There And Back Again: Day 12: Travelling to Goa

Before leaving Delhi, I'd like to say the YMCA hostel staff has been outstanding. This is not a 5 star hotel but the staff do the best they can, running around fixing things -lift, computers, printers, air-con. They were invariably professional, hardworking, courteous and kind. I had to leave for the airport early and the dining staff brought a breakfast tray to my room. I was pretty touched by this small kindness.

YMCA breakfast tray

My second experience of Delhi International Airport was even better than my first. I appreciated the mod cons there more now. I walked around the airport shops twice just because I can, and bought an 8GB memory card for my camera.

Yoga's sun salutation at Delhi airport

The Kingfisher flight to Goa was uneventful. We changed planes in Mumbai and got served small meals twice. Goa's Dabolim Airport had an Airtel counter and they topped up my phone credit but had to do it twice ie Rs 444 x 2. It has something to do with my number being a Delhi number and not being able to transmit large sums at once from that distance.

I met the driver the hotel has arranged for me for the 1.5 hours drive to Ciaran's on Palolem Beach. It was Rs 1,700 for the AC taxi. It was a pleasant drive. The landscape reminds me of rural Malaysian kampungs but with more churches. We passed by a larger town which I think is Margao.

Palolem Beach is one of the quietest beaches in Goa. Ciaran's is one of the poshest beach huts there and the price reflects that. This was towards the end of the season, as they shut for the monsoon in mid-May. So I got the low season price with 10% discount for more than 7 nights stay. My double room was £30 per night, not per person. The beach huts would be £20 per night. The difference is the beach hut doesn't have AC and TV. Karin reminded me I like my AC and I reckon a TV is good for my solitary, do-nothing time. Free breakfast, wi-fi, water refill, afternoon chai and cake were included. I wanted a quiet place to relax and decided to splash out on a little affordable luxury for my week in Goa.

I knew my decision was right as soon as I saw the immaculate garden with green grass, coconut trees and hibiscus plants. The reception was right on the beach. My room was in the main building with AC, cable TV. It was lovely with a view of the garden, glimpse and sound of the sea. It was like a small and lovely version of a nice Malaysian-standard resort.
I began to relax as I realised there was absolutely nothing I need to do while I was here.