Planet Goa
Now that we had tasted the freedom a road trip to Goa gave us, it was inevitable we would try this again. So it was just five months later, we were packed on a wintry Pune morning headed out to our favorite Indian beach once again. Given our experience, I would strongly urge people to try and get to Goa right after the New Year's celebration and party hordes are gone. The weather is every bit as desirable and the beach-side shacks are open. Yet, the prices are down when peak season ends on January 2nd.
This time, we decided to try out a newer resort, Planet Hollywood, not because we really wanted a Vegas/movie themed resort, but rather because of its splendid location. Unlike our last trip when we camped within reach of the capital, this time we were amidst the quieter beaches of South Goa.
During the last few days of our week-long vacation in Goa, we ventured out for some sight-seeing and shopping. The capital city, Panjim (or Panaji) is almost an hour's drive from the hotel. Like always, I enjoyed the drive through green country-sides and fishing villages, along the sea and winding rivers. We watched brightly colored houses go past, many of which still have a distinct Mediterranean touch from Goa's Portuguese past. 
In the late 15th century, Vasco Da Gama became the first European to set foot in India. He first landed in Calicut followed by an arrival in Old Goa. The Portuguese arrived here with the intention of getting control of the lucrative spice trade and ended up setting up a permanent settlement. Goa became part of India well after India gained independence from the British in 1947. It was only after the Indian Army wrested the colony in 1961 from Portugal that Goa became part of our nation again.
We headed straight for the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa. Built in the late 17th century, this cathedral houses the body of St. Francis Xavier which attracts thousands of Christians every year, especially during the public viewing of the body every 10 years.
We then drove down to nearby Panjim and luckily found a Government outlet for local handicrafts. Since Goa is a popular tourist destination for foreigners, especially Europeans and Israelis, there are vendors from every part of India selling their handicrafts here. However, we were interested only in Goan-made handicrafts and arts. We found interesting stuff made of sea-shells, coconut shells and jute. We also bought a bunch of paintings made on wall-tiles. Finally, we stopped to pick up the mandatory packets of famous Goan cashews from Zanty's for friends and family.
Since it was past lunch time by the time we drove back to our resort, we took our driver's recommendation and had lunch at Fisherman's Wharf which is a restaurant located on the bank of the river within walking distance of the Leela. We ordered a variety of fish and chicken dishes and washed them down with chilled beer. Though the day was now humid and hot, we enjoyed our spicy lunch as we watched the fishing boats go about their daily routine on the far bank.
Among the five-star resorts in Goa I have stayed in, I think the Park Hyatt had the most interesting rooms, while the Taj Aguada had the best food and the Radission White Sands the best swimming pool. The Casa de Goa has the best 'local' Portuguese feel while the best beach is at the Leela.
On the day we were checking out, we woke up to the pitter, patter of rain outside. The monsoons had finally come to Goa; and, what perfect timing!
An hour later we at the beach once more. It was still early in the day, the breeze was cool, and we were enjoying the tranquil morning filled with the roar of the ocean punctuated only by the excited squeals from our little girl whenever a wave washed over her feet. She and her mom went hunting for sea-shells and by the time they had their hands (and pockets) full, the sun was getting warm and we headed back to our room.
The buffet lunch wasn’t anything to write about. A variety of Indian, Italian and Chinese items that tasted good, but mostly simple fare. Thankfully, I had chosen to take meal credits rather than a package that limited me to only the buffet meal. I made a note to try other restaurants during the rest of our stay here.
We spent the afternoon in the swimming pool and sipping tropical cocktails from the Poolside Bar. The swimming pool is good but unremarkable (when compared to the Park Hyatt or the Radisson White Sands in Goa). In any case, we spent the greater part of the day splashing around until it got close to sunset. Then we returned to the beach to see the breath-taking picture of the evening sun setting over the red-orange Arabian Sea as flocks of birds on the horizon headed home.
We stayed back until dark and then returned to Susegado for some more seafood and wine. Our daughter was well asleep by the time we decided to head back; the wait-staff had already called one of those electric golf-carts to drive us back to the room.
Day Three was the day of the Spa. After my experience at the Leela, Bangalore, I was hooked on the Shirodhara+Abhyanga package which I repeated here. The masseur was well trained and the 90 minute massage lived up to my expectation. The little one wanted to watch a movie on DVD, so we spent the afternoon within our room. We were glad we had packed more clothes than we usually do. Due to the humid weather, wet clothes took forever to dry here, even within the air-conditioned room.
In the evening, we decided to eat at Leela’s signature Jamavar restaurant. They had a special Kerala fixed menu on this day. The starters of Lamb Stew with appam bread was the best part of the menu! That was followed by Tiger Prawns 
In my opinion, the Jamavar, and Leela in general, doesn't score very high on food. And I make this comment having tried both their Bangalore and (now) Goa hotels. There was a time when I loved the buffet dinners at the Leela in Mumbai, but they certainly are no longer in the same category as the Taj or the Sheraton any longer.
The rains had not yet begun, but the day was humid and hot. The cold towels and the bottles of water in the car came to good use! After about an hour's drive through the Goan countryside we reached the resort. Designed to look like the old Hindu palaces of 
The Conservatory Premiere room we had booked was fairly large and split into a bedroom and a sitting area. Both areas boast of LCD TVs and the room is equipped with a DVD player, which came in handy for my little angel who could get her daily dose of 
Almost immediately we dressed for the beach and went out to quickly explore the property. First, we ventured towards the riverside. Here, Leela has it's shopping area and Casino (I think this is the only resort-hotel in Goa with a casino; the only others are on ships that are anchored offshore). The Riverside Italian restaurant is located on the banks of the Sal river. We could see many fishing boats anchored on the distant bank of the river, where fishermen seemed to be selling their day's catch. We walked back towards the beach, which is on the other side of the resort. The garden in the Leela has a section devoted to Indian spices and fruits: mango, jackfruit, black pepper, cloves, etc.
Past the swimming pool, we went, along the resort's golf course, and we we finally found ourselves at the beach. The beach here was quite perfect. White, clean sand and mostly deserted as far as the eye could see! While my wife and I lay back under the swaying palms drinking in the scene, our little angel gleefully went to work with the sand. A couple of beers later, I was already marveling at how much fun this was. No cellphones, laptops and Blackberries after such a long time! After splashing around for a while, we dragged our reluctant little girl back to our room.
We went back to the beachside Seafood Grill, Susegado, for an early dinner. This restaurant not only served us the best seafood we had eaten in a while, they also had the most friendly and helpful waitstaff. We chose a sea-bass from the day's catch on display. They cooked it in two different ways for us: a spicy Goan masala-covered fillet, and the other with garlic-butter, both grilled to perfection. We were so delighted, we ordered another sea bass and requested an encore. As you can expect, with so much fish under our belt we were quite stuffed.
Susegado is located right on the beach, and as the cool, briny breeze blew in from the Sea, we could hear rumblings of thunder announcing the onset of monsoon. In the distance, we could see flickering lights from anchored ships on the distant horizon, even as the sound of crashing waves rose to a crescendo. The thatched roof, flickering lanterns and the candle on the table added to the lovely ambiance. We had to reluctantly drag ourselves away from here and back to the room since our daughter was already quite sleepy and had to be put to bed - ah, the joys of parenthood! :-)
