SRI LANKA...the Subhojit way!!!

Finally I found the time to sit and write about Sri Lanka. Well I had travelled to Sri Lanka in March 2013 for my Honeymoon! My wife and me wanted to do a budget trip not anywhere far with a lot of travelling and so after a lot of research we finally narrowed it down to the island country of Sri Lanka. We fell in love with the country from the moment we landed there, it was like love at first sight! We chose to visit only the beaches in Sri Lanka and hence didn't go inland to Kandy and other such places. Also we didn't go to their East coast as we traveled only around the West coast. The places we saw were Bentota, Galle, Colombo and the surreal beach of Alankuda. From my experience I will not be able to advice you much on the inland travel.

We landed in Colombo at the break of dawn. The journey from Mumbai was just 2 hours and Sri Lankan Air is a good way to fly directly into Colombo. On landing in Sri Lanka we firstly bought a sim card. Dialog is the best company with good unlimited internet plans. A recharge of Rs (Sri Lankan) 500 is more than enough for a week. Indian currency is almost double in Sri Lanka so finally it was a place where we felt richer. We were to stay the first two days in Induruwa Beach Resort. This place is close to Bentota beach and I must tell you the resort was beautiful. The journey from the Airport to Induruwa was around 2 and a half hours. We couldn't help but notice these beautiful orange coconuts being sold along the highway. We stopped and picked up three coconuts for just Rs 100. These are known as king coconuts and one coconut contains enough water to make you feel full.

The hotel was kind enough to allow us an early check in. Our room was ocean facing and we decided to immediately change and cool off in the pool. After a nice long swim in the pool we decided to start our journey in Sri Lanka, but this couldn't be done in an empty stomach so we decided to have a nice lunch first. The Tuk Tuk we hired suggested us this restaurant called Amal very strongly. We went with him and this place was a sea food paradise. Cozily nestled near the beach this restaurant offered live catches prepared in various fares. We had a hearty meal of fish curry, rice, vegetable stew and beer. After this wonderful meal we visited a near by spice garden. Now always remember something about spice gardens, the ones on the side of the beach are fake and man made! Spices can't grow near the beach because the soil is salty so always visit spice gardens which are a little inland.

Over here let me tell you something about Sri Lanka. There is one road known as the Galle Road which runs parallel to the beach throughout the country. Most beach destinations and even the Capital city of Colombo is situated on this road. This one road can take you across the length and breadth of the island.
Anyways, these spice garden are filled with lots of plants and herbs which we use on a daily basis but have never seen before. They offer you massages also and you pay whatever you feel like, there is no rate card here. One can also pick up a lot of Ayurvedic products from these places. Next we headed to a turtle hatchery. There are numerous turtle hatcheries stretched on Galle Road but one needs to choose wisely and visit the one with maximum variety of turtles. These hatcheries are beautiful and the turtles are a delight to play with. Although they do seem to get a little irritated if you pose for photographs with them for too long. One can see the entire process of hatching of turtle eggs and what are the precautionary measures being taken to conserve turtles.
One thing to remember here is that being an Indian tourist one is not liable to pay the foreigner admission fee rates in all places. There are always two separate entry tickets to most places and one should always ask for the local pass and not the foreigner pass.

From here we looked around in a couple of shops to find something interesting. We found this very colonial looking bungalow which was actually a tea store. This tea store is a must visit. They have a wide variety of green and organic teas. They allow you to taste each and every one of them. The teas here are a little expensive as compared to other wholesale places but this variety is hard to find. Do pick up tea in Sri Lanka because it is a must bring back souvenir. Around Bentota are a lot of these water sport places. They have options like jet skies, wind surfing, wave surfing and lots of other things at very very reasonable prices. We were a little late so we couldn't try anything but this is a must do. The Tuk Tuk charged us Rs (Sri Lankan) 500 for taking us around to all these places. He was a nice man and I am attaching his photo here, so if you find him in Induruwa you can be sure of him.

We went back to our hotel and dived into the pool again because the weather was very hot and humid and one gets very very sweaty. We decided to go to the pub in our hotel and have a couple of drinks before dinner. The Pina Colada was yummy with a generous amount of alcohol. Sri Lanka's best beer is Lion and this is also the cheapest option. Later we went for an authentic Sri Lankan dinner which consisted of vegetable curry, yellow lentils, green salad, sambol, mango chutney, papad and rice. Here comes my advice - when in Sri Lanka eat only local cuisine because it is super tasty, very different from South Indian food, fresh ingredients, lots of variety in both veg and non veg, good sea food and mostly because it is easier on the pocket!!!

