My First Passage - A Passage to Mysore, Ooty and Goa (Contd)
Part 2: The Arabian Sea
Day 7: 11- Jul- 2001
It was not until 5.00 AM in the morning that I woke up. Then as usual after my ablutions, I woke up others and everyone was ready by 6.30 AM. I was expecting the train to arrive at Londa by 7.00 AM. Right it was!! We got down in the station. Actually, I thought Londa a so-called junction at the borders of Karnataka and Goa would be no less than our own Kazipet station. But it was my turn to get bewildered at the very look of the station. It was so remote a place that the TTE would actually beg for the passengers. However, it was richly greener and that made the secluded village a good spot to breathe air for a while. We got into the bus shelter, which was a 10-min walk from the station. Here we found so many folks and breathed a sign of relief, as it confirmed that we were on the right path. We met a couple of guys from California making their tour in India.
Soon, the bus arrived. We got hold of the bus and had our luggage thrown beneath the seats. Earlier, we asked a taxi driver, as to how much would he charge for a drive to Panaji, the capital city of Goa about 111 KM from Londa via the national highway 4A. He would demand 1500 bucks and not a paisa less than that. As for the bus charges, it was Rs. 38 per head. Which meant, out total charges to be Rs. 266/-. However the journey in the bus surprised us.
The so-called NH4A turned out to be one of those perfect-to-bump Indian roads. We bumped atleast for a 50 odd-times, while the bus speeded through the road, which was in a pathetic condition. This journey was the most unfateful for us, all through the trip. It was not less than 3 Hours that took us to manage remaining stuck to our seats. The cloves (that I bought at Ooty) had been devoured by us like snack items would be during tea time. That was a hell of an experience!
Unknowingly we had been travelling through the Bhagawan Mahavir Sanctuary. The forest was very exciting to travel through. We were at Ponda and then Old Goa and finally at Panaji. It was 12.00 noon when we descended the bus. I went in search of the tourism department. It was in Kadamba bus depot itself. So I took some free brochures about accommodation facilities in Panaji. However, one guy caught us by our heels and told us, he would provide us the rooms in a decent hotel. What else were we to do? ...
Satish, Sandeep and I went to the hotel in an auto-rickshaw. Surprisingly, the auto-driver was a chap from Warangal. So, we confirmed ourselves about the accommodation from the info he gave us. Hotel Bareton was indeed a decent place to get the rooms at modest prices. Initially though, the guy at the desk Mr Amar wouldn't give us the room at a lower price, but at last he made it affordable.
In the evening we were on to a boat cruise on the river Mandavi. Along with a few others who stayed at our hotel, we were taken on to the dock at Mandavi. Here we met Mr Nitin, the guide from Coastal Travels. He was a good chap doing his part-time job while he studied his course in food technology. We were taken onto the PARADISE. It was such a cool boat, that we liked it so much upon one single look. There were cultural programs pertaining to Goan traditions inside the Paradise. We had a great deal of fun and that made us feel much better after the tiresome, enervating Londa-Panaju journey. Afterwards, we were taken to a great Punjabi dhaba. It was so very utlra-posh that we hated it. So, we got our food packed by staying out of the heavily overflowing restaurant. Then we were taken to the Miramar beach and then to Dona Paula. This Dona Paula was a very good place and was called a suicide-point. At this place, the river Mandavi and river Zuvari flowed through two directions and met the Arabian Sea. We could see the huge ships waiting on the non-territorial waters for the cargo to be loaded or unloaded from the small harbor.
However it was too dark to see and enjoy at this part of night. So, soon we were dropped at our hotel. We got ourselves freshed up and had our dinner at Hotel Vihar, the Udipi specialized. The dinner was so good that we decided to have our dinner for the rest of the days of our stay at the same restaurant. That was the end of the day.
Day 8: 12- Jul- 2001
The yesterday's journey on the NH4A badly effected some of my pals. So, we decided to stay in the room in the morning through noon. After being medicated by Dr Luise Menezus, Karun who was mostly effected by the tiresome journey, got up well. So we went out for a stroll by 3.00 PM. I went to the tourist hotel and had one taxi guy hired for a trip to Old Goa and Miramar beach and Dona Paula. This guy was called Apollo. It's no exaggeration that we were lucky to get a guy like Apollo to assist us. He took us to Old Goa where the four famouse churches stood: St Cathedral was gracious, church of St Cajeton was magnificent; the ruins of the St Augustine Church were painful to watch and finally the legendary St Francis church was amazing. In this church [St Francis], we saw the miraculous 400- year old dead body of the Holy Saint Francis Xavier. The body has still got some flesh and similar stuff in it, till now!!
After an enchanting experience at the Old Goa, we started to the Dona Paula again. Yesterday it was late in the evening and we couldn't much enjoy the scenic beauty of the huge water bodies. So, we were back again at the Dona Paula. Here we were overwhelmed with such a joy, that we did not want to leave the place. The view from the upstairs on the platform at Dona Paula provided a fine angle of the beautiful waters. The waves were rushing on towards the land with such a beautiful glow, that even the sinking sun's light seemed inferior. The velocity with which the waves hit the rocks at the beach, for a moment made us dumb found.
