Goa honeymoon experience

Other than Puri, Goa was my first trip outside Kolkata. I don't know why, whether it's honeymoon or just Goa, Goa is my favorite trip so far all over the world.

Soon after my marriage, me and my husband went to Goa for our honeymoon. The start was a bit shaky. After arriving at Kolkata domestic Airport, we saw that the flight to Mumbai was late and if we had taken that flight, we would have definitely missed the Mumbai Madgaon train. So we bought another flight ticket with an extra Rs 10,000.

With a little hesitation, somehow we reached Madgaon the next morning. The moment we stepped in Goa there was an extraordinary feeling of enjoyment. Listening to the melody of a Goanese song at the station, my mind literally danced, I don't remember the melody today but I haven't forgotten that feeling yet.

The first destination was Colva Beach. Not too big or crowded but clean and beautiful. We stayed at the GTDC hotel just across the sea beach. Absolutely fascinated to see all the water sports that I have not seen in Digha or Puri, the most visited sea resorts from Kolkata. We felt para riding was more than our budget and till date it's still on the pending list.

Honestly, this is the first time I saw so many foreigners at one place, it felt like I was sitting in a global destination within my country. I really liked the cultural mix. I loved the boho markets selling different traditional and imported items.

The best thing in Goa is the amazing diversity of landscapes. We took GTDC tours from the hotel to North Goa and South Goa. The mountains, the sea, the forest were all side by side. In some residential areas, it started with houses followed by dense forest areas and then finishing with beautiful houses. We were overwhelmed.

Me and my husband both are foodies and did not miss tasting different Goanese delicacies. I tried octopus for the first time. Shrimp balachao was spicy and super yummy. We enjoyed one of the dinners at one of the beach restaurants while watching an amazing fire show. We also found a Punjabi dhaba where we had delicious dal tadka. We realised the restaurants are costlier if they are nearer to the beach.

We spent next two days at Calangute GTDC hotel near Calangute beach. I liked Colva more than this one because this is longer and polular than Colva, and thus more crowded. The last destination was Panjim. It was amazing to see the sunset from the cruise over the Mandavi River. Almost everyone on the cruise was dancing. For the first time I ate Mumbai gol guppa on the banks of the Mandavi River with spicy chickpea filling.

We decided that we must come to Goa once a year but 13 yrs have passed and we are yet to return to Goa.