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2020 was a horrible year for all of us. My friend was telling me to go to Goa with him in December. He has never been there. I was in two minds whether to go to Goa or not in 2020 because of this stupid Chinese communist virus. I really hate communists. Anyways my mother told me not to go to Goa because she thought that I could be infected with this corona virus on this trip. You know how bengali mothers are. Then one day in office I ate chicken biryani for my lunch at a roadside food-stall, the price was only hundred bucks and after lunch I was smoking a cigarette and was standing near a parked car. The driver was sitting inside the car and the car-stereo was playing Lucky Ali's songs. Suddenly a thought entered my mind to go to Goa. I don't know why and how but I suddenly felt a massive compulsion to go to Goa. So I immediately called my friend and he instantly agreed to go to Goa with me. The next day we booked our flight tickets and made our hotel reservations.
On 25th December 2020, I woke up at 4 a.m. By 6 a.m. I left my house, took an Uber and went to the airport. After some time my friend came to the airport. After going through all the procedures and checks we had a lovely breakfast at the airport priority lounge restaurant. My friend has a special card for that. Inside the aeroplane I unfortunately had to sit on the middle seat therefore I had to wear a white cloak. We were also given those plastic transparent face-shields. The air hostesses were very pretty. I talked to one of them and found out her full name. She was wearing a mask but her eyes were really beautiful. My plan was to land in Goa and search for her name on Facebook. The flight duration was something like two and a half hours. I went to the aeroplane toilet twice, not because I had to pee or anything, but because I love to press the flush of the commode and I also love the sound of the flush. A good looking woman sat next to me so I indulged in some small talk with her throughout the journey. She seemed to enjoy my company too.
We landed in Goa around 12:30 p.m. From the Goan airport me and my friend took a cab and went to Hotel Arpora Central which was near the Baga beach. There we checked in and had a shower and then went to Baga beach. We had our lunch at the beach. Throughout the day we stayed at the beach and drank beer. There were so many restaurants and shacks on the beach. It was full of people. But the majority of the people on the beach were Indians. There were very few foreigners around the beach. It was hot but sometimes a lovely breeze was blowing too. Around late evening we went to a place which was having a Christmas party. The place was full of people dancing to the tunes of a DJ. The dance floor was too crowded even in these corona times. We also danced for sometime. A lot of beautiful girls were there on the dance floor. Around 9 p.m. we had dinner at one of the restaurants on the beach. After dinner we went to Club Tito's which is a very famous nightclub in Goa. From there we went back to our hotel and went to sleep.
The next morning, that is 26th December, after breakfast we first rented a car for the next few days. In this car we went to the Aguada Fort. My friend drove the car. We navigated through the Goan roads with the help of Google Maps. It was very crowded at Aguada Fort. From there we went to Sinquerim beach which was nearby. There at the beach we had some food and beer. We spent the whole afternoon on the beach just lazing around. From there we went to Parra around 4 p.m. It is a road filled with coconut trees on both sides. It is a very beautiful place and a lot of young people were there clicking selfies. The cycling scene in the film "Dear Zindagi" was shot here. The sun was setting in the distant horizon. The ambience at Parra was very charming. From Parra we went to Curlies at Anjuna beach. It was very crowded. We had our dinner at Anjuna beach and then we came back to our hotel and went to sleep.
The next morning, that is 27th December, after breakfast we first went to Anjuna beach. It was not so crowded in the morning. From there we went to Vagator beach and had our lunch there. This beach was totally crowded mainly with Indian tourists. We met a few Punjabi guys who were also from Calcutta. They were playing good music in their portable radio. From Vagator we went to the Chapora Fort where the film "Dil Chahta Hai" was shot. It took us some time to reach Chapora Fort because we got somewhat lost on the road. From Chapora Fort we drove all the way to Panjim and went to the Deltin Jaqk Casino. We had dinner and drinks at the Casino. We also gambled a bit. After midnight we left the Casino and came back to our hotel and went to sleep.
The next morning, that is 28th December, after breakfast we drove to Arambol which is in north Goa. There we checked into the Love Temple resort. It was a very special and spiritual place. They do not allow alcohol or drugs inside the resort. A lot of foreigners were there staying in this resort. Some of them were meditating. We had lunch at the resort. After lunch we took some rest in the room. Then around 4 p.m. we went to the Arambol beach which was just nearby and stayed there till night. There were a lot of foreigners at the beach. Some of them were playing music with the Indians. Some of them were meditating on the beach. Some of them were just dancing on the beach. Some of them were doing yoga. I met a few foreigners and we talked about spiritual stuff. I told them that I am a follower of Osho. They knew about Osho and had read his books and had listened to his speeches on Youtube. We talked about things like calming one's mind and witnessing one's continuous chain of thoughts and how to go within oneself. Anyways we had our dinner at the resort and then went to sleep around midnight.
