Why Do You Love The World? ~A Family Vacation to Goa~

Goa, a city where you show the wild side of the Indian that you are. Can you imagine a family vacation here? Oh, yes its possible. My next travel inspiration of travelling with seventeen members of my family and just having the time of your life. Its certainly a new experience and I am guilty of enjoying it throughly. It really gave me an open-minded perspective to what travel is with a large group.    

Day One was finding your comfort zone in a new place. North Goa rushed us and still was a good beginning, despite being a world travel, Goa was it! The Sinquerim Beach was great if you want to just relax on a boat ride. 

 We watched the dolphins dance around us, in pauses of course. But the excitement got us going. 

The Sinqquerim Beach

As we rested our tired legs

Aguada Fort

Since may of us were going to Goa for the first time, it was some time to see the most famous Calungate beach. It was over crowded as expected and as we sat down for some nice lunch at a restaurant, some of us could wait to get into the water. Unfortunately, the beach isn't how it used to be a few years ago. It has been abused literally by a lot of tourists and with garbage smell, drunkard men lying around abandoned, beer bottles here and there, I would not recommend this beach s a family beach anymore. If you love shopping though, do explore the market. Its good to window shop but this would be my last visit to North Goa. 

Paloem and its mystic waters

Cranberry mocktail

Shopping time!

However we didn't let that dampen our spirits because we did book a large traveller and headed towards South Goa the next day. Paloem was truly a tourist paradise. The entrance had an old structure as a gate and the soft sands touching our bare feet, let us feel free. We made ourselves comfortable somewhere near a shak where we could eat and drink without having to get up. With the kids who were only interested in being the water, we took turns to be with them. The best part about a family is they truly help out with the kids. Three of us also just headed out to shop little kick knacks for ourselves. From getting some wrap around skirts, tops and some aloe vera creams, we were actually having fun trying the clothes. Some shopkeepers were friendly towards us as Indian tourists. Many had their regular customers who were foreigners so they didn't try too hard to sell us their things. Honestly it takes a while to actually find clothes that fit your Indian structure. Not that anyone was complaining. 

The next day after a heavy breakfast at the Kamat hotel, that served piping hot idlies, dosas and vada with filter coffee, we headed out quickly towards the Spice Garden that also served us homemade food that included fish fry, chicken curry, rice, dal and papad. I absolutely gorged on those fish though. It was just so fresh and juicy. The claypots just added to the simplicity. Also I did pick up a few spices for my kitchen. It really didn't cost a lot. So don't forget to pick up your bit of shopping from this place. We had a guide throughout the tour and she showed us one by one the spices that were being grown, and the effort they put to keep them alive and thriving. The weather wasn't the best that day, so the coolness just soothed us while we followed each other.

A canal running through the spice garden

We were welcomed with hot lemon tea

Spice garden walking tour

As a couple we did take out a little time for ourselves to check out the clubs near Candolim. The beach was not very safe for the kids, so we stayed for a while and moved on to check out the market again. 

Despite the exploration within India, I understood the true value of a family. How travel can bring us all together despite us being so different from each other! My love for the world only increased because of this experience of a lifetime. I am looking forward to doing more such group travel because without family there is no life at all. 

Click below to understand different perspectives on why do you love the world? #SayYesToTheWorld

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