Since the moment, I looked up a beach place in South Goa, on AirBnb, my son was excited that we were going to be spending a weekend in Goa by the beach. I went over to the nearby Decathlon store to buy a swimming trunk and a float for my son, who quite loves spending time in the water. I had wanted a place that would be on the beach, and still be a little world cocooned from the honks and noise of Goa’s streets. After a lot of research, Google Maps and speaking to hotels, I arrived at Manveer’s kitchen, a place mid-way between a little homestay and a beach shack- in Agonda Beach.
Agonda is a place that still is not yet on the tourist’s radar. Crowds throng Calangue in the north, Baina and Colva in the center and Palolem in the South. Agonda is a couple of beaches above Palolem and comes with its own anonymity and village life, far removed from the tourist traps. It has a few beautiful beaches, if you care to explore on a 2 wheeler on its Northern (Cabo De Rama) and Southern sides (Talpona, Galjibaga, Rajbaga)
We arrived at Manveer’s place, after haggling with an auto driver from Cancona railway station over how much we should give him. The extra few metres that the auto drove were measured in an imaginary meter before an exorbitant number was put in front of me. Not wanting to spoil my holiday, I smiled and paid him an amount that was midway between what he quoted and what I felt was the price. I went mid-way on the price because of the 4 bags of lugagge that stared at me. Luggage is often the last resort of a taxi/auto to increase fares.
The house opens out on the road, which has a small backyard meant for parking vehicles. It leads into a narrow lane which has a couple of rooms and a store room, after which it leads to the beach, going through a little nursery.
The little place, exuded a sense of Goan calm that only palm trees by the beach can give, and we proceeded to pack our luggage into our room and head out to the reception which was on the beach. Manveer and his wife Vinnie manage the place, while their son Manny keeps adorably crawling around. My little son, found his wingman in Manny as they started playing with the sand and toys. I rested on the beach easy-chair and ordered french fries with cheese and Lasagne, to slowly transition into a late afternoon.
The rooms were simple, but comfortable and the fact that there was so much greenery around made it a great pick for me. I am told that this is one of the few permanent structures in the monsoons as most resorts close down.
Sleeping to the sound of the waves by the beach in Goa is an activity, and I was enjoying till the sunset, post which I went in to my room, and organised my items. On any trip one of the first things that make me comfortable is to make sure all devices are charged, and most of my items that I intend to use are in my see-able vicinity, and are easy to pack it back in when I intend to leave the place. I breathed easy post the sunset, and walked in to a halogen lit reception eating area, which was looking beautiful in the night. I met one of the hotel staffs, who helped me speak to a local bike renting shop, where I got a 2 wheeler the next day for trips to Galjibaga and Cabo De Rama.
I woke up the next day, and took Nandu along the expanse of the beach, where he would stop every few metres and collect shells. He felt the water was still a little on the colder side to get in.
We waited for the morning sun to warm up the beach a little before we got in. In between Nandu decided to warm up by jumping around and loosening up on the beach. Our morning had well and truly begun and we dunked into the morning waves, shedding our inhibitions and fears that the winter can create when you need to take a bath in cold water!
Read more in Parts-2 and 3 coming up soon.
Reaching Manveer’s Kitchen
From Chennai– Board the Lalbagh express at 1535 hours and reach Krishnarajapuram in Bangalore by 9 pm. Uber your way to Hebbal to board the 22:00 Udupi bound private bus, which goes through Mangalore. The passenger train at Mangalore starts at 6:10 am, and arrives in Udupi at 7:30 am. So get off accordingly to go and board the train to arrive at Cancona
From Bangalore– If possible get on the 2015 KSRTC bus from Majestic Bus stand, and get down in Udupi at 5 in the morning. You would have enough time to refresh and board the train at 7:30 am to arrive at Cancona
From Hyderabad– Board the bus to Panjim and then take a taxi to Agonda, which is about 100 kilometres. If you want to cut down costs, you could board the local train at Karmali (Near Panjim) that goes via Madgaon to Canacona.
Your other chance is to board the bus from Hyderabad to Gokarna and then catch the train from Gokarna Road railway station, where a significant part of the journey is missed on the Konkan Railway route.
The only reason I am reccomending a train to reach Canacona is due to the bewitching Konkan lagoons and landscapes
From Canacona railway station, its about 10-12 kilometres and about 200-250 by Auto from the railway station. You could instead also walk up a kilometre to the Chaudi bus stand, visible from the railway station and board the local bus to the Agona Church, from where Manveer’s is a half kilomere jaunt away.
If you are travelling by Air to Goa’s airport, its an hour from there by a taxi, or if you want to cut costs, you could board a train from the nearby Vasco/Dabolim railway station to Madgaon and from there to Canacona. Train tickets come at 1/100th the cost of your taxi ride