The next day started early with us heading straight for the Mangrove River Safari. This is an absolute must do and see. It was like an hours drive from Induruwa and this place is in between Bentota and Hikkaduwa. It is an archipelago of 300 tiny islands with various kinds of vegetation, fauna, flora and wildlife. You hire boats and the safari lasts a good 3 hours. Each boat is for Rs 5000 and seats a maximum of 8 people. The entire area is a mangrove and the first thing we spotted was a humongous water monitor. Then we saw prawn farms, lots of baby water monitors, various kinds of birds, colorful kingfishers, blue jelly fish and I could just go on and on. The best thing we saw here was the flying fish. Do not have a picture as they disappear within a fraction of a second but apparently we were very lucky as very few people get to spot them.
We got off at Cinnamon Islands and saw the entire process of Cinnamon making. In another island we saw the oldest monastery in the country which also houses the oldest Buddhist scriptures. We spotted a lot of green snails stuck to different trees in complete camouflage. From here we went for a fish pedicure in the middle of the river in a Tilapia Farming Project. These fishes are way bigger than your average size fish pedicure fishes and they are of a beautiful orange color. Over here they also have a baby alligator whom one can hold and take pictures with. The alligator is very cute and friendly. Our boatman spotted a lotus in the water and he turned the boat around to pick it up. He folded the stem in a couple of different ways and ended up making a necklace for my wife. This was a priceless necklace. They end the tour by taking you to the mouth of the river where it meets the sea and one can see the patches of white silt opening up to the ocean.

Now once you finish your river safari my advice is please don't miss a meal at the Gangabada Walawwa Restaurant. It is a floating restaurant with the most amazing island food. Grab a couple of beers and order prawn curry and rice or fish curry and rice. Their portions are enormous and the meal consists of a vegetable dry, vegetable curry, salad, prawn or fish curry, sambol, chutney, papads and rice. The taste is unbelievable and the quality makes you want to cry with joy. The prawn curry had at least 25 pieces of prawns! The most unbelievable part is the price, this meal costs you Rs 250 (Sri Lankan)!
After this wonderful meal we drove to Galle which is the Southern most tip of this island and was once upon a time the Dutch settlement. The city has a huge wall which divided the Dutch colony from the island habitats once upon a time. Galle is a white color town with beautiful colonial architecture and years of history. It reminded me of Fort Kochi somehow!!! There are a lot of museums and other historical sites to see here. We went to the see the main fort, the cricket stadium and the light house. The heat quite got onto us after a while and thus we decided to head back to Induruwa. On our drive back we stopped to see a humongous statue of Buddha by the sea. On our drive back we crossed Hikkaduwa and realised that this place was the fun and party beach. There are a lot of diving options on this beach too. Our immediate reaction was 'the next time we have to stay on this beach!

On our return to Induruwa we decided to spend the evening in the hotel itself as we were quite tired from all the travelling during the day and also because it started raining heavily. We called it an early night as the next morning we had a rather long drive to Alankuda!

The next morning we woke up early and had a quick breakfast. Daya our guide and driver was on time and we left the hotel for our beach haven called Alankuda. Now, not many people know about this beach called Alankuda and their are just 3 secluded resorts here on this beach which are not promoted for a reason. The drive from Induruwa to Alankuda was 7 hours and we had to go via Colombo. Daya had informed us on our way that Alankuda was not a wise choice as it fell in the areas which was deeply infested by the LTTE rebels once upon a time. We ignored him and enjoyed our drive. It was like driving from one tip to the other of the island as Alankuda is not very far away from Jaffna (the northern most tip of the island).

On reaching Alankuda we were quite taken aback as most of the roads were being remade and their was heavy army deployment everywhere. The roads had all been blown away during the rebel war and the army still existed in these areas to wipe out even the breath of a rebel. We were literally scared and Daya kept scaring us all the more. The road to our resort, Bar Reef Beach Resort was very difficult to locate. After getting lost 4 times we finally found the resort. Our first reaction to the resort was WOW!!! It was like a dream resort, long sandy paths with cabanas on both sides and opening up to an infinity pool by the sea. The resort had no doors or windows!!! The manager was a Spanish man who loved football and Barcelona FC. He assured us that there was no need to get worried as the resort was completely safe. We decided to take a walk around the resort with him and we were spellbound.

The resort was super fine and exclusive. It had all the modern amenities yet it had the charm of ancient. We were shown to our cabana and it looked like heaven to us. There were no windows or doors to this. If one didn't want to be disturbed then one simply had to put a red flag outside the entrance to their cabana!!! The toilet and showers were in open air!! The resort had a main dining cabana with two infinity pools, one with salt water and the other with fresh water! We ordered lunch which consisted of tender chicken burgers and later jumped into the pool. We took a lovely walk down the beach and discovered that we were actually in the midst of wind farm.

