Travel, Food & Photography

Insider guide to the best restaurants in Goa From shoreline shacks and old-school favourites to riverside restaurants and candle-lit fine dining—there’s no lack of restaurants in Goa to put down your sun hat and indulge in a hearty meal. Food in Goa, much like the land itself, is a vast treasure trove of culinary delicacies. Famous for its seafood, the beach town has numerous restaurants offering everything from experimental fusion to classic, home-style Indian fare. Other than its famous seafood offerings, Goa is just the place to gorge over Konkani, Portuguese and more global fare as well. Fast emerging as a wellness destination, it has recently seen a mushrooming of food joints serving organic, vegan and gluten-free food too. Plenty of choices for the foodies to rejoice, right? 1.  Thallasa, Vagator Perched on a hilltop, overlooking the magnificent Arabian Sea and picturesque small Vagator beach lies Thalassa. Not just a Greek taverna in Goa, but a place where the ...

South Goa - Where The Soul of Goa Resides Goa is amongst the best travel destinations that India has to offer. And therefore when people travel to this lovely former Portuguese colony, their expectations are forever sky high – thanks to the tales of revelry that passes on every time a friend or an acquaintance visits the sunshine state. But Goa is also a like a coin with two facades – North & South. And while the North gets all the attention with its parties, music festivals and Curlies and Titos and Britos – it becomes much easier to ignore the South altogether. And that’s exactly what separates the traveller from the tourist. If you were to look at Goa from a point of view of an evolved traveller or maybe of a purist (this writer thinks he is one), then in South Goa actually lies the real soul of Goa. And if you were to skim through that, here are a few options that are a must when you visit this land of abundant sunshine and beach shacks that sometimes really me...

Exploring Goa in pictures A simple collection of my favourite photos depicting Goa's incredible, infectious charm and character.     Arambol Beach      Alila Diwa    Beach Huts at Agonda Beach    Ice-Cream Seller at Morjim Beach      A local tuk tuk in Margao    A fruit and vegetable stall    Panjim's Latin quarter     A decorated cultured cow     Spotted Owlet     Spices at Anjuna Flea Market     Cola Beach     Chorão Island     Masala Crab at Fisherman's Wharf 

Goa’s beaches get all the tourists, but its villages are where the action’s at From concept stores stocking the latest labels to top-class restaurants and boutique hotels, Goa’s villages are buzzing and waiting for you to explore them Soondal, Andhra prawn masala and egg appam at Gunpowder in Assagao and Menezes of The Secret Garden in Saligao Blending sussegado with industry, these eight North Goa villages make it worth your while to step away from the sun, sand and surf and head inland instead. Assagao:  In the heart of North Goa’s tourist belt, but away from the cacophony, this village is rapidly emerging as a go-to spot for restaurants, art and culture. It’s a mere 30-minute drive from Panjim through forests and winding roads often wide enough for just one vehicle. Stay at  Sunbeam  (Doubles from 6,500), the home and guest house of stylist Jivi Sethi or at  30 Assagao (Doubles from INR5,500), also a guest house with views of paddy fields and th...

Inside the Jet-Setting Life of Nucleya The only thing music producer Udyan Sagar explores on tours are hotel rooms.      The real unplugging takes place on real holidays with wife, Smriti, and son, Guri, says Udyan. “Come on in,” Udyan Sagar calls out from the balcony of a two-storeyed Goan villa. A spiral stairwell melts into a terrace garden. Adjoining this lush green patch is a porch where Udyan—best known by his stage name Nucleya—stands barefoot, dressed casually in a pair of jeans and T-shirt. Of the two antique wooden chairs, one quarter the size of the other, he goes for the smaller one. “That’s my son, Guri’s,” he says, smiling. “He turned four yesterday.” The 37-year-old musician’s reservation about being interviewed is well known. Here’s why: “I make music and tour for six months. The other six months are for my family. Where I go or what I eat and wear… why should that make news? Also, I don’t want to know how big or not I am.” Goa offers ...