As it was the monsoon season, boating was not allowed here. That was unfortunate. But the fresh breath of the sea breezes made such an impression that we could stay here for the rest of our lives, provided we could afford to. This place had a legend. It was a love story of Miss Dona Paula, the daughter of a bureaucrat and Gaspro Dias, a fisherman. It was said that Dona Paula committed suicide at this place when she came to know that her father got Gaspro Dias killed and thrown at the Miramar beach, which apparently came to be popularly known as Gaspro Dias. The thought of this love story made that glittering in my heart which very unusually but occasionally happens.
I think I told too much about this place. But, believe me, no exaggeration, this place was made after a careful choice out of the various beautiful places created by the Almighty.
Then we saw the NIO, the National Institute of Oceanography from the outside itself, as we had no time left. We headed towards the Miramar beach. Here it was that sandy beach which we had been dreaming of. We played in the sand, played in the water. We played in the sand when the water played with us. We jumped, ran, and had great fun here. The feeling that I got when I first entered circumferential waters is inexplicable. It would make you know when you feel it.
It was already 8.30 PM. So we decided to call off the day's trip. We bid goodbye to Apollo after he dropped us at the Hotel Bareton. He made a vague promise that he would meet us again, tomorrow that is. We were at Vihar for our dinner.
Day 9: 13- Jul- 2001
Today, we got up early and were ready to go on a tour of North Goa, which we booked yesterday. We were taken to the holy temple of Vishnu and Lord Ravvannatha first. Then our guide for today, Mr Sandesh led us towards Mapusa, then Bicholim, then finally to Anjuna beach. Also, we were at the Vagator beach. This beach had a rocky surface. So we had to a way to get wet, just by sitting on the rocks. The water here was more rigorous and fast than at the Miramar. The color of the sea appeared green here. The place made a good spot to enjoy all day. But we were to stay there for 1 hour only. The rocks were slippery and so, we had taken off our shoes and pants. When you feel the waters heavily washing you, you would in all ways, get excited like...oops!! there's nothing like it to compare with.
Then we were taken to a restaurant Goan Durbar, here we had to have our lunch that was pure Goan. We had some trouble eating, but that was ok.
Then we went off to the Calangute beach. I couldn't imagine why it would be called the Golden Beach, until I found my eyes glistening due to the reflected light of the shining gold colored sand. The water here was most active and aggressive than all other beaches. After all, this was called the Queen of the Beaches. We played here like kids aged 2-10. We had most of our time spent in running after the waves, jumping in the sand. After having these evanescent times and long lasting memories, we went for a shopping spree.
We bought the locally printed Goan T-shirts. Then Sandesh the guide signed to move. So we were on the bus again. We had also seen the Mayem Lake, the Aguada Fort. At the end of the day, we were back at the Hotel Bareton. I was surprised to find Apollo back at our hotel. He got us on his van and once again roamed us up and down the streets of the city. We paid him his worth. He said he would be back tomorrow to drop us at the Kadamba bus stand. That was really sweet of him.
That's the end of the day. But we had some shopping done in the evening. We knew by tomorrow afternoon, we will be at Londa again. The thought of our journey to Londa again through the NH4A made us all sick. But as for today, we had our fun, till the end of the day.
Day 10: 14- Jul- 2001
Today in the morning, once again we wandered through the busy streets of the Panaji City. We were at the Panjim Church to have a good look yet again. Then by about 1.00 PM, we were back at the Kadamba bus stand, thanks to Apollo. We said goodbye to our sincere and honest friend and caught hold of the bus to Londa. But it wasn't a tough way back to Londa. We got down at Londa by about 4.00 PM. We had our late lunch at an old hotel (I don't even remember the name). Again. we were back on the platform. We met an old couple here. The old man was shivering due to cold, as it was weakness of some kind. We left Sandeep and Satish to take care of them till they could sit in the train comfortably. We were back at our compartments. Once seat was away from the other 6 seats, I decided to go with that one. So, I went and had my seat. I met a medicine man coming from Ratnagiri, a village in Maharashtra heading to Bangalore. We had a good time chatting with each other. I excused myself and returned back to my friends for dinner. We had a good dinner in the RaniChennamma Express. Later I went to my berth and took a nap.
Day 11: 15- Jul- 2001
In the early hours of 5.00 AM or 6.00 AM, I woke up. I joined my friends and we all go ready before 8.00 AM when we reached Bangalore. After completing our trip successfully, we were back in the good old Bangalore. As we had plenty of time, till the evening, we decided to do some shopping for ourselves. We went to MG Road and then to KG Road. Here we found plenty of shopping complexes. We had a great time in seeing new items, bargain buying etc. Then it was lunch time again. We had our lunch in the Hotel Nandini, Andhra Style. Indeed the food was great here.
We got back to the station. It was just 3.00 PM. We had 2 more hours to go. We then met out friend Umesh again. We told we weren't to return soon. Bid good bye to him. Bid good bye to the whole station and were back on our train. The Secunderabad express began its motion just as the clock stuck 5.10 PM. We waved to all people who came to send off their respective kith and kin. Finally we shook our hands mutually as we had a great tour on the whole.\
Thanks to everyone who was with us in those moments of joy. I wished I had more intellect and capability so that I could write the passage in a more vivid fashion. Anyway, that was all I could try hard. Hope you liked it.
Good bye! Bangalore!
Day 12: 16- Jul- 2001
We were back on the platform # 1 of the Secunderabad station by 7.00 AM.
\
Comments