Style Director Mark Connolly spent Christmas, New Year's, and then some at the Shanti Beach Huts in Goa. It wasn't a posh vacation (see part one for a look at his lodgings), but the man who is usually front row at Prada and Gucci learned to love it. We'll keep posting his travel diary entries from his time abroad, which may be a bit hazy due to the heat—and the Indian champagne.
After Christmas, more people started to arrive, adding a different dynamic. We seemed to split into the party people and the stay-at-homes (I was bang in the middle). This proved very tricky come New Year, as one contingent was hell bent on going to a beach rave at Neptune's Point and the other half wanted a party at Shanti. Feeling nostalgic for my early 90's glory years, I decided to go to the rave.
Ever felt like the oldest swinger in town? Soon after arriving at the
party, I realized I'd danced around fields with glow sticks one too
many times to get into the oontz-oontz drum and bass this time around.
Thank goodness it closed
down early; we all slunked back to Shanti to carry on in our own way
until 8 a.m. New Year's day.
Now the exploration of the area began. (Note: Motorbikes are the best way to get around.) Agonda is probably the most low-key of the several beach villages in the area. It has a deep, wide, curved beach with lots of small hut "hotels," which were mostly plywood and bamboo and sat on the beachfront. I ate some of the best Indian food I have ever eaten, and all of it super cheap (4-5 dollars an entrée!), but my favorite food was at our Shanti beach huts: impossibly fresh, spicy but not too hot, cooked with that traditional Goan known-how. Also check out Sandy Feet for amazing Nepalese thali, Arabian Nights Thai food and surprisingly good pizza at Dolce Vita. For smashing cocktails under chandeliers swaying from palm trees, Turtle Lounge is a must.
One of the impossibly chic rooms at the Turtle Lounge
Should you feel the need to look chic at Turtle Lounge, then you need to pop into Miss Monkey, a great clothing store owned by Galician Susana Gago, who has been in Agonda for three years. She sells some of the chicest Indian-inspired clothing made in Bangalore. (Mark my words: Her stuff rivals Paris and Milan at a fraction of the price.)
Patnem is probably the coolest and most vibrant town in the area. For great vegetarian food, try Home of the Beach Villages; the breakfast Rosti with eggs hollandaise and strawberry cream crumble is particularly good. For the best tortilla outside of Spain, look no further than Goyam: crispy sweet shrimp noodles and fresh strawberry daquiris, yum. Also, Papaya has the best beachfront mojitos.
To recover from all this excess, try a deep and intense massage with much-in-demand master Deepak, who has a shack next to Home. He specializes in a combo of Kalari, deep tissue, and Thai disciplines, not for the faint-hearted, but highly recommended.
Deepak, the massage master
Parolem is a little like the Benidorm of the area. Once a sleepy fishing village, it is now the center for tattoo parlors (yes, I got a new one), sports bars, and all sorts of shady dealings—a must for the seriously nocturnal. However, it does boast one of my favorite restaurants the aptly named Cheeky Chapatti's, which offers a fab mix of Indian and Western and Thai food. Who cares when it's washed down with a great cocktail?
Tune in tomorrow for Mark's final post.
Now the exploration of the area began. (Note: Motorbikes are the best way to get around.) Agonda is probably the most low-key of the several beach villages in the area. It has a deep, wide, curved beach with lots of small hut "hotels," which were mostly plywood and bamboo and sat on the beachfront. I ate some of the best Indian food I have ever eaten, and all of it super cheap (4-5 dollars an entrée!), but my favorite food was at our Shanti beach huts: impossibly fresh, spicy but not too hot, cooked with that traditional Goan known-how. Also check out Sandy Feet for amazing Nepalese thali, Arabian Nights Thai food and surprisingly good pizza at Dolce Vita. For smashing cocktails under chandeliers swaying from palm trees, Turtle Lounge is a must.
One of the impossibly chic rooms at the Turtle Lounge
Should you feel the need to look chic at Turtle Lounge, then you need to pop into Miss Monkey, a great clothing store owned by Galician Susana Gago, who has been in Agonda for three years. She sells some of the chicest Indian-inspired clothing made in Bangalore. (Mark my words: Her stuff rivals Paris and Milan at a fraction of the price.)
Patnem is probably the coolest and most vibrant town in the area. For great vegetarian food, try Home of the Beach Villages; the breakfast Rosti with eggs hollandaise and strawberry cream crumble is particularly good. For the best tortilla outside of Spain, look no further than Goyam: crispy sweet shrimp noodles and fresh strawberry daquiris, yum. Also, Papaya has the best beachfront mojitos.
To recover from all this excess, try a deep and intense massage with much-in-demand master Deepak, who has a shack next to Home. He specializes in a combo of Kalari, deep tissue, and Thai disciplines, not for the faint-hearted, but highly recommended.
Deepak, the massage master
Parolem is a little like the Benidorm of the area. Once a sleepy fishing village, it is now the center for tattoo parlors (yes, I got a new one), sports bars, and all sorts of shady dealings—a must for the seriously nocturnal. However, it does boast one of my favorite restaurants the aptly named Cheeky Chapatti's, which offers a fab mix of Indian and Western and Thai food. Who cares when it's washed down with a great cocktail?
Tune in tomorrow for Mark's final post.
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