Later that evening we dressed up and went for our dinner. We were told they were serving an open air buffet dinner for everyone. The buffet looked alien but smelt amazing. We tried everything that was there on the buffet and each dish topped the other. The food was exceptionally good. We have never tasted food like this and of such good taste. Fresh ingredients and fresh produce in every dish. It was a super awesome dinner and worth every penny. The dinner cost us 3000 rupees but it was worth way more than that. We ended the day by running after white crabs that fill these beaches in the night. There are like millions of them that come out at night.

The next morning we woke up early again as we had to go dolphin and whale watching. We left with the break of dawn as early morning is the best time to catch these mammals. We were just the 2 of us in one small speed boat. Now before every boat goes into the water they have to report to the coast guard and produce their permits. This takes a while and thus they leave early. We started our journey and 20 minutes into the sea we stopped the boat in a place which was swarming with dolphins. We saw like hundreds of dolphins playing in the sea. They are very friendly creatures and actually come towards your boat to interact. From this spot we went another half an hour into the sea as whales live in much deeper waters. From here we couldn't see land anymore and the tiny boat started wobbling a lot as the sea was much rougher. We waited for a while but as luck would have it we didn't spot any whales. We headed back to the resort feeling a little incomplete but overall the experience was something we will cherish and remember always. On returning the resort didn't charge us for whale watching because we didn't see whales, so we were only charged 5500 rupees which was the cost of Dolphin spotting!!!

We came back to the resort for breakfast which consisted of fresh pickled tuna and rice!!! In Sri Lanka rice is also eaten for breakfast and with tuna as fresh as this am sure one can eat rice throughout the day. Post breakfast both of us slept off on the beach, we didn't even realise it but we both had passed out. We were awakened for lunch directly. Lunch was again a beautiful spread and the pickled pork was to die for. I remember eating an entire plateful of it. Post lunch we walked around the area a little. Evening called for a dip in the pool followed by a dinner on the beach. I had ordered for a simple dinner with salad, rice and lentils to be set up on the beach with candles. We also had a couple of beers. This was the perfect honeymoon dinner.

Next morning we woke up early as we had to leave for Colombo. We didn't feel like leaving Bar Reef Resort at all and wanted to just settle there. The drive to Colombo was comfortable and we saw a lot of unique things being sold along the highway, for example ornamental fishes. We arrived at our hotel, Hotel Global Towers in Colombo which was by the sea and centrally located. We had a lovely lunch in the hotel restaurant itself and later headed out to explore the capital city. Colombo is neat and clean, beautiful streets, all modern amenities and brands, Tata Nano's as taxis and very welcoming people. The streets of Colombo have a lot of shopping to do and one can find things ranging from cutlery, clothes, home decor, souvenirs, jewellery and restaurants. A must buy in Sri Lanka is the blue sapphire stone. It is available in almost all jewellery shops and prices differ from 10 dollars to as much as one can afford. But you have to pick up one of these for your loved one. Another things to keep in mind in Sri Lanka is that the shops shut by 8pm, so whatever shopping one needs to do has to be done before that.

The main places to shop from are Odel (expensive), House of Fashion (very reasonable and good), Majestic City, Barefoot (very good sarongs), Salusala (souvenirs), Dantotor (ceramics), Kreation Lanka and Laxzela. Apart from these we found Cotton Collezion pretty decent. House of Fashion is very good and one can pick up a lot of stuff from there for very cheap prices. The fashion in Sri Lanka is different and thus people from other countries might find it a little difficult to shop there.

Our last day in the island was spent shopping in all of the above places. We also got ourselves lovely foot massages from one of the many parlours on Galle Road. In Colombo don't forget to try the Kuttu Paratha. The streets fill up with the noise of Kuttu being prepared in various shops during the evenings. This is a must try dish here and one can have it with egg, sea food, chicken or beef. To gulp down your kuttu paratha one must try Kick Cola which is much better than your Coca Cola!!! Another must bring back from Sri Lanka is their maggi!! They have amazing variants of maggi their and they taste much better than the maggi we get here in India. Another must buy from Sri Lanka is their masks. Each mask means something different and signifies something different.

I think this is as much as I can write about our 6 days 6 nights in Sri Lanka. A beautiful county with lots to see. Places like Kandy are a must see. Hikkaduwa has beautiful dive and snorkelling spots. Mirissa is the best place to go whale watching. Lots n lots of different flavours of food to taste, beaches to see, people to meet, things to try, activities to do...this island is full of life!!!

DISCOVERING THE REAL GOAN FOOD IN GOA with SUBHOJIT!!!

I know I had promised to write about Sri Lanka next but I really wanted to write this first. This topic came in my head last night in bed and I thought the timing is perfect as this is the peak season for Goa tourism. I want everyone who reads this and his heading to Goa soon to discover the real and original flavours of Goa. The motive of writing this is because I know that a lot of people love Goa obviously for the beaches and the cheap booze but some of us love Goa for of its food. Most people who visit Goa eat in shacks that are clustered along the beach because it feels wonderful, right? The food that you taste in these shacks however are no where near the real smell or flavours of actual Goan cuisine. I want you all to read this so that the next time you are going back home from Goa you actually feel like you have tasted GOA!

