Arambol bazaar

The road that follows the coast northward through Goa is about a mile from the beach at Arambol. The mile of road leading down from this main road to the beach at Arambol is a narrow, paved road, with little traffic, except for quite a few scooters. The road is about a mile long, and the last half mile of the road is lined with small vendors stalls, and a few restaurants and fruit stands. The vendors shops are reminiscent of the vendors at the Oregon Country Fair, with colorful clothes and bags, jewelry, tattoo shops, pipes and more. There are no big stores.

Arambol is a good place to find something to eat

There are many bars and restaurants to choose from in Arambol. They serve local food, and selections from around the world, often featuring German bakery delights, Israeli middle eastern food, Italian standards, and wood-fired-oven pizza. And there is always cold beer and liquor. Many of the restaurants are vegetarian, but most have some non-veg items as well. Most places have good coffee, and most places offer a selection of items for desert, including ruch things as mango cheesecake !nd pastries.

Arambol has fish on the menu

The early morning fishing boats come back to the beaches about 9am in the morning and sort out their catch of the day, and tend to their boats, and repair any damage to their nets.

Arambol scooters

There is an unbelievable number of motor scooters in Arambol, mostly being driven by the western visitors. Many places have them for rent, and the roads have few cars and trucks, so it is good place to ride a scooter around. There are also a lot of the old British Royal Enfield motorcycles in town, the largest concentration that I have seen in my travels in India. And as you can imagine, if you have had any experience with British motorcycles, Arambol also has the largest concentration of Royal Enfield mechanics that I have seen as well.

Arambol beach

Arambol has a nice beach which is relatively clean. There are few sun worshipers, but lots of well tanned, and many well tattooed wanderers. Fishermen park their boats on the beach and go out early each morning to bring in the catch of the day which is will become the featured items on the menus of the beach front restaurants. The beach is lined with modest guest houses, restaurants, bars and yoga centers. There are a few surfers, but not much surf.

ResidenSea

I stayed at the ResidenSea, a beach front guest house on the north end of the beach a bit beyond the end of the road which leads down to the beach. The ResidenSea is a complex of bamboo huts. I opted for a deluxe unit with private shower and toilet. At night it is well lit so that one can find their way back from the beach front bars that string out down the beach to the south.

from Gokarna to Arambol

After leaving Gokarna, an out of the way beach Hindu pilgrimage town south of Goa, I headed to Arambol, an out of the way counter culture pilgrimage town on the beach in northern Goa. Goa is a small province in India, in the middle of the west coast, on the Arabian Sea. Goa was an important trading port for the Vijayanagar empire that ruled this part of India in the 1300's from its center in Hampi. Goa has some good natural ports, and Arabian horses were imported through here for the Vijayanagar's cavalry. The Portuguese ruled Goa as a colony from 1510-1961, as an important link in the trading routes for the spice trade. In the 1960's, Goa was one of the counter culture meccas around the world. The businesses built up around the hippies in the 60's gave way to hotels, cheap charter flights from Europe, and package tours, and now the beaches of central Goa are packed with sun worshiping party crowds. The counter culture gradually migrated northward and now is centered in the north Goa beach town of Arambol. Arambol, identified as Harmal on road signs, is a small town with no large hotels, and very little car or taxi traffic. What it does have is a large number of people who want a beach resort without the usual aspects of a beach resort. The visitors are aged hippies, backpackers, dread-locked wanders, and people who want something quieter and different. Many are German, French, Isreali and Russians.