๐ Hidden gems remaining: 9
Goa is the most common destination among Europeans going on a seaside holiday. This can be seen in the western influence of the town, restaurants and culture. This is further emphasised due to Portugese colonisation in the past. At least in the southern Goa, there has been a clear catholic impact โ for the first time, we saw christian churches, paintings and names.
Laying at the western end of the subcontinent, the whole area is full of beaches. Sadly however, we were unable to swim in the water due to monsoon weather influence, which causes strong long waves. These are especially dangerous because it is hard to estimate their power while in water. They can cause you to trip. Unhelpful is also the sand below, acting like quicksand. Even just standing there stationary makes you lose your balance while your feet are being unevenly sucked down. Lifeguards closed all the coast with red flags.
Just enjoy your time at the beach. It is humid and hot, there are mosquitoes, but you have Jungle Formula to combat them! Maybe you will have more luck finding an open massage parlour to soothe your pain.
Starfall on the coast.
Well, at least avoid monsoon season. The beaches open in October, according to the lifeguard. Thanks to waves (non-monsoon ones!), this coastal area is appropriate for surfing as well. Although the sea seems shallow at first, the ground level plunges rapidly as you progress over a certain point. This is at least how it seems โ we were unable to try ๐คท.
It is not just beach and beaches, you can also be a man of culture. There are a few museums about the city prior and after the colonisation. Goa is said to have produced some impressive lawyers and doctors during the Portugese era, allowing them to study abroad. The first ever Indian doctor comes exactly from Goa.
The so-called Goa Chitra Museum consists of three parts, all of which are private collections. A guide is included in the ticket who will explain you everything necessary in a fast pace. See the development of transportation vehicles, spinning wheels, equipment for producing butter, sugar and other vital ingredients, and take a look of new professions which emerged during the colonisation era. You can be smart and take a taxi (Goa has its own taxi app, similar to Uber) or be like us and take a nice walk. Pro tip: walking in clouds (just before or after the monsoon) is more pleasant than in the hot burning son. Funilly enough, our guide spotted us when heading to her work (even before she knew she would be our guide!).
A lot of visitors.
Being at the west coast, this is a perfect location to watch the sun meet with the ocean. However, similar to Phuket in Thailand, which also lies in a monsoon region, humidity changes into clouds towards the evening. Nonetheless, you can see sunrays if the rain just begins to pour.
Crazy tourist.
Cow's signature.
Selfie as always.
Here, we finally escaped spicy Indian food. Guess why? Because it was made for Europeans! We remembered tasty Thai food from two years ago and found a restaurant with generous portions. The waiter asked us (after we had eaten poached dumplings as an appetiser) if we really wanted to order one Pad Thai each due to portions being huge. We confirmed, saying we were very hungry. The portions were huge! We ate it all ๐๐๐.