Reflections on My Visit to Goa, India

After more than a month of nonstop travel around India Carrie and I came upon the beach town of Arambol, Goa, ready to relax. We found ourselves a gorgeous guesthouse on the ocean with a kitchen (aka a stone slab with a gas camping stove) and made it our home for a while.

The view from our front porch at the Om Ganesh guesthouse in Arambol, Goa, India

In years past, Goa had been know for it’s crazy full moon parties and raves. However, when we arrived shortly after the Mumbai terrorist attacks, the government had shut most of that down. Instead, we found Arambol to be a sleepy hamlet filled with travelers, markets, amazing food and alternative ways of thinking.

As I wrote in my journal dated February 7, 2009 and called Go Relax in Goa:

“Activities were plentiful; one night we caught a show by a group of French hippies with belly dancing (check out the video), acrobatics and glass ball balancing with a soundtrack of digaridoos, tablas and more.

The street, and by street I mean path, near our guesthouse in Arambol, Goa

Another night we went to a Spiritual Healing Circle where we, along with 20 plus strangers, stood in a circle and made “om, ooh, eee, ahh” sounds in an effort to open up our chakras. Then we all laid in a circle with our heads facing inward as we were bathed in the sound vibrations of digaridoos, gongs, bowl edges and lord knows what else.

The entire thing was extremely calming and a fascinating experience. I can only imagine how it affects those actually in tune with their chakras and experts in meditation.”

Every night in Arambol, Goa, were were treated to an amazing sunset

Finally, after a week of relaxation in the sun and catching up on a lot of writing, our cheap holidays to Goa came to an end and we headed South to continue our adventure across India.