Agonda, Goa

It was a bit of a trickier journey, requiring a change of bus after the first 2-hour local bus ride. We managed to get seats on the first bus and just about managed to squeeze our luggage in with us where we were sitting, albeit not particularly comfortably. The local buses don’t have any overhead luggage racks where you can store your baggage, and unfortunately, there were no spare seats to place the bags. We got off the bus, and the bus driver pointed to another bus that was going to Agonda. It was just about to leave, so we quickly got on the very full bus. The doors of this bus just about closed, and James was squished right up against the door, so he had to move out of the way each time the bus stopped to let people on and off. The women were treated very well—some of the other ladies who got on before me were allowed to sit at the front next to the driver, while I was halfway in and out of the front driver’s cabin. Once we were on, James realized I had been a bit hasty in making the connecting bus, and we had actually gotten on the wrong one, meaning we had about a 2km walk to our accommodation. It was actually quite a scenic walk…

We splurged a bit more on accommodation here, as this was where we would be celebrating my birthday. It was another beach town where we noticed a lot of expats base themselves. We really liked this place—it was much more relaxed without all the non-stop traffic and the constant beeping of horns. There were lots of great beach bars serving good food and drinks, and there would be live music at a few of the bars each day of the week. Again, it was so hot during the day that it was nearly impossible to be on the beach, so we tended to take refuge inside the beach shacks during the day.

They also had some lovely shops. One evening, I went out shopping by myself—I hate dragging James along on shopping trips. It’s an Indian custom to take your shoes off when you go into some shops or homes, so I had to do this a few times when I went shopping. My sister bought me some black Birkenstocks for Christmas this year, and somehow Asos made an error, so she got a free pair in the size up, which coincidentally fit James, hence why we have matching shoes. I went shopping in these sandals, but the next day, when it was daylight, we were both comparing our shoes, as mine were a lot dirtier than James’. James thought the color of my sandals had changed, but I just brushed it off, saying it was just dirt on them, which is why they looked a different color. But when I took them off, we could tell they were actually brown. I somehow had someone else’s shoes, which we put down to an accidental swap while shopping yesterday. We went back to one of the shops where I noticed another lady had been, so it could have happened there. We asked the shopkeepers if anyone had mentioned the same problem but I wasn’t in luck. For the remainder of our time in Agonda, we kept a lookout for black Birkenstocks, size 5. I wonder if the person I swapped with has also realized they are wearing someone else’s shoes…

By the end of our time in Agonda, we had our favorite beach bars, who would help me with my Hindi. Looking back now, we wish we had spent more time here—not particularly because we didn’t see everything, but mainly to enjoy it more. A place that will definitley remain as one of our top 3 places in India (so far!)