5 Beautiful Temples You Can’t Afford To Miss In Goa

I first visited Goa with my mum dad and brother in my teens and need I say it was love at first sight when I saw the beautiful island from my aircraft before touching down. Next I visited the land of ethereal beaches with my husband post our wedding and the love only grew fonder and deeper. For the past many years it has almost become our second home and we visit it at least twice in a year. I have already written about its best beaches, properties reviews, eateries but today I wanted to show you the offbeat divine side of Goa which is very close to my heart, the five priceless temples , the hidden gems, you can’t afford to miss. If you are a vivid cultures' enthusiast and have a devotional vein you will definitely strike a chord with these.

1. Shri Mahalakshmi Temple: This historical marvel constructed in 1413 is the one of the most visited temples in Goa, I visited it in Navratri and the opulence and grandeur with which they are celebrated here were awesome. We had a great time soaking ourselves in the mixed culture celebrations, when one of the idols of Mahalakshmi were taken out on a chariot on the auspicious occasion of RamNavmi. It was a pleasure seeing this divine side of Goa. It was about 22 kms from Panjim and we drive there by our personal car. 

2. Shanta Durga Temple:  Again near Panjim, I particularly liked this relatively recently constructed temple( constructed in 1966 though its laterite mud shrine was built in 1738) because of the fusion of Indo Portuguese architecture in its design. We loved the entire large temple complex built at the foothills of Kavalem Village in Ponda and dedicated to Goddess Shanta Durga. Do check out the interesting tale behind this gorgeous monument, when you visit there.

3. Mangeshi Temple: 21 kms from Goan Capital, Panjim, this undoubtedly is one of the really adorable temples of the state dedicated to Lord Manguesh. Shifted here by Marathas, this temple is one of the most famous in the state. A word of caution here is, before visiting this place, please do check online its dress code and clad yourself accordingly.

4. Tambdi Surla Mahadev Temple: This one is perhaps the oldest temple in Goa, loved its ambiance, spiritual vibe and abundance of Mother Nature surrounding it. Everything about it is divine including the Shivlinga inside. This site is now declared a protected monument. Lord Shiva devotees gather here in large numbers during Mahashivratri and soak themselves in the ethereal joys of devotion.

5. Shri Saptakoteshwar Temple: Located in Konkan, I visited this temple in monsoons and loved its mesmerising one of its kind architecture which has hues of Mughal and Europeans cultures. It is an absolute must visit and even better if you can visit it on Gokulashtami. It is a temple with a great historical past worth knowing about.

So, it’s a half truth that Goa is all about, only sun and sand and seafood, there is also a rich, prestigious, multi-cultural historical treasure this state keeps hidden within. Do explore it the next time you hit Goa and I am sure you will find the hours you invest worthwhile! 

If you like what I write, you can grab the copies of my four published books here: The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child, Dare to Defy The Destiny and Empowered Women Empower Women

5 Reasons I Have A Perennial Love Affair With Goa, One of the Best Holiday Destinations in India

I was fifteen when I first went to Goa. It was my first air travel ever and a glimpse of this picturesque breathtakingly beautiful place from the air, stole my heart forever. It was indeed love at first sight for me. It brought many firsts to my life as a young girl, a shy teenager at that time. While my little brother soaked in the waves and my parents enjoyed their together times, I remember sitting by the shore and painting a poetry of words, something which I always love doing, even till today. This trip remained etched on my heart for a very long time and when as newly weds, I was asked if I would love to go to Goa, I jumped in nostalgia and ecstatic joy.

As I landed in Goa for the second time, I realized my love for it is true and is forever and it hasn’t faded an ounce, in fact with the love of my life, I found it prettier and more welcoming as if I am just back home. I weaved a lot of timeless memories during this trip. I befriended sea water holding hands with S, indulged in water sports, tried my hands in Casino and experienced the oh-so-memorable Goa’s special New Year Celebrations extravaganza. Poles apart to the shy teeny me of last time, I was a young adult bubbling with energy, desire, and happiness this time. Luckily, S too grew equally fond of the place and we promised Goa, we were laying a strong foundation of a lifelong friendship with it😊.

(I am a rebel, conventional doesn’t suit me at all and this place just lets me be who I am. It is an escapade for me to a world where no one judges me for being a recluse, a moody paranoid. The way it warmly embraces me in its arms, feels like it is where I was always meant to be).

Well, so my next trip to Goa was as a mommy to little three-year-old A and the young carefree adult was now a little bit more mature and a responsible mum. Instead of partying hard and dancing like crazy overnight, we have graduated to soft and quiet parents who danced in their resort and sang on the karaoke to our hearts’ content. Our kid has inherited the beach love from his parents and in no time he became our third partner in crime who too loves his vacation to Goa more than anything else. Since then we go to Goa twice a year and it’s almost like our second home to an extent that once a blogger friend living in U.S. actually called up to check if they can put up with us in Goa for their next visit.

