Goa Kronicles: Part 4 (South Goa)

Continuing on my mission to walk along the entire Goa coastline - just for fun, frills and fab photos (AND my love for alliteration)... I bring you a tour of the most beautiful South Goa beaches.

Bring out your hammocks, lie back and enjoy!

Palolem Beach

[ Day view ]


[ Evening view ]

Although this spectacular, once virgin beach is now thronged by day tourists and backpackers - it still remains the quintessential laid back, serene, romantic best that Goa has to offer. Hidden in the quaint and merry town of Canacona, Palolem is one of the longest and most safest beaches for a swim. By noon, the tides are low enough for you to swim 100 meters in the waters. Post 2 pm, you could walk across to the Canacona island on the Northern strip - dry, and return back by sundown in waist deep water!



This is not your beach for the 'action'. No fancy clubs, no trance parties - it's the place that would inspire a poet or an artist who's suffering from a creative block. Or a patient with an artery block. White sands, blue green waters, relaxed shacks, lip smacking food and the mellow sound of moonkissed waves. Get the drift? I call it a sensory delight. Speaking of great food, dont miss a newly opened place on Palolem Beach road (market area), called 'Cheeky Chapati', run by an expat couple. They have the most amazing and creative juices and shakes, with an equally interesting food menu.



Kollam & Patnem Beaches
Palolem Annexe, more like it. Walk down South from Palolem around the rocks (and a magnificent view) and you reach Kollam beach, followed by a slightly longer beach, Patnem. Sparsely populated at the moment, but the crowds will likely move here or up North to Agonda in the near future.

Rajbaga (Rajbagh) Beach


Never judge a book by its cover. And never judge a beach by its boring sounding name. This lesser known beach is home to the fabulous InterContinental Grand Hotel, replete with a golf course 200 meters from the beach! The coastal walk from Palolem to Rajbaga is about 5-6 kms. and walking barefoot was perhaps not a good idea, certainly not without a bottle of water. And then when the fruit vendor offers you a comforting coco water for 50 bucks - there's no escape. You can't beat economics.

Mumbai Bloggers Brunch Notes + Photos

Today's bloggers' brunch was as much a fun event as it was a gastronomic delight! As always, the superhostesses Melody and Sakshi pulled off a fab 4 hour event with no room for boredom. Lots of familiar faces and newbies alike, and everyone still seemed to have a great time.



The location, Dio's at Tardeo was just perfect, with a homely ambiance and reasonably priced, great food. The starters were fine, so were desserts. What I really liked was their salad and main course and live counters. Wine and beer were also well priced at 100 bucks each. Overall, definitely a place where I'm going again!

While the topics of discussion didn't necessarily focus on blogging, they ranged from Rakhi Sawant to Kanishk's dancing to Deepika Padukone and OSO versus Saawariya to photography to making money online to virginity to social service to profane sounding names of people and beyond. In chaos, we had fun. And made a lot of new friends while catching up with old ones!

Birthday boy Akshay showed up just in time for desserts.

Click here to check out the rest of the photos on my Facebook albums and also check Melody and Sakshi's picks.

Bunch-a Bloggers over Brunch

My alarm went off this morning to invites from superstar bloggers Sakshi and Melody. They're inviting all and sundry, bloggers and hoggers to a lavish Sunday brunch at Dio's. Here's the details. You're invited. Bring along your mates too - it's gonna be one fun event you don't want to miss.

When: 18th Nov, 2007. 11 am - 3 pm (Yeah, it's lavish!)
Where: Dio's, Behind Everest Building, Tardeo
Why: Woman and man are a social animal. Never eat alone.
How much?: Rs.450 wonly. Unlimited food and fun for the price of 3 beers. Don't think.

What you doing this Sunday?

If you've got no spectacular plans besides watching the traffic from your balcony, here's something nice and fun where you could join in and spread some Diwali joy.

Via SMS from a friend:

"Volunteers required for a Diwali party being organized for some poor kids. No money needed, just be present and mind the kids. This Sunday, starting 3 pm. at a location in Thane".

Interested? Drop me a line. Will connect you up!