My Beach Holiday Plans For The Long Weekends In August

I love August! This month comes at the perfect time in the middle of the year with its bunch of long weekends and mid-week breaks so that overworked corporate souls like me have a reason to smile.

Ladies and gentleman, my bags are packed and I am ready to go on not one or two but three (eat your heart out!) short vacations all through this month! And this time, it is the beaches of India on my mind. Three long weekends of August and three beach destinations – life couldn’t have been better.

Jealous? I know you are but don’t worry, you still have enough time to plan and pack. After all, it’s never too late to travel.

Pondicherry

My first beach destination, Pondicherry is like second home to me. Just being there, refreshes and rejuvenates me both physically and spiritually.

For this trip, I have booked a sea-facing room at Le Pondy, a serene and luxurious property with the ultimate comfort of a private beach featuring a swimming pool, Ayurvedic massage centre and a fabulous kitchen that churns out some excellent food. I am surely in for some pampering!

My checklist of things to do in Pondicherry:

• Enjoy an English breakfast sitting right on the beach at Le Café
• Walk leisurely down the classy French Quarters
• Witness the sunrise at the Rocky Sea Beach
• Meditate at Auroville
• Savour its rich international cuisine accompanied with fine French wine
• Visit the Hidesign factory (you get the best leather goods at such good rates here)
• Buy handmade incense sticks, soaps, clothes and accessories from the Auro shops

The best way to enjoy Pondicherry is to take a break from life and just lie back.

Goa 

Next on the cards is the mother of all beaches in India - GOA.

Goa needs no words to describe. It is not just a place but also a feeling that just soaks in and stays forever in your heart and compels you to come back again and again. I have been to Goa umpteen number of times and still can’t resist myself from going there yet again. You have to be there to feel this connect.

Photo Credit: Soumendra Banerjee

So a gang of 5 girls in Goa for and 4 days! You can imagine the fun - uncontrolled and unlimited. I am super excited about this trip. But booking a hotel for the Goa trip was no easy task. There were so many choices- Santana Beach Resort, Angels Resort, Nagoa Grande, New Ginger Tree Beach Resort, Pearls Oceanique or Neelam's the Grand. A true case of too many cooks! Everyone had their preferences and to reach a consensus it took hours of Whatsapp messaging and finally some bullying.

My checklist of things to do in Goa:

Although there are too many items to go here, I will just give you the sober ones

• Eat prawns, prawns and more prawns
• Lie in a hammock and read the latest books on my Kindle (though this one will be difficult to achieve with my chatterbox girlfriends around)
• Go nightclub hopping
• Look at the moon lying on the beach at midnight. Sigh!

Digha

Digha is etched in my memory as the place that stands proof to all my failed teenage Bollywood inspired romances, college trips loaded with new (even more confused than sorted) learnings about life, and annual vacations with cousins (total chaos and madness). Ah, memories of unlimited fun!

I have long wanted to revive these memories by going to Digha but for the busy schedules. Glad we finally managed. Luckily all my cousins are getting together in Kolkata for a family function around the same time and plans to rock Digha again were made instantly, just like the old times.

In Digha, the staying options are limited to three hotels. Now you will ask why only three hotels? Blame it on the parents. They have previously stayed in these hotels and know for sure that they are both comfortable and good value for money. So Wilco, Greenland Inn and Hotel Roofers Pearl it was! We decided upon the last one since it is closest to the beach and fits well with our agenda of maxing it out on the beach.

My checklist of things to do in Digha:

• Gossip with cousins (Top priority! Since we hardly get to catch up owing to our maddening life)
• Must visit - Udaipur beach, Talseri beach and Shankarpur beach
• Jam session on the beach
• Visit the ancient Chandenshwar temple and seek blessing sof Lord Shiva. Though I am not particularly religious, I would still like to pay a visit because it is believed that during the auspicious month of Savaan all your wishes come true. My list is ready!

With the punch of three awesome vacations packed in one month, I couldn’t have imagined an August better than this. I am thrilled and waiting anxiously to set out. What about you? Stop pitying yourself. Go, see the world.