Chennai to Coimbatore
It's Day 1 of the trip, it's is going to be a puzzled journey for me. My very first trip with my wife crossing states all by myself.
The first halt is gonna be in Coimbatore.
We started from our home in Perungalathur by morning 6.10 am and reached Melmaruvathur by 7.45 am & stopped for breakfast in Balajee Bhavan. The food was amazing there, then we started by 8.30 am from the hotel.
By noon 2.30 pm we were 90 kms away from Coimbatore. Stopped for our lunch in a hotel called Hotel Rukmanni. We had meals there & left the place by 3.30.
Then we decide to change the destination. We decided to hit Isha Yoga Ashram first then to our OYO. We reached Isha around 5.45 pm. It's my first time visit to Isha, once I entered the very first thing I saw was the magnificent statue of Aadhiyogi. The view was breath taking. But we didn't get the chance to visit the whole campus due to rain. It started pouring around 7.00 pm.
We started from Isha by 7.45 & reached our OYO by 9.30 pm. I booked my rooms in Hotel Premalaiya, that belongs to OYO chain of hotels, this is one among their flag ship hotels & it's a OYO Townhouse. The rooms where outstanding and clean.
After refreshing we went to a hotel near by called Annaporna Gowri Shankar. We had Ghee roast & Ghee Mysorepa. The food was delicious.
Returned to the room & had a good sleep.
Coimbatore to Udupi
We started from Coimbatore by 6.00 am and the destination was Udupi. I chose to take the costal route that is reach Palakkad & take the Kerala costal route & reach Udupi via Mangalore.
We stopped at A2B around 8.00 am & had an awesome breakfast. Then we took the highway to Palakkad. Around 9.00 am we entered Kerala. We traversed across Kerala and reached its other costal side.
The Journey from Kerala to Magalore was not that great according to my experience. The route took us 15 hrs to reach Udupi where as maps showed 10 hrs of journey. The whole stretch you travel in Kerala will be within the city limits or I can say you will always travel via residential area. The NH is Kerala is so devastating that it's not a one way road, it was two way that we had vehicles coming from the opposite. Also you will find a lot of authentic Kerala restaurants along the road side. The traffic in Thalassery and Kasargode were way too exhausting, but wait we didn't reach the most exhausting part yet which is about to come next.
We reached Kasargode by 6 in the evening & had some snacks and started by 6.20 pm. The way from Kasargode to Mangalore was too bad, really bad. I can't say the roads were bad though, because there were no roads at all, there was a path filled with mud and stone. This shitty route was so exhausting that I had sever back pain. Please remember this was also a two way route and a part of it was forest range. If you travel with your family I will say please never take this route. We reached Karnataka entry toll by 8.00 pm and the roads from there were good again. We took the NH and reached our hotel Mandara Residency by 9.10 pm.
This hotel is situated at outer of Udupi. The rooms were good especially the restrooms were very neat and clean. But they had poor service, the blanket was dirty. We asked the room boy to change it after which we got a fresh one, but to my amazement that blanket was also not very clean. But the overall stay in the hotel was decent I would say.
We had dinner in Mandara Hotel in the Ground Floor, it was a very normal dinner with high cost. For an instance one piece Chappathi costed ₹20 🙄
Came back to room and had a good sleep.
From Udupi to Goa
By morning 6 am we started from hotel and reached Udupi Krishna temple. We reached the temple around 6.30 am and the darshan started by 7.00 am. We finish the darshan by 7.40 am and started to Murdeshwar which is the next devotional destination.
We reached Murdeshwar by 10.30 am. The drive was both smooth and tough because a part of the route was clear and the roads were butter but the rest was damaged route.
Lord Shiva statue in Murdeshwar is the icon of that place. He was magnificent and humongous. We went inside the temple for darshan. It was calm and cool place with all the sea breeze you want, am talking about inside the temple though. Outside the temple was hot sun.
The Shiva inside the temple in was different from other places I visited. This Shiva had a moustache and I really loved it. Then we came out of the temple. Near the entrance you will find a elevator that takes you to the 18th floor for the view where you can see Shiva statue from a different view which is really lovely and please don't miss it.
