Beaches of Goa, Anjuna

One of the famous beach in Goa with colorful reddish rocks and beautiful coconut plants on its beach. The beach where you can bath is less, but it is so beautiful to see the waves breaking on the colorful rocks. 8 Kms from Mapusa this beach is hot favorite for the foreign tourists.

Train-E-Disco, Goa on train

Disco train rolls to Goa - Luxury on wheels

SANJAY MANDAL

Goa beaches will be the main attraction of a 10-day train trip from Calcutta. Tickets are priced at Rs 35,000 per passenger A train with a discotheque, cabin crew and live music will roll out from the city on January 2 for a 10-day trip to Goa and Mumbai. A city-based private travel operator is organising the trip in collaboration with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC). The Rs 35,000 package per passenger will include journey in an air-conditioned three-tier coach, a three-night, four-day stay at beach resorts in Goa and a day in Mumbai. The 16-coach rake, booked by i-nova from Indian Railways, will take about 36 hours to reach Goa. “This is the first time a private operator has booked a train for retail tourism,” said Vivek Srivastav, the general manager (eastern zone) of IRCTC. “We will be responsible for the on-board services, including food, hospitality, housekeeping, public address system and security. A multi-cuisine menu will be served on board,” he added. “An entire coach will be converted into a discotheque. Folk and baul songs will be performed on board. There will also be other entertainment options,” said Rajib Mukherjee, the managing director of i-nova. Passengers will stay in beach resorts in north Goa. “In Goa, beaches are the most attractive places. Beach volleyball, water sports and rain dance will be organised. The route has been planned in such a way that passengers can enjoy the natural beauty,” added Mukherjee. A railway official said the train would be handed over to the company — which has paid Rs 60 lakh — four to five days before the trip. Winter is the peak tourist season in Goa. About 700 chartered flights fly in to Goa every year from Europe and the US, according to tour operators. If the project is a success, more such trips will be organised. “We are planning to organise similar tours to various destinations throughout the year,” said Mukherjee. The IRCTC, on its own, is launching a train, Village on Wheels, for budget tourists. The first Village on Wheel will set out from Howrah station for north India on November 15. It will return after seven days. Each passenger will be charged Rs 500 daily for food and sightseeing, said an official.  This article is taken from the Telegraph. Read other articles on Goa: Forts in Goa Goa at carnival time Baga Beach in Goa Paolem Beach in Goa Calangute Beach in Goa Anjuna Beach in Goa Train-E-Disco Goa

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My trip to Bandhavgarh

On the 22nd of December, my friend Yoshiaki, from Tokyo, and I started our journey to Bandhavgarh. Our train, Shipra Express, was at 9.40 at night from Howrah station. The train journey was as usual, late by an hour. We reached Katni Junction at 6 in the evening on the 23rd. We were to stay at Madhya Pradesh State Tourism’s White Tiger Forest Lodge, and their car was at the station. From Entrance of the White Tiger Lodge Katni it took two hours and a half to reach the lodge.

I had visited the place earlier and almost all of the hotel staff knew me; I had a chat with them and booked a Maruti Gypsy for the next day’s forest trip with the most experienced driver of the place, Yadav-ji. We had dinner and scheduled a 5 a.m. wake-up call. The night was not very cold. The next morning we woke up before 4.30, and got ready. Tea was served at exactly 5 a.m., and we started off from the hotel. The morning Tala Gate near dawn was very cold outside and we were in an open Gypsy –not a very desirable situation! We reached the Tala gate before 6, and ours was the only car there at that hour.

The forest trip times are during 6.30-10.30 a.m. Andagain during 2.30-4.30 p.m. Of the three gates at Bandhavgarh, Tala is the main one; of late, they had opened two other gates, Magdhi and Khetawli. The Placard announcing the Reserve animals of Tala zone are quite used to cars and humans, so that photographing wildlife there is much easier than at the newer two. Alas! Our bad luck – the 45 cars allowed per trip into Tala were already booked. So we had to move to the Magdhi zone. It was quite a distance away from the main gate, and on the way we saw some chitals (Indian spotted deer, Axis axis) and monkeys, both black- and red-faced.