Day 34 - 36: Goa Again - A Different Road and a different time

Leaving Early

Started early, around 6 AM.

Bengaluru traffic is best avoided rather than dealt with, and getting out before the city fully wakes up makes all the difference.

The route was familiar in parts: Tumkuru, Chitradurga, Hubballi, Dharwad, and then onward toward Goa. The initial stretch was fast and functional. Highways, steady pace, and the usual rhythm of a long drive.

Through the Heartland

Beyond the busier stretches, the road opened up.

Long empty lanes with villages scattered far apart. Fields stretching out on both sides. The kind of drive where you can settle into your own thoughts without interruption.

The Hubballi-Dharwad stretch had many road widening works going on. Past Dharwad, the character of the road began to change. The terrain shifted slowly. The greens started returning. It was a long forest stretch, part of Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary.

The roads were beautiful, the traffic non-existent and the drive, simply enjoyable.  

Into the Ghats

As the road moved closer to Goa, the forests continued.

Entering the state near the Dudhsagar region, is one of the more beautiful entries into the state. Winding roads, thick vegetation, and a gradual climb and descent through the hills of the national sanctuary. It is not a fast drive, and it is not meant to be. The road themselves asks you to slow down.

Coming in this way, through the forest and the hills rather than along the coast, Goa announces itself differently. Less abrupt, more earned.

Arrival in Goa

Reached Goa by evening.

Checked into the hotel, dropped the bags, and rested. Stepped out later at night for dinner.

Goa, even after all these kilometres, felt familiar. Not new, not overwhelming. Just easy.

Returned to the hotel and called it a night.

Days 35 and 36: Goa, Unplanned!

These were not days with a plan and neither were planned.

After weeks on the road, Goa became a place to simply exist without an itinerary. The days moved slowly. Late starts, unhurried meals and disconnected from everything. Stretches of silence and an occasional walk without a destination.

Holi in Goa

The celebration in Goa were more relaxed compared to the intensity of North India, but present in its own way. Colours, music, and small gatherings as viewed from the hotel window. It blended into the pace of Goa naturally. Not loud, not chaotic. Just another layer added to the day with a ox of locals and tourists enjoying together.

A Pause Before Moving Again

Laundry, rest, small resets.

These were the days that quietly prepare you for the next leg without announcing it. Unannounced, it felt like a break, the journey was still unfolding.

The map had one more section left. Soon it would be time to move again.