I’m finally getting around to blogging about my most recent Goa escape. I love that every time I go(a) back I discover something new (and I double-love that I get to share it with you!) So this time I ended up on Morjim beach (in fairly “on” season) having wisely waited for the New Year’s party rush to subside. We stayed at *Montego Bay again (which is just a walk-on-the-beach away from La Plage) and two fantastic coincidences made this trip truly legendary. 1) Something Relevant happened to be on tour in Goa at the same time 2) Henry & Ashitta Tham were staying at the same resort as us 🙂
You already know how much I love Something Relevant but watching them jam on a 6ft high stage on the beach with sparklers to wave around and sand under my feet was something else! Plus the usually shy Henry Tham and his charming wife Ashitta turned out to be delightful vacation buddies and took us along to one of their favorite food spots in Goa called Amigos (under Nerul bridge) where the prawns doused in Goan Rishaad sauce are to-die-for. Henry also introduced us to a whole new level of party-preparation with a backpack full of goodies ranging from vodka to tinned sausages and a laser pen!) Good times 🙂
Snip (another Henry recommendation) is a giant salon & spa located on the main road between Calangute and Candolim. You simply MUST try one of their massages – aromatic or Balinese – preceded by a 15 minute steam; it was quite possibly the best massage I’ve ever had in my life. The good news is they’re opening a branch on Hill Road in Goa sometime soon.
Also this new spot Club Fresh & Marbela Resort (behind Ku, just past a brilliantly named shack called “Cool Place”) I’d been hearing so much about in Mumbai totally lived up to the hype. We ended up spending a night there in one of their luxury tents that each have a flat screen TV and fancy rain showers. I even managed a pretty spectacular foot massage on the beach that felt like heaven. The man behind the resort Sunil Chawla gave me the trippy lo down and a tent tour…
Ok, so I feel its only fair that I warn you, if you do happen to head to Club Fresh you are most likely to run into a little linen-clad clown who we’ve affectionately dubbed Mr. Twitkar. How will you know its him? Chances are he will say one (or all) of the following:
a) “See they asked me to come here because I know everybody, from Vivek Oberoi to Shah Rukh Khan.”
b) “Oh I’m on Page 3 all the time *pause* Goa Times.”
c) “Everybody loves me, they give me gifts! See this watch? 200 Euros. It’s binary! *in response to what time is it?* Um… I don’t know how to use it yet.”
Fantastic. You have to meet at least one of his breed once in your life for an up close and personal look at the most mutant form of the I-want-to-be-famous frenzy! I bet somewhere inside (buried under all that white linen) there’s a pretty normal guy.
Oh and there’s this other story floating around about what would happen if you were to run into an ex Calvin Klien model (with a checkered past) on the beaches of Goa… but that’s a blog of a different color coming soon! 🙂
I guess the only real glitch in the matrix (apart from the slow & very sad phasing out of Kings beer) is that Morjim has turned into little Moscow. The beach is inundated with unfriendly Russians and you can just forget about being served at Bora Bora if you’re brown. I was actually pretty surprised to see street signs and even some at the airport posted in Russian for their convenience. I guess I wouldn’t mind so much if they smiled a little more but as it stands the ice-cold vibe is as clear as sunshine. O well.
*P.S. In case you missed my previous travelogues here’s the scoop on:
a) South Goa Cafe Del Mar in Palolem and Silent parties ( FYI this is Nikhil Chinapa’s favorite shack to stay at.)
b) Montego Bay in Morjim a hop skip and jump from La Plage & a place called Ku
c) Leela Cottages on Ashvem beach and all the things you should do the next time you’re in Goa…
For now here’s some raw footage from the after-party at Fresh 🙂