I love you, Goa!

I have been to Goa. Yes, I have been to the famed beach getaway and I'm in love. I cannot begin to justify my love. Where do I begin? I can talk to you about the diversity and natural richness. I could talk about the laid back lifestyle and how it reminds me of Ulysses and the lotus eaters. I could talk economics and qoute petrol price may be even go completely consumer focussed and do a price comparison of alcohol across states in india. But honeslty Goa would shrug and shuffle off at the mention of numbers and analysis.

Goa had greeted me with cloudy sky and a drizzle and mesmerasized me with the greenary and ever changing landscape. I found my senses overwhelmed by Chorla ghats where misty clouds drenched me. The forest looked both alluring and scary reminding me of the Lord of the Rings. The dark black asphalt road beckoned to come on a ride, find new places in the nooks and crevices of Goa and forget the world that existed outside Goa.

Goa is not jus one entity, it is perhaps a conglomeration of the nature, the ambience, the weather, the people. Yes, Goans make this place what it is. As a tourist you gape at every structure you pass in Panjim city and click goes your digicam. No one flinches or moves a muscle. You don't feel out of place for a moment. Perhaps it is my imagination they don't seem to notice us.

The architecture of Goa always suprises you. Everywhere there is something unique or special which catches your eye and makes you stop in your tracks and stare. The churches that are scattered across Goa lure you for one more untold story.

The beaches each of them different from the last. The sand feels different at Anjuna or Candolim or Calangute. You start noticing the sea comes towards you differently at each beach. At Anjuna you are graced with frothy white foam in each step. At Calangute the sea seems distant and more concentrated in its effort not really worrying about what you think. At Vagatore the water is clearer carresing you, sometimes playful but mostly serene.

As I got closer to my date of return I realised I was falling hopelessly in love with Goa. I had to come back. I had to let my spirits get drenched in the chilled water of the beautiful falls on Chorla ghat, I had to shut my eys and pray at the old church, I had to build a sand castle on candolim or anjuna beach, I had to spend the entire night under the starlit sky listening to the songs of the sea while digging into a chocolate pancake. How could I forget the gastronomic delight that Goa is? I think my long term relationship with Goa has begun.