Goa Tips from a Goa Hater!

Hi Readers! How are you all? Since we are stepping into the holiday season, I thought of writing about my recent trip to Goa. Usually, Goa is everyone’s go-to travel destination. It’s a vacation to chill & relax. Staying in hotels that have a beach view is mandatory. So is drinking, partying & what not. Most people love these vibes. I gave Goa a try, not once, not twice, but four times now. And every time, it let me down. So, compiling all my bad experiences, I thought of writing about the things that you MUST DO in Goa to not hate it entirely.

~~THE COMPANY MATTERS~~

Now, I’m a pretty private person. I don’t like to talk much, with the exception of some 15 people. I hate partying. Drinking & smoking don’t interest me. But, I love beaches. I love to read. And, I love taking photos. So, for a person like me, ideally, I need to go to Goa with someone who is like me. If I go with friends who drag me into clubs or cruises, then obviously it won’t be an enjoyable experience for me. So, set your priorities. It can be anything!

You can stay in the hotel all of the days.

You can get high & drunk & wasted.

You can get scenic photos on the beach.

You can go sight-seeing like a tourist.

Your only agenda could be good food.

You can do all the above in Goa, but choose your company wisely & I cannot press on it enough. It really does matter. Be it friends or cousins or family or partner. You need what you need. So, think about that first & then go do what you want!

~~THE STAY~~

According to your priorities, you can plan the stay! If you don’t want to get out of the hotel at all, you can go for 5 star hotels which have their personal beach, infinity swimming pools, game rooms, spas & 5-star restaurant facility with room service. You get good food, good view & almost all the amenities that you need when on vacation.

If you want stunning beach photos, you got to research all the poses on Pinterest & Instagram, to be honest. Especially, if you are an awkward poser but still want good photos kind of a person.

Same goes for food. Check Youtube & Travel & Food Bloggers for restaurant recommendations!

I know this post is getting weird. You must be thinking, “I’m going to Goa to take a break from work & this lady is just asking me to get more work done, that too for a trip!” But, believe me, you will thank me later. After all, how can you chill if the hotel has drilling work on-going in the next room? How will you get Instagram-worthy photos if you just go there & do what pleases you. Nah. My mantra is research for everything! Most importantly, for trips. So, in a nutshell-

·        Stay where you have easy access to outside restaurants.

·        Stay at a walking distance from a 24/7 pharmacy for your midnight cravings for chips or your hunger swings or whatever.

·        Stay where you can rent a 2-wheeler easily. (More on this below)

·        Stay in a good hotel, instead of an AirBnB.

Ashvem Beach.

~~RENT A BIKE~~

I cannot state this enough. If you plan on doing even half a day’s worth of sight-seeing, rent a 2-wheeler. It is non-negotiable. Transport in Goa really sucks. There is no Ola or Uber. There is an app called Goa Miles launched by the Goa Government. It is good to take you from & to the Goa Airport or Railway station, but not at all reliable for local sight-seeing. I was aware about this, but because of really sucky circumstances, I couldn’t get a bike, which brings me to my utterly woeful stories of every time I have visited Goa.

~~MY UNFORTUNATE TALES OF GOA: TALE #1~~

So, here’s my story of my latest trip. I stayed at an AirBnB in Ashvem, which is the uppermost part of Goa. It took me about 3 hours to reach the place from the Airport. It was beach facing & also had shops to rent out 2 wheelers. (Didn’t I tell you, I do research? But here’s how research failed me this time.) But, the number of problems I faced at that apartment are too many to state. Also, it was not at all close to the top attractions in Goa. I knew this when I booked the place. But, I thought, I could easily go wherever I wanted with the rented 2-wheeler. What I didn’t know was the condition of roads which made everything impossible. It was impossible to go from Ashvem to Anjuna or to Old Goa & then all the way back to Ashvem. So, the next day I checked out & checked in to an OYO Hotel which was in Mapusa. This was closer to Anjuna beach, but still the location was so unfortunate that there was no shop nearby to rent a bike. So, I had to book cabs all the time (which were very fluctuating) & ended up spending a lot of money on local transport. This is why, it is CRUCIAL to book a hotel close enough & to rent a bike. You cannot survive in Goa without these two, let alone ‘CHILL’. 

Ashvem Beach.

