Tag: Panaji

Goa Sightseeing

Casino Royale Goa Casino

“You are my lucky charm”, say many a couple to each other.  

The Casino Royale Goa Casino floating off the pier in Panjim is the perfect place to see if those words indeed ring true.

A short stroll from my Mitaroy Goa Hotel, the pier of the Casino Royale Goa is quite a fancy affair with a red carpet welcome.  From there, a speed boat with a captain and crew in smart sailor uniforms rush you to the Casino Royale Goa, a floating casino ship that is anchored off the coast of Goa, due to strict gambling rules that apply in Indian territory.

On board Casino Royale Goa, which I am told is the largest passenger/entertainment vessel ever built in the country, I immediately feel an eclectic mix of sophistication and style. The reception area is really fancy, with a classy mix of browns, gold and mirrors. 

Among the couples I notice a few rich looking gentlemen, that look like Russian millionaires to me, looking to drop a million or two. I am guessing that they didn’t come by speed boat. Indeed, Casino Royale Goa boasts of its own helideck where millionaires can land in their own private chopper, before being whisked to the private gambling Suites!

I see a big Bollywood entourage in the main Casino Royale Hall. At the time, Casino Royal Goa is partnering with the Bollywood movie Teen Patti, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sir Ben Kingsley and southern superstar Madhavan. Casino Royale Goa akin to Bollywood seems to be about a winning combination of lavishness, style and grandeur.

I am on board to visit my friend and Managing Director Narendra Punj, who has worked many years for Casinos Austria. I know Narendra’s bother Brij, who lives in Germany very well.

Dressed in a dapper grey suit that matched his salt and pepper beard, Narendra Punj is not at all like his soft spoken brother. I guess that in the casino business, you have to make a mark immediately. And Narendra has made his mark, working for many years for Casinos Austria before he returned to India to take charge of Casino Royale Goa. Narendra managed to take some time off to show me around his floating casino. In addition to the Main Gaming Area and a dedicated poker room, Narendra also showed me the VVIP Gaming Room, where the creme de la creme of Indian and foreign society come to chase lady luck in the privacy of their own room.

Casino Royale Goa also has an Aqua Bar that has a stunning view of the ocean. I order a Goan feni with water. The bartender at the Aqua Bar seems to be quite shocked that I didn’t go for the usual martini. He tells me that I am the first person to order a Goan feni on board, and he opens a sealed bottle of feni as proof.  

As I sip my Goan feni, shaken not stirred of course, and wandered around the ship, I notice a couple sitting at one of the tables. The man gently encourages his wife to roll the dice and she hesitantly does so with a flush of excitement on her face. 

Or maybe it is the flush of love, I think to myself as I stroll away…

Stay Romantic!

Mihir

Goa Sightseeing

Goa Monsoon – Romance in the Rains

Finally, its that time of the year.

Whether you prefer to take long walks in the pouring rain or cuddle up cozily in your spacious Suite and watch the rain beat incessantly against your windows, Goa in the monsoons is the perfect place for romance.

Goa is a great place to visit in all seasons but my favourite time of the year has to be Goa in the monsoons. 

After a long and hot summer, the monsoon showers in Goa bring much needed respite to the soil. Nature in Goa takes on a newly washed look, looking fresher and greener than ever.

Goa in the monsoons is perfect for romance because, for some odd reason, most tourists choose to visit Goa either during Summer or Christmas / New Years, leaving Goa quiet and peaceful for couples that visit during this time of the year.

As you walk along the Panjim pier (a short distance from my Mitaroy Goa Hotel), you can see a few couples holding hands as they marvel at the spate of the Mandovi river, in all its glory!

Stay Romantic!

Mihir

Goa Sightseeing

Dona Paula Beach Goa – A tragic love story !

The Dona Paula Beach (a 10 minute drive from my Mitaroy Goa Hotel) is a pristine beach with a tragic love story to its name.

Dona Paula beach was named after the Portuguese Viceroy’s daughter Dona Paula de Menezes.

This young, innocent girl fell in love with a local Goan fisherman. Of course, this match was unacceptable to the Viceroy who forbade his daughter Dona Paula to ever see her young lover again.

Distraught with love and sorrow, Dona Paula could not bear a life without her young Goan lover and threw herself off a cliff into the unforgiving Arabian Sea.

Left with nothing but his daughter’s memory, the Portuguese Viceroy named the area Dona Paula, as an eternal tribute to his stubbornness and forbidden romance & love.

