Crazy driving with a bit of night market

Saturday night in North Goa is all about the Arpora night market, so we thought we would get S a babysitter and head down to see what all the fuss was about.

First we had to get there ..... and we nearly didn't. Our taxi driver was a crazy man and had terrible/amusing taste in music. As soon as we got in the car James Blunt's 'Your beautiful' was blaring out of the stereo system. This hideousness was nearly over but we had to pull into a servo to fill up with fuel. Once we'd done that and the engine was turned back on... yes we started back at the beginning again of 'You're beautiful'. I thought this was bad until the follow up song was by none other than teen heart throb Justin Beiber - I don't even know how I knew this. We then moved onto Punjabi techno and trance.... it was painful!!! It was so loud and pretty intense as we ducked and weaved through traffic and came head to head with massive trucks.

He then proceeded to yell that drugs were becoming a problem in Goa..... isn't that interesting he said as trance music filled the background. I can't help feeling he was gauging our interest level. We continued ....high beams from other cars burned my retinas and we attempted to smash the land speed record until we reached the inevitable speed bump where we came to a screeching halt.

Anyway we did get there. This market could have been anywhere in the world - tourists from all over the world. We had a wander around and tried to find some things to buy but didn't have a lot of luck - there was heaps to buy and everyone else was having more success than us. One of my searches was for shoes but unfortunately I had no luck.

Given the reasonably close proximity to their homeland their were lots of Europeans enjoying themselves in Goa and someone, somewhere was selling them Ed Hardy t-shirts cheap, nearly every man had one on....and all of them had seen a bit too much sun and if they wanted a little slice of home they could drink beer and watch the football with their fellow countrymen.

As expected Goa paid tribute to hippie land... lots of people dancing in spirals with their face looking to the sky for inspiration or paying Rs 50 to have their glimpse of outer space.

This market was massive, there were rows and rows and rows of different things for sale - sarongs, shoes, Om t-shirts, Bob Marley t-shirts, bangles, bags and bracelets....... 

Then there was the food. You could have eaten Russian, Polish, Mexican, Indian, Italian... there was plenty on offer. T had the tandoori chicken which he thoroughly enjoyed.

and I had one of the best wood fired fungi pizzas I have had in a long time. It was delicious!

So in the end it was a market...... Goa would be loving it though and doing pretty well out of all these people coming down and spending up big and good on them - everyone was having a really good time.

But my highlight was probably getting back in our taxi and the brilliant music and death defying acts of the journey home. I have never heard the particular Man U song that was on in the car but it was hilarious and certainly helped distract our attention from his driving.

Easter break in Goa

For Easter we decided to escape the increasing temperature of Delhi and fly to Goa, an easy 2 1/2 hour flight. We stayed at Casa Colvale, a 12 room boutique hotel by the backwaters of the River Chapora in North Goa. It was a lovely little hotel, very peaceful and calm, a nice alternative to the busier parts of Goa we have all heard about.




View from Casa Colvale


There are two parts to the hotel, both have lovely pools - the one on the top level has an infinity edge which looks pretty beautiful overlooking the river. Unfortunately a factory in the distance does spoil the view slightly.....just don't look at it. The lower villa is home to another pool and the riverside bar and dining area. We stayed in the villa near the river and had room 9, a corner room with a nice little balcony to watch the occasional boats and water buffalo crossing the river.  The hotels has plenty of communal areas with couches and chill out spaces to read your book or just sit and relax.



Villa near the river

  



View from the top pool

  



View of Casa Colvale from "Ollieboat"

 



View from our room



The staff at the hotel were brilliant. We took our 10 month old with us and this obviously brings with it a far amount of work with food and bottle prep etc. The guys were great, they cleaned all her bottles and heated her meals, made the odd dish of mash potato and gave us a good supply of fruit for her. I can't say enough good things about the staff, they were really great. My only suggestion to improve the rooms in the hotel would be to install a little fridge and provide some tea and coffee making facilities. We did however appreciate the iPod docking station and good sized bathroom.



Excellent staff


Given its isolated location, we ate at Casa Colvale most of the time. The breakfasts were simple but tasty and always had plenty on offer. The menu consisted of fresh fruit, muesli, pancakes, eggs and bacon and yummy Goan bread.




Fresh fruit for breakfast





Banana pancake





Masala omlette



Lunches were mainly delicious fresh salads - tuna and greek were our favourites. On our unhealthy days we enjoyed the chicken burger. We ate at the hotel most nights (except for the night market which will be another post) and devoured plenty of fresh fish and prawns. The curries were never quite hot enough for T but they were tasty none the less. The crispy prawn appetiser was delicious and the G&T's were the perfect end to the hot, steamy Goan days. I can recommend the fish of the day - it was delicious and fresh - straight from the sea!

During the day we either lounged by the pool or entertained our bub. However we got out and about a few times and one of our outings was to Aswen beach to eat at La Plage and have a swim in the ocean. Aswen was a 25 minute drive from Casa. It was lovely, if not an occasionally hairy drive to the beach, it is obviously so different from Delhi. La Plage was great, perfect little beach side eatery. I love eating with while having my feet in the sand...... it's just lovely.



Aswen beach



 


Lunch at La Plage

  T and I had tempura prawns, Thai prawn soup, a Budweiser beer and a sweet lassi. The food was beautiful - well worth the trip. Tempura prawns won the meal of the day with the soup being a little bit heavy on the coconut milk.



Tempura prawns




Thai prawn soup


Aswen beach itself has extremely hot sand and very warm water.... so the swim itself wasn't particularly refreshing but it was nice to see the ocean again. There are plenty of huts to lie around in and bake yourself, get a pedicure or a henna painting from one of the many woman selling these services on the beach. You can also buy yourself a new outfit from a couple that have a few great dresses in stock. I bought a lovely dress by a French designer!



Aswen beach


The next day we headed off on the Chapora River for an early morning trip on the hotels "Ollieboat" to see the Dolphins. It was Rs 50,000 for 2 hours, so is a bit expensive but I really enjoyed it.




Dolphin spotting


S also really enjoyed it and fell asleep after she has seen her fill of dolphins.



Boat trip on the river



The river trip itself was very interesting. We saw lots of beautiful birds, water buffalo and people earning their daily wedge on the river.



Goan fishing boat




More boats



Then it was Easter Sunday and we ate chocolate eggs, courtesy of the lovely staff at the hotel.



Happy Easter x

 Unfortunately the trip was marred by the complete chaos at Goa airport, it was an insane mess. So if you go to Goa three tips for leaving the place - remember to collect your mobile from the taxi, check your flight time and leave heaps of time to get through security, it isn't easy and will test your patience.


Contact details for Casa Colvale