OTP’S Guide to Partying Your Ass Off in Goa
Photo by: Oleg Zdorik
To make up for being the smallest state in India , Goa developed a huge party complex. Squeeze in as much sleep as possible on the overnight bus or train ride there from Mumbai because, in Goa, between hippy strong-hold Arambol, rave central Anjuna, and Sunburn-spot Candolim, blinking will be the only shut eye you’ll get for days.
Photo by: dalton.picardo
Goa is the party, so get your pre-game face on before you’re even close. Coast the quiet beaches, like Benaulim and Palolem, of South Goa to absorb as much chillax as possible. On Wednesdays during the day, check out the flea market in Anjuna. The infamous night bazaars, where you can hunter-gather all sorts of weird, wacko and cheesy-fun shit, in addition to food and drinks, pop off everywhere. From November until April, newly-opened Mackie’s Saturday Nite Bazaar gives granddaddy Ingo’s Saturday Nite Bazaar a run for its hippy money.
Start your party evening at the closest thing to a traditional club in the area—9 Bar in Vagator. The joint is haunted by the ghosts of trance-scenes past, and closes early (at 10pm). Pay homage to Goa’s roots then hop on your scooter and follow the crowd until you hear the faint sound of music pulsating in the woods. Goa became Goa in the 1960s, thanks to traveling flower mamas and acid papas. Arambol is the original hippy haunt, and alternative is still the norm. Ask around for Marcus, a walking, talking, guitar-strumming, tune-humming institution in these parts. He’s been in Goa for twenty-something years and often plays at one of the Arambol beach shacks. New Year’s Eve is peak season and Shiva Café revs up around then. For a cozier experience, Agnelo’s shack on the north side of Anjuna also knows its shit— pairing large amounts of liquid fuel with coconut pancakes and garlic butter prawns to keep the party hopping.
If you’re serious about the full experience, head there at the end of December, when Candolim beach hosts Asia’s biggest music festival, Sunburn. The festival attracts thousands beat addicts and the best DJs and electronic musicians in the world, from successful national acts like Jalebee Cartel and B.L.O.T. to huge international names like Armin Van Buuren and Paul Van Dyk.
Photo by: PnP!
The pre, during and after party all happen on the beach. You’ll never be bored stumbling from shack to shack or shore to shore. Due to sound restrictions, not all shacks are open past midnight—your best bet is to either hook up with some Goans who can lead you to the promised land, or get your nerves rattled at Curlies (until 3 am)—on the south end of Anjuna and the cavernous epicenter of the Goan techno scene. The thing about Goa is that far after the booze has dried up, the energy keeps on pumpin.
Photo by: BarryEnders
Got the Munchies? Head to the 24-hour eatery—so cleverly named Munches (and, they’ve got cable TV!)—just off Starco Junction on the road to Vagator. Not surprisingly, the place is cramped and lines in peak season can get fucktarded. If that’s the case, make a pit stop at your friendly neighborhood tea stall instead.
Coco-huts by the beach, available from about $10–$15 per night (higher during peak) are the way to keep the beach partying at full blast. One of the best spots for a hut is Sweet Lake, a fresh water lake on Arambol. Your choice of accommodation really just depends on what beach your toes want to dig into; you’ll be picking sand from your orifices no matter where you finally pass out.
Photo by: thepog
Stuff your cheeks with liquor-absorbing dessert Bebinca and as soon as you wake up, spray your insides with hydrating coconut juice. Never mind that the sun feels like a lightsaber stabbing your strobed-out eyes-don’t discount the benefits of fresh ocean air. Get out there and breathe. If your liver sprouted a conscience overnight, soothe it with a little yoga and/or meditation. There are a ton of centers all over Goa and Ayurveda will bang the sicklies right out of you.
Even if it’s not the flower child paradise of years past, Goa is a massively good time. What you want, Goa has. Fair warning, though—you can leave the place, but your head won’t ever quite check out.
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Sounds like fun. Good piece.
coooooooooool post
Paradise on earth…best beaches,very happening,”in”.. has something for everyone.. a total destressing destination…article has caught the essence of Goa….it beckons you to Goa.
Nice article…!!