In fact, my perennial love affair with Goa is growing rock solid with each passing year or should I say our relationship is aging with grace. If I live that long I will surely like to spend my latter years in a cabin near the sea there. I am sure S is listening, for every time he sees I am going down with my energy quotient, he books us a vacation to Goa and I am rejuvenated at the thought of it. I love everything about the place and actually know quite much about it too. For example, we have stayed in some of the best properties Goan beaches offer(well, I will write my recommendations some other day) and know exactly what to eat, what to wear, where to go, where to party and the list is endless.

Undoubtedly, Goa has always offered us the best of family times, lots of soaking in water, sun and sand, live music bands and of course lip-smacking food and drinks but what I love the most are the early morns that I spend on the beach taking long strolls with the waves kissing my feet and the cool breeze caressing my tresses. I watch the sunrise and find a lovely corner to sit back and pen down my candid emotions or just read or glance at the horizon. It is one place where I do nothing and still feels like doing all I ever wanted. This me is much different from all the earlier mes who visited Goa.

My trance is often broken by my two loves joining me as we build sandcastles or just carve our names, smiling and giggling. What more can I ask from God? Touch Wood!

I just came back from Goa yesterday after our wedding anniversary celebrations and I am feeling so light and so wonderful that I am still dwelling out of the memories of the lovely vacations. I practiced forced digital detox during this trip minus a couple of hours each day and it was extremely overwhelming just to stay in your love’s arms at your favorite place and shut the world to you. I was itching to pen this straight from the heart memoir of the place which has stood a custodian to my life for last two decades in its own special way. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved penning it💕.

Copyright © 2014-2018 by Roma Gupta Sinha

All rights reserved. This article or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

without the express written permission of the author

If you like what i write, you can grab a copy of my 3 published books here The Fragrance of True Love, Destiny's Favorite Child and Dare to Defy The Destiny

Review of Bay 15, Cabanas by the Bay Dona Paula, Goa : #MyTravelDiaries

If you are a beach addict like me this post in undoubtedly for you, take a dip, soak yourself, enjoy the read and may be you end up weaving another super amazing vacation for yourself... 

Yeah, I am a sucker of beach vacations and have my dedicated addas(read beaches) where I somehow run away to, at least twice a year and one of them is Goa by all means. I am found there so much that one of my blogger friends presumed we live there😃.

I love waking up to a sunrise on a beach and enjoy my breakfast by the shore watching the waves trying to come near me and receding away. I can sit there the whole day writing or reading on and on. No I don’t care about the tans, I never did, tans are too less a cost for all that fun and frolic in water and sand and then collapsing on the beach pads for a drink as you get sun-kissed. A sunset by the beach can’t be missed either. So for me a beach holiday always translates into a beach resort, the nearer to sea the better, the more personal the space is, the better. I eventually wish to have my own cabin on a secluded beach in Goa, I am a wild child you see 😛.

So till I have one of my own, one of our most favorite properties in Goa to stay is the Cabanas at Bay 15 situated at Odxel Beach at Dona Paula. It is a lush-green heart-warming huge property closest to the sea. It has 16 Cabanas or Swiss inspired wooden cottages or chalets, located between palm trees, having all modern amenities. We had booked a sea facing cabana and the overall stay experience was phenomenal. We just loved the place and will love to stay there over and over again. Let me quickly enumerate to you why 😊.

We drove there from Pune after a totally packed and stress-fully busy March this year and this sinfully quiet place gave us everything we desired to relax our nerves.

While the staff instantaneously transferred us to our cabana with welcome drinks waiting for us, lip smacking lunch was served at the sea side. The chef took great care that the spices were adjusted to kiddo’s taste at such a short notice while me and hubby just chilled grabbing a drink each. 

The beach was just a small flight of stairs down and since we were a tad bit tired after a small stroll we settled on the beach pads to hear the mesmerizing sounds of the waves hitting the rocky shore and witness a gorgeous sunset. Yes, the resort offered a perfect view to the same.

We had our evening tit-bits in the tiny balcony of our cabana and then hit the swimming pool. A small one but clean and having wonderful surroundings. A dip is water rid us of our lethargy and we hit the pool table for a round of snooker followed by a wonderful beach side dinner with live music. It was like magical and we danced till late. The staff took great care of us and we loved their hospitality, a point we consider foremost while we rate or recommend a property.

Morning was even more beautiful as we went for a long stroll in their huge property meant to accommodate as many as a thousand people for large events and musical nights, they host there. They have maintained mother nature in her purest form and are blessed with the beautiful beach right at their feet. The little one and daddy darling played a lot of games like frisbee, football etc while mommy was curled up with her favorite book under her comforter in her cabana of course when not in water. It was the exact kind of vacation our heart yearned for and our cozy cottage by the beach at Bay 15 just so delightfully offered us that.

