After a rushed morning at work we got to Manchester Airport at about 1.30pm on Friday 13th April. Flying with the dreaded Monarch so we had to produce our accommodation voucher which was for 1 night's dormhouse accommodation as we were flight only. After a wander around duty free without buying anything we made our way to the executive lounge that we had booked in advance. We have done this for the last 2 or 3 trips and makes a relaxing start to the holiday. We thought we might as well be comfortable for a couple of hours before getting on the plane!!
What a surprise - the flight was only about half full so after take off we made ourselves comfortable on the three seats between the two of us. As we had a bit more room than usual the flight was fine. We stopped of in Bahrain which is where we hit the duty free to stock up on perfume and gin for me, Himself will wait until Goa to buy his Bacardi.
We landed on time at 8am and as usual picked the slowest queue through passport control. After we changed queues we got through much quicker. A friend of mine had recommended the taxi driver she uses and had arranged for him to pick us up and Polli was waiting for us outside. The porter who insisted on taking our luggage outside wasn't impressed with the 40 rupees tip he got.
We arrived at the Highland Beach Resort at around 9.30am and our room was ready for us to go to straight away. We were using Mr P's sister's apartment which they bought last year so our accommodation was free - sorry folks !! Mr P and his family are Indian origin so a few acquaintances have bought apartments here. I can't start my holiday until I've unpacked so when this was done we walked up the lane to have a look at how our apartment was coming along. We have bought one at Regal Park which is opposite the Highland Beach reception. At Christmas we could wander around the building site and no-one said a word (so much for health & safety) but now that the first two phases have been released and people have moved in, they have a security barrier and the guards wouldn't let us through to meet a couple of our future neighbours that we had been emailing. "You need a card" they told us. Right then, off to the Seashell Inn to make an appointment with Royston to sign some paperwork later in the week, we also ask about a card to get us through checkpoint Charlie to meet our neighbours who were returning to the UK the following morning. After a couple of false starts which involved meeting other future neighbours, we found the apartment we were looking for. The couple were lovely and showed us what they had achieved in the 2 weeks since they took possession of their apartment and passed on a few tips on where to shop for electrical goods etc. Took lots of photos of our place from the inside of the complex as we didn't know when we would get let in again.
We spent our first evening at Beaches which is run by an English guy, Paul, who is great company. The evening was so good that we had to go back the following day to check that we had paid as neither of us could remember doing it.
Had a late lunch at Bobby's shack on Candolim beach which finally settled us into the holiday mood. A friend of mine had asked me to get a handbag made for her mum and had given me pictures and a sample of fabric she wanted them to match so we decided to eat in Baga once we had dropped off the info at their chosen leather shop. We had a great meal in Kim Faa but as usual ordered too much. We noticed that the prices had stickers over the top which covered the more expensive prices they had charged earlier in the season. It is much cheaper at this time of year.This is a working holiday so on Monday morning we meet up with a lady whose company provides a furnishing service. She takes us to Panjim and we have a look at the packages they provide which were very nice and it would be good to have someone take care of everything. We would like to shop around a bit though and see what else is out there. After some lunch at Shere e Punjab and a bit of shopping at Bombay Bazaar opposite, we call Polli and ask him to pick us up and take us to some furniture shops. He takes us back to Candolim saying that as it's late afternoon the shops will be closed until after 4pm so we make arrangements for the following day.
Tuesday we keep our appointment with Royston to find out what we do next regarding purchasing our apartment. We also ask for some furniture recommendations and he gives us a list of suppliers. Afterwards Polli takes us to Porvorim to a furniture shop - oh dear, not my taste at all.
