Memories you get to make in Goa on a 12 day trip

Goa is a travel destination for many youngsters, bachelors, and couples. What Goa has to offer to most people is beaches, parties, drugs, girls, new friends, and cheap-cheaaappp booze! Although this is Goa’s skeleton framework, Goa has a living soul of its own that people fail to see in their travel. If you can go there with an open mind and be accepting of it, perhaps you can see the life of Goa. Not just it’s bones but it’s blood and sweat. Struggling artists, hard-working entrepreneurs, social welfare workers, innovative minds, visionaries, and more live in Goa.

On my all-India cycle tour, I had the wonderful opportunity of living for 12 days straight in Goa. During this period I had no time to go to parties as I would end up tired by the end of the day meeting people and listening to the stories I have never heard of before. Every single day was eventful. No amount of time spent in this spiritually intact place would justify any amount of learning. There is no limit to a soulful experience.

With great reluctance and a lack of options, I will be leaving Goa tomorrow with 12 days of memories that I will hold for a lifetime. Here are some of the souvenirs I collected along the way that depicts my journey across this spiritual land.

Table of Contents

A message to all girls

On day 44 of my all-India cycle tour, which was my first day in Goa, I got to meet Mukesh Meena who wrote me a note on how emotions are easily discarded in today’s world. As an entrepreneur of three different companies, he gave me some insights into what it is like to be an IIT dropout and pursue a dream of business (Read this article).

The mindset of a naturist

Between days 44 and 46, I learnt from my stay with a naturist about what runs in their mind to love living nude (Read this article). Vikram had kept the house key under the doormat. I took a note from the table which had this written.

All India cycle tourist

On day 45, I also had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Diraj from UP who was on an all-India cycle tour himself. He had camped by a beach which allowed me to approach him and share a conversation with him. He offered me a 20 rupees Srilankan note as a memory to hold onto.

Three events took place on Day 47.

A Bengali chap from Assam stopped by on the road on my way out of Colva. He got me breakfast and also offered me 200 rupees wishing me on my journey. He wrote a line in Bengali in my diary which reads ‘It was a pleasure meeting you my brother’.

Life of a domestic helper

I met a Haryana chap who was living in Goa as a temple helper. He offered me food and spoke about his interesting life (Read this article).

Life of a Westerner NGO Owner in India

I got to meet Robert Lyon who has an NGO organization in Goa called the Goa outreach program (Read this article). I got to learn immensely about what it takes to run an NGO being a Westerner who has settled in India.

Life of a short movie filmmaker and a digital production house owner

Day 47 and 48 of my journey I stayed at a hostel called Foot Loose. Here I met two wonderful personalities. A short movie filmmaker (Read this article) and a LED digital house production owner (Read this article).

Ekalavya Sen who was the filmmaker wrote a note in my diary while Himanshu the digital production house owner handed me Chinese currency as a memory. Himanshu and I got caught by the Goa police while riding without helmets. I pinned the bill as well onto the diary.

Meeting my friend after a long time

On day 49, I had one of my friends from Bangalore come over to Goa. As I had won an 800 rupees voucher from a cultural event back at my institute, we used that up by having a drink and eating food by the beach at night. Day 50 and 51 we prepared mulled wine at our host’s house to celebrate 50 days of my journey and went out to have dinner in a restaurant by the beach.

First female Royal Enfield mechanic in India

On day 51 we also rented a bike and visited the first lady Royal Enfield mechanic in India (Read this article).

It was a pleasure meeting Meet Kaur and learning from her experiences of becoming the first lady Royal Enfield mechanic in India.

A person who has travelled to 169 countries

Between days 49 and 52, I was hosted by a man who has travelled to 169 countries in the world (Read this article). On the last day, I got to have a drink with him and listen to his entire travel stories.

Aspiring painter in Goa

Day 53 and 54 I stayed in a hostel called Andaz on the final beach of Goa, Arambol. Here I got to meet Rishi an aspiring painter working as a freelancer in the hostel. I spent much of my time interacting with him (Read this article).

My stay in Goa was comfortable and easy compared to my travel in Karnataka (Read this article). But it was also equally expensive. I spent twice the money I expounded in Karnataka in just 1/4th the time.

Expenses:

Day	Date	Place	Km completed	Money spent	Food and stay
43	24/04/23	Bunk n Brew, Canacona	1394	30 for breakfast, 350 for stay, 650 for lunch, 120 for a drink, 240 dinner	Breakfast by a cart, lunch at and dinner at hostel
44	25/04/23	Colva	1434	90 for breakfast, 510 for lunch, 230 for dinner	Breakfast at a small hotel by the road side, lunch with beer at a hotel, dinner at a mallu hotel near the beach
45	26/04/23	Colva	1434	160 for breakfast, 60 for others, 140 for maggi and others	Breakfast with Diraj Safarnama by the beach, cooked lunch, Maggi for dinner
46	27/04/23	Colva	1434	180 for lunch, 300 for dinner	Cooked Maggi for breakfast, lunch at some local restaurant, Dinner at a restaurant by the beach
47	28/04/23	Anjuna – Foot loose hostel Goa	1519	550 for hostel, 450 for dinner, 100 for others	Breakfast with person on vehicle at restaurant, lunch at temple Mukesh sir got,
48	29/04/23	Anjuna – Foot loose hostel Goa	1519	120 for breakfast, 650 for stay, 425 for lunch, 200 for dinner	Breakfast at a veg restaurant, lunch at hostel, dinner near hostel
49	30/04/23	Mandrem	1536	180 for others, 475 for drinks	Brunch at Sidd place, dinner at Arambol beach
50	1/05/23	Mandrem	1536	90 for grocery for cooking, 600 bike rent, 350 others,60 for spices, 75 for snacks, 375 for wine, 90 for cool drinks	Breakfast at Sidd place, lunch at Sidd place, Dinner at Sidd place
51	02/05/23	Mandrem	1536	140 for cool drinks and others	Breakfast at Sidd place, lunch at Sidd place, and dinner at Sidd place
52	03/05/23	Mandrem	1536	100 for breakfast, 200 for lunch, 380 for dinner	Breakfast at a small hotel, lunch at Sidd place, dinner at Sidd place
53	04/05/23	Arambol	1540	200 for hostel, 120 for breakfast, 140 for lunch, 360 for dinner	Breakfast at hostel, lunch at a small hotel, dinner with Rishi
54	05/05/23	Arambol	1540	200 for hostel, 90 for breakfast, 240 for lunch, 180 dinner	Breakfast at a small hotel beside the hostel, lunch at a small hotel, Dinner in hostel
Expenditures	–	–	–	10200	–

Asutosh

I am a 31 year young PhD graduate who has decided to travel the length and breadth of India on my cycle, to document the journey of meeting a vast array of people. In my journey, I intend to understand the characteristic features of the people of this nation and categorize them based on their demographics, age, profession, gender, traditions, and cultural differences.