I have been travelling to Goa ever since I brought in the new millennium with my family in 2000. For me it was love at first sight. Goa to me is like a close relative who if I don't visit often I miss dearly and long to see! It is a relative whose house you look forward going to because you know that every meal here is simply heavenly. I am Bengali by birth and I was born to eat fish out of the water! Goa has a lot of water everywhere, which means there is a lot of fish for me to eat. I hope that helps you understand my connection with the place.

Coming back to the food of Goa. I am going to list down my favourite places to eat when in Goa. Most of the places I am going to mention are really very reasonable price wise but equally steep flavour wise. The shacks are usually expensive as they are into business seasonally and their rents are pretty high. Family owned places are the places one should eat in. Not taking away from the fact that there are a couple of shacks that are very good. Goan food is typically very strong in flavour and each dish has its own characteristic. Ingredients consist mainly of a lot of fish, pork, chicken and various sea foods. There is a lot for vegetarians too but not the quintessential Indian comfort vegetarian food. Goan cuisine has a lot of influences from a lot of places but mainly Portuguese. So without wasting much time let me introduce the fist and my personal favourite of Goa….

1. VIVA PANJIM - Situated in the capital city of Goa, Viva Panjim is my favourite place to eat in Goa. It may be a little hard to find if you aren't on GPS but ask the locals for Fontainhas and they will direct you exactly here. Fontainhas used to be the Latin side of Panjim and this locality is famous by this name. To make it a little more easier, it is in the same lane as the Mario Miranda store. Viva has been winning the Times Food Guide award for years now. The locals love this place and only the real foodies find this one. A family owned shop inside their family bungalow, Viva Panjim is as authentic as it gets. They have the worlds best Xacutti, Vindaloo and Goan curries. This place has a separate pork menu. Their is a small air conditioned seating inside too. The beer is as cheap as Rs 40 a pint. Try everything here, the sausage curry, sausage pulao, chicken xacutti, pork vindaloo, bhindi crispy fry, prawn curry and rice, Goan chicken chilly, etc etc. Just go crazy and eat till your stomach blasts. The place is open till midnight only and the last order is 11.30pm. Viva is open for lunch too. A meal for two here would cost you around Rs 600 (even if you drink a lot). After a huge meal here my advice is take a walk along the Fontainhas because it is a beautiful locality and people actually pay money for walking tours to see this locality.

2. MARTIN'S CORNER - My next stop is a little far and is situated in between no where. Martin's Corner is in the middle of North and South Goa, very close to the airport. You either know this place or you have to GPS it. You realise the importance of GPS in your life when you travel across India and are hunting for places! The locality is known as Betalbatim Salcette and if you just look it up online you will get all details about this place. The ride is long and tiring but the food here more than makes up for it. The place is very famous with tourists and it is packed throughout the day. They have live music and no air conditioning. The menu is elaborate and one gets a wide variety of choices. They serve excellent desserts too. The king fish fry Goan style is a must try. This place is not as cheap and a meal would easily cost around Rs 1500 for two (considering you are moderate drinkers). 

3. ANANDASHRAM RESTAURANT - How many of you have tried Goa Bhawan food in Mumbai? If you like the food there then you will love this place. A small little eating joint in the heart of Panjim where a meal for two will not cost you more than Rs 300. Anandashram doesn't serve alcohol and it is more of a thali place. Very famous with the locals and foreign tourist. You get the perfect Bombil Fry and Kokum Sherbet here. The thali is elaborate with a lot of different item on your plate but it shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes to lick the plate clean. The thali typically consist of rice, dal, fried fish, shrimp curry, fish paste, crab or fish curry and kokum sherbet. You can order extra fried pomfret or prawns to make the thali even more grand. They also serve vegetarian thalis but if you essentially a vegetarian than avoid going here because the fish smell is very strong. I know this because my wife is not comfortable eating fish and she was struggling to eat here. To reach here you have to take a left from MG Road and it is bang opposite Hotel Venite.

4. RITZ CLASSIC - This was recommend to me by a good friend who lives in Panjim itself and I so thank him for this one. Completely air conditioned and is packed throughout the day. A big favourite of the locals and hosts almost all birthday lunches in Panjim, Ritz Classic is the best family restaurant in Panjim. This place offers a wide variety of cuisines from Punjabi to Chinese but the one thing that you must eat here is their Goan Fish Thali! The thali is as cheap as Rs 99 and comes with rice, a fried pomfret, dried fish paste, dal, prawn or crab curry and fish with vegetables! Everywhere you look within the restaurant you will find the thali. Every little element on the thali is just perfect. My suggestion to fellow travellers is that if you have a bus to catch from Panjim then eat your dinner here and board your bus because after this meal you will sleep like a baby! This place I very highly recommend and please just try the thali…trust me on this one.

