This summer, me, my family, my aunt, uncle and my baby cousin together went on a trip to the smallest state of our country, Goa! Oh! Goa…. The thought of the trip immediately send me into dreams of paradise beaches and five-star hotels. We prepared for our trip buying beach toys, swimwear, (cute pineapple outfit for my cousin that I simply loved!) coastal dresses and frocks among many more items. We were planning to set out to the Thrissur Railway Station to get on the train to Goa.

That day, after packing and making everything ready, we bid farewell to our grandparents and left in our car to the railway station. After a one hour drive, we reached our destination, parked our car and waited for our train. Me and my sister bought snacks and cool drinks and we entertained ourselves with stories of what we would do when we reach Goa.

When we got onto the train, we bought a few tea snacks after which me, my sister and my cousin listened to our favourite playlists on Spotify. It was a lovely time on the train, watching the scenery pass on as we journeyed. When it got dark, we again went back to our electronic gadgets for entertainment. By the time it was already time for us to order our food on the train. After having some hot chapattis with tasty gravy, my dad and my uncle hoisted up the bunk beds on the train. When I was tucked up in the first bunk, cozy under the blanket, with a soft pillow supporting my head and a hot meal in my stomach, I was already feeling tired enough to sleep for a year.

Timeskip

Hot sand under my feet, blue skies above me, the whispering of the sea in my ears…. And someone rolling me around like a rolling pin while my feet were frozen cold… I woke up from my sleep and sat up. Or almost sat up. My head bumped on the bed and I rubbed my head. (Hey, that kinda rhymes…) Crouching low, I crawled to the edge of the bunk, after which I carefully extended my foot out to jump down. It was 2.30 am in the morning and we had almost reached Madgaon Station. My cousin and sister were still asleep on the shoulders of my aunt and mother. By this time it was so cold on the train that my blood had ran cold. Shivering, I pulled on my hoodie and put my hands in my warm pockets.

Timeskip

After we exited the railway station, we waited for our taxi. “There he comes now, that’s the car” my uncle said. We all climbed in and set off at top speed, winding about the lanes of Goa, examining the Portuguese styled houses. I dozed off for some time after that and was woken up when we reached our holiday inn. KRISH HOLIDAY INN said the board. We checked in and climbed the stairs to our room. They were good enough with a comfy bed, TV, large bathroom and a balcony with a beautiful view. We all got into our pajamas and freshened up, brushing our teeth and cleaning our hair. It was only five by then and the sun had not risen. So we decided to sleep some more and head out at seven o’clock.

Timeskip (Againnn!)

The sun blazed angrily into my eyes. I woke up and me and my family bathed and dressed. I settled into a purple polka dot top with rainbow joggers. When we all were dressed, we headed out for breakfast. We found a decent restaurant just opposite to our hotel and walked towards it. The breakfast was good. We had puris and dosas with nice coffee. After that, we went back to the parking ground of our holiday inn to wait for our private driver. We were to travel in an Ertiga for the day. Our driver first took us to the Fort Aguada Jail Museum. We saw how the old prisoners were kept and the cells. Some of the cells even had statues of prisoners inside them. There were also old unearthed statues on display and all of this was built near the sea, with waves crashing on the rocks.

Next we went to the Aguada Fort where we have to climb a lot of steps. By the time we exited the fort, it was 9.30 and the sun was blazing hot. SO right after visiting the fort we bought some iced sodas from the nearby stands. When that was done we went to visit the Candolim Beach. That was an amazing experience with giant waves crashing on our feet. Some of the waves even reached our knees! Then we also went to the Calangute beach. There, we sat under a huge umbrella in the shade and enjoyed the smell of the sea and sat contentedly for a few minutes. After spending half an hour there and taking some very cool pics we went to a hotel for lunch. I must say that I really enjoyed the food over there and refreshed myself thoroughly. After having lunch, we went to visit Baga Beach. This time, we took our swimwear and decided to have a nice swim in the evening. We rested under some umbrellas again and when it became about 5.00 pm, we put on our swimsuits and headed for the water. It was warm and pleasant and the background music playing from the hotels gave me a sense of calm in my mind. My cousin who was experiencing the sea for the first time was very excited and loved playing in the water. We had a great time and then, when the lifeguards started blowing their whistles, we got out of the water. We dried ourselves with towels and then went back to our inn after having some tea. After having a bath and talking about the day’s events together, we dressed again and headed out for a light dinner and an evening walk. We had to walk a long way to find a good restaurant that suited all of our tastes. We had an amazing dinner and after that, headed out for a walk among the markets. We bought a few tie-dye t-shirts and sovereigns to bring back home from Goa. After that we went back to our hotel, for we all needed a good night’s sleep.

Timeskip

We woke up quite early the next day. We dressed up in our Goan clothes and had breakfast. After we got into our car, our driver told that today we were going to explore more of South Goa. So first, we went for boating. The boat played loud music and it was very fast so we enjoyed the wind. It lasted about one hour. After that, we played a bit in a small park and my sister and cousin really enjoyed playing on the slides and swings. After that, we headed to some of the popular temples and the old Portuguese churches. After having a tour of them all, it was almost time for our train back home. We had a late lunch and then headed towards the markets for some shopping. After shopping to our satisfaction, we headed back to the railway station. We all thanked our driver and bid him goodbye and then got in and waited for our train. It was delayed for about half an hour, so we waited for a bit and then boarded the train. During this journey, we were able to experience it when our train passed through the famous Konkan Tunnel. We watched the sun set and then ordered some food. As before, I got into bed and dreamed of the glorious moments we had spent in Goa.

Malavika Vinod - I am a passionate to reading, writing, and listening to music. I am a tremendous space lover (influenced by Swati Mohan; the Indian-American aerospace engineer working at NASA) and like to write stories and poems that talk about my experiences and which I can use to express myself.......