The journey began with Goa Express train from Pune on 7th November. You know, I love children, but few species roam all around the train bogie and shout as if it is their home. Unfortunately, I encountered these species and they were shouting right beside my seat! Somehow, the night passed and we reached Vasco Da Gama station at 8 am.
In Goa, if you wish to board any bus or shuttle even for shorter distances, you will have to collect tickets from the counter first (unlike in Pune where the collecter comes to you to purchase tickets after you are seated in the bus). Hence, we took bus tickets till the Panjim bus stand(Vasco to Panjim takes 42minutes approx). As soon as we got down at Panjim, we heard many people shouting ‘rent a bike’. We hired 2 Activa 5g for Rs.300 per day with half-liter petrol in it. We had booked an Independent Studio from Oyo at Dona Paula. We reached Panjim at about 9.30 am and the check-in time was noon. Hence, we had our breakfast and started to reach our room. Traveling in Goa becomes very exciting if you have a nice scooty and proper roads with coconut trees on both sides. Panjim to Dona Paula is a mere 5.6 km, still, we decided to reach our Oyo. The area and view were so fascinating! Clear blue sky, coconut trees, cruise on the river and smooth roads! Previously, I wasn’t a huge fan of Goa but when I saw such wonderful scenery, I thanked God a lot.
It was a 4 bhk bungalow in Dona Paula, with a Jacuzzi at the terrace! There was a nice caretaker who took good care of that bungalow and allowed us to roam around the house. Before you imagine, let me tell you, we did not hire the entire bungalow; it was just two rooms, one for boys and one for girls (and that too was in budget..will share all the expense related details at the end of this blog). Luckily there was no one at that time other than us hence we got the golden opportunity to explore every room and caretaker was sweet enough to let us choose our rooms.We freshened up and were too lazy to go out for lunch; hence we utilized the kitchen area and prepared Maggie and coffee over induction.
Later, in the evening we went to Miramar beach but the sun was already set and all we could see was the black sea with huge white waves. On our way back, we went a Dmart (sort of) and was amazed to see a separate section containing all a variety of wines! We took some stuff for the next day’s breakfast because, why not if you have got such a cool kitchen as a complimentary.
We had to check out from the wonderful bungalow of Goa the next day as we were moving to some more cooler apartment. But before that, we had a super tasty breakfast of half-boiled egg and bread! The second property that we went to, was much cooler than the first. It was an independent 1 bhk cute apartment booked through Oyo and that too in Dona Paula.
That evening, we went to explore the Panjim market (Panjim and Dona Paula shops close by 9.00 pm). I was simply walking behind my friend, he was crossing a small fence; I tried to do the same but…. before I could understand what happened, I found myself lying on the ground! My friend turned back suddenly and the people there gathered to pick me up. My right knee hurt a lot; I wasn’t able to get up properly. I managed to sit somewhere in the market and was crying like a baby when I saw blood coming out of my knee.
It was 9th November when this happened to me and 10th was my birthday My friends tried to cheer me up but I was in no mood to do so. When we reached our apartment, they locked me up in a bedroom and told me to sleep and relax till midnight (as they needed the hall for the decoration..aww!!). I put some Dettol and then went for sleep as I had nothing to do. At 11.45 pm, I started getting calls for birthday wishes and was fully awake till midnight. I knocked the door and reminded them that it was my birthday but they were taking their own time (the funny part is, I could hear the loud bursting of the balloon as they were blowing it!). Finally at 12.30 am, the door opened and I saw candles and balloons all around me! They burst a balloon and put sparkles all over me as I walked for the cake. I felt very special at that moment as I could see the efforts put by those guys. Thanks to the independent apartment that my friends could do such beautiful decoration.
If you are curious to know what happened on my birthday and what all fun we had there for 6 whole days, please go through my blog on https://smalltravellingbag.com/birthday-planned-in-goa....
