It seemed like forever since Goa had been on our bucket list of places to visit. After months of ‘liking’ photos and reels, our friends would post from Goa, we no longer could just scroll through the beautiful beaches on our screen. We booked our tickets, and hotel, and started our journey to what would become our favorite holiday destination.

On our way from Panji to Candolim where we had booked a place to stay for our holiday, I could not help but think of all the things to do in Goa – long walks on the beach, loafing in the shacks sipping beer, surfing, and hitting the casinos! My girlfriend on the other hand, was enchanted by the Goan landscape as her eyes followed the endless trail of palm trees and the never-ending coastline while our cab drove through the magical state of India.

With just an hour left for the sunset, we decided to watch it right from the pool in our hotel which overlooked the Candolim beach and the Arabian sea. On our first night in Goa we hit the famous Club LPK – Love Passion Karma. Bollywood music, drinks, and a great dance floor, this was one of our best nightlife experiences ever.

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The next morning, we rented a scooter to ride along the scenic routes of Goa that we just couldn’t get enough of. We had long waited to visit the Chapora or the ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ fort. On the way to the fort lie many beautiful beaches with shacks for the complete Goan ‘susegad’ experience.

The highlight of our day was the time spent at the Calangute beach which is the biggest beach in Goa. Unlike Candolim, it was well crowded with backpackers and tourists flocking to the area. My girlfriend, who’s scared of water, stood by the shore while I enjoyed the water sports, pitying her for missing out on some of the best adventures of life.

When it was nighttime again, we decided to dump the clubs for something more exclusive and grander. Having watched the roulette wheel and card dealers only in the movies, I always wanted to visit a casino. It is true that my fascination with casinos had me playing games at online casinos for real money, the experience of gambling at a real-life casino was something different.

While there are some fantastic casinos on boats and ferries in Panjim, due to my partner’s sea sickness, we chose to visit Casino Palms instead which is a land-based casino just a 15-minute drive from Candolim. The sound of the slots, watching the roulette wheel spin while I tried my lady luck, and sitting at the blackjack table for the first time was like living in a movie.

If the vice of gambling wasn’t thrilling enough, we also went to Sinquerim beach the following day for our Dolphin safari. We were lucky to be in Goa after the peak season. Since there weren’t many ferries going around and it was less crowded, we could spot a few dolphins on our safari.

On our last day of the Goa trip, we visited the Aguada Fort and headed to Panjim to explore the heritage sites such as the Basilica of Bom Jesus and the Church of our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The old baroque architecture from the times of the Portuguese rule is exemplary and so immaculate, that you’d sit there for hours admiring the design.

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