Goa

Picture this: planning a trip to Dandeli on a Friday night, reaching Dandeli by Saturday afternoon, and then deciding, "Goa is only three hours away." No extra clothes, no proper planning, and absolutely no reason to do it—just a Jawa motorcycle and two idiots making decisions on the fly.

What started as a boring study holiday in Bangalore somehow turned into one of the most memorable weekend trips I've had.

It had been a while since I had visited my hometown, Davanagere, where most of my school friends still live. Since it was study holidays and I was getting bored in Bangalore, I decided to head home for the weekend. On Friday night, I met up with my school friends, and while we were hanging out, someone casually suggested Dandeli. Out of the four of us, only two were free—me and Harshavardhan, better known as Jummu. The other two had work, so instead of cancelling, we decided to go anyway.

The plan was made that very night. No itinerary, no bookings, no research. Just "let's go."

Day 1: Dandeli Was The Plan

Saturday morning, I packed light—just two pairs of clothes and the essentials. Then Jummu arrived. Not only did he come with a Jawa motorcycle, but he also brought a giant travel bag that looked like he was preparing for a week-long expedition. Somehow, he had also packed a huge weighing scale machine. We were literally going away for two days.

I immediately made him take me to his house and remove half the stuff. Eventually, both our clothes ended up inside my bag, and we finally left Davanagere around 11 AM.

The ride towards Dandeli was decent. Some stretches of road were beautiful, while others made me question whether the road department had simply forgotten they existed. By around 2 PM, we were just 3 km away from Dandeli and stopped for lunch.

While waiting for food, I realized something: it was only 2 PM. We had already almost reached Dandeli and still had the whole afternoon ahead of us.

Out of curiosity, I asked Jummu, "How far is Goa?"

He checked.

Three hours.

That was all the convincing we needed.

Within minutes, we had booked a stay near a beach and completely abandoned the original plan. Dandeli was no longer the destination. Goa was.

The ride from Dandeli towards Goa was surprisingly fun. As we got closer to the coast, the air felt different, the scenery changed, and suddenly the trip felt much bigger than what we had planned a few hours earlier. We reached our stay almost exactly at sunset.

Instead of checking into the room, we parked the bike and went straight to the beach.

Sunset at beach

The timing couldn't have been better. The sky was glowing orange, the beach wasn't too crowded, and after spending most of the day on a motorcycle, it felt great to just sit there and do absolutely nothing.

Only after sunset did we finally check in. The guy managing the property seemed super chill and gave us a few recommendations about places nearby.

Goa After Dark

After quickly freshening up, we headed back out. The rest of the evening was basically us wandering around without a plan. We tried random foods, walked along the beach, explored the area, and enjoyed not having to be anywhere at any particular time.

At one point, we ended up near an open bar where the music was ridiculously loud. Instead of going inside, we just stood on the beach and vibed to the music from a distance.

Then something weird happened.

Behind the beach was a forest area, and while we were walking around, I noticed a single light deep inside the trees. Just one light. Everything else was pitch black.

Naturally, I wanted to investigate.

Jummu absolutely did not.

The more we looked at it, the creepier it felt. Eventually, common sense won and we decided not to become the main characters in a horror movie. To this day, I have no idea what that light was. Beach at Night

By the time we got back to the room, we were exhausted. The day had started in Davanagere and somehow ended in Goa.

Day 2: Rain, Omelettes and The Ride Back

I woke up around 4:30 AM to the sound of heavy rain. And I mean heavy.

Immediately I got worried because both of us had to return to Bangalore on Monday morning. For hours the rain just wouldn't stop. Every time I looked outside, it seemed to be getting worse.

Thankfully, around 11 AM, it finally cleared up.

Before leaving, we stopped for breakfast and tried a local omelette dish. Someone told us it was special and famous.

Honestly, it was good.

But it was still just an omelette.

Nothing life-changing. Breakfast

We finally left Goa around 11 AM and started the journey back. One thing worth mentioning is the route. While coming to Goa, we travelled through Dandeli. The roads were extremely inconsistent—some sections were beautiful while others were in rough shape.

Coming back, we took the Dharwad route, and the difference was huge. The roads were much smoother, the ride was more comfortable, and the twisty sections near Goa were genuinely fun on a motorcycle. If you're planning a similar ride, I'd definitely recommend going through Dharwad.

We reached Davanagere around 5:30 PM, tired but happy.

Final Thoughts

What started as a boring study holiday turned into an unexpected Goa trip. There was no planning, no detailed itinerary, and no months of preparation.

Just a random conversation on Friday night, a Jawa motorcycle, and two friends willing to say, "Why not?"

Honestly, those are usually the trips that end up being the most memorable.