Then we started from Murdeshwar by 12.00 pm and we enrouted to Goa !!! On the way we didn't find any good hotels so we had to stick with the snacks we packed from home.
The route to Goa from Murdeshwar is really out standing. The drive was partially Marine drive and the rest were via forests. We travelled via Ghats section and it was up hill and down hill then and there will all green lush around us.
We have to cross Gokarna and Karwar to reach Goa. You won't be able to see any view or glimpse of Gokarna but when you reach Karwar it's a whole different story. The view that you will see soothen the soul and refresh it to a greater extent. The Karwar beach is another lovely spot.
We entered Goa by its Ghat section. We traveled uphill and down hill again completely surrounded by lushly greenery. We reached Panaji by 4.00 pm and we reached out hotel i.e. a home stay called "Miss Jenny's Homestay".
Situated in Saligao Miss Jenny's Homestay is really a place surrounded by nature. What you will land into is a big home with a big garden where you will get a area to sit and dine also drink. The place you will stay will be a room in the first floor or in the outhouse they have.
The place is fully furnished and equipped. You have a TV, a Kettle, a small Fridge, books to read, also 2 individual bed or a double bed depending on the room you get.
This place kinda distant to all the beaches like Calangute, Baga, Vagator etc. It's kinda minimum 7 kms to reach the beaches.
That night we went to Baga and had some fun and then on the way back we had dinner at Navtara which is a pure veg hotel. I always prefer Navtara. This is my fifth time to Goa and I get to Navtara for every single time because trust me no other places in Goa serves pure veg south indian food at good quality and taste. After dinner we came back to room and had a calm sleep.
St Xavier's Chapel & Calangute Beach
Today we started our day really lazy, we planned for going a sunrise view to one of the beaches but ended up in bed till 8.00 am. Then we grabbed ourselves up and decided to get ready.
We started from our room by 9.15 am and had our breakfast at Navtara & proceeded towards St Xavier's Chappel in Old Goa. We reached there by 10.15 am and it was scorching sun !!! The humidity was high and we were sweating like hell. We went inside the Chappel, it was silent and clean, there was a glitter Jesus status infront of us on a stage, where you can go for your offerings and prayers. Inside the church we had the preserved body of St Xavier, the body is being preserved for several years.
We went for a light and sound show within the church where they showed us how St Xavier came to Goa etc etc. Trust me it's not worthy please don't end up there.
Then we came out and went to a museum opposite to that which was a total waste of time as well so I don't wanna explain much.
By 1.00 pm we were exhausted like empty shells so we had lunch once again in Navtara and returned home.
We took a nice nap and started from room again by 5.00 PM and went to Calangute beach. At night the beach was lit & we had a good dinner along with a beer in the shore. The ambiance was really good and the sea breeze hits you with a mild moisture which makes the kick get higher.
After dinner we went back to room thus winding up the day.
Candolium, Aguada, Sinquerium & Tibetan Market
The day started with a brisk morning, we woke up early and went to Candolium beach for a sunrise watch but to our bad luck it was not so scenic though. Later we walked along the shore and took a couple of pictures. Once done we went back to room and on our way had our breakfast as usual in Navtara.
After reaching room we refreshed and got ready for the day, then we had to head to a lunch spot. My wife felt really boring that its always Navtara. So this time I decided to try some other restaurant this time, we went to a place called Desi Kitchen on our way to Aguada Fort.
The ambience of the place was really good and the food was tasty as well. The cusine is a north indian one and they serve alcohol as well. Then we headed to Aguada Fort.
The Aguada Fort us located on the costal line very close to the sea. You will get a breath taking view of the sea from the view point in the fort. The place around the fort has ample amount of parking space and you have paid parking space.
Since it was very close to see the moisture was high and as you know it was burning sun, so the result is sweat. We were drenched in sweat and thirsty as hell. Thus we decided to get back from the port. Once we came out there are a shops where we had lemon juice and bread omlet to eat.