Today, there is a black stone statue of the young Dona Paula and her Goan lover on a rocky promontory jutting into the sea with a sweeping view of the Marmagoa Port in the background.

The bay of Dona Paula in Goa lies at the sangam (or meeting point) of the Arabian Sea and the Goan rivers Mandovi and Zuari. Dona Paula is located in the suburbs of the capital Panjim (where our Mitaroy Goa Hotel is located). Dona Paula is also a very fashionable residence for the rich and famous of Panjim. Originally a fishing village, Dona Paula attracts its fair share of visitors and tourists who come to marvel at its pristine beach, its natural beauty and the romantic legend associated with it.

When you are in Dona Paula, you must visit the ruins of the Cabo Fort, erected in 1540. The Cabo Raj Niwas is one of the most elegant governor’s residences in the whole of Goa.There is also a 180 year old English cemetery, open to the public along with a chapel, which has a memorial tomb of Dona Paula de Menezes with her history engraved on the tombstone.

In Dona Paula, you also have the National Oceanography Institute which was opened in 1960 to study the local Goan marine life alongwith the Marine Biology Museum. A little further (around 9 kms from Dona Paula) is the famous Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, in the island of Choro by the side of the Mandovi river and named after the famous Indian ornithologist. The Bird Sanctuary is spread over an area of 2 sq km and is a delight for bird lovers. 10 km from Dona Paula is the famous Reis Magos church. This historical landmark is one of the oldest Churches in Goa and was dedicated to the three wise men of the East who brought the baby Jesus gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh.

The Dona Paula beach itself is one of Goa’s best beaches for water sports such as windsurfing, water skiing, para sailing, motor boat rides etc. There are also several organised water sports facilities on offer in Dona Paula. If you do happen to get serious hunger pangs with all the water sport action, there are quite a few seafood restaurants along the stretch from Dona Paula to Miramar – including Martin’s Beach Corner, Sea Pebble, Menino’s and Sea View.

Stay Romantic!

Mihir

Goa Restaurants and Bars

O’ Coqueiro Restaurant Goa

No Couple’s Holiday to Goa is complete without a visit to O’ Coqueiro Bar and Restaurant.

While you have famous Goan restaurants like Brittos on Anjuna beach, Infantaria and Souza Lobos on Calangute beach, O’ Coqueiro is by far one of the most romantic restaurants in the whole of Goa.

O’ Coqueiro (pronounced as o-co-ke-roo) means Coconut tree in Portuguese. The O’ Coqueiro restaurant is housed in a sprawling, old Portuguese-style ancestral bungalow right on the Mapusa – Panaji highway in the small village of Porvorim. Rather plain by day, in the evening the lighting and greenery give it a romantic atmosphere that is hard to describe.

While you can sit in the A/C section called the sala de jhantar (dining hall in Portuguese), we chose a table in the garden under a starlit sky.

When the waiter came to take our order, we immediately chose the house special – Chicken Cafreal (pronounced as kaf-ri-el). A greenish coloured chicken curry, the Chicken Cafreal was first created here at O ‘ Coqueiro, many moons ago. I pick a Goan feni to wash down my meal.

And then the highlight of the evening begins.

We chose Friday to go to O ‘ Coqueiro since that is the day when the legendary Goan mandolin player, Emiliano and his band play at O ‘ Coqueiro. And Emiliano (who is an old family friend of ours) doesn’t disappoint. He belts out a few Goan songs that get the couples around us tapping their feet.

As the food arrives, I cannot wait to tuck in. I first go with Chicken Cafreal and Goan Paav bread. The Chicken Cafreal is a delight, lightly spiced and flavoured with mint and spinach, if I am not mistaken. For my second course, I chose Chicken Cafreal with rice. I am not quite sure which combination is better so I suggest that you try both!

For desert, we order the Bebinca, a traditional Goan layered cake that takes hours to bake because it is cooked one layer at a time. The Bebinca is good but I still maintain that the best Bebinca I’ve tasted is made in a small bakery in Fontainhas.

As we finish desert, Emiliano strikes up the music and a few couples venture out onto the dance floor. An old couple catches my eye. They must be married over 40 years yet the glimmer of love in their eyes is unmistakeable.

I only hope that I am that lucky in love…

Stay Romantic!

Mihir

Emiliano plays every Friday at O’ Coqueiro Bar and Restaurant in Alto Porvorim, Bardez, Goa. Please check local listings before going to avoid disappointment.