Goa - An adventure gone awry

Goa - An adventure gone awry

For two septuagenarians driving from Pune to Goa during the pandemic is an adventure in itself; although Ujjwala & I have done many road trips to Goa from age 25 until now. Our journeys had been from places of my postings like B'lore, Mumbai & Pune. As both of us enjoy driving we have made long and short drives in vehicles such as Fiat, Ambassador, Jeep, Maruti 800, Esteem, Hyundai Accent, Nano & WagonR across North and South India. I have lost count of our entries into Goa over 50 years - may be 50 or so, including about 25 by air from Mumbai for company work.

We have an emotional bond with Goa, the abode of our family deity & the land of our ancestors, a beacon as much of spirituality as it has been for fun and frolic. Ujjwala remembers childhood visit with parents during Portuguese rule & I have memory of my first visit in 1969 to a pristine and easygoing Goa. 

On Nov 22nd we filled the car-tank, packed our bags and set ourselves on the road to Goa the next day. We had learnt that restrictions on entry into the state had been withdrawn and tourists were welcome by any mode of transport. We drove off at 6am, had a pleasurable ride via Amboli till we arrived at Goa check-post at Banda. This section of Mumbai-Panjim highway used to be well maintained and took us to Panjim in a jiffy. But for the past three years it is in a mess due to road improvement project that is progressing at snail's pace. Elsewhere in the country road development happens at speed of a tortoise, in Goa it is even slower. Last year we were outraged by horrible condition of Banda-Panjim section and other moribund roads in the state and had vowed not to travel by car to Goa. But because of 8 months of sedentary life, hoping against hope we decided to drive thinking that in the past 12 months road development would have happened. No such luck. If anything, there were more potholes, diversions, bumps, unmarked sharp edges (to facilitate accidents) lengthening travel time from border to state capital from 45 minutes to 2 hours, rattling every bone in the body. Reaching Panjim alive was to us a grim satisfaction and a cause for celebration. Roads in the country are pathetic & Goa is no exception. Even small nations (with less dynamic leaders) in our neighborhood have superior roads. Our honourable minister for highways has admitted that the concerned road development authority is out of control; rather intriguing despite six years of good governance.

After reaching Ginger Hotel at Panjim we heaved a sigh of relief and were efficiently checked into a well appointed room. We were upbeat after a hot shower washing away fatigue of 10 hours & 500 km on bad roads. We got into a holiday mood to enjoy the next three days in our favourite place. After a good dinner and peaceful sleep we woke up cheerfully looking forward to visiting temples, beaches and fish restaurants. As we were getting ready in anticipation of a good breakfast I casually looked at my smart phone for a news update. To our horror there was news of restrictions on travellers entering Maharashtra from Goa from 24th midnight.

This was a bolt from the blue. As always the information was sketchy and haphazard. We were not sure if it would be prudent to stay on and return on 26th risking chaos at the border, being hustled in a large crowd, getting infected while undergoing tests and awaiting results, for God knows how long, with a sword of quarantine hanging over our heads.

As the odds were unfavourable we made an about turn and drove back 500 km on the same awful road to Pune. Driving 1000 km in two days is tiring at our age and takes a good deal of effort, but is do-able as two years ago we had done B'lore- Pune, 900 km without a night halt. What was not digestible was our being cheated out of our well deserved holiday, loss of bookings & other expenses as also needless anxiety. How effective these Knee-jerk actions are in controlling infections is anybody's guess but hardship it entails for ordinary public and havoc it causes to orderly commerce needs no guessing. But then the wellbeing of citizens doesn't rank high on the priority list of our leaders.

For us everything was not dismal this time. We must mention good deeds by Tata's Ginger Hotel.  Upon our verbal request to refund our booking for two nights we got credit for the same in our bank account in less than a week. Despite pandemic havoc faced by the tourism industry and consequent financial hardship, Ginger maintained its high standard of hospitality and perfection in guest safety. We have stayed in Panjim property over a dozen times and their other properties at Nashik, Trivandrum, Mangalore, Banglore, Pondicherry etc. Their standard of service is high and uniform, customer delight seems to be their motto.