28-Jan-2026, After all the hustle and bustle in Mumbai, it is time for something more relaxing. No more crazy traffic and constant honking in a big city. Sara flies back to Jakarta, and I escape the big city and follow the group of friends (from the wedding) to Goa. I have never been a big fan of concrete jungles, and I prefer something more laidback and quieter. My flight to Goa is at 9.50 am, and I am looking forward to sleep in a bit. Sara on the other hand, has a flight at 6 am and is already up by 3.30 am. She must have been very sleepy in the car because at the airport she discovered she had left her second phone in the Uber. She called for my help and thankfully I was able to log into her account and track the driver (big thanks to Uber support for their swift action). Sara’s phone had been located, but she is boarding soon and there is no way she will have her phone on time. Instead, the driver returns it to me and Sara will have to wait a few weeks before we meet again. But most importantly the phone is back and now I can go back to bed for an hour before I must get up at 7 am.

As soon as I got off the plane in Goa, I immediately feel much better. The weather is pleasant, the sky is blue, no traffic noise and honking, the people are very friendly and most of all the air is clean; my lungs and throat get a well needed break from the heavy pollution. From the airport it takes almost an hour to reach the hotel, and although there is not much traffic, also here they drive around like madman. Completely disregarding any kind of traffic or safety rules. Nothing different from the big city, I guess.

Goa; a small state in India and renowned as a premier tourist destination famous for its beaches by the Arabian sea and vibrant nightlife. Although I am not going for the nightlife, I will enjoy the chill and laidback lifestyle in Morjim, a small beach town. I got myself a room in a small beach resort and it’s perfect; cozy, quiet, peaceful, affordable and very close to the villa where the rest of the group is staying. Morjim is a very small place with just a bunch of shops, houses, hotels/ resorts and restaurants along 1 main road with only a handful of side streets. Along the beaches there are many beach shacks and simple coffee shops. I imagine this is the kind of vibe that Bali had 20 / 30 years ago. Simple and not run over by mass tourism.

The staff at the resort is very friendly and the manager likes to make small talk. He also wants me to know that he is the guy for some other green products. With a vibe like this, he didn’t surprise me. But since I don’t smoke weed, I politely declined. On my second day in Goa, I start with a morning stroll on the beach. And once the sun was getting too strong, I went back to my resort and spent the rest of the morning and afternoon under a beach umbrella. This is not something I normally do, even in Bali I hardly spent time at the beach, but today I just feel like lying down under an umbrella, watching the sea, drinking a coconut and reading a book. Enjoying life by doing nothing, except getting an (uneven) sunburn. With a bit of yoga in the late afternoon my day is complete and I was happy and satisfied.

In the evening, I came out of my solitary shell and joined the group (14 people) for dinner. This whole bunch is very nice, and once again I made new friends. I learned that a few (3 guys and a girl) are going on a bike trip the next day. I would love to join and frantically we are trying to find a 5^th motorbike. Earlier today I had already rented a small scooter, but this is not going to cut it. I needed a big bike to keep up. The search continued into the next morning, but unfortunately, we never found that 5^th motorbike, so I had to wave them goodbye while I stayed behind with a tear in my eye.

I had a great day, nonetheless. Close to my resort I found a Yoga studio that provides morning Hatha classes with an amazing view of the sea. It was a fun and challenging class which I liked very much. Starting the day with yoga is one of my favorite things to do. Since I cannot join the bike gang, I decided to tour around by myself on my own little scooter. It was a lot of fun and quite the adventure. I spent a few hours riding and did a loop of about 55km in total. Enough to see a thing or two. It was more about the journey and not so much about having a destination.

With a bit of help from Google maps, it was very easy to find my way around and just explore the countryside on two wheels. The roads are pretty much empty and easy to go around in. I found a hotspot on the map, and it promised beautiful waterfalls; something worth checking out. The last part of the journey was a dirt road, but it was totally worth it. Such a majestic waterfall raging through these dry lands…

I wasn’t the only one that was fooled by the promise of a beautiful waterfall, as there was another couple of British tourists. We laughed about it and I guess this place looks very different during the wet season. We made some cool shots and I left again, on my way to explore the world on my little red Yamaha Fascino scooter.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BELOW FOR A SHORT COMPILATION OF ME SCOOTING AROUND:

After visiting the Mogacho waterfalls, I continued my journey to Chapora fort in Vagator, which is located on a large hill by the sea. Except for a stonewall and an entrance gate, the fort itself is in ruins and not very spectacular. The views on the beaches, the sea and the city, however, are very pretty. The backdrop with more hills are stunning and worth the drive and small hike up here. At one of the small stalls with souvenirs at the foot of the hill I succeeded in one of my goals whenever I visit a new country; buy a country mug.

After yoga and a whole day of riding, there is only one way to relax. A full body massage and a body scrub to cleanse the skin from all the dirt and dust I picked up from the road. It was a perfect day and I got to see some interesting things along the way, such as cows strolling peacefully down the road, street vendors working hard to make a living and young kids riding scooters. Just like any another day in India.

On my last night in Goa, a few friends and I went to a nice Tibetian café for dinner. It had thousands of reviews, so it must be a good spot to eat, and sure enough the food tasted very good. This was also our goodbye because the next morning I had a flight to catch. Back to Mumbai to finally have that first date with a pretty Indian lady.

With dozens of flights that I have on a yearly basis, they are hardly worth mentioning, but my flight from Goa to Mumbai was different. And not in a good way. From the moment I woke up in the morning, my stomach hasn’t been feeling very well. In fact, only 20 minutes before boarding time, I puked everything out. It was a relieve and a worry at the same time. My stomach was feeling a bit better, but I didn’t want to get sick on the plane. Luckily this didn’t happen and I survived the flight without any accidents.

Speaking of food, when traveling I hardly order food or go to a restaurant for “the experience”. I eat because I have to, so even in Asia I often order western food. Which reminds me of another thing I need to get used to. When you are talking to an Indian person, especially when placing an order at a restaurant, they shake their head from left to right (also known as the Indian head wobble), and often I think that it means “No”, or that they don’t have it. But then I remind myself that this head wobble is a form of acknowledgement, so it means ‘Yes’.

Back to the story; as the day progressed, my stomach bug didn’t get worse, which is a good thing because despite me being a bit sick, I didn’t want to cancel my first date. But instead of going to a café or restaurant to get to know each other, we spent our time sitting, talking and eating in her hotel room. I was sitting there in my pajama’s, and she took great care of me. This is definitely a first date to remember. In the evening, I went back to my own room and slept early. I spent a few more days in Mumbai, taking it very easy, before flying to New Delhi. In New Delhi I would join Jim, his parents and some friends again to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. A story for next time, so stay tuned.

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