5. ELECTRIC CATS - Situated on Baga Road, visible from the entrance of the road that leads to Tito's; Electric Cats used to be highly recommended by Lonely Planet in their hay days. I first ate here in 2008 but even when I went there last year I was pleased that they have maintained their quality and quantity. Earlier they used to have a huge place with two floors and live music but since the time the owners changed and the location changed the place is not as lively or happening as before. However their curries still remain to die for. They make everything from steaks, sizzles, shashlik's, fried chicken to Chinese and Indian food but their best is prawn and crab curry. They make a wonderful crab tandoori which goes so well with your chilled beer. A meal for two here would cost around Rs 500 and they have no air conditioned section.

6. HOTEL FIDALGO - Fidalgo is again situated in Panjim on June Road and is a wonderful breakfast place. Their is a cute little cafe situated on your left as you enter the hotel called Aunty Maria Bakery and Confectionary. This place serves wonderful omelettes and is very popular with the locals too. Everyone is heard ordering some or the other kind of omelette. As the name suggests they also have a lot of baked goods and their coffee is excellent too. My wife introduced me to this place and I thank her for that. Now I have to do breakfast here every time that I am in Goa. The omelettes get loaded with bacon, ham, cheese, veggies, mash potato, tomato and is served with toast and hash brown. It is the summary of Goan food in an omelette. The cafe is completely air conditioned and a breakfast for two would cost around Rs 400.

7. INFANTARIA - Situated on Baga Road just outside the exit of Calangute beach this is another of my favourite breakfast place. They are an all day diner with the whole package under one roof. They serve amazing breakfast, they have a bakery attached, wonderful confectionery, their is alcohol, good coffee and sumptuous lunch and dinners! During season time they add live music on the first floor. They have wonderful and friendly staff too. Sit here and have a wonderful Goan breakfast comprising of sausages, some salami with eggs, coffee and maybe end with a Russian marble cake! Sounds wonderful doesn't it, well it is. I can vouch for their food otherwise too if you decide to go here for lunch or dinner. The place is not air conditioned and breakfast for two would be around Rs 300.

8. BOB'S INN - A very cosy place situated in Candolim which brims with life during season time. The entire place is filled with antiques and has a very earthy look to it. I first came here in 2006 and when I went there last year I felt no time lapse. True authentic Goan food and one must try everything that says Bob's Special! If its a Bob's Special chicken you try it, Bob's Special prawns you try it and trust me you won't be disappointed. They know their curries and they serve them well. Lot of people have found Fisherman's Cove which is situated just a little ahead to be better but the two times that I went there I was served horrible food which lacked on flavour and the very sight of the dish made me realise the chefs disinterest to cook it. The alcohol is cheaper in Bob's Inn too and a meal for two would cost around Rs 600 and the place doesn't need air conditioning. 

9. BRITTO'S - This is the first shack and restaurant by the beach that I love personally. This place is terribly expensive and a meal for two would cost around Rs 1500 but even then the food and the setting makes up for it. These guys arrange candle lit tables on the beach for you too. I really don't need to tell the location of Britto's because anyone in Goa knows this place but just in case you didn't, it is situated right on Baga beach. They have a large sea food display counter and you could choose what you want to eat on any given day. The place is always swarming with people and it is huge. Their menu is elaborate and one has a wide variety of choices here. Feel free to try whatever because everything here is well cooked. Try picking up a red snapper and asking them to grill it for you. Things from their grill is usually very very tasty. Lovely place to sit and spend some quality time.

10. THE BIG FISH RESTAURANT - Now this one is the second and last shack of Goa that i like.  Situated in South Goa's Palolem beach this place serves great sea food platters. They are situated on my favourite beach in Goa and the entire ambience just works. They serve wonderful sea food which again you can choose from a live counter and then they serve it with rice and salad. I have had the sea food platter, lobster platter and squids here and let me tell you Palolem couldn't get better than this. They even put out an open grill on the beach during season times and the smell just gets you walking in to this place. The service is wonderful and the staff friendly too. A meal for two would cost you around Rs 600 and the place absolutely doesn't need air conditioning. 

11. THE VERANDAH - This place I accidentally discovered while searching for Viva Panjim. This restaurant is also situated in the Fontainhas area in the capital city and is lodged in a heritage building. The feeling of sitting here is absolutely magical. This place gives you a very European feel and the unique thing about this place is that almost all table open up to a balcony. The ceiling is almost 30 feet high, there are these old humongous fans, smell of old furniture prevails, colonial architecture and I could go on and on. The kitchen serves out some traditional Goan food which doesn't match to the standards of Viva but is good enough. The vindaloo and fish curry is a must try here. This place is perfect for an evening drink and a long conversation. A meal for two would cost around Rs 450 here.

