From Delhi to Goa: A Road Trip Adventure with Four Dogs

After 7 years living in Delhi, I’ve made the most drastic and craziest decision of my life and moved my entire life from Delhi to Goa – including my four dogs. Why and how? Come with us on a crazy non-stop road trip and prepare yourself for the shock that awaited us in Goa!

A drastic decision

Diwali was close and with it the imminent threat of a slow death by choking in a gas chamber. As beautiful as the city gets this time of year – it’s the perfect time to explore it, especially temperature-wise –, this is when things escalate: lots of firecrackers although they were partially banned, and worse, the ongoing crop burnings in Haryana and other surrounding states which send a thick cloud of smog over the city. Over the last couple of years, I had developed an alarming severe cough which always started around this time of the year and lasted till around February. So when I started dating a Goan living in Panjim, Goa, the decision to move there as soon as possible was not a hard one.

Admittedly, it was also one of the most drastic and craziest decisions in my life – maybe even more drastic than moving to India seven years ago. At least that time, I had known a couple of people from my previous visit and had spent two months in Delhi.
I had been to Goa only twice before for only a few days, which were mainly spent lying on a beach in a constant slightly drunken state, doing nothing but drinking cocktails while sunbathing. I knew nothing about the state otherwise and hadn’t done any research.

It had always been the plan to escape Delhi somehow long-term with the right person – thinking that this would be after marriage – and to build up a new life together. But the time had come earlier and more sudden than I imagined and that too after only a few months of knowing each other, as serious as it was already. Additionally, he would go to Spain for half a year after only a few months, so I would be alone again after all. Had it not been for the upcoming extreme air pollution, I would’ve surely not done it so early.

The first question was, of course, what about my job? That was actually the easiest part as there are a lot of people working from home, and they agreed to a full-time work-from-home arrangement. Best job ever!?

So now how do you move with a fully furnished 3-BHK and four dogs? Should we sell the furniture here and buy new one there? I loved my furniture, most of it was carefully selected and beloved pieces that I gathered over the past seven years. Russell doubted that we would find this type of furniture there again, especially for that cheap rate (Amar colony!). Hence we decided to take all with us – which turned out to be the right decision after all!

We quickly found a moving company that would transport all my things to Goa, which was expensive but still relatively easy. The bigger question was how to transport the dogs, out of which one – Deacon – is a traumatised nutcase who was shit scared of people, and another one – Luke – having terminal cancer in his sinuses and sneezing blood rather frequently… Due to the latter, flight and train were dismissed and we only had the option to drive. Luckily, the same moving company offered us a good deal with a big Bolero and two drivers which should make it possible to reach Goa in around two days.

As for the accommodation, Goa is (correction in 2023: WAS, post-COVID…) ridiculously cheap in comparison to Delhi! You get whole bungalows with a garden and often even a pool for a much cheaper rate than my 3-BKH in Safdarjung Enclave. Even buying your own bungalow finally becomes manageable without being a millionaire! A dream come true? The only issue was that most society buildings didn’t allow pets, especially not four of them. But having changed houses a couple of times in Delhi, that was no surprise to me. After some time of searching, we found a place online and everything was finalised, apart from signing the lease.

Our trip started a couple of days before Diwali. To save time, we left in the late evening so that we would not get stuck in traffic between Delhi and Jaipur (generally a good idea, the traffic there can be insane!). We would continue passing Indore, Pune and finally reaching Goa.

I had feared the worst with Luke, that he would get one of his never-ending sneeze-attacks in the car but no, not once on the entire trip! The moment we left Delhi, all our lungs started cheering. Both Russell and I had developed an ongoing cough for the last couple of weeks which miraculously disappeared overnight. Sad but true, but this is how bad Delhi air is…

I had imagined slightly more space in the car but here we were, cramped up in this tiny space. Luke could lie in the trunk on a mattress and the others took turns there, beside us on the bench or down in the leg space.

I was really surprised by how smooth it went – apart from continuous neck and leg pain obviously. We didn’t take any overnight breaks in a hotel but slept in the car. Since Diwali was near, the drivers wanted to get home as early as possible and took turns. It would’ve been too complicated to find places with four dogs anyway. The dogs got used to the car surprisingly quickly and we stopped every couple of hours for short breaks where we could walk them for a bit.

The only bad stretch was towards the end in the Ghats while entering Goa. The never-ending bumpy serpentine roads made us all car sick and poor Deacon couldn’t hold it. “Finally reached, what could possibly go wrong now”, I thought. That must’ve jinxed it…

Shock upon Arrival

We arrived in Panaji – or Panjim, as people call it here – and the new place in the afternoon. The owner stayed in Singapore and had sent a relative to meet us. As mentioned, everything was finalised, the only thing missing was our signature on the lease. The moment we got out with the dogs, the guard asked us to take them out as pets were not allowed on the premises. Say what?! :O After a long discussion with the society president, it turned out that the owner had neither informed them of our coming nor asked them about the dogs. He even had the audacity not to apologise to us but to argue that our lease wasn’t signed yet and thus anyways not valid!

So there we were, stranded in Panjim with four dogs and no place to stay. The only good thing was that the truck with the furniture would take at least a week more to arrive which bought us time. Luckily, Russell had connections and we could stay in a tiny room of one of his old landladies. One could think that this was already unbeatable but no: apparently, they have a special festival called Narkasur in Goa where they burn some demon (not Ravan) a few days before Diwali. The entire Panjim was one large party but at least without firecrackers – everywhere except our neighbourhood. It was like a small Diwali but with incredibly loud electronic music till 7 am… But it doesn’t end here: a day later, I had somehow caught a virus and was sick in bed. Welcome to Goa!

It took us around a week to find a new place. Most brokers didn’t even try because of the dogs which made it more difficult. Again, nothing new to me, it was the same in Delhi. Although it was tough, I was still convinced that if everything was so incredibly messed up, it would eventually be worth it. And luckily, I should be right: we eventually found an amazing bungalow with a garden in a beautiful society in a place close to Panjim – for much more than our original budget but who cares, a GARDEN!

The next surprise hit us when the movers arrived. Not only were a few of my things still in Delhi because they had not fit in the truck (our own fault though because we had bought some extra things after he had come for measuring), but also were we presented with an invoice including 80% taxes! We had explicitly asked that when we discussed the price… but nothing we could do there, despite much arguing.  

Still, despite the extremely bumpy start, I don’t regret making this decision. Fresh air in abundance and lush green wherever you look. The dogs love the beaches and backwaters, not to mention our garden to run around. As Goa was a Portuguese colony, you can see this influence everywhere, in the architecture and even traditions. The whole life here is like a toned-down, more European version of India – one could say “India for beginners”.

As expected, things turned bad in Delhi on the day of Diwali and the city turned into a gas chamber once again. We were glad to be out of there in time! And now, since I’m writing this during the time of Corona, I’m even more glad to be far away from big cities. 🙂

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