HEAVEN IS ON EARTH - THE BEST VACATION I EVER HAD!!!

The daily blogging plan went for a toss but I am all elated and chirpy after the best vacation I ever had. Its been a week since I got back from Goa but I still smile thinking about the incidents which happened over there. Let me start chronologically.

Thursday, April 30 -I cant work. I am bustling with excitement. Today is the fruition of what all of us have been planning for what seems like eternity.. The moment is finally here and I am heading to one of the most exotic places in our country, GOA. Yipee!!! . I am so elated and the only thoughts that conjure my mind are about Goa. I continue to google umpteen times to learn more and more about the place and the adventures that await us there. I am sure that everyone in office can sense that something is happening in my life and that happiness is well evident on my face and in my voice. I can't concentrate at work. I am taking so many breaks trying to kill the time so that we can set off on this much awaited and well deserved vacation. And guess what, its finally time for to go home and then head to the beaches, the babes, the booz, and enjoy what we call LIFE!!! GOA.. here we come:)

Friday, May 1 - We are here.. 6 oof us(Mady, Sap, Joey, Amy, Gaya and me) had booked an Innova(with a driver) to take us to Goa and Poo and Boo would join us there in Goa. We are finally here, settled in a nice and decent place(cheap too) and all 8 of us are here. Still cant believe we are here in Goa. Smiles and happiness everywhere. For a minute, I feel as if I am in a dream.. hey, maybe I am.. I pinch myself to realize that I am actually living my dream!!! How often do you get to say that to yourself.. All of us sit around in a circle and try to beat the heat sipping breezers and beer!!!. I look around as I sip from my breezer and all the people I care for the most, my best pals are around me. Hope this journey never ends!!!

Once our thirst and hunger was quenched, we head to the Calangute beach, which is really close from where we are put up. We walk along the stretch of the beach, cracking jokes and taking pictures(an inevitable part of any trip). The water is really inviting but we resist our temptations and decide to check out BRITTOS , one of the coolest and happening shacks(restaurant) in Baagha Beach. Wait a sec. 2 people are missing. Sap and Poo are racing towards BRITTOS. They seem adamant about getting there as soon as possible. Of course, I can clearly see them play "the UK is better Vs Bahrain is better" game.. We finally get to Brittos and the true essence of being in GOA finally sinks in.. Nice food, good ambiance, great crowd(beautiful and tall babes everywhere) and refreshing liqour(theres no way I could take this out of GOA) . All of us sip a drink or two till we reach a state of feeling a "happy high". We walk back along the beach as the sun sets. The beach looks exotic and the water caresses our feet. A few more pics and jokes along the way. I realize that these are the simple pleasures that make life worth living. We all get back home after some more shopping, and decide to rest for a while before heading out to dine and party.
All of us set off to a shack for dinner and decide to try out Goan delicacies like Xacuti and man, it is DELICIOUS. After dinner we rush to TITTOS, one of the best and most happening DISCOTHEQUES in GOA. I cant help myself from bringing up the fact that we are a group of 8, 3 men and 5 women. For the first time in my life, the scenario is reversed. More gals than boys. So getting into the disc is a piece of cake this time around:)
The place looks sexy with a pretty big dance floor. We directly head to the dance floor but somehow things seem odd.Is it the music? Somehow something seems to be missing. We reach a consensus on the fact that its not the music. So adamant about finding out the reason,we rush to the bar sip a couple of drinks to set things right and here we are all ready to set the dance floor on fire. Everything seemed perfect after those shooters. We let go of ourselves and dance to our heart's content. The music and the beats are still imprinted in my mind. Its an awesome experience.
We got back at around 2 and our first day in GOA came to an end. All of us stuffed ourselves into the AC room and we slept off. What a first day it was..

May2- I wake up to a ruckus. Apparently Jo kicked Poo out of the bed. Gaya and Boo are laughing over the matter when I woke up. Sap and Mady are also there. The lazy bones that we are,we continue to lay there till the sun decides to shine more brightly onto our faces to wake us up. Poo is all set and seeking company to go drink some tea. Shes a tea person I tell you. One by one, with a lot of hesitation, we get up and get dressed to head out for a brunch. One aspect about Goa that I couldn't help but notice is that everything here is slow.The food comes slowly, people are relaxed and walk at a slow and leisurely pace. Everything except one thing-TIME. Time just flies by as you witness rest of the things in slow motion. I guess that also is an indicator of the fact that I don't want this trip to end. Anyway, we finish off a sumptuous brunch and decide to head to a shack on the beach. Poo and Amy get out in between to do some quick shopping and we head to the shack. Our plan today is very simple. Water sports , dinner in the shack and booz till you can booz no more:) ..We set our plan into action in the shack. Poo and Amy joins us and we enjoy the delicious food which seem to taste even better with the liquor.

