Goa, going, gone! Fun in the sunny state

Riding through India’s beach state, the writer discovers well-kept Portuguese mansions, rustic villages and a relaxed way of life.

I STEPPED onto the beach as the bright orange November sun rose swiftly in the sky, dousing me in a golden light. But for a few fishermen ambling around and fidgeting with their nets, a few sparse crows cawing away and a bunch of playful dogs, the coconut palm-fringed Varca Beach (27km from Dabolim Airport) in south Goa was practically empty. And it was just a step away from, in the backyard of, the resort I was holed up at.