Team bonding- Goa Trip (Nov 11-13, 2011)

November 15, 2011

Team bonding- Goa Trip (Nov 11-13, 2011)

Portuguese style villa

Goa coastline

Quintessential Goa

Goa doesn’t need any formal introductions. Swaying palms, white sands and sparkling waters, beautiful cathedrals, friendly locals, great food and cocktails etc are elements that attract huge number of visitors to Goa, from all over the world. I don’t know about the rest but I always discover some new facet to Goa whenever I go back to visit this exquisite place. The influence of Portuguese colonial rule can still be seen everywhere: in the exquisite architecture; in the East-meets-West cuisine which combines coconut milk, palm vinegar and chilies, in the melancholy strains of ‘fado’ and in the more relaxed, laid-back attitude towards life (susegad). Mithun also talked about an afternoon siesta time in Goa when folks drink a peg prior to their afternoon nap. Indulging in an afternoon nap is a similar trait which exists in Kerala as well. Local folks take a break during afternoon hours which is such a rarity in big cities where all hours of the day spells money.

shacks at the beach

Church- Old Goa

Carnival

Palolem Beach

Beach

This trip was in ‘planning’ phase since 2010. It never reached the ‘execution’ phase in the past as there was no major consensus on either dates or location for travel. Finally, we managed to put it all together as a team. A large chunk of responsibility for planning was on Mithun as he had a fairly good idea about Goa since his wife’s origins are from this lovely place. I should give him the credit for doing a fantastic job of getting together the plan and the financials involved for the same. Mithun was extremely meticulous about the whole affair. He collated all the required information about accommodation, travel and food charges. After that task, he made a list of financials along with Deep, Hemant & Sid. Once done, he forwarded the list for Angela’s (our boss) approval. I think that the consensus of team mattered a lot in this whole endeavor. There were many folks who wanted to get their family along. Our main concern was for the kids who’d have to live in a changed environment and hence wanted to ensure that they were the top priority in all the decisions about the stay. Finally, we had 12 folks who were all set to travel to Goa to ‘eat, drink and make merry'.

Mithun n Saharsh Baba

Saharsh, Deep n Neha

Mithun is good at finding places which are cheap but at the same time, they would prove to be good value for money. He did his usual online search for finding one such place in Goa and came up with Rommel's blog on his villa and the amenities within the same. More details on the villa were found at the website which is http://villasingoa.blogspot.com/.Rommel forwarded all the details about his villa via email. He also warned about the limited water supply that's available at the villa. Overall, the presentation of the villa at the website seemed decent to all of us. It was also situated near to the Colva beach which was another incentive to decide on this location. I enjoyed our formal team meetings and discussions about the Goa trip, as much as the trip itself. It seemed like a project with specified timelines, diverse stakeholders and umpteen constraints. I was expecting Mithun & Sid/Hemant to come up with a DAIR file (dependencies, assumptions, issues, risks) as well, considering the intensity of their intellectual discussions :) We can never forget our professional training even while planning for a leisure trip. LOL! At some point of time, we were all set to give up as there were diverse opinions and there was no consensus on the mode/hours of travel. But finally, all of it came through and it was decided to travel to Goa during the morning hours.

Mumbai team (Mithun, Deep, Neha, Saharsh, Sangeeta) had to travel to Pune and meet up with the rest of the team members (Sid and family, Hemant and family, Rajesh, Goldie, Angela, Swati) at the highway. Once there, we had to drive via the Kolhapur highway and via Nepani route to reach Goa. Mithun wanted to ensure that the driving via Amboli Ghat was done during the day as it was dangerous to maneuver the car via the narrow roads during night hours. As usual, Mumbai team found time to stop for breakfast at McDonalds. We were already in a holiday mood and it’s obvious that food and holiday go hand in hand :) Saharsh Baba was enjoying his ride. He seemed pretty adjusted, despite the loud banter and music being played in the car. We met up with the team at a roadside hotel named ‘mama's kitchen’. None of us wanted to eat over there because it served vegan ‘thali’ and most didn't have an appetite for a huge meal. So we continued with our journey. Our next stop was at Mac again. We seemed to be endorsing ‘junk' food with our frequent visits to this eatery. LOL! Once the eating and photo sessions were done, it was a long drive to our destination. I won’t go into too many details about the unknown routes and additional hours that got added into the journey. Too often we are so preoccupied with the destination, we forget the journey. Finally, ‘to arrive’ is what matters:) I have a ‘halo’ over my head now:) But on a serious note, I thoroughly enjoyed the laughter and the bonding that happened with the individuals who were part of this journey. Rest is inconsequential!!!

We reached Goa at around 11 pm. In Goa, finding a restaurant after 11 pm is a herculean task as most hotels would lower their shutters by then. But we found ‘O Coqueiro’ which is a delightful Goan restaurant that’s located on the Mapusa-Panaji highway, in a village called Porvorim.

