Chilling has become synonymous with Goa over the years. So, I pick Agonda, a beach destination in Goa this winter to catch up on some peace, and work on some of my assignments in my swimming trunks from a beach view with a milkshake in hand. Sounds like a plan? Here’s Part 2 of “Chilling in Agonda”
Continuing from Part-1
After a heavy breakfast at Fatima, I looked around to see what’s there. I saw a little Goan place, that had the words Peace Love and Music, and had quite an interesting cosy scene in the evenings. That kind of a place, that seems just right with a few people for conversations over food. I have not tried it yet, but I plan to do it the next time, I am back at Agonda.
The big landmark in Agonda is the St Anne’s church there. The Church is bang in the middle of a T Shaped junction, which pretty much is what Agonda is all about. Its a small village, with some vegetation on the left and right of the church, which is parallel to the beach, and a road opposite the Church which leads into the road going to Khola, Chaudi and Palolem. This is the main bus stop and expect to find an ATM (HDFC) here and all the contacts for Auto’s and bikes on rent. It’s a small village so you are bound to bump into the same set of people. I met a couple of my facebook friends who were nearby and asked them to come over, and met a solo traveller from Pune over dinner. You’d see all of them in Part 3 of the Agonda Travellogue.
I walked a little further into the village, since the HDFC ATM was not functioning. Goa is largely a cash based economy in the beach shacks, with very little connectivity in beaches that are not completely on the main tourist circuit. I was told there was an SBI ATM in the distance, but I could not spot any. I found a beautiful Goan house, surrounded by the trees, and stood admiring it. Maybe next time I visit Goa, I should find a place like this on AirBnB, which is a house tucked into the village, away from the hustle and bustle of the new age Goa.
For some body who is used to being stuck in a traffic jam in either Velachery, Jubilee Hills or Tin Factory every week, seeing this sight of a bike breezing through an empty road in Agonda’s main market road was such a pleasant sight. This side of South Goa, Palolem is the new Calangute/Baga with tons of day tourists and big cars crowding the entrance to the beach. Try staying in Agonda and visiting Palolem.
Meet Sudeep, our hotel go-to-man at Jardim-A-Mar who entertained us with some stories. Sudeep is a traveller from Nepal who believes life is a trip, and he loves the concept of staying away from home every 3-4 years at a different place. One way to understand people, cultures and the world, given that he is passionate about giving people a great experience. Sudeep told me to try out the early morning trip the next day to go see the Dolphins. So he gave me the number of Dinesh-7798215322, the boatman who would take me out.
I settled by the cafe for a lunch. Given that eating food on Goan beach shacks is easily a 2 hour relaxed affair, I sunk into the menu card at Jardim-a-Mar to find my friend and I, a Mushroom Masala and a Ceasar Salad. We being vegetarians, went for the familar fare, along with some cheesy fried bites and French Fries. The food and the ambience is relaxing and peaceful, and the crowd also an eclectic bunch of people, who seemed to be here for the quietness and stillness, as opposed to being a noisy bunch. The only hitch we had in our rooms, was that the fan was slow, and with a mosquito net the air circulation was not very strong. Beyond a point, it was endured and we slept. This however, was not solved during the time we were there, leaving a sore point on our otherwise relaxing trip at Jardim-A-Mar. The Wifi was painfully slow, but that is not something I expected from them on a beautiful beach in Goa, and that is largely a function of the infrastructure available in such remote areas. The available wifi is being shared between all the users, and so will end up being slower than 2G. So dont expect much from the Wifi. Agonda has very poor 3G connectivity on Airtel and Reliance Jio does not even show up here. Palolem’s main beach and even Cancona island has excellent Airtel 4G connectivity.
I went back to sitting on the beach, and playing in the waves, and saw the coastguards combing around Agonda. A couple of them from the beach, and one in the sea, who was zipping over from one side to the other. I would have loved to know a little more about them and their lives, but that’s for the next trip, since I had to get back to work on my laptop. I had promised myself, that I would get a huge chunk of pending personal work done on this trip.
A walk every now and then on the beach never hurts! Lesser footprints in the sand, means that this beach is mostly yours. I am hoping it stays that way.
And I’d love to show off my new beach slippers, bought for the trip! After a bike trek all the way outside the city to Decathlon, in the city I live, it was worth the effort to show off 🙂
Hold on for the third part, where I travel to the nearby butterfly island, honeymoon island and talk with the sea! Aye Aye Captain!