[vigsom]

Introduction

This is an account of my maiden trip to arguably India’s hottest getaway destination aka Goa. While most trips to Goa would mean absolute relaxation and a lot of fun, mine involved serious business for the most part, but there were a few fun moments. These posts are my way of providing details on stuff that would generally never feature anywhere. Want to know more? Read on..

Disclaimer

I have no affiliation to the places and service providers reviewed here; the intent is just to showcase some good points and some opportunities for improvement.

[vigsom]

How did the trip happen?

For all of two years, all meetings and gatherings have been truncated affairs with limited guests and a limited agenda. I was invited to be part of a grand meet of folks in the organization that I work for. After an initial deliberation, I decided to partake in the meet to:
1. meet colleagues whom I’ve hitherto only spoken to
2. get to know org. plans and see my value fit therein
3. energise myself by visiting a place that I’ve never been to before, and may not visit too often in the future

The first few days of the meet featured marathon sessions going on till late evening. Result: Barring the odd brisk walk, enjoyment was confined to within the boundary walls of the venue viz. Park Regis Goa.

[vigsom]

Preparations for the trip

Preparations for the trip involved reading through almost 300 pages of material, so that one could walk into the first 3 days like a boss. Like most sincere “students”, I ended up only doing the first 25% leaving the rest to be done on the day of arrival. Travel and accommodation were taken care of seamlessly and I was all set to fly by India’s people mover in the air – the Indigo A321neo.

Departure Vadodara

The evening before departure, I checked in via the web, by when my seats for both sectors were already allocated. Baggage tag generated, e-boarding pass in hand, and I was all set.

First surprise (or shock?)

I booked an Ola Prime sedan (spacious sedans, top drivers) for the ride to the airport, and was allocated a highly rated driver with a 1 min. pick up time. I went down to the building entrance, and found that the top driver hadn’t budged from his location. I called him, his demeanour was excellent and he asked me where I was going. When I told him Airport, he, keeping his demeanour intact, had the audacity to tell me that it would cost me a number that was actually more than 2x of the quoted fare. When I told him that I do tip drivers but would ride at the money shown on the app (I didn’t disclose the number), he very politely told me, “Aap koi doosre arrangement kar lijiye”(please make an alternate arrangement). I thanked him for his demeanour, and found myself another arrangement. So much for spacious sedans and top drivers. Three out of three times, I’ve been let down by Ola cabs in Vadodara and I can only wish them the very best in their journey to excellence. My experience has been better in, say, Mumbai and other cities.

At the airport

I was surprised to see the baggage scanner gone, which led me to believe that in-line baggage screening has started here. Entry to the airport is always a two step process. There is a CISF representative at the entry to the terminal, and another CISF representative at the entry to the check in area. Post these checks, I was greeted by a long baggage drop queue which was moving at snail’s pace.

Long queue at baggage drop


When I was finally done with the baggage drop, the most delayed in my over 3 years through this airport, I was ready for the next round of surprises at security. Rules for what goes into the tray and what can remain in the bag has been changing every trip that I make. To make me go through security seamlessly, this is what I practice:

1. all electronic items including chargers, USB drives, mobiles, USB mouse and metal objects neatly segregated in one tray
2. laptop and the bag side by side in another tray
3. put on a pair of trousers that holds on even without the waist belt

Security clearance was fortunately through in one shot, and I then waited for boarding. Boarding was seamless and the first sight to behold was boarding India’s stretch jetliner – an A321neo. I flew the same aircraft type on both sectors of my flight – first to Hyderabad and then transfer to Goa.

The stretch airplane aka A321neo




A320neo in comparison - looks puny

[vigsom]

The A321neo

This aircraft did look like those long fuselage long haul flights, but with a single aisle. A few bits of information that I’ve read about the A321neo

• Overall length 45m , 20% longer than the A320neo and can thus take 9 extra rows of passengers (count of 54) over the A320neo
• Range of 7,400km
• Fuel capacity 33,000 litres
• Max. Takeoff weight 97 tonnes
• Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G-JM geared turbofan, and CFM International’s LEAP-1A
• Ten emergency exits

Before deplaning at Goa, I managed a short chat with the captain and he mentioned that the aircraft that we came in sported the LEAP engines.

Computer rendered image A321neo (image courtesy Airbus)


Row 39 in the A321neo


The ultra long cabin in A321neo


Ten emergency exits (image from the Safety Information Card in the seat pocket)


Transfer security check at Hyderabad

This security check point is grossly inadequate for the traffic that this airport sees, and I could see some passengers getting irate at delays. CISF handled the simmering tensions with absolute calmness, something rare to see with the forces. Here again, I followed those self-imposed guidelines of segregating all electronic and metal items so that scanning was seamless. I learnt this from someone at the CISF helpdesk when I passed through Hyderabad Airport in one of my earlier visits.

