Once inside Goa, the omnipresent coconut trees, paddy fields and humidity welcomed us into the coastal region.
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Ride to Ambaulim and Agonda, South Goa (October 2024)
After July’s ride to Kumbakonamthe arrival of the ZX-10R into the garage, trips with my other vehicles as well as some other errands such as house-hunting kept us busy into August and September. We decided to change that with a longer-than-usual ride to get back to our monthly trip pattern on the Ninja.
Since we had been visiting locations in the mountains and plains for the past few trips, with some focused on hiking or art and culture, we decided to do a relaxed ride to Goa this time for a change of geography and genre. October marks the start of the Dussehra vacation season, so touristy North Goa was a definite no-no, and we decided to stick to enjoying the vibe of South Goa instead this time. The better half had a split plan for the trip this time, with 2 nights and 3 days relaxing at a quaint, newly launched property called Eden Farm Ama Stays and Trails (the premium homestay chain of the Taj group), and another three nights for exploring the touristy side of South Goa, staying at beachside shack-styled cottages at Rama ResortAgonda beach.
On the camera front, I recently upgraded my old Fujifilm X100V to a Fujifilm XT-5 with a trio of nice lenses, which forms my main kit. Owing to the lack of luggage space in bike trips (more so on the Ninja) and the inability to lug around the main camera in compact luggage, I still felt I could enhance my camera ‘garage’ by adding a nice compact APS-C camera with a fixed wide-angle lens for the kind of pictures that we like to shoot on our bike travels – largely nature, landscapes, monuments or street. While the iPhone 13 pro still does a decent job of being a quick portable camera, the larger sensor size of an APS-C camera is still leagues ahead of a picture-capturing phone. Enter my additional companion for bike trips – the compact and capable Ricoh GR III Diary Editionwith a 24MP APS-C sensor and a fixed 18.3mm lens with max aperture of f/2.8. I find it truly pocketable and deceptively similar to a simple point-and-shoot camera, less attention and more action!
Tinier than a phone, compact enough to be concealed in the hand and very handy for quick shots without getting noticed. 
With the camera bit out of the way, back to the Goa trip itself. We had opted to leave early and take the Hubli – Dharwad – Ramnagar – Anmod ghat route to enter Goa via Mollem and then proceed to Ambaulim in South Goa to reach our place of stay for the first part of the trip. We left from Bangalore by 4.30AM, carefully treading through the newly erected (annoying) rumble strips between Nelamangala and Tumkur in the dark, after which we picked up pace.
Taking a quick break at one of the tolls before Chitradurga, with a nice sunrise in the background.
We usually stop near the windmills-laden mountains of Chitradurga when passing by this stretch on morning rides, while I take a short break too after the first 200km on the rather boring expressway. It was the same even this time.
We reached our intended breakfast stop – Apoorva Resorts, Davanagere, roughly around 7.30AM, for a fresh and quick breakfast of Vadas and Davanagere Benne (Butter) Masala Dosas, washed down with some strong filter coffee. It would be a temporary farewell to Karnataka-styled breakfast for the next week or so, lol!
From Davanagere we did another non-stop run to Hubli in the next couple of hours. At the Hubli-Dharwad bypass, we had to break away from the Bangalore-Mumbai expressway and proceed westwards towards the coast, via Ramnagar. Since this route did not involve any good restaurants en route, we took a short rehydration break at the Big Mishra Pedha restaurant on the Hubli-Dharwad bypass.
Along with lime juice, we shared this small plate of freshly made Kunda (a Belgaum specialty sweet similar to thickened Basundi / condensed milk) thanks to Mishra’s live counter.
As we broke off from the main highway and entered the single lane road towards Ramnagar and Anmod, the single lane countryside roads were fantastic to enjoy after the boring expressway. We were unlucky to get stopped at three consecutive railway crossings though! 3x the discomfort with bulky riding gear in the hot sun and no airflow, lol!
Ninja meets a WDG4!
It was a sunny day, we stopped at a few places to admire the now-changing scenery as we passed through some dense forests en route Ramnagar. The roads were brilliant all the way from Dharwad to Ramnagar.
Fast flowing twisties = Sportbike fun territory!
At Ramnagar we saw Google maps re-routing us through the Castlerock deviation instead of the direct approach to Anmod ghat. On inquiring with some locals, they informed us about a half kilometre stretch of inclined road completely destroyed by heavy overnight rains, and there were several trucks and buses stuck there in the slush and craters, prompting road closure and diversions of cars and 2-wheeler traffic to Castlerock road which would join Anmod a bit ahead of the blocked portion.
