I had heard the stories of Goa being an infamous spot for the hippie counterculture movement in the 60s and 70s. Since then it has continued to be a haven for people seeking peace, love, and freedom, and has been a key spot on the “Hippie Trail”. I was excited to experience this, but also nervous that it would be ruined now by overtourism. We had been pleasantly surprised by how relaxed South Goa was, possibly due to it being the end of peak tourism season.

We met a cool Indian guy called Akshay from Kerala while staying at a hostel called The Hosteller in Wayanad. He was a free spirit whose family have actually immigrated to New Zealand and he is planning to join them eventually but for now is travelling all over India. He was actually staying in North Goa at the same time we would be there and we booked the same accommodation he was staying at. The Hosteller is a common hostel chain in India where many Indian tourists stay. We have stayed at the Wayanad, Bangalore, and now the Goa locations, and have had great experiences at these hostels meeting lots of really friendly Indians. Our friend Akshay has stayed in many of these Hostellers and knows the staff well, so he was able to organise one of the best rooms for us with a balcony overlooking the swimming pool with a stunning view of the beach. 

Our accommodation was at a secluded spot called Mandrem beach about 10 minutes away from the nearby town Arambol which is a super busy and touristic place. It was a really nice beach compared to the surrounding beaches which were much more developed and busy. Swimming in the ocean in Goa at this time of the year is like taking a warm bath. It was the first time in my life where I wished the ocean was colder!! Indians tend to be a lot less comfortable in the ocean, many of them not actually knowing how to swim. We had a real fun time teaching our friend Akshay how to dive under and body surf the waves.

We also made some new Indian friends here, a young guy called Sid from New Delhi and a lovely girl called Komal from Mumbai. Komal has recently completed her yoga teacher training (YTT) in Mysore and is a very skilled Ashtanga yogi. She is planning to start teaching yoga as a side business, and wanted to take some photos on the beach to use for her business. We did an evening photoshoot at sunset with her performing asanas on the beach. Sid, Akshay, and I were all designated photographers while Alice directed the photoshoot. It was pretty comical, but the photos actually turned out great, and Komal thanked us with beers afterwards. Komal had to leave Goa before us as she had to go back to work in Mumbai, but she promised to give us a tour of the city when we arrived that weekend. Staying in hostels such as The Hosteller has proved to be such an epic way to make friends, and it’s nice that the hostels here don’t only attract foreign tourists, but plenty of Indian tourists too

While Goa is the place to go for partying due to the cheap alcohol (there is no tax on alcohol in the state of Goa), the only party we went to was actually a zero alcohol event. We heard about this place called Arambolians which is a community driven venue which hosts new age events like sound healing, jam sessions, singing circles and ecstatic dances. We decided to try an ecstatic dance and although we felt like we might be joining a cult we tried to go into it with open minds. Alice, Akshay and I tripled on our rented scooter and drove about 15 minutes inland to the venue down some pretty dodgy looking dark roads. We were a bit concerned when we arrived, and didn’t really know what to expect. We paid our entry fee and walked into a strange otherworldly place. There were fire pits, hammocks, cushion seats and lots of people with dreadlocks. We had managed to find the remnants of the hippie movement that started here in the 60s. The actual ecstatic dance was a lot of fun. It took place on a large outdoor dance floor surrounded by trees and bushes. The DJ was a young lady playing techno and trance music, and the vibe was super relaxed with children running around as it was a zero alcohol venue. All three of us had a boogie for an hour and a half followed by a meditation at the end. After the dance there was a jam session around the firepit which we watched for a bit before heading home. It was a really fun night and a good reminder that you can have a lot of fun without needing alcohol.

While I really enjoyed Mandrem Beach and spending time with our friends here, I wasn’t that impressed by north Goa. Most of the beaches were gross and extremely overdeveloped, and the towns were full of shops selling super touristy junk made in China. It’s a sad feeling when you visit a beautiful place as a tourist and it has been ruined by tourism. Of course, we are also tourists and are visiting tourist places, so we also contribute to the over tourism. While we try our best, it is inevitable that the money we spend in these places will also contribute to further over development. I can imagine that Mandrem beach will eventually end up just as overdeveloped as the surrounding beaches in a few years time.