The Prelude

It is a dream with a large majority of Indian population to enjoy a holiday in Goa, and we were no exceptions. We had some leaves due last year, and decided to utilize them for our dream vacation. So, we spent a couple of months deliberating, deciding, planning and making the reservations. We chose to visit Goa in mid-October, when the monsoons would be at an end and the temperature would have moderated. We deliberately avoided the December-Jan peak tourist season, when the place is over-crowded and the prices are exorbitant.

We started for our long-awaited vacation on October 12, the Dusshera holiday. We had made our reservations with Kingfisher, and this was our first experience with a low-cost airline. We were not expecting much by way of facility or services, but were pleasantly surprised to find well furnished interiors, as well as an in-flight entertainment system.

Even as we were descending to land at the Dambolim airport, we could catch a glimpse of the beauty of Goa - small hills by the side of ponds or lakes, setting sun hidden amongst clouds reflected in the sea, and lush green landscape. We noticed it had just stopped raining. The airport itself was small, and buzzing with activity.

Dambolim airport is approximately in the centre of Goan coastline, and Kenilworth Beach resort, where we had booked our stay, is on Uttorda beach, is about 25 kms south from the airport. The ride to the hotel was great as we had our first view of the beautiful Goan scenery. We traveled along the highway for some distance, after which we turned into one of the interior roads. The roads were narrow and winding, and lined with coconut trees. There were few small villages along the way, and they looked rather different from the villages we have seen along the roads in northern India. It took us some time to realize the difference – they were sparsely populated, the houses had slanting roofs, and almost every house had a big open space in front and around. There was quite a lot of vegetation, which appeared much greener being just washed with rain.

The light had almost faded by the time we reached the hotel, and we saw that it had started drizzling once again. That’s when we realized why we had got a “monsoon package” in middle of October.

By the time we got our things to our room and freshened up, it was totally dark, and it was still raining, but we decided to explore the layout of the hotel anyway. The front was occupied with the constructed area – the lobby, the rooms, the bar, and the dining hall. Along one corridor were souvenir shoppes. The dining hall was at a level lower than the lobby, and opened into the garden. The garden was quite large, and surrounded somewhat oddly shaped and inter-connected swimming pools, one of which had a mini bar. The garden also had a barbeque and an open space for conducting entertainment programs. Few winding paths lined with small lamps ran around and in the garden. We walked along one of these and reached an unpaved, sandy trail. There were a few lights along this trail, so we assumed it would lead to the beach. Walking further ahead, we could hear the sea, but couldn’t see it, as it was pitch dark. So we just stood there for some time, listening to subtle sounds in the silent darkness. We traced our path back through the garden and went to the dining hall. The entertainment program – live performance by local artists – was on in the dining area. The dinner was served in a buffet. The food was delectable, and the desserts were heavenly.