12. QUARTERDECK - Second last stop on my tour is this lovely place situated on the banks of the river Mandovi. Again a place introduced to me by my lovely wife. The location of this place is excellent and I am sure that most of you have crossed this place without even realising it. The place is beautiful by both day and night. The food is excellent here and don't try anything else but their Goan cuisine and tandoor items. Ask them for a fresh catch of crab and make them cook it in their butter garlic style. The crab meat will melt in your mouth! Also their prawn biryani is excellent, very different from most prawn biryanis one has tasted and the quantity is good enough for two. Sit here in the evening, sip some beer and order a crab in garlic butter. Perfect way to end a day in Goa. Cost for a meal for 2 would be around Rs 500. Also if you do get bored then the casinos are just beside you, hop on!

13. CAFE DE GOA - I saved the best for the last! This is situated on your way from Mapusa to Baga just as you take the right from the main road. Very easy to miss but trust me don't. This is the most perfect cafe that I have found in Goa. So the speciality of this place is that they run their own organic farm, produce their own organic ingredients, cook it in their own kitchen and they even allow you to buy stuff from their all organic pantry! What more could you ask for right? The menu is not very elaborate but everything on it is organic and superb in taste. Try their chicken cutlets, various salads, Russian cake, sandwiches, just try everything. You have to try their iced teas because it couldn't get fresher than that. Also the way they serve it is amazing. They put an actual piece of sugarcane for you to stir in all the ingredients yourself for the iced tea. This place is an experience. Would cost you somewhere between Rs 200 - 400 for a meal but it is totally worth it. Please do go and take a look in their toilet, its fascinating!

These were the 13 places that came to my mind today and I think it is safe for me to say that the real food of Goa lies in the streets of Panjim. There was this place called Hotel Venite in Panjim which I couldn't try as it was shut both the times I went but it was highly recommended by a friend. In Panjim one doesn't end up paying as much for their food as the do in the beach shacks. All my prices include alcohol and that is if you are not an alcoholic. I would sincerely ask all those who read this to give me feedbacks and suggest names of more places that i should try. Actually the next time might be very soon because writing this I started missing Goa. Another place I highly recommend in Panjim is Sher e Punjab! I didn't put it here on this list because it doesn't serve Goan cuisine but their food is good. There is also a little surprise for people from Kolkata here, if you miss the egg dal tadka from the streets of Kolkata then remember you get it in Sher e Punjab! It is not as good but something is better than nothing right! Will end this here but please feel free to suggest me more places that you feel serve Goa on a plate!

VIJAYANAGARA - HAMPI … the SUBHOJIT way !!!

2nd November to 5th November 2013…

I love travelling within the country during Diwali! The reasons being, most places are always empty during Diwali as most Indians don't travel these few days and like spending this time with their families. Secondly, the weather at this time of the year is perfect across India. Lastly because season time in most tourist spots begin after Diwali! You get the best of both worlds, the rates of off season and the facilities of season time (as most shops and shacks have already opened doors)! This year was our first Diwali as a married couple and my wife Khushi and me decided to spend it with each other but on the road seeing a new place. After a lot of googleing we finally narrowed it down to Hampi.

From Mumbai, Hampi is around 780 kilometres by road. The drive will take you at least 12 hours i.e., if everything goes well on the highway. With a couple of stops for eating and resting the total number of hours this drive should last is a minimum 14 hours. So basically 2 days of travelling to and fro. The total cost of diesel for both ways should add un to around Rs 4700. The drive is a fabulous one with lovely and well maintained highways both by Maharashtra and Karnataka road authorities. The total toll you end up paying till Hospet is around Rs 800 (one way). The highways are way better in Karnataka and the toll is way less there too. It is the most amazing drive and one feels as if though they are playing Farmville! The road is lined on both sides with beds of sunflower, cotton, cabbage, cauliflower and lots and lots of other flowers and vegetables. Oh not to forget the stretches of paddy fields. 

We started driving from Mumbai at around 5:00am and reached Hospet at around 6:45pm. Almost a 14 hour journey. We stopped twice in between for breakfast and lunch. Avoid night driving because once u take the left from Hubli for Hospet that stretch of around 100 kilometres is filled with pot holes and some of them can be very dangerous at high speeds. The first evening we reached Hospet and checked into a hotel called Karthik. This hotel is on the main road to Hampi and it is nothing fancy. Very average with large rooms but not so clean toilets. We knew that once we reach Hospet the first night we are just going to pass out and so we did. The long drive takes a major toll on you and all we thought was about hitting the bed. This place charged us Rs 800 for the night which included breakfast the next morning. One of the bell boys was king enough to get me some chicken biryani and a couple of beers from a nearby restaurant for dinner. The hotel has a good vegetarian restaurant but after such a tiring day my body always craves for some meat!

