Wednesday 12th December
The guesthouse where I reserved a room was situated in a quiet area of the village, sitting amongst the palm trees and with a view of the sea in the distance. It’s also quite far from the shops and restaurants - the main tourist hub - so it was a pretty cool place to stay. I set out to hire a bicycle (cost of 50Rs per day), get some food, and drop off clothes at the local laundry service.
I stopped off at a restaurant close to the hotel and ordered a ‘Feel Good’ breakfast, which was basically a cooked breakfast. I’m not a huge fan of breakfast food wherever I am, and India has even less on offer, unless you like to eat spicy food as your first meal of the day. So, this very passable attempt at a fry-up was possibly one of the most enjoyable meals of the trip! Without wanting to sound like a Benidorm Regular, it was a very welcome change, and it’s good to have a taste of an old favourite, even if I had only been away for five weeks.
The town of Benaulim and the beaches within it are full of western tourists, with the large part middle-aged and older Europeans – particularly British – giving it the feel of the Costa Del Sol without the chav element. Beach ‘shacks’ line the sea front, selling seafood and drinks at pretty low prices. Although it can cost a significant amount to fly here, particularly during the peak season over the Christmas and New Year period, costs are fairly low in terms of accommodation, transport, and food and drink.
After sorting out my ‘chores’, I set off for the beach and spent the afternoon catching some rays, reading and swimming, getting my first dip in the Arabian Sea, and the water was pleasantly warm. The beach itself is clean and stretches for miles in both directions from the village of Benaulim. You get the occasional person trying to sell stuff but not enough to be a problem.
Later in the evening, I met a girl from Barcelona at the guesthouse and we went for dinner at one of the restaurants on the beach, at which there was live classical Indian music and dancing being performed in front of a crowd full of mainly Brits. Benaulim is clearly becoming – or already is – a very popular place for people to take a break from the misery that is the European winter. You can understand why, there is a lot going for it.
