We arrived in Madgao and took an hour taxi ride to Palolem in South Goa. We immediately noticed a difference from the rest of India. Goa is cleaner and less hectic, and Palolem especially so. It’s the shoulder season here and it seems like the ideal time to come. Still enough people for everything to be open but nothing is crowded.
The beach here is amazing; the water is clean, relatively calm, and warm. All of the restaurants put out free umbrellas and lounge chairs, with the expectation that you’ll buy water/drinks/food from them when you’re ready.
There are a bunch of dogs (dozens and dozens) that roam the beach. Unlike stray dogs in the cities, these ones pretty much leave you alone. Sometimes too much, this guy is napping on the job. It’s taken just about all of my will power to not become part of their pack…
I was particularly interested in going to the Silent Noise party that happens every Saturday in Palolem. There’s a 10pm noise ordinance, so this outside club gives out bluetooth headphones at the entrance. There are three different DJs, and you can switch between their feeds using your headset. The headset glows green, blue, or red to signal to others which DJ you’re listening to. We’re sooo glad we went, we had an absolutely amazing time! It’s good times to take off your headset once in a while and hear everyone singing along to whichever song they are listening to. It was especially hilarious when I was listening to a deep house song and all of a sudden Priscilla, and several others around us, started doing the hand motions for ‘Y.M.C.A.’ and singing out loud. 
Beach-goers get approached many times a day with offers of henna, jewelry, massages, boat rides, and occasionally drugs. They telegraph their approach, so you sometimes end up saying ‘no’ before they even ask. The boats are beautiful, though.
We waded across to Monkey Island one day. Unfortunately, it is walled off with no trespassing signs. We did spy a couple of monkeys in the trees while I skipped rocks and Priscilla photographed shells.
It’s been nice to spend our computer time on a tropical beach patio (and it’s a good place to dry our laundry).
There’s a bar at one end of the beach that’s a great place to watch the sunset, and they often then have a bonfire if enough people stick around after dark. There are a ton of little places like this that make every night unique.
Highlights of Palolem Nights:
- Silent Noise Party. Best night ever
- Escaping the Indian heat in the Arabian Sea
- Sunsets, beach bars and delicious food. Just what we needed after a less than stellar previous week
Looks beautiful!