I have been in Pune for around 10 years now. From my higher education to fatherhood, Pune gave me all.
But one thing was always missing, I have never been to Goa.
I hate bus journeys and flights never attracted me. Never found a companion though and my old Chevrolet Beat failed to give me confidence.
Finally my wife agreed for a road trip and my 6 months old son smiled too.
The Plan was to leave Pune on 18th Dec and be back by 22 Dec. Preparations have started 2 months ago. We made our baby habitual of Car Seat and baby carrier.
My Honda Amaze 2018 V Petrol sanity check was also performed which included,
- Engine oil viscosity check.
- Wiper Blades and Headlamps.
- Brake Oil level and Tyre conditions.
Routes for Goa :
Pune -> Gandhingalaj -> Amboli -> Sawantwadi -> Calangute
Route Back Home
Calangute -> Sanquielim ->Chorla Ghat -> Belgaum -> Pune
Here comes the day and I was super excited
The Plan was to leave at 6 AM but keeping baby's sleep in consideration we started at 7 AM.
420 L of Amaze's Boot was filled by Baby's Luggage alone:
Petrol Tank was filled to the Brim a day before so that we can start straight. But only after 44.7 we hit a road block and it was a massive Traffic Chaos at Khed - Shivpur Toll Plaza which ate our 15 Minutes.
Some how we passed through it and a traffic Jam met us again. There was an under construction fly over and no proper diversion were arranged. We ended up wasting our 30 minutes again.
We were on the road for 2 hours but covered only 80KMs so far.
Any ways the road was clear then and we were cruising with average speed of 80 - 100 KMPH. Road was fine till Satara which is called as AH 47, a 4 Lane Highway
After Kolhapur it was butterly smooth road till Belgaum.
As per the plan it's time to get off the AH at Sankeshwar and we took right turn to enter a state highway.This hotel can be taken as a landmark.
We made a huge mistake.
After covering 2 KMs the road condition improved. The SH pass through cities and our speed was very slow. More over its sugarcane harvesting season so there were long tractor trollies proudly blocking the road with sugarcane load and moving at snail's pace.
The road condition improved only after crossing Ajra and it was less crowded but narrow road ahead.
Then came the Amboli Ghat.
I am always comfortable in the Ghats but It’s not advisable to stop at Ghats which are crowded with monkeys. We didn't click any pictures there. After driving down Amboli we reached Sawantwadi.
It was beautiful but the sun started its descend and we still have to travel for 70 more KMs.
We took a right turn after Sawantwadi and joined NH 66. Believe me the road is in precarious condition with huge construction going on. It was getting dark now and my son was feeling uncomfortable.
Finally reached our hotel at 6:30. It took us 11:30 Hours to cover 455 KMs with some breaks for baby's diaper change and meals.
Amaze returned a Mileage of 19.3 KMPL with AC on and not good roads.
It’s time for some rest and our Welcome Drink.
Now Day 1, Keeping baby's sleep and feed in mind we started our day at 12 Noon.
1) Fort Aguada: famous for its old Light House and Dil chahta Hai moment. Remember Goa has Pay and Park system with flat rate of rs 100. The fort is in good condition and offers a spectacular view of Arabian Sea.
2) Now its time for some refreshment and we ended up at a place called as Taste of India in Calangute. Had famous Goan Fish Curry there.
3) An Evening at Baga Beach. This beach is famous for all night parties and Lights. There were hundreds of shacks in a row.
The Famous Tito's Lane in Baga
Day 2, Its time to see other side of North Goa and Anjuna was on our List. My Wife wanted to visit Anjuna flea market but it opens only on Wednesday which we were not aware of.
1) Anjuna Beach , Bit rocky but beautiful. A must have on any traveller's list. It is less crowded, less commercial, bit smaller than Baga but its beautiful.
Our son touching sea for the very first time
Rocky Patches on Anjuna
Spent some time there at the beach.
2) While returning from Anjuna, we found this lovely place called as Artjuna Cafe. Had great coffee and green cheese omelette sandwich there.
3) Evening was spent at Calangute beach but that could have been avoided.
Now Day 3, we decided to drive a bit and explore Vagator and Candolim. Though they both are in opposite directions but I wanted to have a glimpse of both.
1) Vagator Beach, some 25 minutes’ drive from Calangute, this beach has beautiful white sands with clear water. Only two shacks were there with lots of foreign tourists.
Thank Amy for bringing me here.
2) It was 4 PM, and we decided to head towards Candolim to have a good view of sunset but there were couple of stops on the way..
Saw this beautiful Church which was getting ready for Christmas Celebrations.
My Car, quite dusted but a reliable companion.
Also a refuel break was required. Petrol was 80 Rs in Pune, 77 Rs in Karnataka and 70 Rs in Goa.
3) Reached Candolim which was too much crowded but had clean golden sands.
Now it was Sunday and time to go home. The idea was to start by 8 AM but again we started at 9:15 AM. This time as per the plan it was decided to goa via Chorla Ghat crossing Belgaum.
Said final good bye to Goa
Chorla Ghat was clean and so was Belgaum, But we reached Home by 9:30. Just 30 KMs before Katraj, Pune we were struck in terrible traffic jam and wasted 2 hour there
Finally we reached home and took a reading of the FE.
Note: Whether one takes Belgaum or Amboli route, ghats are inevitable. The road passes through forests land and there is no support in case of any emergency so always keep ample snacks and water. Though scenic it becomes scary in dark.
I know it was a long read but many thanks for your support.