Christmas Under the Konkan Sun: Our road trip from Chandigarh to Goa and Back

                                         One of the ferries that transported us over a river

                                           Candolim Beach, Christmas 2015

The sea along the Konkan Coast

The famed beauty of the Konkan coast lures many people to the region especially in December- January, since it’s the coolest time of the year. Many choose the Konkan railway and those living nearby might drive along but how many people decide to drive halfway across our vast country? To be precise: Chandigarh- Goa- Chandigarh? My guess is, not many.

We began our journey on the afternoon of December 18, 2015 and returned to Chandigarh on New Year’s Eve at a quarter to twelve. We travelled through Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka, covering over 5000 kilometres! Our vehicle: the Skoda Yeti, a beautiful, sturdy four-wheel drive. After a night halt at Delhi on the 18^th, we proceeded to Udaipur in Rajasthan, passed through Gujarat on the 19^th and landed up in Navi Mumbai on the 20^th of December. Rajasthan is not particularly traveller-friendly despite being on the tourist radar, since the roads are narrow and the marble industry brings trucks by the dozens all day long. Getting stuck behind one of these is miserable. However, the people are generally courteous and patient unlike our friends in Delhi or UP and Bihar or anywhere else in the East! NH 4 also lacks signboards and decent restaurants or dhabas. All we saw in profusion were truckers’ eateries without any ‘family’ cars parked outside. But the countryside is beautiful in a stark, expansive way. Shrubs and Eucalyptus trees line the hilly terrain and Bougainvillea in red and pink separate the single lane roads. The Rajput legacy lives on and most hotels and guesthouses have facades designed to resemble fortresses.

Upon entering Gujarat, the first thing that strikes you is the excellent roads and signboards that are displayed prominently. What a relief! To see the asphalt gleaming in the sunlight was a real pleasure. Everything perks up suddenly and this continues pretty much all through Maharashtra. Navi Mumbai was crazy. If you think Delhi is crowded, just visit Mumbai. Flyovers, high-rise buildings and horrendous traffic. Overwhelming. Or maybe we’re just spoilt in Chandigarh.

Further south of Mumbai, the pretty Maharashtra countryside greeted us and then came the Konkan coast. Lush, green, thickly wooded and undulating, the road follows the sea most of the way and it’s a feast for the eye. The Western Ghats have a steep gradient in some places. The weather was cool, the population sparse and everything was laced with a languid air. The houses had thatched roofs without exception because of heavy rains that come down all year round and many of them were painted in bright, pretty colours: Blue, Pink and Yellow.

We crossed the narrow rivers five times by ferry along with our vehicle and it was great fun. Bigger ferries transport upto eight vehicles plus motorcycles, the smaller ones only two or three SUVs. It was cheap (only two hundred rupees for the Yeti and four of us passengers), the people were polite and patient and the surroundings were spectacular.

A word about the cuisine: fantastic local dishes. We had prawns galore but there was also lots of Pomfret, Surmai, chicken and pork on offer.

We dropped in at two temples en route: Harihareshwar in Maharashtra, which is called Dakshin Kashi and Ganpatipule in Goa. Both are located on the beach and, unlike North Indian temples, they were clean and peaceful- no Pandas trying to extort money.

Delfino's, Candolim

Fisherman's Cove, Candolim

Lovely Portuguese style house, Panjim

We reached Goa on the 23^rd and- wow! It was lovely. Our rented Dupleix was in Candolim, which is perhaps the best beach since it’s clean and not too crowded. Baga and Calangute were crazy: crowded with barely enough standing space but lively, too. Candolim is peaceful even though it’s overrun with Russians. Restaurant menus are bilingual: English and Russian, shopkeepers speak Russian and every other person is White. I heard English and French accents but, surprisingly no Australian or American or German.

One’s spoilt for choice where food is concerned. There are restaurants every few feet on the main road in Candolim. Delfino’s supermarket dominates the market and in the same line there’s a bakery that goes by the delightful name, Butter Fingers. Yummy brownies there.

I wasn’t too impressed with the shops since T-shirts, flipflops, hats and key chains are about all one can buy but the market was lit up for Christmas so it was fun. Christmas music playing all over, Churches everywhere, the Christmas spirit was ubiquitous. The three beaches I mentioned are in North Goa. We travelled down to South Goa- Panjim and Fort Aguada. Panjim has an old world Portuguese feel with gorgeous houses and Churches, broad roads with shady trees Basilica of Bom Jesus  that houses the remains of St. Francis Xavier is a tourist hot spot but the crowds and commercial ambience there left me cold. In stark contrast is the Immaculate Conception Church, which is situated at a height, and its white radiance is breath-taking. We were fortunate to visit it on Christmas Day.

Our return journey wasn’t half as much fun, how could it be? We took the Murudeshwar- Pune- Surat- Jaipur route and, although the roads were good we were weighed down with a sense of ‘back to work’ (hubby and me) and ‘back to school’ (my son, who’s in Class Ten). We did 1100 kms the last day! Because it was New Year’s Eve and hotels would be exorbitant. And also because my son had to get back asap to make up for a week’s school he’d missed. It was back breaking but the joy of sleeping in one’s own bed made up for the rigours of the journey.

Ah, Home Sweet Home.