http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/sep/13/india.hotels
Away from the hurly-burly of the coastal resorts, a new clutch of
inland boutique retreats are keeping Goa's original bohemian spirit alive
Gemma Bowes
The Guardian,
Saturday September 13 2008
It's not often an A-Z makes for fun reading, but the bedside guide to
the Vivenda dos Palhacos ("villa of the clowns") and its locality is
a portfolio of loveliness and wit. A is for "ask for anything", F for
"Frog's legs. A Goan speciality. Quite illegal," and O for "oops. We
are involved in a long, drawn out war against error. Please let us
know instantly about blown bulbs or worse." By Z (eat at Zeebops
beach bar!) I'm sold on this hotel, without having yet explored
beyond my gorgeous room.
Simon and Charlotte Hayward, Vivenda's sibling owners, have infused
this Portuguese hacienda 1km inland near Majorda in central Goa with
their humour and quirky taste. The bathroom is newspapered with
Indian marriage columns, so you can read which upper caste Gemini
seeks an educated older husband, dowry offered, while washing the
juice of breakfast's fruit salad from your hands. Beside the
courtyard, a brilliant bar, made from the fold-out back of a Tata
lorry, is hung from the wall by chains and painted with a
multicoloured beach scene, across which pink piranhas and mojitos
slide out from the kitchen. Here a challenging strong beer, Haywards
5000, is served, the legacy of the old family brewery business, set
up by their ancestors and since sold to a "vast, faceless
multinational" they're sad to say.
Old photos, friends' art, colonial keepsakes and mementos draw you
into their world; the whole place is like a giant toy box cum family
scrap book.
Craving a change from his job in advertising in Hong Kong and Delhi,
Simon bought Vivenda, a hybrid of an older rammed-earth house and a
foremost Portuguese 1929 mansion, five years ago to create a retreat
where the peace of the forest would be ruffled only by decadent parties.
Come to Goa looking for a chilled-out hippy experience and you may be
disappointed to find the famous backpacker coastal resorts drowning
under a glut of beach shacks, trance bars and banana pancake caffs
swarming with Henrys on their round-the-world bar crawl, and by the
over-development of the main resorts (Candolim, Calangute and Baga)
which have been subsumed by package and domestic tourism, and tainted
by tales of fighting, drugs, robbery and crime.
Unearthing any remnant of that original bohemian Goa vibe takes
effort, but it still exists at the periphery of the region, on the
sleepy beaches to the far north and south and now, increasingly,
inland, hidden away among coconut plantations, at the end of dusty
lanes and in the corners of scattered villages whose names don't
enter the consciousness of the 18-year-old travellers.
Drinking fresh lime sodas, lying in the tapestry hammock by the
milky-blue pool felt a world away from the resorts. I could have
happily stayed all day at Vivenda, lying on a battered dentist's
chair on the veranda watching squirrels scamper on the lawn, chatting
to the sweet French family who were staying during their year out
jaunt and watching house-dog Toby, a Deputy Dawg bassett hound, give
slobbery leaping welcomes to new arrivals.
But according to my enthusiastic, charismatic hosts, I absolutely
must go to Panjim's boutiques and the Portuguese Horseshoe
restaurant, the soft empty sands of the 26km-long beach nearby, and
Zeebops, a seaside restaurant with front row seats for sunset and
crab-filled mini popadoms. So I did, along with trips to Old Goa's
peeling churches and sari shops, woodland wanders and to stay next at
Casa Colvale, another new inland boutique hotel, the first on Goa's
backwaters and run by James Foster, a mate of Simon's. Boutique hotel
group owner Sheila Dhody meant to keep this architectural home for
herself, but couldn't resist sharing it, first as a holiday let to
Bollywood stars, and now as a hotel. Its blocky structure encases the
banks of the Chapora river, with long decks where from a swollen sofa
you spy crocodiles slinking into the water and fishermen in long
boats. Over breakfast we see a water-buffalo swim past, just keeping
his pink nose dry. Immaculate lawns spotted with red flame trees
curve like Teletubby land, an infinity pool is encircled by retro
chairs, and four enormous bedrooms have floor to ceiling windows. A
speedboat will zip guests up the river from the private jetty to the
coastal beaches (Morjim, Mandrem and Ashwem, 15-20 minutes away), and
a magnificent Keralan houseboat is available for parties and picnics.
There's more Goan glamour at Panchavatti, known locally as LouLou's
place, an elegant bungalow overlooking the Mapusa river and run by an
enigmatic Belgian beauty who's lived in India all her life. It's pure
fashion shoot; a huge open terrace with chunky antiques, Buddhist
shrine and lava stone steps to an oblong pool and rooms boasting four
posters, sunken baths and shutters made from shells. From gardens
full of honeysuckle, pineapples, fish ponds and organic vegetables,
there are views over forested bluish hills, and to the home of writer
Amitav Ghosh.
I also called at Casa Susegad in Loutolim, a colourful jungle
bungalow run by a British couple. With its bright embroidered
fabrics, lanterns, crystal-themed rooms and numerous canine
inhabitants, it's more hippy-scruffy than the other hotels, but
there's a pretty turquoise pool and paths leading up a shady hill to
curved seats padded with cushions and strung with lights.
Eventually I spent some days on the golden crescents of the south,
among frisbee-playing gappers, hawkers who chattered their bangles
into my possession and local lads fighting drunken holidaying Indian
men for ogling their women. For all the loveliness of the sea and the
friendliness of the travellers, really I wanted to be back with the
bohemians, among coconut palms, rice paddies and dilapidated
mansions, watching "piglings" snuffle in the undergrowth in the
thick, damp heat of the jungle.
--
· Vivenda Dos Palhacos (vivendagoa.com) rooms from £60 pn B&B. Casa
Colvale (casacolvale.com) from £80 B&B. Panchavatti (islaingoa.com)
from £100 full board. Casa Susegad (casasusegadgoa.com) rooms £114
for two nights B&B. Real Holidays (020-7359 3938, realholidays.co.uk)
tailormakes packages. Flights Heathrow-Goa from around £730 with Expedia.co.uk.
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