The next morning, that is 29th December, after breakfast we drove to Palolem which is in south Goa. The drive was for around three and a half hours from Arambol to Palolem. We really enjoyed this long drive. But on the way we first went to the Cabo De Rama Fort. We had our lunch at a restaurant which was just near the Fort. It was a very old Fort and the view from the top of the Fort was amazing. From there we went to Palolem and checked in at the Kings Villa resort. Around late evening we went to the Palolem beach. This beach was also full of people. Mostly the tourists were Indians here but some foreigners were there too. A young boy was showing some tricks with fire on the beach. I video recorded his tricks on my phone and later gave him a tip. It seemed quite risky to play with fire and perform those tricks. Later we went to a restaurant called Art's Cafe. There while having drinks and dinner we saw a live performance. The name of the singer was Bob Bluesman. He was an amazing singer and he also played his guitar beautifully. I recorded his act on my phone. Later after the performance he came to our table and talked to us. He asked me to kindly whatsapp him the videos. I took his number and told him that I would certainly forward him those videos of his performance once I reach Calcutta. After dinner we strolled on the beach for some time. It was a full moon night. The moon looked magnificent and ethereal. Then after some time we went back to our hotel and went to sleep.
The next morning, that is 30th December, after breakfast we went to the beach again. Before going to the beach I went to a saloon and had a shave. On the beach we went for a motor boat ride and went to the Butterfly Island. The boatman also took us deep into the waters to show us some dolphins. Unfortunately we could spot only one dolphin and that also for a few seconds. The boat ride was fun and we enjoyed it a lot. Anyways we had our lunch at Palolem beach and after lunch we checked out of our hotel. Then we drove to Panjim and checked in at Serene Waters Guest House. Last year in 2019 when I had come to Goa alone then I had stayed in this Guest House. I really love this place. There we had our dinner on the garden and then we went to sleep.
The next morning, that is 31st December, after breakfast my friend went out for some local site-seeing while I stayed back at the Guest House to take rest. I did not feel like going out that day. That night the Punjabi rapper Badshah was performing at the Big Daddy Casino and Lucky Ali was performing at Calangute beach. So we obviously decided to go to Lucky Ali's concert. We booked our tickets online at bookmyshow.com. My friend came back in the evening. At night around 9 p.m. we went to Lucky Ali's concert at the "Prince Of Tides" club at Calangute beach. I have been a fan of Lucky Ali ever since his first album "Sunoh" released in 1996. In my teenage years I loved all the music videos of Lucky Ali. I loved his film songs too especially his songs in "Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai". Anyways once we reached the "Prince Of Tides" club then we had to stand in a queue for around half an hour. Then the organizers started letting in people after thorough checks. Once we went in the first thing that we did was to have our dinner there. Before Lucky Ali began his act, there was an opening band which created fusion music. The audience did not appreciate this kind of music and started shouting and became restless. Lucky Ali started singing from around 10:30 p.m. and finished the concert with "Ek Pal Ka Jeena" from the film "Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai" at midnight. There were a lot of fireworks in the sky at the stroke of midnight. From midnight a DJ took over the stage. The whole place was overcrowded and everybody was dancing. Nobody was wearing any masks. Everybody was busy boozing and getting drunk and enjoying the beach party. The DJ music went on till 3 a.m. Me and my friend also got drunk and we also danced a lot. Made some friends there and we all danced together, you know the kind of instant best friendships which you make at the New Year bash, exchange numbers and then no one calls or keeps in touch for the rest of the following year. This party was the best New Year party that I ever went to in my life. It was so amazing to experience Lucky Ali's live performance for the first time in my life. He gave a mind blowing and heart touching performance. Around 4 a.m. we left Calangute beach and then took a cab and came back to our Guest House and went to sleep.
The next morning, that is 1st January, we had a lazy and laid-back breakfast. The beauty of this Serene Waters Guest House is that they have a lovely garden which is just next to a huge lake. After breakfast my friend went out alone and I stayed back in the garden and enjoyed the view of the lake with sweet birds chirping all around. It was such a serene experience to spend the first morning of the new year in such tranquility. Around noon I took a shower and then went to Panjim city. There I had lunch at a restaurant and then I walked all alone through the narrow lanes and by-lanes of the old portion of Panjim. It was so beautiful to see the old houses. Some of these old houses were so nicely painted. In the evening I had coffee and cookies at a very small yet instagrammable coffee shop. Later I came back to the hotel. My friend also returned and we had our dinner together and then we went to sleep.
The next morning, that is 2nd January, after breakfast my friend went out alone. I was feeling too lazy to go out. So after breakfast I just sat in the garden and enjoyed the view of the lake and listened to those chirping birds. Spoke to some of the other people who were staying at the Guest House. Throughout the afternoon I took rest in my room. Later in the evening I again had coffee sitting in the garden. My friend came back around late evening. Then we had dinner together and went to sleep.
The next morning, that is 3rd January, after breakfast we took a cab and went to the airport. Took some pictures and videos while going there. At the airport all the shops were closed due to this pathetic Covid-19 virus. I remember last time when I had come, there was a beautiful shop selling Mario Miranda memorabilia at the airport. Unfortunately it was closed this time. Even the priority lounge was closed. Anyways inside the aeroplane I again had the middle seat therefore I had to wear that white cloak again. This time also I went to the toilet twice. The air hostesses were very pretty. This time a man sat beside me and I did not talk to him at all. We reached Calcutta in good time. From the airport I took an Uber and came back to my house. My friend took another Uber and went to his house. Faced a lot of traffic jam while going to my house. My mother was very happy to see me again. She warned me that I should never go again for vacations in these corona times.
If you want to see my Goa pictures and videos then here is the link :
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2333950633418207&type=3
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