It was meant not to be a travel stay. It was meant to be a detox treatment at Balkatmane for 10 days. Not sure on what to expect but I took a leap of faith here. It was also meant to test if we can stay at a place for a while and do nothing. Just truly relax. We now know the answer.
We can not.
Day 1 - Day 3 - UdupiDay 1 was largely the drive from BLR to Udupi. We took the route via Hoysala resort near Hassan and stopped for breakfast. Slightly expensive but very good breakfast place. We left early at 4 am and were able to beat most of the traffic. We reached at Udupi by 2 pm
Balkatmane is a very good resort. Located in a village, it has good road connectivity and very friendly staff. We got our foot-massage done and that was very relaxing. During evening, we played this traditional game Pallanguzhi
Our purpose of visit was to get a detox treatment while our stay there. The doc came at 8 pm and we consulted him. He recommended a normal routine for both of us with a daily massage for treatment. The massages were basic. But what I did not like was the food. Not like in the sense that the food was really good and not sure how you can do detox while having such lavish spread of food. For example, the cook will ask if he should cook manchurian or french fries. And there is only so many things that you can say NO to.
In two days, my learning was that you can not run both a resort and a health centre at the same time. Either I can focus on resort or I can focus on a diet but combining the two does not lead to any good ideas. To make matters worse, the doc consultations were also via video, so no point in staying there. And that too at such exorbitant prices. As a resort, Balkatmane is 5/5. But as a treatment centre, I would not recommend.
By Day 3, it became apparent that things will not change and we decided to call it quits. Next question was what to do? Should we go back to BLR, go to Chikamagalur since it was very hot in Udupi or drive north up to Goa since it is very close and we have a car.
We decided to drive up to Agonda and stay at a beach side resort. Agonda is the same place where we had stayed five years ago and I have always liked that beach.
Before saying bye to Udupi, we went to the Kodi beach and ended up walking up to Kodi sea walk. It was crowded but the walk was really good. Especially to see the sunset.
Day 4 - Agonda
The drive from Udupi to Goa is very good. For long time, you drive next to the ocean and are blessed by views so good that you have to stop car and take pics :)
But it was hot too. One place of stop that we did and pretty decent is the rock garden at Karwaar. Not much of rocks but decent tribe depictions is inside. Being a weekday, it was free of crowds too.
Our stay at Agonda was an expensive one too - It was a sea facing villa with a Jacuzzi. We pampered ourselves after getting freed from Udupi. Beach water was very cozy to go in. Stay was very good. We were either in the sea water or the Jacuzzi water. This was a very relaxing day.
Next morning, before checking out, we did an end to end Agonda beach walk which was also very good.
Day 5 - North Goa - Candolim
After leaving Agonda, we went to San Thome museum. San Thome is a non-govt owned museum of historic artifacts managed by a passion of one individual. It hosts collection about evolution of typewriter, calculators, telephones, printers etc. Decent collection I would say.
After San Thome, we briefly stopped at Colva beach just to tick-mark it. It was very hot at 11 am. We drove straight up to North Goa. We met Anshika didi and Jiju there and stayed at Lali Guras in Candolim.
In the evening, we went to Deltin Jacq casino where I played Poker whole night till 3 am.
My Poker evening was very interesting. Starting at 20K, I went down to 5K and then went up to 30K before leaving the night at break even :)
Day 6 - North Goa
We decided to start the day early by visiting this Dr. Salim Ali bird sanctuary. On the way to reach there, we took our car inside a ferry which was an experience on its own. At the bird sanctuary, there are less birds but a beautiful mangrove walk to do. We did see lot of crabs, Coromant and few other bird species but the walk ~750m is a really good one.
After the bird sanctuary, we had local breakfast of vada-pao and it was delicious. Post that, we went to Chapora fort . Very easy to climb and the local stalls have made arrangements in way that the whole uphill climb is shaded. Anyways, at the top, it was pretty barren but got good views to Anjuna beach. It was very hot so we came back soon.
In the evening, we drove down to the Arambol beach and had a late lunch next to sea. Our dinner was at Candolim restaurant - Flame. Arambol is also a clean beach with a very long coastline. Good for evening walks.
Day 7 - Drive down to South Goa
Day 7 started us by having breakfast at German Bakery at Candolim. Decent breakfast. After that we drove down to
Bigfoot . BigFoot is an ethnic museum which captures the lifestyle of indigenous people. It also hosts the biggest stone carving ever done - one of Mirabai playing her musical instrument.
Right opposite bigfoot is an ancestral Portugese mansion - a smaller one - that of an advocate. It is a 500 year old residence
BigFoot is very well maintained an audio tour is decent. This is a recommended place to come with kids and families.
After Bigfoot, we went to see another Portugese mansion -
Menzes Braganza House. This one is massive and is actually divided in two parts - run by two different families who got separated 9 generations ago. Though they share the same entrance, the link between the two is minimal. And they charge separately which makes you pay 2x the cost. Both families are trying to maintain the house on their own and it is crazy expensive to do/manage such a house decor. But both of the mansions are awesome. They reflect the grandeur of that time. In particular, I loved the ceiling decor and colored glasses.
The day ended us by staying near the Palolem beach. This was a truly a beach trip. Here is again a list of beaches visited: Kodi beach - Agonda - Colva, Candolim, Arambol, Palolem - 6 beaches in 7 days.
Palolem is a decent beach as well. Not so much on the waves side but they do boating which is something that I should have done. Dinner was beach-side. This was also Diwali night so we saw fireworks from the beach - another first in life !
Day 8 was just driving back to BLR. Roads were empty, it being a post Diwali day. We stopped a local Mangalore hotel for breakfast which was delightfully good. Hunger adds 75% to taste :)
We also stopped at Devengare benne dosa place while coming back.
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