Transfer security at HYD


Engines on the A321neo




A321neo side views




A321neo at ramp


View from the ladder

[vigsom]

Welcome to Goa, Singham!

At Goa, what greeted us was a lot of carpet inside the terminal, but the moment we were outside the terminal, it seemed like all hell had been let loose – I've never seen so many vehicles lined up outside an airport terminal. It was a 15 minute wait before our appointed vehicle picked us up.

Walking from the airbridge to Goa Arrivals


Outside the terminal




Drive to the place of stay and venue for the conference

Another colleague and I were given a petrol Ertiga, absolutely spacious which could take loads of luggage with the third row down. The ride took us via the Zuari bridge and the Atal Setu (Panaji) to our final destination – Park Regis in Arpora. En-route, we stopped by at this small, yet interesting joint called Saligao Deck to have a quick cup of tea.

Zuari new bridge under construction


Moving up the Atal Setu on Mandovi River




View of Mandovi River


Saligao Deck

[vigsom]

Park Regis

This was going to be our home for the next few days, and gave me an opportunity to look at the good points and identify what could be better. The intent here is to also help readers appreciate the small yet significant things in a property that doubles up as a place of stay and the venue of a large meet.

Likes

• Well appointed rooms
• Availability of warm water
• Adequate parking, although one car behind the other on inclines
• Mitsubishi air-conditioning worked flawlessly throughout
• Food was easy on the tummy – nobody complained of any issues
• Landscape was excellent
• Pool was neat
• The inclines provided for some good calorie burning via walks

What could do with some improvement

• Menu got a little repetitive on the first two days
• Normal noise from outside the room could be heard inside
• Replenishment of dairy whitener, coffee sachets and bath towels seemed like austerity measures were on
• Frequent power outages. Although back up power came on, the rhythm was upset
• Ironing board and iron were absent
• Action in the washroom at the venue could be looked at straight from the stage

What I didn’t like

• The place was very far from the airport – a cool 75 minute ride in normal traffic conditions

Night views of the property






Day time views of the property - note the steep inclines that make for some good burning of calories








Venue of the conference


Poolside


Outside a sample room


The room inside


The bathroom


Tip: Before trying out any taps or knobs, it pays to stay away from the path of the hand shower or the top shower. I learnt this the hard way by getting wet.

The hand shower, tap and control knobs


Position I for the hand shower and position II for the top shower


The temperature control knob - normally set at 38 deg.C. For hotter water, press the small button on the side and then twist the knob left


Washroom viewable from stage

[vigsom]

Cruise on the Mandovi River

I’d mentioned earlier that almost everyday was an extended affair, spent just within the hotel premises. The cruise was the only break folks got from the agenda of the conference. I was looking forward to the cruise as the last I’d taken was the Chao Phraya Princess in Bangkok way back in 2005. It was a treat to watch the well lit new bridge, Atal Setu, on the Mandovi river, as we waited to board our boat. The boat was scheduled to take us on a ride on the Mandovi river for 3 hours – and beverages, dance, and dinner were all on. We were on board a very nice looking boat on time, and within a few minutes, a senior colleague’s birthday was celebrated. What followed was a lot of hi voltage dance, and three hours of fun. Food on the boat wasn't path breaking, but just good enough.

Leaving the hotel for the boat ride


Boat boarding point


Atal Setu all lit up


On board the boat - mid deck




Stairway from the upper deck to the mid deck


Stairway from the mid deck to exit the boat


Upper deck


Casinos










Views from the boat

[vigsom]

Departure

All good trips have to come to an end, and this one did too. The drive back to the Goa airport helped me appreciate the Atal Setu and Zuari bridge again.

A rare sight - Innova Crysta in black and yellow


Entering Atal Setu






Exiting Atal Setu


En-route to airport


New Zuari bridge under construction




Getting ready to move off NH66 towards the airport


Ramp leading to departures


Drop off at Goa Airport

[vigsom]

Closing Comments

I'm happy that I at least got to visit Goa, and although didn't go around, I managed to get on a boat. At the airport, the ramp to departures especially the hair pin turn was quite impressive, but the area around arrivals and departures just outside the airport requires some expansion. It is woefully inadequate for the traffic this airport sees. Inside the airport, I could see scores of people having to drop their bottles of beverages at the security check because they failed to check them in. Better luck next time, and until then, the garbage bins at security check at Goa Airport could lay claim to be the most pedigree intoxicated in India.

Tour concludes. Thanks for visiting!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[vredesbyrd]

Wonderful travelogue, sir!

My maiden trip (and only trip so far) to Goa took place in 2000 (I was barely 8 years old then) and it was a nice experience. Still have some polaroid photos.

If you ever wanted a quieter, unornamented and sparse version of Goa, you should check out Manipal sometime.