Lounging in Agonda, Goa

‘Goa’, the word that evokes so many emotions in all us Indians. The place of warm waters, of beaches, of palm trees, of fun, of relaxation. Of something different than India, in India. Its interesting that the state still has a fuzzy effect on us all. I always think if I live in India, I would like to be in Goa, with its chill holiday charm all year long.

View from our bungalow

This was my fifth visit to Goa and as usual, every visit has been different. The feel of different parts of the state are different, and I am still discovering all its varying vibes. (Staying in the forests of Goa is still on my to-dos, but the beaches have such a strong allure that the forests keep getting deprioritised, every time). 

This time we decided to stay at a south Goa beach, Agonda (well to be honest, it was one of the few places we could find on the beach given we were booking so late!). Agonda is not on the most popular beaches list, so it was relatively quiet and authentic. We had booked a room in one of the many small setups lining the beach. And the holiday turned out to be just what we expected – relaxed, slow and rustic.

We landed at Panjim, and rented a car from there to drive to our beach. The person whose car we took looked shady. He gave us his car without much paperwork, and we still think it may have been a stolen one. We were never able to figure out who was the owner of the car, as every time a different person spoke to us on the phone 😁.

The drive south was through lot of greenery, palm trees and in between passing through small villages. The roads were quite narrow and traffic was mostly single lane, slow traffic. Though at times we were on some highway with better roads. We drove through many local villages full of old churches. And I loved the old colourful houses lining the roads all through. Life in these villages feels so rural, so different than what we imagine the touristy Goa to be like, the contrast is quite stark.

Rustic Goa

Agonda beach is next to the village where the locals live. They seem to be involved in fishing looking at the number of boats there. When we parked our car, it felt like we were inland, with small rivers around. Nothing about it seemed fancy. But when we got to the beach, it was different. 

Our bungalow

The beach is lined with beach huts all along. They are all small enterprises, probably by people living in the village. Each one got a small piece of land on the beach and has built their own huts and bungalows to rent out to tourists. And in between the bungalows are loads of restaurants. Most of the restaurants are open air, and people sit inside or on the beach for dinner. This beach had enough tourists but not too many.

We were staying at Agonda beach villas, in a sea-facing bungalow. It was a single room, simply furnished but very comfortable. And we had an open bathroom, with no roof! That’s always so unnerving. We had a balcony overlooking the sea, where I sat most of the time unless it got too hot to be there. Though on a crowded beach, we always felt close to nature, as we had many palm trees all around. And we heard the sounds of birds, (and lot of crows) all day long.

Agonda beach

In the evening, we went for a long walk on the beach at sunset. We have an amazing Goan fish dinner at Simrose and then walked back all the way. And then we slept to the sound of the waves all night long. It was quite loud actually.

Agonda beach

The morning was still warm but the sun was fogged out every morning. And there were many cows and dogs on the beach. It looks like at night, all the local animals come and sleep on the beach. And leave during the day when the tourists arrive. It was quite a sight actually, I have never seen so many animals on a beach like this.

Goan huts

We had plans to do many things in Goa, including check out some holiday homes to buy. But there is something in the air of Goa that all plans go out of the window and you end up just ‘being’. Our first day, we chilled on the balcony and then went out for a walk in the neighbouring village. We just walked wherever the road took us and it was such a surreal experience.

Goan huts

Walking through a village with colourful bungalows, yellow, orange, pink, blue all along the road. Every house was huge, surrounded by palm trees and had a garden with loads of flowers and fruit trees. And everywhere there was so much undergrowth, tropical vegetation and all. And it felt like such a good life, what we all aspire for. Living in a warm place, with nature, forests, hills and beaches around. Sigh. It did get too hot too quickly, so we walked back to the AC in our bungalow and enjoyed a Goan siesta all afternoon. In the evening, we again just walked on the beach and ate at a local restaurant, the Mariposa. The food here wasn’t as good as the previous day though.

Palolem beach

The next day was the Cricket World Cup final between India and Australia and all morning we spent finding a good beach sports club to watch the match. We finally found the Big Bull bar on Palolem beach and drove there to watch the match. The beach has changed now, it’s become happening and commercial. When I had last visited in 2009, it was still slow and relaxed. But now it is lined with eating joints, hotels and crowded with people. It was tough to drive there and find a parking spot. But we managed.

Anyways the highlight of the day was the cricket match which wasn’t going our way. We watched half the match there and dejected, came back to Agonda. When some wickets went our way, we found ourselves at the Coco Nest watching the rest of the match with the local crowd. It was a nice experience to watch a match sitting outside, but the match result didn’t go our way, and so the excitement waned. So we came back dejected to our rooms, still not believing that after beating everyone convincingly throughout the series, we lost so badly in the finals.

Bliss

Anyways the next day was our last day in Goa. I went for a last swim in the sea, and was surprised to see that the water was warm even in the morning. (After living in Europe for so long, warm waters in the morning seem like an impossibility). After the swim, it was time to return to the hustle bustle of city life. As always, it was quite a relaxed time we had in Goa. And to the next time…