Goa, as most of us know it, is a haven for the beach bum, for the high-on-life hippie,for the trance-lover on Hilltop or for the salmon pink foreigners who turn a lobster red by the time they leave the sunkissed beaches of Goa! In season Goa is like a kid high on sugar - hyperactive,brimming with chaos,loud, and can get out of hand sometimes when you are looking the other way. Not that I don't like Goa in season, no sir, I do - but it's just that I love Goa more when its born again in monsoons.
Rolling vistas of green,rowdy waves and near empty roads are what greet you, when and if, you decide to visit Goa in the months of June-September.Goa goes into a deep healing slumber every monsoon - the beach shacks are in hibernation, resorts slowly retreat into their shells to rejuvinate for another season and the tourists flock to other destinations leaving Goa to her true patrons - the Goans.
And if one were to talk from a purely economic point-of-view, Goa is unbelievably easy on the pocket during the monsoons. Everything in Goa comes at a price atleast 30% less than what it would have costed you during season.Sure, a lot of places -open air eateries and joints are not functional at this time - but who needs them anyway when some of the best places to eat and drink are still functional. Take for example Brittos, Infantria, Cavala, St. Anthony's and Souza Lobo on the Baga - Calangute stretch.
The beaches are devoid of people and touts - and if you think that's your idea of Goa Bliss,then pay a visit in the monsoons. When I am there in the rains, I just like to sit at one of the rare functional shacks on Baga reading my book and looking out at an uncrowded beach and the roaring sea beyond.
Monsoons is also a great time to drive around Goa - the roads are practically empty, there are no traffic jams, and the drive is as verdant and green as it can ever be. You might run the risk of getting caught in one of the monsoon showers, but even the Goa rain during the monsoons is clear, clean and devoid of any muck.And honestly,driving around a Green Goa in scooty getting drenched in the rain is one of the best things about monsoons in Goa! It makes the subsequent drying up and consumption of cocktails even more worthwhile. :)
Goa in the monsoons is not for the typical tourist who wants a full itinerary and baking on the beach.Goa in the monsoons is for those who would like to put their feet up and watch the world go by to the tunes of Bill Withers.
wow gunjan...you have enticed me to visit goa in the monsoon...i have heard a lot about its fertile and emerald beauty seen through a sheet of rain but never experienced it first hand...as bill withers would have said, "it ain't no sunshine"...but then again who wants the sun it to shine when you have rains and a bottle of wine...
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