yes, i went to goa again. it’s still just two times in 2013 (yes, i know we’ve moved on to 2014 but i’m still writing about the year that’s gone by)

this trip was a work+pleasure trip. 3 days of work, where i walked around the old parts of goa to write the walking tour of those areas, then i stayed on in panjim for 3 days and let the charm of that capital city seep into me.  the three nights in panjim were spent at a different place each night and that accounted for different experiences. night one was at a friend’s house and dinner was from her favourite chinese restaurant, night two was at a lovely homestay i am to review (more about that in the next post), and the third night was at one of my favourite guesthouses in panjim – afonso’s (where i had scrambled eggs with coriander and loved it.)

the new bit about goa this time? walking around the fontainhas quarter. this part of the goan experience never featured earlier; the beaches and shacks of goa always took precedence and dominated all free time and space. infact, i had stayed in this area earlier, but still went to the beaches in north goa and didn’t discover my own backyard – literally!

the latin quarter feels like the original bombay village (read about ‘chimbai village‘ and ‘where the walls come alive in bandra’). i took a morning walk, ambled along the tiny lanes, gaped at buildings and found memories of the past in fontainhas.

it was an interesting two hours… filled with photographs and broken scooters, me trying to get into buildings and a lip-curling-shark-teeth-sharp-barking dog trying to get a bite of me. i saw road names in portuguese, saw time stop, saw the past dilapidated in the present, and the brightness in the dull shades of yellow.

i experienced another goa, far from the beaches and very different from the goa i had experienced during the ‘goa without beaches’ trip. and i walked away appreciating the fact that goa will always surprise me, it will always throw a new angle and present another facet that i hadn’t experienced before.

here are some photos that will take you on a journey of the latin quarter of goa. walk by, linger on and soak in a bit of goa. is it worth a visit you ask? most definitely!

old style boards greet you

beautiful, old buildings surprise you

grill-less, plant-full windowsill

wrought iron charm lingers on

old world warming hues

every lane is a picture, but this one has a mad dog!

and even the road signs… wow!

how is the home inside, i wonder

how can one be scared of this lab?

discarded? kiska bajaj?

organic – no interference, or intervention

old and new alongside

and thats an office!

welcome in, we’ll take you to another time

quaint, quaint and quaint… chugging along

p.s. if you like my writing, vote for me at http://keralablogexpress.com/user/single_participant/383 (keralablogexpress.com) and i might just win a trip to kerala. help me!