Goa, not just a party place

Goa is a western Indian state that stretches along the coast of the Arabian Sea, and it’s famous for its endless palm-tree lined beaches and quite trendy as a place for uninhibited partying and drug experimenting. So I heard.

This real-life Shangri-La first attracted the Portuguese sailors and traders, while nowadays rave culture lovers, American hippies, yoga and Ayurveda aficionados and Russian wild youth seem to be the new conquerors of the region.

The sandy beaches are clean and calm, and you can pick any one of them, they melt into one another anyhow and are all equally gorgeous. The seawater is clear, refreshing, tepid and swimmable. After you deal with the offers of occasional “influencers” from the local pub shacks, who routinely offer you cold Kingfisher beer and marijuana, to begin with, dip into the sea and enjoy being blissfully alone in the water.

Later you will probably realize that the reason for the fact that some parts of the beach are crammed with people while your selected spot is so tranquil, has to do with the fact that swimming there is not allowed, but hey…you are an overly enthusiastic Western tourist and don’t know any better.  No harm done…but do cake yourself with a ridiculously thick coat of sunscreen. The sun is scorching, and my burned feet will remember it for a long time.

However enchanting the beaches and lazing around might be, pull yourself away and explore the magical little places in the vicinity, and do it on the back of a scooter if possible. How can you not want to immerse yourself in the colourful thread of culture, commerce, antiquity and adventure, in places called Margao or Vasco da Gama? You simply need to hear the music of the area that effortlessly spills onto the streets, and you must follow in the footsteps of the greatest voyagers of their time. It has to be done. In the same way that you know that your life can never be complete unless you step into the very same St. Paul’s Cathedral where the magnificent John Donne used to preach. But that’s a story for another time… ?

The cities of Goa are full of unbelievably delicate and intricate, baroque churches and cathedrals, the standing proof of the missionary zeal of the early Jesuit visitors to the region. Interestingly enough, the interiors of the churches always resemble the insides of a huge ship, with its ribbed ceilings and tiny portholes. Makes sense, if we come to think how the lives of the travellers at the time were completely at the mercy of the sea’s whimsical nature. The ship was the only thing to save them from demise. When they landed safely and finished their passage across the volatile sea, they must have wanted to pay their respects and venerate the fragile shell that kept them in one piece. All hail the holy vessel of life!

The sunsets in Goa are spectacular, but you don’t expect anything less by now. Stroll along the beach and watch the bursts of colours melting into one another. Have a bite or two of the most delicious fish in the world, called the Red Snapper in a local, non-profit restaurant.

Slowly savour a cup of tea by the pool, while watching the local fishermen wading through the shallow water and trying to catch into their nets some rare sea creature that probably appears only under the moonlight in this paradise called Goa. Hope to go back, einmal ist keinmal indeed when it comes to Goa.

Disclaimer: No one raved, took drugs or did any yoga whatsoever in the making of this post. Hence, it’s possible to enjoy Goa on your own terms, far from the madding crowd. Go to Goa.