A very noble deed!But, I think that water was enough only for a paper boat!Coming back to business,it was not as appealing as the DCH fort but fortunately we had the digital camera over here.So a lot of pics were wasted over here.Sorry, I mean were

clicked over here.From the fort we went to a church.In between, on our way to church we happened to pass through the VILLA,KINGFISHER VILLA,But we didn’t had time to get down and peekskip it.After the church it was high time and we felt that we should wind up now.But not before visiting the palam beach.So the last place that we saw in goa was palam beach.We were lured for inside.So,we decided to para gliding on a cheaper rate compared to baga beach.A few of them even had put their para gliding uniform on.But they never took off.The end result is that we discovered that the para gliding was too cheap for us and so we decided not to go for it.

After the beach the host Lynda took us to her place where delicious sandwich and juice were waiting for us.We didn’t disappoint them.We had a good and a great time at her place.But than all good things have to come to an end.And at twenty hundred hours sharp we got this thought.So we took leave which I guess Lynda was more then happy to see.(jokes apart,Lynda thanks for all the trouble that you gladly took.And yes don’t forget to convey my regards to everyone at your place).And the rocking trip thus came to an end.But not before watching rock on,on the way to banglore.

In a nutshell,goa should be a must go for all of you who haven’t been to this place.To put it differently Gandhiji said that if you haven’t been to a jail then you have missed something in your life.The same stands true for goa too.If you haven’t been to goa then you have missed something in life.

--Jagrut Vaishnav