Ever so often, comes along an experience that re-affirms your faith in humanity and gives you a new found perspective on life, going to Goa over new years' was sadly not one such experience. It partly had to do with the fact that it being my first time there, I had mammoth expectations and thought it was going to be a non stop party every where. Much to my disappointment it was not. Over the years I had come to view Goa as 'party central', owing to all the wild stories narrated to me by friends as well as it's projection in popular culture as a one stop shop for all things considered unsavoury in conservative circles. But as it turns out, much to the relief of morally upright forces, Goa is no different from other major cities when it comes to a night of unadulterated debauchery, the only difference being that most places in Goa have the beautiful Arabian sea as a backdrop to their (sometimes shabby) interiors. However Goa was not all bad! It is beautiful, extremely beautiful, and it's amazing how you can end up spending the entire day at the beach doing nothing(unless you consider 'people watching' to be physically or mentally exerting). The isolated pristine beaches of Candolim (North Goa) are ideal for spending countless hours just soaking up the sun and whetting your appetite by way of all the local and not so local delicacies made available by the countless beach front shacks. Goa is the perfect getaway as long as you have realistic expectations and a heartfelt commitment to some serious 'chilling'(read: getting roasted in the sun).