Home » India » West coast retreat

Having spent a strange Christmas alone in Mumbai, I met my girlfriend at the airport after a break of 4 months - strange that she could jump on a plane and get here in 8 hours, after it had taken me 6 months to get this far. Naturally, the beard and long(ish) hair had to go, which was fine by me. We planned a quiet New Year's further down the west coast, and got a night train south........<br />

West coast retreat

Conor Meleady
2006-02-28 08:24:02

Displayed times (last time: )

Having spent a strange Christmas alone in Mumbai, I met my girlfriend at the airport after a break of 4 months - strange that she could jump on a plane and get here in 8 hours, after it had taken me 6 months to get this far. Naturally, the beard and long(ish) hair had to go, which was fine by me. We planned a quiet New Year's further down the west coast, and got a night train south........

When we woke up the next morning, we were in a different India to the one I had spent the previous 2 months travelling - this was an India of coconut palms, rice paddies, and jungle, proper jungle!!! The landscape was a lush green the shade of which I'd never witnessed before. The train was rattling south towards Goa, but our stop came first.

The tropical landscape, beautiful beaches, generally friendly population, and relatively liberal attitudes are just some of the factors that have drawn western travellers to Goa for the last 40 years. The influx of tourists to the state has been such, that today, no Goan beach remains empty, deserted. This was why we jumped off the train early.

Sweet water lake, Arambol got a tip about a little fishing village on the coast between Mumbai and Goa, where we could have a quiet New Years on a beautiful beach. My source, a Goa veteran, has sworn me to secrecy, fearing a repeat of what has happened to his favourite beach further south.

Enough to say then, that we found a charming little village, a huge beach backed by palms and pine trees, a deserted island, great sea-food, and an overwhelmingly friendly population waiting for us. We spent New Years watching an Indian cultural heritage show, where we were the star attraction. We spent our days wandering the beach or the village, or going for drives to the next town. And all this time, we met just 6 foreigners - 4 Austrians, one of which lived there for 6 months a year, and an English and a Scotsman travelling together, ...