O'Coqueiro

The place is brightly lit especially at night and you can't miss its sign board right on the main road. O' Coqueiro (pronounced as oo-cu-ke-ru) is the Portuguese word for coconut tree. The restaurant is housed in an old Portuguese-style ancestral bungalow. It’s a place where you can indulge in some fiery Goan cuisine. There’s also some interesting history connected to this place. The O' Coqueiro signature table mat features a brief history of the restaurant. Besides the cuisine, it touches on the restaurant's other claim to fame, the re-arrest of French serial killer Charles Sobhraj who escaped from Tihar Jail, in 1986. The story gives insight on how Sobhraj who had a weakness for chicken cafreal was tucking into his dinner at O' Coqueiro on April 6, 1986 and he was nabbed by the Bombay police during this time. I dug into some of their awesome Goan fish curry with an accompaniment of rice. It’s the most awesome dish to relish, while in Goa. There was chicken cafreal, fried fish and Indian bread. Since I wasn’t concentrating on any of the vegan dishes, I am unable to describe the minute details. But from what I heard from Deep, the mushroom dish was exquisite. Once our belly got sated, we moved towards the villa. We got the keys from Rommel and explored the rooms at the villa. Firstly, the two families were accommodated in separate rooms. Then the rest of us got divided into rooms based on gender. ‘Gender divide’ is good at times. The ladies got to keep the AC room. LOL! The nights are pretty cool in Goa. I can’t state the same for the day. It’s awfully hot and humid.

Chicken cafreal

Next day, the plan was to go to ‘Opa’ River. Prior to that, we travelled to a restaurant named ‘Canapé’ for breakfast. They had a good spread of rolls and burgers. The vegan menu was passé and this did get some of our group members irritated as there wasn’t much on the list. Once breakfast was done, some of us stepped out to have some coconut water. Tender coconuts with sweet water are pretty expensive in Goa. The reason is that most folks like to sell the coconuts once they are fully formed and probably, they are not available in abundance while in tender form.

Goldie at Canape

Deep with Saharsh

Mother and child :)

Opa is situated at a remote place. It’s surrounded with greenery and scenic beauty that’s pretty rustic and I guess it remains this way because people have yet to discover this lake as a known tourist spot. Thank god for small mercies! We had the whole lake to ourselves. Mithun and Ronita had planned a lovely picnic lunch for all of us which consisted of fried butter garlic squids, rice, fish curry, prawn curry and veg. curry. We carried some bottles of Breezers and beer as well. Once we reached, most of us wanted to get into the river as soon as possible. The water was clear and inviting. The level wasn’t dangerously high. Under the sparkling water, little fish tickle your feet. Ronita labels this experience as the best 'feet spa' that you can get for free. The fish eat away the dead skin under your feet and hence, this is a therapeutic indulgence. Some of the team folks didn’t want to get themselves wet as they didn’t have a change of clothing. I did realize that I wasn’t carrying another pair but what the heck…the water was too tempting and tantalized me to get closer :) I just gave into the urge and got entirely wet. Sometimes, it is fine to get lured and let go of your inhibitions. Yeah…you do end up looking like a wet rat after...but any which ways, we weren’t there for any beauty contest which required us to look picture perfect at all times. We were on HOLIDAY!!! :)

Once done, we went back to the villa as most of us were tired and needed to get into some dry clothes. Angela wanted to go to visit the ‘Basilica of Bom Jesus’ Church.

I was in two minds. Amongst Hindus, it’s improper to enter temples without taking a proper bath and wearing fresh clothes. But like Angela stated, you can enter any place of worship if you have a clean heart. God only checks that. I do believe that I have one. LOL! So I went with the group. This church is my all time favorite place to visit while I am at Goa. It has such a beautiful history behind it. The ‘Basilica of Bom Jesus’ is more than 400 years old and is open to the public every day. It houses the tomb and the mortal remains of the St. Francis Xavier; the patron saint of Goa. The body of St. Francis Xavier is kept in a well-decorated casket, which can be seen in the photographs below. Solemn exhibitions of the 'body' are held every ten years. This is one of the oldest churches in Goa, as well as in India. The floor is of marble inlaid with precious stones. Apart from the elaborate gilded altars, the interior of the church is simple. The church also holds paintings of scenes taken from the life of St. Francis Xavier. Construction work on the church began in 1594 and the church was consecrated in May of 1605 by the archbishop, Dom Fr. Aleixo de Menezes. (Information courtesy- Wikipedia). We had a wonderful time at the church. My mind is at peace whenever I visit any place of worship. What more could you ask for in life!!!

Coffin where St Francis Xavier rests

Angela's ice cream frenzy :)

There was a short visit to the ice-cream vendor after the church visit was complete. I took some lovely snaps of colleagues enjoying their ice-cream. There’s a child in all of us. The snaps prove the same. LOL!!

