For a travel enthusiast, Wanderers sure has got his name right! True to his name, he loves to travel and holiday … and come back with some great memories that he shares with us in his delightful reviews.

A member since April 2009, the Delhi based Wanderers has already clocked up a decent level of contributions: 2 destination reviews - embellished with 26 photographs - and 2 hotel reviews. And that sure makes for a complete package of holiday experiences, in both words and pictures.

His indepth account of his September visit to Goa is what has bagged him the Best Contributor title for October. In his engaging writing style, he has brought to us Goa up close and personal with some fascinating details of his five day holiday in the “Land of beaches, coconut palms, fun and frolic”.

Way to go, Wanderers! Here’s to many more from you!

Goa doesn't need any introduction and is regarded as one of the most sought after holiday destinations in India. We visited Goa for the first time in the last week of September 2009. Initially I didn't fall in love with the place as the outlook and culture of the place didn't really strike me. But as I spent a day, I became fascinated by the place. We stayed at Panaji and took a bike on rent as that’s the most preferred way of transfer. We didn't waste even a single day and within two hours of reaching our room, we were out to explore Goa.

First we hit the most famous and commercialised beaches of all i.e. Calangute. I didn't like Calangute much as it was overcrowded. Baga beach is adjacent to Calangute so we hit Baga next. We liked it more than Calangute. After a good swim and having a good meal, we returned to our room and went to see Dona Paula beach in the evening. We really liked the sunset at Dona Paula. There was some watersports activity at Dona Paula but nothing much. Next day we hit the southern part of Goa and after driving for 75 kms, we reached southern most Palolem beach which is considered to be the most pristine beach. There was not much activity there. I really enjoyed the peace and silence of the place. It’s a no nonsense place and ideal for a romantic walk across the beach. While coming back to Panjim, we hit all other beaches of South Goa i.e. Benaulim, Colva, Varca, Mobor. All four are very close to each other and we didn't like Colva and Benaulim much. They were filthy and spoilt. I would not recommend them to those who are short on time. Third day we again went to explore north Goa. We went to Morjim (most beautiful beach) which is around 45 kms from Panjim, Arambol (worst according to me) which is even farther (50 kms or may be more from Panjim) and while coming back went to Anjuna beach which is around 25 kms from Panjim. While coming back from Anjuna we also went to Candolim beach and lastly went to Sinquerim beach for sunset. Near to Sinquerim is the 'Dil Chahta Hai' spot. This was really an amazing day as the weather was beautiful and it was great fun exploring Goa on bike. The internal part of Goa is so green and reminded me of Kerala. Goa to me became much more than just beaches. Fourth day we started with Chapora Fort which is quite near to Vagator Beach. This is a must visit place according to me. The view from Chapora fort is simply awesome. I fell in love with the place more so coz it was drizzling and cloudy all over. The hues of green grass, blue water and brown stones all clubbed together in one sight...it was so beautiful and its impossible to express the same in words. Vagator is a good beach and we liked it quite a bit. This was the best day of our entire trip as it was drizzling and we drove past the entire north Goa getting completely wet (trust me that was the best part of the whole trip). In the evening we went to river cruise on Mandovi river. It’s a one hour cruise and we recommend it. On our last day at Goa it was raining very heavily so we had to miss our Old Goa exploration. We missed the churches part. Overall, the Goa trip was an awesome experience and we give full credit to the weather for that lifetime experience. We recommend it to newlyweds but it’s not much of a family place. It’s also a great place for singles who just want to have a casual carefree holiday.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping
For us, food is a very important issue as we are not very experimental as far as food is concerned. We decided to stay at Panaji mainly because of food. Occasionally, we tried fish and prawns. Fish was nice but we couldn't develop a taste for the prawns. I would review following places to eat:

1. Brittos at Baga Beach: If you are non-veg, then you can try fried fish with chips and salad. It’s really nice and quite economical. I didn't like anything else over there though we tried quite a bit of dishes. Please avoid ordering roti/naan. It’s pathetic. But even if you are a veggie just hit the place for their desserts. I recommend Alpine Chocolate Mousse and fresh mango ice cream. The combination is just out of the world. During my stay, I went to Brittos four times just for the desserts.

2. Martin's Corner in Betal Batim, South Goa: We had our lunch there on the second day of our trip. We had read great reviews about the place on the net so, despite great difficulty in finding the place, we were determined to go there. But for me it was a disappointment. Didn't like anything over there. In the end we thought that may be some desserts will do good, but they had nothing much to offer. They had Baskin Robbins ice cream on menu. We ordered butter scotch and to our horror, it was the worst ice cream we had ever had in our lives and it certainly wasn't Baskin Robbins. Overall I would not recommend this place to anyone until and unless you have some peculiar taste buds.

3. Infantaria, Baga-Calangute junction: Much has been written on the internet for breakfast at Infantaria. There's nothing great about it. It’s meant just for foreigners and I would say it’s quite expensive. People with North Indian taste buds like us won't like it and will just regret wasting money. Breakfast for two costs Rs.600 and you get nothing great out of it.

4. Delhi Darbar, Panaji: Now that's the place to eat. Excellent authentic North Indian taste, great service and good ambience. We had all our dinners at this place and I would strongly recommend it. While we were there, some festival was going on and they were giving free bangles and mehndi service to women. Though I didn't opt for it, I liked their way of promotion. It’s located in Panaji main market on 18th June road.

5. Kamat Hotel, Panaji: After initial two days of trying breakfast at beaches, we were looking for something Indian. We found this small South Indian hotel. We had uthappam, idlis and dosas there and the taste was quite ok. Best part is that you can have a hearty meal within Rs.100, so I recommend it to those looking for economical options and also to those who can't have continental breakfast for long. For shopping you may buy some beach stuff, straw hats (we bought ours for Rs.60/- each) and cashew nuts. Anjuna flea market is quite heard of, which is there on every Wednesday at Anjuna.

Activities & things to do
Besides the famous beaches, Goa is famous for water sports but there was nothing much to do in the month of September. As far as other activities are concerned, we would recommend taking a nice bike and exploring Goa in and out. The experience will be one in itself, especially for people like us coming from metros. You may also visit forts and churches though we could visit only two churches and Chapora and Fort Aguada. Still there must be more to explore...

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc.
We went by a Volvo bus (Neeta Volvos) which we boarded from Pune (though originally we are from Delhi). If you are staying at North Goa beaches, get down at Mapusa, which is the first stop for Neeta Volvos. We got down at Panaji, which is the second stop. Third stop is Madgaon which is a gateway for South Goa. Calangute-Baga-Candolim-Sinquerim: All four beaches are very close to each other and you can see all of them in one day. Anjuna-Vagator-Chapora fort can be covered together. Also, if you wish to explore the far north, then Morjim and Arambol can also be covered on the same day. For South Goa, keep aside one day. Leave early and reach Palolem latest by 11 am, and on the way back you can cover Varca-Mobor-Majorda-Colva-Banaulim as all five are very close to each other. One day should be kept for Panaji where you can cover Dona Paula, Miramar (though trash) and the Mandovi boat cruise. The road directions are very clear from Panaji to any of the beaches. We didn’t ask a single person for any assistance and reached everywhere on our own.