Incredible India is their tagline these days and our trip, while short, was not necessarily 'incredible', but definitely colorful, eye opening and overall enjoyable. Thankfully and surprisingly it wasn't an overwhelming, that 'in your face' India experience in which we expected when visiting for the first time.

Did you get sick?? Obviously the first question we got asked upon our return...and the answer was initially, no :) But eventually I think a diet full of curries caught up to us and about 3 days after our return......we had spoken to soon on this subject :)

We had just a short trip to Goa in India during Nick's spring break and found it a relaxing beach destination only 4 hours from Abu Dhabi. Unfortunately, we went via Mumbai and had to spend 8 very long hours in the Mumbai airport. I don't think we'll be doing that ever again. We didn't leave the airport as people said that while it seems like a lot of time, getting into the city with the traffic could leave you missing your flight and we didn't want that to happen.



As we took off from Mumbai to Goa, you could see a birds eye view of the many patches of makeshift houses, dilapidated shacks, the slums where many live there daily lives. Spread amongst were a few apartment blocks, but for the most part this is what surrounded the airport. I couldn't imagine living like this...

We arrived in Goa and were surprised by the lack of begging and there weren't too many touts around trying to sell you anything they could get your hands on, hassling you to no end, similar to our experiences in some parts of China. It was the end of the tourist season so we have a feeling a lot of people who work there had already left to their home towns until next season. It could be a very different experience during the peak season, but this was a perfect time to head there.

We enjoyed trying new Indian curries and had one or two each day, but we did manage to squeeze in a steak and an Italian dinner one night to change things up:) There definitely isn't a lack of eateries in Goa. From traditional Goan food to more modern Asian and Italian cuisine, they sure have a wide range at each one of the beach areas. The cheapest places we found to eat were on the beach at the shacks. These are restaurants that are set up each season and serve food and drinks. They all have names and provide service to you out at the beach during the day where you can lay on one of their chaise lounges. Funnily enough though our favorite meal in Goa was at a restaurant called Republic of Noodles and it was in our hotel and not Indian...go figure. Although, most of everything we ate was delicious!





Enough about food even if it's usually the highlight of any one of our vacations!

Over the 5 days we visited Anjuna market which is a weekly market held on Wednesdays and quite a colorful array of textiles, bags, spices an clothing. It wasn't too busy and since it was the last one of the year people were ready to haggle down to next to nothing! Again it's hard to bargain down a couple rupees when 50 rupees is only a $1.


To see the sights we hired a taxi driver we met on the street the first night for the next two days. His name was Shekar and was a really knowledgeable and more importantly a safe driver! For about $25/day he took us all around Goa. The first day we went to Old Goa where we walked through the beautiful old Portuguese churches. While under rule by the Portuguese for quite some time, remnants of it's past still remain in Goa which gives this place a special charm.




In the afternoon, we went to a cashew factory and you can't get cashews any cheaper or fresher than that! We also ate lunch at a spice plantation and took a tour learning about all the different spices used in Indian cooking. At the spice plantation we had a chance to take a ride on an elephant. We missed out chance while in Thailand so we thought we would make up for it here in India. It really didn't feel as authentic as it was in the parking lot of the spice plantation and to be honest I felt kind of sad for the elephant, but our taxi driver assured us the he was well taken care of!



The next day we headed up the coast to check out some of the other beaches and small villages with Shekar as he told us about more Goan history and lead on to the changes it has been facing throughout the years due to a tourism boom. He seems to think most are excited about the increase in travelers visiting Goa, but obviously it has it's ups and downs. One thing that surprised me was the number of Russian tourist travelling to Goa.




The last day and a half was spent at Candolim beach and a bit lounging by our hotel pool as Nick tried to get some color. The beaches are nice, but in comparison with the Caribbean or Oz, not amazing or truly beautiful. The water was quite warm and not incredibly clear. But at the end of the day it was still a beach a place where we just relaxed, had a few cocktails and enjoyed the sunset.




One of the highlights of the vacation was getting a ring made! I wanted a copy of the way too expensive Georg Jensen 'Fusion' ring and they said they would be able to do it for a whole lot less! In the end I really like it, although to be honest it's not an exact replica and could've been finished a little better around the edges which is too bad because I just don't think we gave them enough time to do their best. But for what we paid and what we got, an 18k white gold with .5 carat of diamonds, it was a pretty good deal!



We were surprised with the terrain of Goa, hills and valleys along the coast, very green, very pretty! There were rice fields and rivers leading out to the ocean, and cows in the country and on the village roads were all apart of this scenery. In the end though, one of the most visible sights was the amount of garbage scattered throughout this land. If only they could control the trash problem. Obviously there are people who don't care and there is a lack of proper disposal, but it does put a damper on views.



We definitely enjoyed our holiday and while lots of people go back to Goa each year as it's a nice, cheap holiday, not sure we will be back again. There's no doubt, we'll head back to India to see the Taj one day, but there are so many other 'beach destinations' we're looking forward to visiting in the future!