Since I went on maternity leave, this is the third time I’ve tried to spend the winter in Moscow and each time I give up after a month. Well, I can’t convince myself that I like permafrost, a constantly dirty car, kilometer-long traffic jams and plastic fruits and vegetables. