Travel for travel's sake. Though the very thought of wandering to some places was to invite some distraction and to break the evilness of daily routine , at the end of the journey, distraction turned out to be a fulfillment. No itineraries
. In fact I did not plan to have one. It was a two member trip (with my dearest friend and travel buddy, Ramya Sundaram).We opted to travel by train - Vasco Express - a train en route Goa.
Travelling in train is a bliss.Travelling in a train that navigates its course through a wide range of mountains, thin streams, gushy waterfalls, lush green tress, dense forests, misty peaks and algae-stricken tunnels then it's definitely a bliss in heaven. When the train travels past Londa (a few kilometers from Hubli), the visual treat starts. Light was very low and photography was a prayer for me. Many times I felt it was better to set aside the camera and enjoy the beauty that is just a few feet away rather than struggling to set the focus on the subject from a moving train.
The leaves were washed by pre-monsoon showers and rain drops were clinging on to the bars of the window ...To pamper all the senses I have got, ordered a hot ginger chai!
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| Greeneries - past Londa, Castle Rock |
Here you go... The much awaited hero of the Vasco train journey... At this point, passengers rose from their seats, glued their eyes at the window..to get a glimpse of the waterfall - Dhoodhsagar, popularly known as sea of milk. The train is now fitted with three engines -Two engines in the front to pull the train and one at the back to push it. Probably by this time you should have pictured how steep the mountain would be.
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| Found some space for myself n lens. Glimpse of the waterfall lasted not more than five seconds! |
After a day-out in Calangute, next day we both were set to have ride towards Anjuna. It was off-season time, rarely you can find some human population around.Most of the time it was just the two of us thus favoring to enjoy nature without much of a disturbance.The ambiance was left unspoiled, lucky we both were.
We saw the path but never know where it leads to. Not knowing where it leads to what inspired us to travel further. The drizzling was intermittent. It was intermittent enough that journey was not hindered and in fact the road was gleaming, rain drops on every blade and every edge of the leaf.
Close your eyes and you will feel green not dark...
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| Objects in the mirror are greener than they appear... |
We were accompanied by solitude :) If someone asks who was around.., without a blink of thought I would answer with the aforementioned oxymoron. Anjuna was restless at its peak and I could witness its waves craving for a handshake with us. Trust me, the waves were too huge. It must have been few meters high. I say this because, I was already standing on a cliff and the waves can be seen at eye level.
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| Anjuna Beach |
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| A Goa Classic Trio... Coconut tree , Sky and The Arabian Sea |
Houses, gardens, farm grounds and churches on either side are pleasant and beautiful. Be it a feed for your creative part of the brain or intellectual part by thinking about the portugese architecture - One just cant ignore those pleasantries.
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| Radha n Krishna - on the way we met the couple.Too hard to ignore them and pass by :) |
Right after clicking the above picture, we were hit by the showers.This time there is no escape. You have not experienced monsoons unless you are completely drenched in the western ghats. Thank God! We left the umbrella at the hotel.
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| Pre-Monsoon Showers |
Shopping at Calangute was no different from other traditional beach side tourist spots. May be the Corals below grabbed a bit of attention and nonetheless, everything else was the same. The garlands made out of shells contributed to the rest of the expo in the shop.
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| Corals from Calangute |
After having English breakfast at Bardays inn, comprising scrambled egg with poi bread, ginger tea, green pea with stewed potatoes and tuna fish - We both were all set to depart and proceed to checkout. The same train journey for our return and wasn't bored a bit.
Resting on my friend's lap - I could see the biggest super Moon gazing at me and never know when I dozed off that night :)
Next day started afresh...