It was evening 4 and we decided to hit Sinquerium beach for the evening. This beach is a hidden one and Taj Chain of Hotels is situated in the shores of this beach. You can have a really pleasent sunset from this beach. The day ended with a feast to our eyes, the colour of the sky was outstanding and it really made us feel purity. We sat on the shore for 2 hrs enjoying the mesmerizing view of the sunset. Also to add this beach has n number of water games including banana ride and para gliding.
Then we headed to the local Tibetian Market where you will be able to find the ornaments made of silver and few other stuffs and mostly things for women not for men though.
Then we headed back to room thus making the day end.
Enroute - North Goa & Vagator
Woke up by 7.00 AM and we realised it's time to vacate Miss Jenny's Homestay. We felt really bad that we had to leave the nature bound place where we could heard the birds singing in the morning. But we were also excited that we gonna get to a resort stay. The next stop is Stone Wood Resort in Mandarin, Goa. We took bath went for a break fast, came back, surrendered out vehicle back to the person who rented that to us. Packed all our bags in our car and we started rolling towards Stone Wood Resort.
By 12.00 PM we reached the place and we did a check in my 12.30 PM. Let's take a look at the Stone Wood Resort and the services they provide.
1. Stone Wood Resort
Located far from the heart of Goa, this place is available in Mandrem which is in North Goa. The place is easy to spot because it's located on the road side so you need not search for it.
The resort is kinda up hill set up. It has 3 kind of rooms & I will explain about each of them in the following section.
The over all setup will be Classic Cottages on both the sides & Wooden Cottages &Sea View Cottages in the top center.
1. Wooden Cottages
This is the cheapest accomodation you can get in this resort. It has a compact room along with a attached restroom & a balcony. The amenities inside the roomare fridge, cupboard,Tv, kettle, tea & coffee powder & sugar. The woodenCottages which are in the first floor will have sea view.
I would recommend the wooden cottage for the friends who are traveling for the budget vacation,if you are travelling with your family i would recommend you to go for a calssic cottage due to narrow and small space of the wooden cottages.
2.Classic Cottages
Located on both the sides of the resort .The classic cottages will give the feel of individual villas you will have a seperate balcony space where you can sit and enjoy your cup of coffee during sunrise & sunset with your loved onces.The rooms are spacious with attached spacious restroom.The amenities that will get are fridge, cupboard,Tv,kettle, coffee &tea powder &sugar.
3.Sea view cottages
Bit more spacious than your classic cottagee.
Sea views cottages will also give you a pleasurable view of sunrise &clam view of the sea during the evenigs.You will get all the amenities.
Hotel & Bar Sapce:
You have a bar along with restaurant in the property.The liquor rates are nominal,but the food seems to be bit costly for the taste they provide.
Swimming pool &Spa:
Even though the property claims to have a 3 star experience.The swimming pool & spa doesn't justify that.
Overall Verdict:
The stay was wonderful and amazing.Mr.Ravi the manager & Ms.Vaishnavi the supervisor of the property took a very good care of us & the customer service they provided was very warm and Soothing.
Cons:
As mentioned earlier even though the property claims to have a 3 stare experience,the amenities provided by them didn't justify the same.
1.Since it have more of greenery you can expect worms and frogs to pay surprise visit to your rooms because we had such visits.
2.Due to off season the lights & decorative setups within the property were not functional intentionally for cost cutting, which is definitely not a 3 star experience.
3.Alchoal is served in the rooms & not in the bar lounge, which is definitely not acceptable for a 3 star experience.
Overall Rating 4/5
We unpacked our stuff, refreshed and started to Vagator Beach. Now the most important part is we gonna head back to South Goa again 🤣
Located in South Goa, Vagator is an important beach that you should never miss to visit. On the way you can also visit another beach called Anjuna.
In Vagator the beach itself is situated in the foot of a hill, you have to go downhill to reach the beach. You will be able to see Chapora fort which is one the orther side on top of a hill. This beach also has water sports and adventure games.
After sunset we had to head back to the resort. On the way my wife asked me to stop to get something for herself and it was nothing but Creamy Cake. It my birthday the very next day 😁😁😁
Then we reach the resort had dinner and some drinks thus winding up the day.
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