But as you know in Goa nothing is a problem so we get shown catalogues and are told that they can make anything we want. We say we will think about it. All this time Polli has been following us around the shop as we look at things. He tells us that he has called a couple of other shops but they are closed today. Didn't see him use his phone but we let it go and return to Candolim.Wednesday Polli picks us up and takes us to Porvorim again, we go to three furniture shops 2 are on our list and 1 is his recommendation. All of it looks pretty much like the stuff in the other shops but when we go to one which was on our list and ask about fitted kitchens they open a door and inside what is partly a storeroom is an almost finished display kitchen and the quality is excellent - we have seen a few rickety ones so far and are really impressed with the quality of this one. We leave our number for the boss to call us back as he isn't around at the time of our visit. While we are getting ready to go out for the evening the boss, Joe, calls us back. He says he has a few customers in the area and we ask if we can see some of his work, he arranges to pick us up the following day. As it's Wednesday we are heading to Lazydays for the meet-up but we have dinner first at Sirocco which is a lovely Italian and one of the few places we have been to more than once. We get to Lazydays around 8.30/9ish and Gemma33 and Emily are already there as are xtweeksx, dribyar and Catweasle. Gemma may tell you differently but we did try to get out of going to Club Cubana
but a few drinks later we all piled into a taxi with Mr P in the boot. We are not nightclub people and are old enough to know better so it wasn't really our thing but we went for the experience. It's a nice place and I think if it had been less crowded we would have enjoyed it but a lot of people had gone there thinking it was the last night and it was packed. Gemma and Emily, having more sense than us, left after about an hour but we ended up staying much later and dropped off xtweeksx on the way back home at around 4am.After a few hours sleep it's time to meet Joe the furniture man. We get a taxi from the hotel and get as far as Porvorim but the taxi driver doesn't quite know where to go (we didn't use Polli this time). After a few calls to Joe we finally make it to his showroom but not before we have had a look at the shop that sells cane furniture that he just happened to park outside to call Joe. We like the stuff and file away the location for future reference (opposite the water tower). Joe takes us to his workshop where we see kitchen cabinets being made from scratch, none of your flatpack nonsense here. He told us he is also a builder and took us to a villa he had built and was furnishing for a catholic Goan family (they hadn't moved in yet). The place was fantastic and the woodwork amazing. We are shown the bedroom furniture that one of his guys is still sanding down and the kitchen which is partially fitted, the quality is excellent. He gives us a rough price for the kitchen and bedroom furniture and says he will provide a proper quote in a few days but he needs accurate measurements. We speak to Royston and get an appointment for the following day to have access to an empty apartment so that Joe can measure up properly. Funny how the two of us, who have walked past every day, have to be escorted around the complex but a guy in a big, shiny 4x4 can drive straight through and the guys just lift up the barrier for him. We tell Joe what we want and where and he does the measuring while I take the opportunity to do a bit of filming on the digital camera - last chance before we come back at Christmas and see our own place finally finished. We part company with Joe and he promises to give us a proper quote in a few days.
Friday - the end of the first week and we go to the beach
. We are finally on holiday. Our favourite beach shack is the Big Banana in Baga which we have adopted since our first visit 5 years ago but we agreed that we can't be getting taxis to Baga everyday when we are staying in Candolim. So, heeding the HT recommendation of Bono's shack having the best toilets, we decide that this is our kind of place. Get to the end of beach road to find that Bobby's and several other shacks have already been or are in the process of being dismantled. Bono's is still intact though and we have a very relaxing day on the beach, it's been very humid the whole week but there is a strong breeze on the beach which makes it comfortable . but very deceptive. I have fair skin so always use factor 25 which stands me in good stead and I am careful about the time I spend sunbathing. But after just 1 hour, front and back (30 mins each side) I was burnt to a crisp. I must have fried the front a little more than half an hour as I spent the rest of the holiday with red legs at the front and white at the back - and white knees for some reason. How can your legs burn so thoroughly and the knees be immune? Mr P got bored and went for a walk up the beach, returning 2 hours later after I had finished an excellent tuna steak with salad. He had walked up to the Big Banana, had one drink and come back again. As I have said before, Mr P is Indian so tans easily and if he uses the suncream, he doesn't burn - but he did this day. So, be careful of the sun at this time of year, it's much stronger than in December.I could probably dredge up some more memories from the second week if you are interested but, just in case, here are some of the places we ate at :-
La Fenice - excellent Italian and lovely breezy terrace on the roof.
Bon Appetite - Sinquerim, right on the beach. Beautiful setting let down by an average menu.
Sharanam Green - the new veggie place on the Calangute/Candolim border. Excellent food even if you are not a vegetarian (neither of us is). Believe it or not, we had to walk back to the hotel from here because we couldn't get a taxi. Yes, we are the only people to have been to Goa and not been able to get a lift home. Actually it wasn't too bad as we were both wearing our Crocs and we stopped off for an iced coffee at the new Cafe Coffee Day in Candolim.
Nizmar - we had a few starters here as we weren't very hungry, excellent food as always.
Inferno - always good
The Thai restaurant in the Oriental Hotel on Molly Malone road was really good and the candles in waterlillies that they floated on the swimming pool really added to the atmosphere.
We went to Mackie's night market which we always enjoy but didn't buy much. We go for the food and entertainment more than anything.
We found it a little depressing during the second week as the bars and restaurants started closing up.
So, that's as much as my little brain can remember on a Sunday afternoon and I've ironing to do - no rest for the wicked. If you want a part 2 I will see what else I can remember but I won't be offended if you don't. Thanks for reading.