The next morning we woke up early and wished our families a Happy Diwali and then headed out to our next hotel which was in Virupapura Gadde commonly known as the 'Hippie Island'. To help one understand, Hampi has a river flowing through it, Hospet is around 19 kilometres from main Hampi ruins. Virupapura Gadde is on the other side of the river and to go there by road one has to come back on the highway and then drive along a path over a bridge which gets you here. This side of the river is exactly like Goa in all senses minus the beaches! Surprised! Well on this side of the river are resorts and restaurants that remind you a lot about Goa. Over here the crowd consists of mainly foreigners, scooters are available on hire, you can find packets of L&M being sold in every shop and also tampons! Now doesn't that remind you of Goa? Two things missing are the lovely beaches of Goa and the cheap alcohol. Here in Hampi almost nobody serves alcohol!

We had booked ourselves a cottage in a resort called Mowgli which was very highly recommended online as well as a friend who had been to Hampi a couple of years back. Now this place is difficult to reach if you are depending on asking people around but if you just take the trouble of turning on your GPS system on your mobile phones then it drops you right at the doorstep of the resort. Don't doubt the GPS lady because you do actually have to take the road that she is asking you to take! Once we entered Mowgli we understood why it was so highly recommended. The view from this place was breath taking! It is situated very close to the river, there are paddy fields surrounding the area, there are the beautiful boulders of Hampi all around you and to top it all these guys have an amazing restaurant which dishes out yummy food. We had booked a hut for ourselves facing the garden for Rs 850 a night and this didn't include anything else.

Once you are inside Mowgli you have nothing to worry about. They have a very friendly staff who will go out of their way to help you in any way they can. Here is the link to their website and one can book online http://mowglihampi.com. On reaching here my wife and me sat down and had a wonderful meal. After which we decided to take some rest lying on the hammocks placed outside every cottage. We stepped out a little later when the sun came down a little and first hired a scooter to look around. Now these scooters come for around Rs 200 for 12 hours and another Rs 100 a litre for petrol to run them. Now these guys tell you that the nearest petrol pump is very far but don't listen to them. Just fill a bottle of fuel from them and the pump is hardly 6 kilometres ahead in the direction of the Hanuman temple in a place called Anegundi. Once your bike is sorted then Hampi is all yours to see!

By the way before we came to Virupapura Gadde we stopped on our way to the see the Tungabhadra Dam. This dam is situated just outside the entrance to Hospet and this is something we have all studied in our geography text books back in school. You have to park your car once inside and buy a ticket which also includes your bus ride to the top for a spectacular view of the Tungabhadra river and the entire dam. The view here is spectacular and you understand the reason for the up spring of an entire civilisation around this area. This river and its never ending source of fresh water and livelihood was the main reason for Vijayanagara being constructed around Hampi. The river is so huge that you almost cannot see bank to bank. There are a couple of gardens that have been constructed within the compounds and seeing the entire place will at least take you a couple of hours.

Coming back to us hiring our scooter now. Once done we set out to explore this side of Hampi. Our first stop was the Hanuman temple which is believed to be the birthplace of the Hindu Monkey God 'Hanuman'. The temple is situated on a hill top and to reach the top one has to climb almost 600 stairs! I won't be able to tell you how exactly is the temple and how it looks up there because we began our descend after around 200 stairs. My wife was breathless and could climb no more. But till whatever point we managed to climb, we got to see a breath taking view of the ruins of Hampi at a distance. I am assuming the view from the top will be even more amazing. Someone who has been on top had warned me about the presence of about thousand monkeys in the temple and if not careful one could end up losing their wallets, cameras or food items. 

From here we went ahead riding and stopped by a rice farm where harvesting was in progress. Now coming from Bengal i have seen this a million times but my wife being from Mumbai hadn't seen it ever and she stood there watching like a curious little girl. The machinery being used was amazing, it separated the grains leaving behind only the husk at rocket speed. The lady involved in the process even stopped to pose for my camera. When you are riding around Hampi there is 600 years of Indian history lying everywhere around you. You can stop at as many spots as you choose to see and observe as many things as you want to. We stopped to see a couple of resting places, temples, pillars and stuff and then headed straight to the Hampi lake. 

The Hampi lake is a serene and humongous water body on this side of the river. It is beautifully lined with natural boulders all around it and some of these boulders are placed at very fascinating angles. The road lining the lake is well kept and there is a lot of natural vegetation to be seen. There a couple of spots where one can climb and get a spectacular view of the lake. This place is also a big smoking and drinking spot and they don't just smoke cigarettes here (if you know what i mean)! A lot of young foreigners can be seen roaming around cluelessly in a state of daze around this area. If you do smoke up then don't do stupid things like diving into the lake because a couple of spots in the lake are very deep and accidents can occur. Carry your swimming costumes here and find a good spot and dive in. As mentioned earlier, do be very careful.

