India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (97 page)

Post Office
Panjim’s
General Post Office
is at Patto Bridge and is open Monday to Friday 9:30am to 5:30pm.

GOA’S BEST BEACHES

Goa’s reputation for having some of the world’s best beaches is well-deserved, but inevitable commercialization has taken its toll, with the infamous
Baga-to-Candolim
area (north of Panjim) now part of a tourist-infested strip of sun loungers, backed by over-commercialized beach shacks serving beer, cocktails, and what could once be relied upon to be fresh seafood (now increasingly dubious)—the sort of packaged beach experience best avoided. You can find pockets of paradise here, though, and if you stick to our recommended accommodations in this area, they’ll definitely point you in the right direction. A little north of Baga,
Anjuna
comes alive with parties and trance music during the winter, when all kinds of revelers gather to find out where the real underground action is happening. It also has what was once a fabulous Wednesday Market, a tad too predictable and monotonous now—not to mention crowded to bursting—with almost every vendor selling the same wares. Just north of Anjuna is lovely
Vagator
, with stark red cliffs and the disheveled remains of Chapora Fort looming overhead. But things do improve the farther away from the mainstream crowds you manage to get.
Asvem
is still a pretty awesome beach, and although still comparatively unencumbered by the masses, regulars complain that it’s not quite as pristine as it was just a few years back, and of late large numbers of Russians have begun to settle on this stretch, buying land and starting private enterprises, much of it rumored to be the wrong side of the law. A little north of Asvem,
Arambol
, seductively far away from the package-tour masses,
is
one of the last refuges of hard-core hippies.

Though there are no private beaches in Goa, some of the best-kept stretches of sand in the southern part of the state (which usually means south of Panjim) are maintained for the near-exclusive use of guests staying at the five-star resorts fronting them. As long as you don’t try to use hotel loungers, there’s nothing stopping you from making use of “their” beach space. The long, long stretch of beach from
Bogmalo to Mobor
is well worth investigating if you’re looking for a more private spot, and it’s relatively close to both the capital and to north Goa, so don’t hesitate to explore the region.
In the far south, gorgeous
Palolem
has just one large resort close by (the tired and badly-managed InterContinental Lalit, a few miles south), and is perhaps the prettiest beach in Goa—a title which is, during the season, sadly threatened by overcrowding. In just a few years, it’s become home to a sizable neohippie community (or, as one discerning Goan hotelier calls them, “the great unwashed”), as well as ever-increasing development. Once on the beach, you just need to walk far from the crowds, and you should find a slice of tranquillity, and Palolem has, mercifully, yet to be overwhelmed by day-trippers. Just 7km (4 miles) north of Palolem,
Agonda
is even more isolated and peaceful (again, not quite as much as it once was), while to the south,
Galgibaga
is another remote haven with eucalyptus trees and empty stretches of sand. This time, the beauty is forever protected because the beach is a designated Olive Ridley breeding area. And then, of course, there’s
Om
beach, south of the border, an hour or two into the neighboring state of Karnataka, considered by many to be the best beach in India. Om is still comparatively untouched save for a few seasonal shacks, and the extremely tranquil, very special yoga and Ayurvedic retreat, SwaSwara, where you’re ensconced in a gorgeous setting on a vast acreage with pathways leading directly from your beautiful villa to the beach (see “Discover the Universe within at Om Beach” box in the Karnataka chapter for the lowdown on one of the most special hideaways in India).

2 North Goa

Goa’s reputation as a hangout for hippies during the ’60s and ’70s was made on the northern beaches of
Calangute, Baga,
and
Anjuna.
Along with the relaxed lifestyle and good times came busloads of Indian men keen to observe free-spirited foreigners and, finally, a crackdown by local government. This forced fun-loving hippies to head to more remote tracts of coastline, leaving the door open for backpackers and package tourists. Thus were the north’s most famous beaches transformed into tanning lots for the masses—even Anjuna has become an Ibiza-like experience—and today no card-carrying hippie would deign to set foot on the beach that stretches between Calangute and Baga (defined by resort-centered
Sinquerim
in the south to
Vagator
in the north). That said, you can’t deny the beauty of the beaches (in south Vagator,
Ozran
Beach
is peaceful and beautiful, with relaxed swimming in a bay at its southernmost end)—certainly this is where you’ll want to be if you’re here to party during the season. Baga is the smaller, slightly less-developed area of activity. Beach shacks-turned-establishment hangouts like
Britto’s
(Baga) and
Fisherman’s Paradise
(Calangute) are crowded with beer-quaffing visitors recovering from the previous night’s adventure at the legendary bar-cum-nightclub,
Tito’s,
now a veritable strip-mall of entertainment outlets.
Still, beach shacks are very much a part of Goan culture, and if you can track down those that haven’t gone commercial (a la sponsorship by major drinks conglomerates), you may just sample some of the old life.

Mind-Altering Yogurt Drinks

Be warned that the “special lassis” served at some Goan beach shacks may dramatically increase your amusement at the cows ambling along the shore or apparently sunbathing alongside the snow-white tourists on Baga Beach. The “special” component is bang, or marijuana.

For a sense of Goa’s hippie origins, head for
Arambol,
Goa’s most northerly “discovered” beach (36km/22 miles northwest of Mapusa), before you hit the utterly remote and untouched beach at
Keri.
Arambol is no longer the undiscovered paradise it was just a few years back, but it offers better bodysurfing that Anjuna or Vagator—the water’s a little more turbulent. It draws quite a crowd during the season (you arrive through a lane crammed with stalls selling CDs and T-shirts, and laid-back restaurants playing competing brands of music), but the setting is nevertheless lovely, with a hill looming over a small freshwater lake fed by a spring. The farther north you walk, the more solitude you enjoy. Besides looking at beautiful bodies, you can spend hours watching the surf glide. Another option is to head a little farther south from Arambol for
Asvem
Beach; while the Russians may have set up camp here it’s still a great beach, and is where you’ll fall in love with a beautiful restaurant called
La Plage
(see review)—one the best in the state—disguised as a simple beach shack offering sustenance and style that’s not all that easy to come by among the hoi polloi magnets of Baga-Calangute. Immediately south, secluded and largely undeveloped
Mandrem
is a peaceful fishing village and beach separating Asvem from the dark sands of
Morjim,
popular with the Olive Ridley turtles that have been coming here for centuries and, more recently, Russian tour groups and expats keen to carve out their own place in paradise.