In Love forever :)

Dinner was at 'Martin’s corner'. 'Martins Corner' Restaurant, Goa is situated just off Betalbatim beach. 'Martins Corner' is probably one of Goa’s best known restaurants. Amazing food, great ambience, fantastic cocktails and good service makes this a popular joint to visit while at Goa.

Three is company!! :)

Karaoke nights are fun at this place. I’d recommend this place to any visitor who wants to visit Goa. Our group got divided into veggies and non veggies for convenience sake. The intention of this division was to ensure that the religious sentiments of all were respected while in a group. As usual, I tucked into some Goan delicacies like Pork Assad, butter garlic squids and some other dishes whose Goan names, I cannot recollect. My weak memory may be due to the awesome Mojito that was blended to perfection. LOL! I don’t know as to why the cocktails taste great at Goa. Maybe it’s the sea breeze. :) There was a promo happening for 'Captain Morgan'. So we had a guy who came in the attire of a sea captain and had 2 of his 'muse' along with him. He cracked some jokes, got a little too cheeky with our boss, distributed a hat and T-shirt to boss and colleague and then some free rum and coke came our way. Mithun dunked most of the rum & coke as most of us didn’t like the taste of this mixture. He was in high spirits that night... but that’s Mithun for you! He and his family were good company. Once dinner was done, there were photo sessions again. As stated by Brigitte Bardot, a photograph can be an instant of life captured for eternity that will never cease looking back at you! So keeping that in mind, we put on our best faces for the camera.

Making castles on the ground

At night, we went to Colva beach. As usual, clumsy ‘me’ was on the verge of losing my cell phone. But fortunately, I found it on the ground near to the car. Whew!!! That was a close encounter. There were photo sessions that happened at the beach. Walking through the white sands gives you a very carefree feeling. It’s even better when you have friends to walk along with you. Anytime is ice-cream time for us. So there was another round of ice-creams for all.

Next day, we had breakfast at ‘Leonoras’. I know it seems like we have been eating away to glory while at Goa. But ponder well on this point…”the pleasant hours of our life are all connected by a more or less tangible link, with some memory of the table.” “One cannot think well, love well, and sleep well, if one has not dined well." That’s not me citing the same. Those are some quotes that I borrowed. LOL! Leonoras had decent breakfast items on their menu.

After the meal, we moved towards Calangute beach. The beach was crowded and less pristine as compared to the beaches in South Goa. There’s a lot of scope for water sports and other activities while at this beach. It’s one of the designated tourist spots. That explains the crowd here. Once there, we shopped around for small mementos and other items for the family.

Souza Lobo

We visited Souza Lobo for lunch. The website of the restaurant states this…” If Calangute Beach is the best known feature of Calangute, Souza Lobo is the best known feature of Calangute Beach". I would agree to that! Souza Lobo is a large, airy, well laid out restaurant, with an un-fussy rustic charm. They get their décor just by being next to the blue sea, the breeze and the sound of the waves. At night they put tables out on the beach under the star-spangled sky. It’s a whole new experience with live music that’s so infectious that most of the guests dance the night away before and after their meal. Most of us were not hungry during the afternoon hours as the heat had dampened our appetites. But we needed to order something just to gain a taste of 'Souza', before leaving Calangute. So we did order some rice and Sorpotel, fish fillets with salad and fries, ice cream and Bibinca (a Goan sweet made of potatoes). That's a huge menu for those with less appetite. Most of it did get wasted..but we didn't leave any of the dishes untouched.

Infantaria

Some of the gang had gone to another famous restaurant in Calangute named 'Infantaria'.The food was fabulous as per Deep. It's on my to-do list for the future.

The guys also found time to be at shacks while we went shopping. From what i heard, the agenda was beer/babes/bikinis.I guess they didn't get much time to do their 'bird-watching'.LOL! A pending activity on their to-do list as well.

In the evening, we visited a restaurant named ‘ Tavir’. The food was ok. More than the food, I enjoyed the banter with the team. To be fair, the ‘screwdriver’ was great as well.LOL

Next day was spent in travelling back to Mumbai. It was fun to stop at Amboli Ghat and have breakfast. They had vada pav, hot ginger tea, onion bhajiyas and Omelet-pav on their menu. It was a very rustic environment to stand and have food. The Ghats are deceitfully beautiful. The umpteen monkeys at the Ghats are a sight worth waiting for.

Once we reached Kolhapur, we parted ways with the Pune team and drove to Mumbai city. That was the end of our long awaited break. I haven't mentioned some of the funny incidents like Deep dropping his mobile in the gutter, the chai sessions and other teeny weeny details that will remain with me as 'memories'. It's just some snippets of the journey that were captured in this article.

Until I travel next….. :)