Uncovering Goa: Part 2 – North

From the Palm Beach to the Party Town

As I mentioned in the first part, I took the bus from southern Goa to Calangute for my next pre-booked accommodation. It was clear to me from the first moment after stepping outside of the bus that this town has very different vibes than the small beach town Palolem. The bigger the town, the louder it gets. Even during the nights.

Where the streetsides in southern Goa consist of many restaurants, cafes, small grocery kiosks, fruit shops, and cloth shops, Calangute offers almost an endless variety of liquor stores, tattoo shops, and cashew nut shops one next to another. Calangute has also plenty of options for spas and massage parlors spread across the city. The pricing of their services is collectively very high, about 2000-3000 rupees for 1 hour.

Calangute’s main shopping street, Calangute Beach Road, has plenty to offer for people looking for souvenirs or clothing. Most shops on this street do not want to spend too much time haggling with every tourist so they keep fixed prices on their items. That is why you don’t have to go through every shop because most of them have the same products and prices!

Calangute has plenty of nightclubs, and the most famous is Tito’s Club, which even has its own mobile app. As I am a white young guy, all the doormen along the Tito’s Lane – the street where most of Calangute’s nightlife is located – are offering free entry to their clubs where they would like to place you directly at the bar or nearby the entry. In this way, they can lure more curious locals to pay the entry fee into their club.

The Beach Side

Calangute Beach is part of an amazing 4km long sand beach which also includes Baga Beach. Needless to say, especially in October, there is plenty of space to find a spot in the sun and find a moment of peace from the loud city environment. During the evening, Baga Beach is a great place to look for a candlelight dinner or drinks by the sea.

Water sport activities are available on the beach and almost on every street. They all sell the same package, a combination of 4 activities highlighting jetski ride and parasailing. The price for the package for me was ₹1800, and the activities take place from 10 am to 5 pm. At first, this sounded like a good deal to do all that for a price of about 21€. The activities, however, are done before you really get started. Some in 15 seconds and others within 1 minute, so you end up having fun for about 3-4 minutes in total, and the rest you’ll be waiting your turn and taking pictures. It is not really cheating, but imagine you pay to go bowling but you get to throw only the first round.

If you decide to try these activities, take care of the scammers who offer to take professional pictures and/or videos of your experience for a price. They DO NOT have cameras on the boats. You can take your own phone with you, and even if you are worried it might get wet, people are selling waterproof covers on the beach. They’ll find you.

Something About the Traffic

The streets in Goa generally are packed with scooters, cars, and other motorized vehicles urgently trying to find their way through the traffic, horns as their only indicator. The main rule seems to be: smaller vehicles make space for larger vehicles, and pedestrians must always watch out for everything else, even the cows. If left-handed driving is not a problem, I’d recommend renting a bike or alternatively hiring a tuktuk.

Police patrols are consistently observing the main roads of northern Goa and often check “suspicious” looking drivers like me, although the traffic in the city itself does not seem to follow any set of rules. The police stopped me also a couple of times just to check my driver’s license, but on a second time, the officer also wanted my sunglasses, which I got to keep after negotiations. I believe the sunglasses were the only reason I got pulled over.

A word of warning – keep your helmet on, driver’s license (get an international driver’s license), and ID with you, at least as a digital or hard copy, and do not give the authorities a reason to put you in trouble.

Best Restaurant Recommendations

Indian food is very delicious and has a great variety of sorts. However, after some time, I just need to get my treat of western food in the form of a pizza or a wrap, or just a proper cup of cappuccino. Calangute does not offer many options for western food, but Just Bake is one of the rare ones – and it is definitely worth visiting! It is a mixture of a cafe and a hookah lounge where you sit in the traditional Indian way on the floor. In addition to salty food and snacks, they also serve cakes and other delicious sweet stuff. The ambiance inside the cafe treats you with beautiful colorful design and relaxed vibes.

German Bakery is one of the must-visit restaurants in Goa. It is located near Anjuna Beach and is known to gather many travelers and tourists for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. There you will find fellow travelers and even play a game of table tennis. The German Bakery is just a name and has very little in common with actual German bakeries. They offer a large menu of heavenly healthy foods and quality drinks.

Summary

The northern part of Goa used to be a party central for many Westerners and people interested in the hippie culture. It used to be a popular holiday location also for Finnish people, especially in the 90s, but today, most non-Indian tourists seem to come from Russia and from Great Britain. There used to be more charter planes flying directly from Europe to Dabolim.

Places like Shiva Valley in Anjuna used to keep rave parties by the beach until the morning hours. This has unfortunately become history as Goan authorities have decided to restrict loud music on beaches to end at 10 pm. Drinking alcohol is strictly prohibited on the beaches with a penalty of ₹2000 or imprisonment. Law enforcement agencies have also cracked down on drug-related activities. The Indian government seems to be working on turning Goa into a responsible holiday location for local tourists and foreigners willing to spend a fair amount for a luxurious stay. However, Calangute remains a vibrant party town, predominantly appealing to men seeking a weekend of drinking and bad behaviour.

The Journey Goes On

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. From here my travels take me further north of India. Stay tuned, more to come!

I leave you with this thought:

Time is our most valuable resource. If you were to offer 100 million dollars but only one day to live, would you take it?

All the best and stay curious!