DAY 2 in Goa: We went High on History and Heritage

Day 2 in Goa!   🙂

For all those who think Goa is all about beaches, Sand, Sun and party, this post will change your view.

I woke up to this beautiful view from my room’s balcony at the OYO property at Candolim

Day 1 in Goa had been amazing and you know because you read my last post.  After a peaceful sleep, I got up all excited for the next day. It was a Sunday and we had the whole day to ourselves. We had plans to go to Old Goa, the part that I hardly remembered because I had visited it with my parents when I was 6 years old.

I got ready at the earliest possible but before that I did spend sometime overlooking the balcony of my room and the lovely view (picture above) energized me for the day. 

If I had had some spare time to leisure, I would have loved to have tea here!  

By 9:30 a.m. we were all geared up with our OYO accessories to go exploring. Before that it was time to fuel ourselves with breakfast.  I ate Poha along with Cheese Omelette.

 

Breakfast was complementary at the hotel and this Masala Omelette was good to the taste buds

At the breakfast table, we finalized our plan for exploring Goa and decided to book a cab for the whole day.  We four bloggers had no plans of separating and going in our own ways rather we decided to hang along as a bunch.

 

The facade of Goa Institute of Management looked beautiful under the clear sky 

Just when we had moved in the car for around twenty minutes, we asked the driver to stop opposite GIM.  I am sure the MBA aspirants will love to see this picture. I was impressed by the college location. It tough to ignore the peaceful waters just opposite the college.

 

GIM students were taking a break. This was just opposite the college building

Next we reached one of the most visited church in Goa and India- Basilica of Bom Jesus

Basilica of Bom Jesus

The huge facade promised lots of history and heritage and I was excited to know more about it. Constructed in the year 1605, it is one of the most important church for Christian pilgrims. It is revered all over the world.  This beautiful architecture is a World Heritage Site. The exterior was indeed overwhelming but the interior was absolutely breathtaking.

 

The basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier

St. Francis Xavier has been known as Saint of Goa.  It is considered his final abode because his body remains are still there. This is a must visit monument in Goa. Inside the church, I felt so peaceful even there was so much crowd to see the relics of the body of St. Francis Xavier which is kept at a height, beyond the reach of the people.

 

The surroundings were beautiful too Old Goa also means a visit to Se Cathedral

This big whitewashed building looked lovely under the bright sun. The tilted tree in the left added to its beauty. It is one of the biggest Roman Catholic Church in Asia and has a museum in its adjacent. Se Cathedral is located just opposite to the Basilica of Bom Jesus.

The Sun was at its scorching best in Goa that afternoon and we were sweating. In fact we decided not to go inside the church and  decided to head further to check out more culture and heritage of Old Goa. The driver suggested us ‘Portuguese house’ or ‘Ancestral Goa’ in South Goa. The names itself suggested that it would give us an insight in the past of Goa.

From OLD GOA we were headed to SOUTH GOA now!

Lunch Time

 

Goenkar Restaurant Goan style-Chicken Chilly

On the way we decided to stop at  Goenkar Restaurant to grab a bite.  The driver suggested us a local restaurant and we decided to take a chance. I ordered chicken chilly and this was the only dish that tasted good in all the other five dishes that we ordered. (No choupsey, no pomphret, no fried rice to be ordered here) The service was slow too.

However, while we were having lunch, the Rain God showed mercy on us and decided to bless us. Yes, when we stepped out of the restaurant, Goa looked clean and beautiful drenched in rains.

The first Rains in Goa (Monsoons) this year

The rains had not stopped and the weather lifted our spirits after the dud lunch. We were looking forward to the Portuguese way of living, Goan virtual village and especially laid-back and silent South Goa.  I had read about Big Foot and I was curious to get a peek into the life that thrived in Goa some 100 odd years ago.

 

Casa Araujo Alvares- Goa’s first automated museum- priceless artifacts of ancient Goa A beautiful flower vase that I captured in this house

‘Casa Araujo Alvares’, this house is named after it’s owner, Eufemiano Araujo Alvares who was a lawyer.  Its fitted with automated lights and sound system, a technology that been brought from Florida.  As one moves around, lights and sounds work automatically. The saved voice overs do the explaining part of each and every section of the room. The mansion builds a beautiful connect with the history. From the bedroom to the dining room to the kitchen to indoor chapel, the building takes us back in the olden times. It definitely makes for a visit to learn about Portuguese and their way of living. It houses many priceless artifacts of ancient Goa. Some of the traditional objects of this house left me absolutely awestruck. There was vibrant living room which was also the dance room. The kitchen had a seventy years old refrigerator of Electrolux brought from Sweden.

Big Foot in Goa is another interesting place to visit. It has sound and music effects that takes the visitors into a virtual Goan village explaining different modes of living of Goan people in the olden days

Big Foot in Goa captures life of Goan people through their models and figurines made from plaster of paris Big Foot has also added a feather in its cap by housing India’s longest laterite sculpture of Sant Meerabai

Big Foot is a theme park also called ancestral Goa. It is built in Loutolim, a small district in South Goa. It captures Goan rural life as it  existed hundred years ago. I quite liked the house. Its a big walk and needs patience to stroll around the different sections of the village. I also drank Kokum juice inside the Big Foot. After completing a full round between the two buildings, it was already evening and the driver suggested to take us to Vasco city for a beautiful sunset view.

On the way we stopped to capture the biggest house of Goa. It looked lovely.

Biggest House of Goa

The drive to Vasco city was quite fun because the weather outside was very breezy. It had begun to drizzle again and as the clouds took over, the sun  chose to disappear silently. By the time we reached to a beautiful scenic view, the sun was gone already.  However, the rains made Goa look all the more beautiful. We stood there silently and our eyes soaked in as much beauty as they could.

 

The drive to Vasco city turned beautiful as it was breezy first and then it rained

 

It was serene and so beautiful here – Vasco city, Goa

It was evening and we were all craving for some small bites. Snacks and tea was on everyone’s mind. We stopped on the way to grab some Goan street food. It was Vada pao and Chai time. It was fresh, yummy, hygienic and absolutely on budget.

 

Vadas/Bonda were freshly prepared, they look so tempting

 

The bonda goes in the Vada and see how yummy it looks, it tasted more yum!

After grabbing two bun each and cardamom chai we all felt super refreshed. It was time to hit the beach as I was too keen on shack food. North Goa is famous for the buzz, beach, food and music. We decided on Calungate first but ended up at Baga after a long long drive back to North Goa.

The rains kept us spirited and fully entertained

We drove around Goa from South to North while it rained

When we reached at Brittos, a famous restaurant at Baga beach, it was already night time. After exploring a few shops here and there, we walked to the beach area to be around the sea ambiance.

 

We ended up having breezers here at St. Anthony

 

The day had been super fun and now was the time to chit-chat over food and drinks. We talked about everything under the sun sitting right under the twinkling sky.

 

The Shack

 

Alco-pop time, its Goa!

 

By the time we reached our hotel, it was already 11:30 p.m. It had been great fun being #OYOxplorers for yet another day. It was a wonderful experience to go around from North Goa to Old Goa to South Goa. On the way it was fun to pick wonderful memories and  get acquainted with Goa’ history, culture, people and more.

Happy Traveling!!!