A trip to Goa is become more like a ritual, custom every year, as far as i remember I have been going to Goa more than once for the last 4-5 years. And the last two trips I went to Goa with my wife and it happens to be one of her favourite destinations in India.
Goa has such a myriad of activities and can cater to every individual, its the most ideal location if one wants to unwind and just go with the flow. Therefore its become a custom for me and my wife to make a trip at least once to Goa every year. And we intend to keep this custom alive as long as we live.
Ive been to Goa during the summers, monsoons and of course during the winters, when its the most crowded state in the whole of India, and its the worst time to go. Whether you are in the North or the South part of Goa its crowded. Though ive enjoyed and have wonderful memories of each of my trips to Goa, the best time to visit Goa is during the rains, i.e if your the kind of person who likes the rains.
This time the temperatures were too high and everybody were of the opinion that this is the wrong time / month to go to Goa, but I didnt care. Me, my wife and my friends had already made up our minds, come what may we will go without fail.
Every visit to Goa, I used to trip on beer and food, and this is like a staple goan diet for me. But this time around my friend suggested why not try Urak, a white spirit which is a local drink very much different than Feni, another Goan favourite local drink. Urak is the first extraction, which is in its purest form in the distillation process after which Feni is derived. Urak, unlike Feni is a little cloudier and with sediments floating at the bottom of the bottle. Its usually mixed with Limca or lemonade.
The cloudiness of the drink along with the smell can be a sure deal breaker for one who is not used to the Goan spirits. But truth is its an amazing drink. Ive always shied away from tasting it due to its smell, but this time I made sure that I will atleast give it a try, and boy did it taste so good on my tongue. It was smooth going down my throat, no kind of burning sensation as it entered my stomach.
Me being a hard core rum & coke person, this was like a super drink. After having a few glasses, all of a sudden the Goa heat just dissapeared around me and it made me feel pleasant and nice. I was taken to a world of an unusual sense of bliss. Little that I noticed that me and my friends finished 4-5 bottles of Urak in one sitting at lunch.
They say that Urak contains less percentage of alcohol as compared to Feni, hence the peg measure was almost a 90ml per glass. They also say that the buzz kicks in later, much later. With the sea breeze blowing around or if you sit in front of a fan you get a nice welcome high.... Each one of us must have downed atleast 9-10 glasses of Urak and at the end of it we were totally satisfied. This was such an amazing experience for me, wish I had the sanity to drink this on my previous trips to Goa, would have made me a better person..... Ya rite... Whatever....
Post this experience, I for sure am gonna have Urak on a regular basis on my future trips to Goa. But unfortunately this drink is only available during summers, thats why its called "The Taste of Summer".
Goa has such a myriad of activities and can cater to every individual, its the most ideal location if one wants to unwind and just go with the flow. Therefore its become a custom for me and my wife to make a trip at least once to Goa every year. And we intend to keep this custom alive as long as we live.
Ive been to Goa during the summers, monsoons and of course during the winters, when its the most crowded state in the whole of India, and its the worst time to go. Whether you are in the North or the South part of Goa its crowded. Though ive enjoyed and have wonderful memories of each of my trips to Goa, the best time to visit Goa is during the rains, i.e if your the kind of person who likes the rains.
This time the temperatures were too high and everybody were of the opinion that this is the wrong time / month to go to Goa, but I didnt care. Me, my wife and my friends had already made up our minds, come what may we will go without fail.
Every visit to Goa, I used to trip on beer and food, and this is like a staple goan diet for me. But this time around my friend suggested why not try Urak, a white spirit which is a local drink very much different than Feni, another Goan favourite local drink. Urak is the first extraction, which is in its purest form in the distillation process after which Feni is derived. Urak, unlike Feni is a little cloudier and with sediments floating at the bottom of the bottle. Its usually mixed with Limca or lemonade.
The cloudiness of the drink along with the smell can be a sure deal breaker for one who is not used to the Goan spirits. But truth is its an amazing drink. Ive always shied away from tasting it due to its smell, but this time I made sure that I will atleast give it a try, and boy did it taste so good on my tongue. It was smooth going down my throat, no kind of burning sensation as it entered my stomach.
Me being a hard core rum & coke person, this was like a super drink. After having a few glasses, all of a sudden the Goa heat just dissapeared around me and it made me feel pleasant and nice. I was taken to a world of an unusual sense of bliss. Little that I noticed that me and my friends finished 4-5 bottles of Urak in one sitting at lunch.
They say that Urak contains less percentage of alcohol as compared to Feni, hence the peg measure was almost a 90ml per glass. They also say that the buzz kicks in later, much later. With the sea breeze blowing around or if you sit in front of a fan you get a nice welcome high.... Each one of us must have downed atleast 9-10 glasses of Urak and at the end of it we were totally satisfied. This was such an amazing experience for me, wish I had the sanity to drink this on my previous trips to Goa, would have made me a better person..... Ya rite... Whatever....
Post this experience, I for sure am gonna have Urak on a regular basis on my future trips to Goa. But unfortunately this drink is only available during summers, thats why its called "The Taste of Summer".