~~MY UNFORTUNATE TALES OF GOA: TALE #2~~

I went to Goa some 2 or 3 years ago with a group of then-friends. And, conclusion to point one – The Company Matters, it completely sucked. Their interests did not align with mine & I had the worst possible trip of my life that time. So, I’m stating it again, choose your company wisely. You cannot go to such places with people you can just about tolerate or people who are two-faced or frenemies. You have to go with your closest people who know & can handle all your tantrums & whose tantrums you know & can handle. I think Goa will work for me ONLY if I went with my best friend Sukanksha. With anyone else, I just cannot imagine it.

~~MY UNFORTUNATE TALES OF GOA: TALES #3 & #4~~

These two times were when I went to Goa with my family when I was a kid. I didn’t like it even then. It was either too sunny for me or too dirty or too fishy. I hated the weather & more so hated the tour guides who dragged me & my family for all-day sight-seeing. I should’ve stopped then, but it is my bad habit to give people & places more chances than they deserve. But, fourth time is definitely the limit. 

View of Vagator Beach from Chapora Fort.

So, all in all, if you always go to Goa, you probably already knew this. But, all you young teenagers who haven’t seen the real world, I hope I painted the real picture for you. It’s not a vacation, if you are not you.

Until next time,

What to Explore – Day 2! (Jaipur Journals, Part 3)

Hi fellows! How are you all doing this last week of August!? It has been a lovely month & year so far! Having said that, check out the Part 1 & Part 2 of Jaipur Journals before reading this one! As I mentioned, Day 1 was a day with a lot of sight-seeing. Well, Day 2 wasn’t that different! It was probably more taxing but covering lesser places. Shall we begin?

In this post, I will cover the most famous places in Jaipur such as Hawa Mahal, City Palace, Jantar Mantar, Albert Hall Museum & Bapu Bazaar! I will also tell you all a bit about the places we skipped just so you are informed about ALL OF JAIPUR!










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~~HAWA MAHAL~~

Much to our misfortune, it was RAINING ALL DAY! Yes, it was frustrating! For 2 reasons; One – my shoes got wet & Two – I couldn’t take my camera with me. There are other reasons too such as ‘I have been wanting to visit Jaipur since years & when I finally get there, it is raining, nay, pouring on the day I am supposed to view the MAIN SPOTS IN JAIPUR! But, I won’t bore you with such reasons.

Picture it. 2 girls in front of the Hawa Mahal while it was POURING. Suruchi with her umbrella & I halfway inside her umbrella wearing a rain coat clicking photos with my mobile inside the umbrella & the umbrella making an appearance in the photo too. And when I tell Suruchi to hold the umbrella a bit upwards, rain starts coming in on my phone & then soon enough it gets windy with umbrella being reversed & upturned, leaving me, my phone, Suruchi, her phone all wet in a whole watery chaos! That’s how our day started! Lovely, ain’t it?

I didn’t let this upset me like it did on the day we had arrived in Jaipur. It was raining cats & dogs when we were in Jantar Mantar. It rained, I smiled through it. It poured, I danced through it. I’m not making shit up! I got pictures to prove it! But first, let’s focus on Hawa Mahal! We had allotted 1 hour for Hawa Mahal, which included taking photos from the front, doing a small tour inside it & lastly going at a café opposite Hawa Mahal to take our photos with the background of Hawa Mahal! Instead, we ended up doing the umbrella-rain-mobile circus mentioned above & moved on to City Palace in less than 15 minutes! If you visit Hawa Mahal, I insist you go to the cafes opposite it (Wind View Cafe / Tattoo Cafe & Lounge) to get the most scenic photos!

Check out some of the photos below but do not be too amazed. I had seen such fantastic photos of the place earlier, but when I actually saw Hawa Mahal, I was utterly disappointed! It does not look as grand as it looks in the photos. It looked like just another pink building in the Pink City. The mantra is to not be fooled by the photos & not have too many expectations!

Other Details:

·        5 minutes from City Palace.

·        Open from 9 AM to 4.30 PM.

·        Entry Fees – Rs. 50

·        Takes 45-50 minutes to explore.

~~CITY PALACE: PRITAM NIWAS CHOWK~~

The main spot in the lovely city of Jaipur is the City Palace. And, dare I say, also the most OVERRATED. There is A LOT TO SEE in City Palace, but they choose to show THE LEAST PART OF IT, while charging exorbitant rates for the MORE ROYAL places. I mean, you are literally the royals, why are the charges so high? This cannot be your only source of income!

