Soft Sand and Clear Water

I lay, the soft sand slipping through my toes as tiny transparent fishes nibbled the dead skin from my feet. The warm water ebbed and flowed over me as I raised a hand to shield my eyes from the sun - gazing into the cool blue of the cloudless sky, at drifting seabirds. The only sounds to reach me were the lapping of waves and the few beach merchants many yards off. I let the crystal clear water flow over me, and relaxed. Later I walked the few yards back from the beach, then, having bathed, dressed, and experiencing hunger pangs, I hailed a yellow and black Bajaj auto-rickshaw from outside my Candolim resort and decided to take breakfast of some of the best Dosas in Goa - at the excellent Plantain Leaf vegetarian restaurant, in Calangute. True to type there was a constant clientele, mostly locals; for even the most intrepid holiday makers hadn’t managed to find this upstairs Indian vegetarian haven, yet. I was able to take my fill of upma, dosa and even managed a soft, spiced vadai washed down with traditional Indian Chai (tea), comfortable in the knowledge that those preferring staid western fare were elsewhere, and those with hangovers still abed. And there, in a proverbial nutshell, you have Goa. From the razzle dazzle of Anjuna Flea Market, the all night parties of Baga, to the soothing sands and mellow waves of Candolim beach - India’s Goa has become one of the most ideal getaway destinations, whether, like me, you were there to chill or to let your hair down and party. For 450 years – from 1510 to 1961, Goa remained a Portuguese colony, and until today remains strongly influenced by its past links to Portuguese culture. From profound culinary influences to flamboyant house styles, and the predominance of Christianity - demonstrated in the magnificent churches of old Panaji, the Portuguese influence is still plainly evident. Lying on the western side of India and virtually cut-off from the rest of the sub-continent by the Sahyadari Ghats, Goa is lapped by the Arabian Sea and is a perfect escape for business people wishing to relax and take life at a slightly slower pace, or for those who want to throw caution to the gentle winds and party all night – the essence of Goa is its amicable flexibility. The staple diet of most Goans is fish curry (Xitt Codi). But epicurean Goa is known for more than that, and has become famous for a wide range of meat and seafood dishes, including its infamously hot Vindaloo, or Carne de Vinha d’Alhos - vin, for wine and ahlo the Portuguese word for garlic. Nowadays vinegar is substituted for wine in this Goan signature dish made with dried Kashmir chillies. At night, with stars sparkling out of the warm canopy of night, you can catch a slow taxi down to the northern beaches, and dine on some of the very best fresh sea food in the world. Most nightly restaurants serve fish and seafood, freshly caught that day and delivered to the eatery by the industrious early morning fishermen. Looking out at the Arabian Sea reflecting restaurant lights, you can order the succulent Prawn Xeque Xeque cooked with tomatoes, chillies, coconut milk and of course prawns, or savour the slightly sour Shark Ambot Tik. Drinkers can follow the meal with sweet Goan wine, tasting more like Sherry, or Port than wine, or the adventurous can down a Feni or two. Feni is a powerful local Goan drink fermented either from cashew nuts, or from coconuts. In reality coconut Feni is really toddy, so it is true to say that only real Feni is made from cashews. One bright Goan day I went up into the hills, on a tour of cashew orchards. Dotted along the orchards are Feni stills. Many look deserted but nevertheless are still operating, dribbling out pure Feni, fermented from the cashew fruit. The word Feni means froth, and the spirit was first distilled in Goa not long after the Portuguese had started to grow the Brazilian imported trees, about 400 years ago, and have been eagerly drinking Feni ever since. Apart from lounging on convenient beaches, eating incredible sea food and wandering fruit orchards, Goa has a fair trade in clothing and manufactured metal statuettes, from the tiny palm sized images of Ganesha, to two foot tall statues of Buddha. Cloth, clothing and Indian made tourist, bric-a-brac are mostly brought into Goa during the tourist season by trades people from other states. The main focus for these traders is the Arjuna Flea Market, which incidentally you can reach either by road – bus, taxi, or by a sea taxi from Calangute, which is infinitely more fun. Ever since the 1960s ‘Hippie’ invasion of Goa, the Anjuna Flea Market has grown exponentially. Begun as a way of trading off unwanted items and gaining enough money to stay on in Goa, the vibrant, exciting market has since encompassed all manner of traders. Many itinerant traders hail from more northern climes, like Rajasthan and Gujarat, selling all forms of Indian merchandise from incense sticks to the aforementioned statuettes, which tend to be difficult to carry on airplanes. For those who have time to travel around Goa, apart from beaches and markets there are cooling waterfalls, small, and large towns and of course the capital Panaji. Panaji, or Panjim as it was called before the Indian assumption of Goa in the 1960s, is the capital of Goa and it is from there that travellers can take moonlight trips up the Mandovi river, serenaded by Goan Konkani music. But for me, it is the beaches. Miles and miles of soft sand, clear water and the sort of ambience you can only get in Goa. Tourist season is October to February. Calangute, especially, can get very crowded, not only by foreign holiday makers, but by Bombayites too. After March tourism drops off due to the heat, and the monsoons arrive between June and September.