I owe my tanned color to Goa Dimple Inamdar

I've always been connected with Goa since my grandmother is from there. So I have been going there since I was three years old. I remember as kids, every two months of summer vacations were spent in Goa along with my whole bunch of cousins. Those have literally been the best days of my life. We would spend hours together playing on the beach. In fact I would say that's how I got my tanned color, all thanks to Goa!

As kids, we only visited South Goa since my grandmother lived there. It was only when I was around 22 years of age that I discovered places like Baga, Calangute and Candolim. That was the first time I was getting exposed to the commercial side of Goa which I found to be equally beautiful. Since then, I've been going there frequently with my friends and family. But every time I go to Goa I feel there are so many places still left to be explored, so many new things still to discover which I haven't seen in the previous time. 

Within Goa I love Vagator. It's serene and beautiful. It's on a hill top and one can see the sea below. There's also this small Shiva statue which was carved during the British times which I love visiting. Then there's nothing like the feeling of sitting by the shack and watching the sunset. Goa is just beautiful. My mornings and evenings can be spent there by just sitting and staring in the oblivion. 

I just went there again a week back and experienced the first rains of Goa which are so beautiful. I went there with some other friends to celebrate one of their birthdays. We ended up spending 14000 bucks only on the food. We just kept eating and eating. We had ordered so much of fish with butter garlic sauce and crabs since we all love seafood. The hotel staff was very happy that even during off season we ran up big bills for them. 

I prefer not going to local places where people can recognize me. I value my privacy and the last thing I would want in Goa is people running behind me to get photos clicked! That's why I prefer Vagator as it's not too crowded. Then there's this place in Anjuna where there's a small way leading to the cliff. On the top of the cliff there's a small cross where people go to pray. When I saw my first sunset over there I believed that it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. It was a red orange sunset and I was on top of the cliff. There were these people paragliding around me. It was the most magical moment I've ever seen.   

I'm very sure that some day I'll retire in Goa! I'll open a shack and live the rest of my life over there.

Reporter and Author: Yashica Tolani