My Goan Chronicles

 

Sunset at the Baga Beach

This October end we decided to visit Goa with the whole family. We left for Goa from the Delhi International airport via Indigo airlines at about 11;40 a.m. and landed in Goa at 2:00 p.m. We had pre-booked two self-drive vehicles which we used to reach the Red Fox Hotel at Morjim at about 5:00 p.m. The first day was spent checking out the hotel, taking a dip in the swimming pool and enjoying some of the delectable dishes conjured by Santosh Otsi, the master chef for dinner. One of the dishes that stood out was the traditional Goan Prawn curry. Later in the night, we visited Morjim beach, which unfortunately we couldn't enjoy since it was rather dark.

Morjim Beach post Sunset

The next day, on the 21st  we decided to visit the Chapora Fort followed by the Chapel of St. Catherine Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assisi's Cathedral. Unfortunately, the Basilica of Bom Jesus was not open to the public. Both of the structures are incidentally adjacent to each other. The Chapora Fort is an ancient structure of which only the outer walls remain. The view, however from the walls of the fort is amazing as one can see the Vagator Beach and another one that I haven't been able to identify.

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The view from the ramparts of the Chapora Fort

St. Catherine's Church

On the 22nd of October, we visited Baga Beach and Panjim. We managed to do some shopping at Panaji. At Panaji, we were able to visit the Pro Nobis Church. Panaji is the capital of Goa and all the important building and offices are located here. One of them read Administration of Comunidades, Central Zone, Panjim, Goa. Another building had the title, Jesuit House and the one adjacent to it had the title, Clube Vasco Da Gama Est. 1909. Yet another interesting structure was the Ashoka pillar in central park where the lions replace the bust of Vasco Da Gama after Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule in 1968.

Pro Nobis Church, Panaji

The Ashoka Pillar, Panaji

Baga Beach happens to be one of the most happening beaches in Goa. A large number of tourist visit the beach. It also happens to be joined to Calangute Beach. One can see a large number of water sports activities taking place here. At the edge of Baga Beach, one comes across Tito Lane. Tito incidentally was an entrepreneur who was born in Mombasa and settled in Goa. He opened up a place where hippies and expatriots could gather in 1971.

Baga Beach

Baga Beach

Tito's Lane

Baga Beach

Baga Beach

On the 23rd we planned to enjoy some water sports activities at Vagator Beach. I went parasailing while the others went water skiing or else just wet their feet in the surf.

Jet Skiing at Vagator Beach

Parasailing at Vagator Beach

We decided not to go anywhere on the 24th of October, instead, we got up early in the morning and prepared for our return trip. The back to the Dabolim airport took us a good one and a half hours from Morjim. Our flight to Delhi took off at 3:25 p.m. and we landed in Delhi at 5:45 p.m. On the way to the airport, I was able to photograph a few rusting hulks.

A Rusting Hulk close to the airport

A special thanks to Santosh Osti and the staff of Red Fox Hotel by Lemon Tree at Morjim for the wonderful hospitality offered to us. We spent quite a good time at the hotel when we were not sightseeing. The food was excellent, the swimming pool was clean and best of all, the hotel was merely 800 metres from Morjim Beach.

Basa Fish cooked the Goan way at the Red Fox Hotel

Santosh Osti, Chief Chef conjures a delectable dish

He knows the art of creating paper-thin dosas

The swimming pool at the Red Fox Hotel by Lemon Tree, Morjim

I am sharing below a few photographs taken from the planes on which we were travelling and of the airports we visited. The T-3 terminal at the Delhi Airport was better than the T-2 terminal. Our flights by Indigo were very comfortable both times.

T-3 terminal, Delhi

On board the Indigo flight to Goa

At Dabolim Airport on the way back to Delhi

Dabolim Airport on the way back home

On the way back home

A 320 Neo aircraft parked on the apron

A view of Goa seen from a height

Peekaboo - A Juvenile Owl at The Sultanpur National Park

A Curious Owl at the Sultanpur National Park

Just yesterday, when I visited the Sultanpur National Park (a Ramsar site) close to Gurgaon, I was in for a surprise when I spotted a juvenile owl, that too at the end of the tour looking at me with a lot of curiosity. I wondered who was more surprised, the owl or me. 

A Juvenile Owl peeps out of its nest

While initially, it stood still, after some time, however, it slipped into its nest, a hollow tree trunk, from which it would slyly peep out to see whether I was still there. This game went on for some time before even I decided to move and let the owl some privacy.

It is surprising how thin and stick-like owls are under their feathers. Their feathers give the Owls their rather plumped-up appearance. I realised this when I photographed what seemed to be a rather bedraggled and wet-looking owl. I guess the backlighting made the owl look rather thin. 

 Owls are stick thin beneath their feathers 

Bhimtal - A Hill Station where the Clouds kiss the Lake

Boating on the Bhimtal Lake

Bhimtal is a hill station located below Nainital in the state of Uttarakhand. It is a less crowded and pleasant place especially as you don't have as many people visiting it as Nainital. Accommodation can be found thanks to homestays, Airbnb, and OYO. These can be found until Mehra Gaon; that is if you don't find a hotel in Bhimtal itself. Mehra Gaon is five kilometres away from Bhimtal.

Bhimtal lies at a distance of about 300 kilometres from Delhi and 335 kilometres from Gurgaon. The highways are mostly well-maintained expressways where you can easily cruise at speeds ranging from 80kmph to 100 K.M.P.H. The Hapur by-pass expressway on the outskirts of Ghaziabad has a speed limit of 100, although I rarely find anyone doing more than 80.

We left Gurgaon on the second of October, more so to attend my niece's destination wedding. While the roads from Gurgaon to Bhimtal were pretty good, there were a few patches after Moradabad that needed cautious negotiations. We started at 5:30 a.m. and reached our resort, the Royal Court House at Mehra Gaon at 3:00 p.m. having covered 348.6 kilometres from Gurgaon.

What to do at the Bhimtal Lake

The best things to do at Bhimtal include trekking and hiking, catching up with your sleep, general lazing off, spending time with your family, connecting with nature, and, of course visiting the Bhimtal lake, buying candles, having lots of hat Maggi, boating, and visiting the Aquarium Cafe which is on an island in the middle of the Bhimtal lake. One might even sit quietly on the Dam top watching the clouds waft in, literally kissing the surface of the lake.

Sitting by the lakeside, looking at the ducks drift by

An exotic fish at the aquarium at Bhimtal

An exotic fish at the aquarium at Bhimtal

Exotic fishes at the aquarium at Bhimtal

A private moment

Perhaps Zorbing on the Lake might be a good thing to do!

Places to visit while at Mehra Gaon

Mehra Gaon lies in between Bhimtal and Bhowali Gaon. Mehra Gaon is a stop where you can stay at hotels, Airbnb and homestays. Bhowali Gaon is above Mehra Gaon. I was part of a group of people attending a destination wedding and I was able to capture a few photographs in both places. We stayed at Mehra Gaon at the Royal Court Ananda Express homestay hotel which provided all the amenities including a gym.

A Game of Pool at the Royal Court Ananda Express Homestay

A Game of Pool at the Royal Court Ananda Express Homestay

Watching the Sun rise while on a trek in Mehra Gaon

A township viewed while on a trek in Mehra Gaon

Since our visit was a destination wedding that took place at Bhowali, I took photographs of an old church built in 1940. It is called the Church of the Three Friends and was dedicated by David Howard, Charlotte Leonara Tate, and George Passman Tate on Sunday, the 5th of May 1940.

The Altar of the Three Friends Church

The Three Friends Chruch at Bhowali