Travelogue: Celebrating the Goan summer with the Verna

Goa has meant many things to me over the years and surprisingly it still keeps me coming back for more. As I was growing up I remember my first proper vacation to the seaside town with my family. We visited churches, ate delicious sea food and roamed the local markets.

Then in my teens I returned with my friends on week long vacations in the summer months, soaking up the sun and returning home with empty pockets and three shades darker than when we left. Later on it became the place to bring in the New Year and I began to explore life after the sun went down – eventually waking up around sunset and after a hard night of partying only falling asleep after sunrise. Nowadays, I find myself looking to find new ways to enjoy this beautiful little seaside paradise.

A luxurious resort with a pool is a must for a relaxing vacation

This time around I aim to just kick back and relax without a care in the world. Having done it all before I'm in no hurry to do anything for two days. So one Saturday morning we loaded up the new Hyundai 4S Fluidic Verna with our bags and headed for the coast with absolutely no plan at all.

One of the many churches in North Goa

We decided to take the route via NH-4 and only turning off at Belgaum rather than the more popular route via Kolhapur. Post Belgaum you're treated to some nice winding roads that twist and turn through the outskirts of the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary. Here the Verna was a delight to drive with its good ride quality and agile handling shining through.

The rock garden in Vagator

We were booked into the magnificent Mykonos Blu beach resort that is a cross between a luxury resort and a boutique hotel. It lies on the banks of a little creek near the end of Baga Beach in North Goa. It's owned by actress Ayesha Julka Vashi and is built with a delightful Grecian theme. It's really striking to look at with its brilliant white walls and blue shutters.

We checked into our luxurious room and then headed to the beach for an evening walk and we watched the sun go down over the Arabian Sea. Post sunset we headed to Tin Tin's Restaurant (of India Bike week fame) for some of the juiciest burgers we'd ever tasted.

The Saturday night market

We finished off the evening by heading to the Arpora Saturday night flea market. It's a hustling bustling night market where you can shop, eat, drink and listen to some great live music. Don't miss the superb wood oven, thin crust pizzas and other homemade delights cooked by the many firang chefs behind the food counter.

Some tasty masala fish fry on the beach

Some of the fishing boats waiting to go out to sea

Goa is famous for its fusion music scene

On Sunday we headed straight to the beach to spend a day watching the waves. We picked a beach that was far from the touristy crowd and has a great little beach shack that considers us regulars and settled down for the long haul.

We sunbathed a little, read a good book and then had a quick swim in the cool waters. And eventually we realised that between the frequent refreshing drinks, constant flow of snacks and the power naps after, we had spent the better part of a day by the beach. And that, in my books, is the perfect way to spend a vacation in Goa. We were relaxed, rejuvenated and completely ready to head back to work to make some more dough to spend on another fabulous vacation in the sun.