My phone somehow didn’t connect to their WiFi despite of repeated trying which in fact was good for a digital detox to me and we were not very comfortable with some stray dogs inside their premises. But these two points we will safely ignore in front of the wonderfully good experience we had there. Rest from our check in to check out it was a perfect experience and I recommend it to everyone from honeymooning couples, to families, to bunch of friends, you world enjoy every ounce of it.

Pro tip from Truly Yours Roma: The cost of stay there is absolutely not humongous but still there are always some or the other offer running of the travel booking portals. Take the best bet but don’t forget to ask for a sea facing cabana.

P.S. This is not a sponsored post but I loved it to the core as much as I love you all and thus thought of sharing it with you all. Hope you found the review worthy :)

Your Name etched on My Heart

Holding hands we walked on sand,

Stealing an occasional glance of our closest friend..

Overwhelmed were we in that entrancing moment,

And just let our smiles do all the talking..

The gentle sea waves kissed our feet,

As if trinkets of joy tickling us sweet..

Our eyes gave each other a warm embrace, 

As our fingers too spoke to each other...

Such was the impact of that silent hour, 

As he tightened his grip, striking my heart's already romancing chords..

Our love bore the advent and retrieval of the waves alike,

Proud of having overcome all the testimonies of time..

I don't fear of the ground underneath slipping away with the withdrawing waves,

For I reside safe in your heart for decades

Humbled by your infinite love, I carve on sand my gratitude to you, 

My penchant each time being erased by the rising water blues..

It was a heart with a 'S' and a 'R' that I embossed on sand, times umpteen, 

But the ruthless waves swept it away every time, so that my spirits dampen...

But my confident love, felt elated and on its own tune, it danced

 For it knew, no waves can erase your name that is etched on my heart.

(Love Notes scribbled recently on a beach vacation, dedicated to the love of  my life, my hubby, my childhood best buddy)

My Travel Diaries : A Holiday in Goa worth a Billion Smiles

Life is a beautiful journey and it becomes all the more beautiful when you take some worthwhile vacations at regular intervals to spend those quality moments with your family and rejuvenate yourself and bounce back in routine life with added vigor.

I am just back this morn from one such wonderful vacation at our forever favorite destination Goa. Though it was triggered by my kiddo's Annual Summer Vacations, me and hubby dear were on a look out for perfect moments together too and thus we thought of catching up an extended weekend trip to the land of some best beaches in India, Goa. While our little one enjoys in the mesmerizing waves there always, we both indulge in long chats and relaxing fun soaking ourselves in water and sun while watching him build his castles in between the water sprees.

We are meticulous planners so once we were done with zeroing down of the destination and applying for leaves from our office we embarked on to check the flight schedule and availability at certain chosen resorts to make it an Ideal Yatra. Luckily both the bookings got confirmed hassle free and we cracked some wonderful deals due to being regular guests.  

I packed for all three of us stuffing in loads of beach wear, swim suits and sunscreens and a few mommy essentials for my sonny like band-aids, still ensuring that we are travelling light. Not to mention the beach sets, toy-ships and the balls, packed by my sunshine himself.

We boarded our flight from Lohegaon Airport, Pune to Goa late morn. Our flight was on time and we enjoyed the wonderful views of the lovely blue seas while landing in Goa.We traveled by a Taxi from Airport to our Resort on Candolim Beach. Luck further favored us when for all the days we were there, it was extremely cloudy and drizzled occasionally to make the trip all the more enjoyable. We stayed on a beach view resort and were rejoiced at the continuous advent of waves.After a laid back breakfast we shuttled between the beach until late noon and thereafter had pool fun in our resort to relax and unnerve after the excitement of water sports and soaking on the beach. 

Billiards and Table Tennis games were on our undisputed schedule too in the evenings while the reading worm in me kept sneaking in and out of the library of the resort early morns. I also wrote a couple of pieces at leisure by the sea side as I believe the recipe of a perfect holiday lies in indulging in all that makes my heart sing a song and that's all I did.

We mainly enjoyed at Calanguta, Bagha, Anjuna and Condolim beaches along with going on a worthy cruise in Panjim booked in advance to prevent queuing up.For local commuting we have hired an open jeep, typical of Goa, this time. We even planned our lunches and dinners and ate at some of the finest Goan Eateries along with engaging in loads of dance with the live band in the fun-filled regional Carnivals. In fact, I must say, that planning and researching in advance for the entire trip(including airlines booking) and creating a clear itinerary aided us multiply our fun by raiding unknown territories. 

Time just flew and the wonderful holiday came to a fruitful end as could be witnessed from the billion smiles on our faces and immense joy in our hearts. Minus our tanned skins, this trip was an absolute Bliss :)

                                                            -Truly Yours Roma