First, we visited the Pritam Niwas Chowk which has the 4 seasonal gates namely The Lotus Gate (Summer), Green/Leheriya Gate (Spring), Rose Gate (Winter) & Peacock Gate (Monsoon.) From the inner courtyard, you can view the Chandra Mahal, where the King of Jaipur resides with his family. I think Suruchi & I spent at least 30-40 minutes at these Gates alone! I was looking forward to get amazing photos here & so I did! 

The Lotus Gate

Green/Leheriya Gate

Peacock Gate

Rose Gate

~~CITY PALACE: SHOBHA NIVAS~~

After the Gates, we went inside the Palace to the Shobha Nivas & oh, what a beauty! It was filled with walls full of mirrors & glasses & gold! It was as royal as it gets! The royal family uses this room only once a year, that is for Laxmi Pooja in Diwali festival. We got to sit where the King sits! How awesome is that? Check out the grandeur of that one room in the photos below!

Outside Shobha Nivas

~~CITY PALACE: GUEST HOUSE~~

Next was the royal guest house. It may not sound royal, but it sure is GRAND! This guest room was for all the guests of the royal family! It had quite an antique look which made it look like it belonged to a different era. Of course, we loved it! 

~~CITY PALACE MUSEUM~~

After the all the main spots in City Palace, we visited the Museum at the end. It was a small hall filled mostly with paintings & history of the place. Not that great & definitely nothing compared to the Udaipur City Palace Museum tour!

There were a few more spots where we wanted to click photos, but since Salman Khan (Bollywood actor) was shooting a song scene in City Palace, we had to miss out on those spots.

Other Details:

·        Open from 9 AM to 5 PM.

·        Entry Fees for Museum & Pritam Chowk – Rs. 200

·        Charges for the extended tour: Rs 1500 & Rs. 3000 for Indians.

·        Takes 1.5-2 hours to explore.

~~JANTAR MANTAR OBSERVATORY~~

The Jantar Mantar Observatory is at a 5 minutes distance from the City Palace. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site which has a collection of nineteen architectural astronomical instruments. The area was naturally quite spread out. So, here, it was very windy & with it came the crazy rains! Because it was raining, most of the places were restricted from entry. So, I couldn’t take photos in the manner I wanted. We took a few shots & were out in 20 minutes. With my wet shoes all day long, all I wanted was to go for lunch at On The House & that’s what we did.

Here are some photos I which I’m throwing a tantrum like a kid & other in which I accepted my fate!

Other Details:

·        5 minutes from City Palace Upset one moment..

·        Open from 9 AM to 5 PM.

·        Entry Fees - Rs. 50

·        Takes 30-45 minutes to explore.

~~ALBERT HALL MUSEUM~~

After a heavy & delicious lunch, we moved ahead for the tour of Albert Hall museum. This one was the longest & too tiring. Like any typical museum, it consisted of all typical things of historical importance. I had visited Hyderabad’s Salarjung Museum, which is the biggest museum in India. And after that never-ending & tiring yet interesting experience, I steer clear of museums! I have very little patience for it. All the items are anyway similar to any other museum. You have your armour, paintings, vases, hookah pipe (oddly everywhere!), kitchen utensils, carpets, coins, & so on! After the first floor, I was too tired, but we completed the second floor & then the basement.

The irony is that I couldn’t get a shot of the museum from the outside, because it was restricted! So, it was all for nothing!

Other Details:

·        10 minutes from City Palace

·        Open from 9 AM to 5 PM.

·        Entry Fees - Rs. 40

·        Takes 45 minutes-1 hour to explore.

~~BAPU BAZAAR~~

After a long day accompanied with constant rain, dampened clothes & wet shoes, we went to Bapu Bazaar with little enthusiasm for shopping. Nevertheless, we gave it a try. The only nice thing here is that all the lanes are Pink. Similar yet unique. But, all of them are in little stores where they have fixed prices. So, we didn’t bother to shop because we had no energy to bargain. The streets are really nice for a walk though, if it isn’t raining incessantly.

~~OTHER PLACES IN JAIPUR~~

As I mentioned before, we skipped a few places because they weren’t as amazing as others, in my opinion & some of them were very far off! You can check out these places if you have the time!