Since we had no other choice we took the Castlerock deviation, and while the road was narrow, patchy (surface condition) and desolate with drastic inclination fluctuations prompting very slow speeds and careful riding, it passed through some breathtaking forest stretches which somewhat compensated for the detour delay.
The Ninja with the forests of Castlerock in the background
Re-routing our approach to Goa via Anmod and Mollem but through Castlerock.
The better half stops to cross-check with some passersby in Marathi, on the road condition ahead.
A lovely tranquil lake in the forest
Crossing a rustic bridge and swollen river
A bus stop painted in local Snake trivia livery by the forest department
The last part of the Castlerock to Anmod ghat road was so narrow it could hardly fit two 2-wheelers in some places
We finally reached Anmod ghat and typical of mountain regions, out of nowhere we were suddenly engulfed by grey clouds and heavy rain started pelting down. We wore rain protection and descended Anmod ghat to enter Goa via Mollem, with me carefully riding on the slippery concrete roads amidst low visibility in the heavy downpour. The road conditions and the weather improved as we entered Goa. We were stopped at the checkpost by the Goa border cops. I expected to be asked for my documents, but instead what I was asked was what model of bike this is, what it costs and what is the fuel efficiency it gives, lol!
We skipped lunch because there was no decent eatery on the route from Mollem to Ambaulim. Once inside Goa, the omnipresent coconut trees, paddy fields and humidity welcomed us into the coastal region. It was around 4 PM when we entered our place of stay – Eden Farms. That marked around 12 hours of riding from door to door. Eden farms is an Ama stay, under the Taj group umbrella, and hence had well marked signboards leading to the gate. It is a vast and expansive stretch of farm land with coconut plantation, mango orchards and cashew plantation. The stay itself was located somewhere in the central area of the farm, so there was around a kilometre of this mud and stone road leading to the entrance. Since the surface was almost flat, it was not a hassle.
There were 4-5 cottages at different points of the property, and there were well paved trails leading to the entrance of every cottage. The staff asked us to park the bike at our cottage itself if we wanted to. Since it made loading and unloading luggage easier, I immediately agreed.
The cottage had a balcony-deck outside, allowing a nice view of sunset as well as the hills around south Goa. There was a separate private dining area, sit-out and a lounger here
Since it was raining on and off, I parked the bike inside the sheltered balcony instead of out in the open for the next two days. Probably the best part for enthusiasts – the ability to take the vehicle and park it next to your cottage safely.
The inside of the cottage was compact, yet airy and equipped with all the necessary amenities. There were large french windows opening up to the sunset and lake view. The Titanic portrait was a bit cheesy though, lol!
The bathroom was nice as well.
Since it was too late for lunch and we were still somewhat hungry by just taking rehydration breaks, we ordered a plate of evening snacks platter and coffee and milkshake to stop our grumbling tummies for a few hours. Watching a lovely sunset along with it was a nice way to unwind.
This being a newly launched property, not many visitors know about it, or maybe they prefer beach side places more and skip it (this was not near the beach – in fact it was 20km away from the coast) . Either way there were no other guests in any of the other cottages, so we had the entire place to ourselves for the next two days. An extra bonus – a large private pool all to ourselves to enjoy. After a day of riding in the hot sun, what better way to escape the coastal heat than to dive in one of these.
After some swim time, it was time for dinner. The Ama stay staff were very hospitable and had already enquired with us our preferences for dinner. The staff in this property were all part of Taj Exotica Goa, so service levels were impeccable and in-line with what could expect at any of their (Taj’s) other properties. This was the restaurant area of Eden farm Ama stay.
Admiring a nice pair of water glasses made of thick crystal blue glass of some sort, while awaiting our dinner.
The chef by name Ali had cooked up a simple meal of Phulkas, Paneer butter masala, Rajma and a simple dessert of fruit custard and tender coconut ice cream. We did meet him later and he turned out to be a passionate chap who loved serving his guests a mix of different flavours in addition to the tried and tested fare, and asked us our preferences for the next 2 days. Why would foodies like us refuse variety? Bring it on I said!
We woke up around 6AM or so the next morning as we usually do (hard for early birds to break daily habit even if we want to, sigh!) and strolled around the large curated farmland and gardens, admiring some sights of the landscaping done inside Eden farm.
It was an overcast morning. This was a view of our cottage perched high above the surrounding greenery.
Steps leading down from our cottage pathway to the garden and lake
A man-made stream in the curated part of the farm garden
A moderate sized lake
A rustic sit-out area, would be nice for a group to chit-chat around here
Abstract landscaping elements in the garden
Continue reading on BHPian KarthikK’s Goa ride on his Ninja 1000 for BHPian comments, insights and more information.
