Whilst in India you may feel the urge to escape India-if so, Goa is the place to do it. Goa, last bastion of European colonialism on the subcontinent (by the Portuguese until 1961), is blessed with beautiful palm-lined beaches along the Arabian Sea, and is thus a major destination for European, especially English, travelers.
インドにいながらインドから逃れられる場所、それがゴア州。アラビア海沿いに椰子の木が並ぶビーチ。ここは特にヨーロッパ人（特にイギリス人）に人気のある旅行地だ。
Goa being what it is, our purpose was to relax and take it very easy. Goa has many beaches, but rather than the more popular north, we opted for the (relatively) quieter south; our first destination being Palolem Beach. To get there we went by local bus from the station at Margao (the station serving the major town in Goa) to the bus terminal in Margao itself. From there we boarded another local bus heading to Palolem Beach, and arrived after about two hours. Don’t know if it meant anything, but in passing through the town closest to the beach, Chaudi, we were met with a burning motorbike at the corner of the intersection leading to the beach. The bus stopped for a bit whilst the fire was put out by local firemen with the assistance of some lookiloos.
ここに来た理由はただのんびりするため。数あるビーチの中から、ゴアの南にある比較的静かなパロレムビーチに向かった。ゴア州のマーガオ駅で夜行電車を降り、そこからローカルバスでマーガオの街中にあるバスターミナルへ。そこでパロレムビーチ行きのローカルバスに乗り換え、約2時間でパロレムビーチに到着。到着前、ビーチから数キロ離れたチャウディという町を通った時、ビーチへ続く道の交差点でなぜかバイクが燃えていた。野次馬と消防隊の消火作業でバスは動けず、しばらく立ち往生。
Since it’s Goa, we decided to treat ourselves to some better accommodations than usual-the Oceanic Hotel, with pool attached! Since the hotel is a little far from the beach itself, we rented a motorcycle for tooling around. Palolem Beach is a popular southern beach, and the road to the beach is lined with souvenir shops, restaurants, bars, and Internet cafes. It goes without saying, that all of the restaurants are geared towards foreigners, offering everything from Italian to Mexican cuisine (with commensurate prices). There are also many shack-like restaurants/bars fronting right on the beach, with the beach itself is occupied foreign sun worshippers and swimmers. Both man and women walk freely along the beach in nothing but their swimsuits here, something unthinkable in the “real” India.
ホテルもこれまでよりぐっとグレードアップして、なんとプール付きの「オーシャニックホテル」に宿泊。ビーチから少し離れているので、早速バイクを借りてビーチへ。ビーチへ続く道は、土産物店、レストラン、ネットカフェがずらり。レストランも外国人好みのレストランばかりで、イタリアンからメキシカンまでいろいろ（値段は高め）。ビーチ沿いにもレストランやお店が並び、日光浴や水泳を楽しむ外国人旅行者で賑わっている。男性も女性も水着で歩いていて、なんとも開放的。ついインドにいることを忘れてしまうような雰囲気。
Relaxing at poolside/プールサイドでリラックス・・・
Easy way to get around Goa: Motorbike/ゴア周辺をまわるならバイクが一番便利
After a couple of nights in Palolem, we decided to move on to the more secluded Patnem Beach about 3 Km south-east. This beach is much quieter and less developed than Palolem, with very few restaurants and souvenir shops. It is quite peaceful. We stayed in a hotel (really a one-story, motel-like building) fronting the beach-close enough that we could hear the crash of the surf. We spent every day swimming, sun bathing, and reading-doing as little as possible. If a peaceful, swimmable beach in Goa is your goal, we recommend Patnem.
パロレムビーチから南東に3キロ行くとパトナムビーチがある。こちらはもっと静かで、ビーチ沿いのレストランも土産物屋も旅行者の数もパロレムビーチに比べて少なく、本当に平和で穏やかな雰囲気。数日後には波の音が聞こえるパトナムビーチ沿いのホテルに移り、海水浴や読書などをしてのんびりすごした。静かできれいな海がお好みならば、このビーチは本当にお勧め。
Patnem Beach Hotel, “Home”/パトナムビーチのホテル 「Home」
Patnem Beach/パトナムビーチ
One note, though: whilst the offseason starts about the middle of May, by the end of April many shops start to close up. Many of the souvenir shops here are run by people from the Kashmir region selling Kashmir goods, and many of these people close up shop in April to head back to their family in Kashmir. At the same time, however, in the peak season, November to February, hotel rates rise 2-3 times normal. In this way, since things really start hotting up in April, we think that late March to early April would be the best time to travel to Goa.
ただ、ビーチは5月中旬頃からオフシーズンに入るので、多くの店が4月下旬からシャッターを閉め始める。土産物屋は、カシミール地方から出てきた店主が、カシミール地方のカーペット、アクセサリー、カシミアのショールなどを売っているパターンが多く、店主はオフシーズンが近づくと家族の待つカシミールに戻る。逆に11月～2月のピークシーズンはホテル代が2倍～3倍に跳ね上がるらしい。4月下旬はちょっと暑すぎるので、ゴアに行くなら3月下旬～4月上旬がベストだろう。
Our one-week holiday in paradise was over before we even knew it, and with some reluctance we looked towards our next destination, Mumbai.
7日間の「休暇」はあっという間に過ぎてしまい、後ろ髪をひかれつつ、次の目的地ムンバイに向かった。