Jaigarh Fort

Birla Mandir

Galtaji Temple

Samode Palace

To sum it up, we had a lot of disappointments; restricted entries at Jantar Mantar & Albert Hall Museum, expensive tickets at City Palace & not doing the whole routine at Hawa Mahal. All of this combined with rains (have I mentioned this enough times?) made the whole day tiring. But despite the challenges, we ended up having a great time! I think more the setbacks, more it gives you opportunities to say screw it all, let’s roam around anyway!!

Day 2 was shorter than Day 1, but it became quite intolerable & we ended up more tired than the day before. We almost caved about not going out for dinner. But, since it was our last day in Jaipur, we had to go out! We had one disappointing meal on the last night at Peacock Rooftop restaurant.

Check out the next post about restaurant recommendations here! Stay tuned!

Until next time,

What to Explore – Day 1. (Jaipur Journals, Part 2)

Hi All! Hope you all are in the groove after reading the first part of my Jaipur journals! Let’s hit the road, because Day 2 is long, tiring but full of adventures! Just like the Day 2 of our trip, this post is going to me long, so stay with me & you’ll have some fun!

Day 2 began early for us. We were supposed to head out at 8:30 AM, but got half an hour delayed. Within no time, we were on the road. On Day 2, we covered Jalmahal Palace, Amer Palace, Panna Meena ka Kund, Royal Gatore & Nahargarh Fort.

The highlight of the day was Amer Palace which is timelessly beautiful.

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~~JALMAHAL PALACE~~

You can visit Jalmahal Palace on the way to Amer Fort. As the name suggests, it is situated in a lake & is very picturesque. No one is allowed to go inside the Palace with the exception of VVIP! The road that’s in front of the lake is broad. You can take a walk there on a nice breezy evening with a stunning sight in front of your eyes. This whole setting took me back to the evening I spent in front of Fateh Sagar Lake in Udaipur. When it comes to lakes or oceans or beaches, a switch in me immediately turns on making me incredibly happy & I’m so grateful for that! Check out a few photos from the viewing point of Jalmahal Palace.

Other Details:

·        15 minutes from City Palace.

·        Open from 6 AM to 6 PM.

·        No Entry Fees.

·        Takes 20-30 minutes to explore.

~~AMER PALACE~~

Viewing Jalmahal Palace put us in a good mood & we were looking forward to the most awaited part of the trip – Amer Palace! We took a guide for this short tour, so now I am very knowledgeable on this. Amer Village has Amer Palace which can be viewed by tourists & also Amer Fort which is accessible only to locals. Naturally, I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to view Amer Fort which had been a dream for me. Nevertheless, Amer Palace didn’t disappoint.

Amer village is more than 1000 years old, whereas Amer Palace is around 400 years old. Stunned? So were we! Apparently, Amer village is also the town of Princess Jodha. It has 365 temples; one for every day. The people in this village work at home & specialize in production of clothing. They make blankets, dresses, sarees & are paid by the Government for this. Even though it seems like a little sad town, it is self- efficient which I really liked. Never judge by appearances!

There are 2 entries to the Amer Palace. Since we were in the car, we went by the back gate, which earlier was the entrance for the common public. Fitting. The front entrance was for the royal family which now was used to bring in foreigners mounted on royal elephants. Again, fitting. If you want to enter through the front gate, you will have to climb a LOT OF STEPS. If you’re not fit enough to do that, just take the back gate, like the common public.

There is also a view of the garden in the center, fort at the top & royal elephants carrying the tourists at the bottom. Even the viewing point is a perfect spot to click pictures! Check it out!

Once you enter the main area, you will be mesmerized with the view! After the entry, we saw Diwan-e-Aam in the front & Diwan-e-Khaas on the right. And, as the name suggests, Diwan-e-Khaas was breathtakingly beautiful. You just cannot take your eyes off of it for 10 whole minutes. Words cannot do it justice, so check it out below!

Other Details:

·        20 minutes from City Palace.

·        Open from 9 AM to 5 PM.

·        Entry Fees Rs. 100 per person.

·        Takes 1.5-2 hours to explore.

·        Take a Guide.