After lunch,finally, its water - sports time. We keep our bags in the shack and decide to try out the water sports. First thing on the agenda is the banana ride. Poo and Boo are contemplating whether they should try it out or not when we decide to give it a go and put on our life jackets.. We all get on an inflated banana-shaped balloon and are asked to hold to the handle near our seats. A speed boat to which this balloon is attached takes us a bit into the sea and all of a sudden.. blum... its toppled and we are in the water tasting the salt water. With a bit of difficulty we get back on the banana(no pun intended) with the guy's help and the whole scenario happens once again before we are brought to the shores. Boo & Poo who were witnessing our act, decides to give the banana ride a go. We wave them good luck as they go to enjoy their ride.A couple of minutes elapse and I cannot stop laughing as I see Boo and Poo get back , their eyes all red coz of the salt water. Lets just say that they decided to quit their water sporting adventures after that incident.
But the rest of us were adamant about trying Para-sailing. So that was next on our agenda and we went and gave that a shot as well. As Poo and Boo waited for us, we went on a small boat to the bigger one where we were to be doing para sailing. We were made to wait in the boat for sometime to await our turns.The boat ride was nothing short of horrible. Finally our turns arrived.Amy and I went in the end after Mady and Sap and Jo and Gaya. Though I was a bit scared before , once I was in the air with her, I felt awesome. When we got down on the boat, the sun had already set and we were heading back to the shore on a water scooter. It would be no understatement on my behalf to say that it was the scariest ride of my entire life. All I had to hold on was Amys life jacket while the pilot(you will have to call him pilot as he was really flying the thing.. I felt I was more on air than water, when I was on that thing), raced us to Baagha beach from were we had started. The nightmare of falling into the water at night finally ended when we reached the shore.. I wanted to kiss the mainland.I think I did it even.That part is still a bit hazy. Boo and Poo were enjoying a drink and waiting for us.

All of us got back and decided to enjoy the dinner and of course the drinks that followed. Our table was put up in the beach sand with candle lights and looked really beautiful. We got our baggage and settled to a head massage(by a guy who learned Ayurveda from the beaches of Kerala). The music, the aroma of the good food, the sound of sea water hitting the shores and of course, the good old whisky is undoubtedly making me feel content. I feel satisfied with life. I can see flashes from my camera and the girls are posing for pouting pics.. Is time still or are they still posing.. I look at my cam, and its the latter. Around 8-10 pouting pics. In between all this, Boo bought a hair band which has 2 red horns attached to it which glows at night. So all the gals pose for a few pics with that as well. I can see his highness Jo, gulping down his drinks and ordering out the next. I think I just saw Gaya falling down from her chair in slow motion on to the sand.I did, I did.I did see Gaya falling on to the sand. In fact,shes been kind enough to give us an instant replay as well, thanks to Mady for his support.
The red horns are circulating around the table when our main course arrives. We all walk to the beach and lie down there for some time.We also walk along the shores. I have to agree that walking on the beach, with friends, way past midnight is an experience worth treasuring. After the walk, Boo and I decide to go to the rest room. When I get out from the Men's room, I see Boo making friends with a foreigner. I look at her amazed at the socializing effects of alcohol..
When we get back a lot of dishes are kept on the table and Jo is sleeping in the sand. His highness has decided to give dinner a miss. Hes decided to have his royal slumber on the beach and is adamant about not being able to finish his drink. We eat our food and of course finish our drinks too. Finally the bills comes to an exorbitant figure. We managed to pay the money and before going I quickly gulp down 2 glasses of whiskey as his highness Jo told me that we should never ever waste alcohol. We walk a little. when our driver, the savior , comes to our rescue and takes us home. We all rush into the A/c room and lie down. I could literally feel the roof above me go round and round(the lyrics of the flo rida song ROUND N ROUND fits in perfectly) as if I am sitting on a merry go around going at a rapid speed. I get up and go to the hall, sit on the sofa and then the unthinkable and the unimaginable happens.. I throw up on to the floor in front of me.My first official throw up after having alcohol. Those last 2 gulps must have done the trick. Amy and Poo were there helping me out. I feel really embarrassed and decide to clean my own mess. So I clean myself and the floor and then go and take a bath. My head is spinning a little but I decide to call it a day and go and sleep.
Valuable Lesson Learnt: Do not gulp down 2 large shots of whisky in one go and more importantly,don't make the mistake of lying down after that.

May 3: I wake up and thankfully there are no signs of a hangover. We are late as usual and everyone's stomach start growling. We rush to the nearest vegetarian and south Indian place to have something Indian. Having continental food without break for the past 2 days have taken a toll on us, on our health and on our pockets. All of us look super tired but we still insist on doing some sight seeing. So we decide to go to a church nearby. Today, I feel uneasy. Its not like the past 2 days. Then it hits me hard that today is our last day in GOA.. I feel sad but decide to enjoy the rest of the day in the best manner possible. We visit the church, take a few snaps(an integral part of any trip) and decide to head to another tourist spot. Sap and Mady decide to head back home. The rest of us head to the Agumbe Fort, take a few snaps and return to join Sap and Mady in an afternoon siesta. We head out to get Goan Port wine and indulge in last minute shopping. Amy is not feeling well and we get her medicine prescribed by Boo's mom. Time flies by and its time for us to start our return journey. We drop Poo and Boo in the railway station and head back to Bangalore.

Present day(Jan 2010)
I had started this post sometime back but had kept it aside. Nearly 8 months have passed since my trip to Goa. A lot of things have changed since then, for the better or the worse, I don't know. Whatever the future unfolds, the only thing I know is that these memories are little treasures which I will cherish till I bite the dust and even in my darkest of hours, they will bring a smile on to my face. I am so glad that it happened and looking forward to one more such trip in the future. Hope this wish of mine comes true soon... I am waiting.....