The very same day was Diwali so once the sun started coming down we headed back for Mowgli but not before buying some fire crackers. Now if you are from Mumbai then you will be in for a shock when you hear the prices of fire crackers here. They are very very cheap and one goes crazy. We picked up our share of crackers and celebrated our first Diwali as a married couple with the staff and guests of Mowgli resort. They even did a Laxshmi puja inside their reception and it didn't feel like we were away from home. We had a wonderful dinner of wood fire pizzas and beer! Mowgli serves you beer but secretively and their wood fire pizzas are to die for. Fresh made dough, farm fresh ingredients and made in front of your eyes. Simply superb! We also found this Ayurvedic massage parlour a little ahead of our resort and these guys are moderately priced and absolutely fabulous. After the drive the day before this is what we actually needed. A full body massage sealed the deal for just Rs 600 for an hour and a half. The place is known as Lotus Ayurvedic and Beauty Centre and book your session way in advance because their schedules are packed throughout the day.

The next day we set out to see the ruins of Vijayanagara. Now since it was very sunny we decided to hire an auto rickshaw for just Rs 500. The rickshaw driver acts both as your driver and tourist guide. He will guide you to all the spots and wait for you to finish seeing all of the ruins. Must carry for your ruins visit are umbrella, water bottle, sun glasses, hats and good walking shoes. Without these you may find it difficult. There is one entry ticket for all the sites for Rs 50 for Indians and Rs 550 for foreigners! There are golf carts that take you from point A to point B for as cheap as Rs 20. The main sites are the Vittala temple, Elephant stable, the Stepped Tank (looks exactly like the prison in The Dark Knight Rises), the Lotus Mahal and couple of other watch towers and stray temples. These are all best seen with a certified guide who give you a good insight on the kingdom that existed here and they also provide good insights into the architecture of this place. There are lines of ancient Indian bazaars outside the Vittalla temple which left me astounded. One can't stop wandering the kind of stories these walls would have to tell. 

You can take your time and keep hopping from one ruin to the other and actually spend as many days as you want here. We spent the entire day seeing the ruins. One can buy a lot of stone work here for very cheap. Mortar and prestle is the best thing to buy here and if your bargaining skills are good you can pick them up for as cheap as Rs 70. Once done with the ruins we headed back to Mowgli but not before taking an exciting boat ride across the river. You have two choices to cross the river in. The first is to take the usual motor operated boat or the second and more exciting option is these hand made and hand operated boats that look like little bowls floating around in the river. These guys charge you around Rs 70 but be generous and pay them a little more because once you are on the boat you realise that it is hard work but make sure to take this boat ride because I am sure you have never sat on anything like this. From here we straight headed for an amazing round of Ayurvedic massage again!

The next day we had an early breakfast at Mowgli and headed back for Mumbai. One advice is that you are going to cross Kolhapur on your way but do not stop there and eat anything. Kolhapuri food is very spicy and totally unsuitable for a long road trip. When on the road eat simple food like plain dal and rice. Avoid meat or anything that could agitate and upset your stomach and in return end up ruining your trip. Avoid stopping too many times because this increases you travel time by a good margin. Also stop at Hubli to pick up their famous Pedas. They are awesome and a good bring back gift for everyone. Priced anywhere between Rs 220 - 360 a kilogram. 

I can not talk much about the food of Hampi because hardly anyone serves any speciality dishes there. Due to the large number of foreign tourist you get all kinds of food. Over the years i have noticed that all spots which receive a good amount of foreign tourists in India practically serve the same food! You get American and continental breakfast in all of their menus, you have a good choice of vegetarian and non vegetarian thalis, you have hummus and pita bread, different kinds of wraps, pizzaz, burgers and all of the usual suspects. The specialities of these region are lost trying to cater to the tourist population. I can honestly say that Mowgli has wonderful food and their wood fire pizzas are a must try. Don't bother eating anywhere else if you are staying here. On the ruin side of the river people do not cook non vegetarian food but i have been informed by a friend that a couple of places on that side of the river serve wonderful vegetarian thalis, so may be one should go there and try. 

Overall it was a wonderful experience and Hampi is a must visit for all Indians. It makes you feel very proud of your history and culture and gives you a strong sense of belonging. The sites are unbelievable and give yourself ample time to soak in all the details. Architecturally it is beautiful and grand. The entire place with its setting relaxes and pacifies you from within. The vast expanse of paddy and other vegetation is the heartland of India right before your eyes. You feel at peace here!