~~SHEESH MAHAL~~

Sheesh Mahal is a mini Mahal inside Amer Palace & oh so fantastic! You can only imagine how pretty a palace of mirrors will look like! You have to see it to believe it. There is an equally romantic story behind Sheesh Mahal. In the olden times, the Queen wasn’t allowed to sleep in the open area where she could look at the stars in the sky. So, the then King asked to make what was the Sheesh Mahal. Since it is built with mirrors, stone & glass, the reflection of several candles makes it look like a beautiful starry night. Just like the Queen wished for. It is quite the remarkable spot!

Though the entry inside the Mahal is not permitted, you can view it from the outside & still be amazed by its extravaganza. This spot is also used in many Bollywood movies! This was easily the most attractive spot in Amer Palace.

Just opposite the Queen’s Sheesh Mahal is the Sukh Niwas or Sukh Mandir where the King & Queen used to relax. It is made with sandalwood & ivory. It’s all white & looks amazing. In between these two rooms is the garden.

After the Amer Palace tour, if you opt for the Guide, he will take you to the shopping centre. They showed us a small demo of how authentic their clothes are. They make colours from all natural things, like fruits & vegetables. So, the colour of the cloth doesn’t change. It can be easily washed. It was quite the marketing if you ask me. Here you can buy razai (blankets), sarees, dress materials, kurtas, jwellery, gems & you also get a free palmistry reading! Most of the things the palmist told me were true! I was blown away by the accuracy.

~~PANNA MEENA KA KUND~~

Amer Palace tour + shopping took a lot of time. It was already close to 1.30 PM when we finished the shopping spree, with one more place to cover before lunch. We hurried to the next stop which was Panna Meena ka Kund aka the Step Wall. Before I describe this place, I want to give a BIG KUDOS to all the photographers who are also blessed with Photoshop skills. The kind of images I had seen & the kind of actual image I saw was leaps & bounds different from each other. Luckily, since there wasn’t much to view here, we were out of the place in less than 10 minutes. We soon headed to Samode Haveli for lunch. (More on this later.)

Other Details:

·        5 minutes from Amer Palace / 25 minutes from City Palace.

·        Open from 7 AM to 6 PM.

·        No Entry Fees.

·        Takes 15-20 minutes to explore.

~~ROYAL GATORE~~

Our lavish lunch lasted till 3:30 PM, after which we had to hurry to cover the remaining 2 spots. First we went to the Royal Gatore aka Gatore ki Chhatriyaan. I knew from the moment I had seen its photos that I wasn’t going to miss on this spot. It was similar to Udaipur’s Ahar Cenotaphs. It’s the resting place of all the Kings. Because of lack of time, we stayed there only for about 20 minutes & then headed to Nahargarh Fort. Even in that short period, we managed to click Instagram worthy photos!

Other Details:

·        15 minutes from City Palace.

·        Open from 10 AM to 5 PM.

·        Entry Fees – Rs. 30 per person.

·        Takes 40-50 minutes to explore.

~~NAHARGARH FORT~~

After the hurried sightseeing at Gatore, we rushed to Nahargarh fort. This fort is quite a famous one in Jaipur. It’s at the topmost point, which means there were a lot of twists & turns on the road till the top. And in such a situation, my stomach always takes a turn for the worse. More so, we went there right after lunch, so there was a high risk. After reaching the top, in that squeamish state, both of us went to explore Nahargarh fort, so none of us were that excited. We roamed around a bit & saw nothing of fascination. The fort is famous for the views it has to offer. This I can agree on. It provided bird’s eye view of the Pink City. Apart from this, there was nothing to it.

Other Details:

·        35 minutes from City Palace.

·        Open from 10 AM to 5 PM.

·        Entry Fees – Rs. 100.

·        Takes 30-45 minutes to explore.

·        Special for Sunsets.

6 spots & 9 hours later, we were almost done for the day. It was the most eventful day in Jaipur. I never thought we would be able to cover so much in just one day. Sure, it was long & exhausting, but the fun we had! Now that I look back, I think this was my most favourite day in the Pink City. More importantly, the day hadn’t ended with sight-seeing. Another significant thing was pending. Dinner at Bar Palladio. More on this later!

I hope you enjoyed the photos, because we had to go to great lengths to click them. From standing in queues to risking our phones to rain to standing in weird poses & what not! If I had to quote this day, the word would be ‘EVENTFUL’’. I hope to have more & more of such days in my life!

Check out my Day 2 Explorations here!
Check out Part 4 here!

Until next time,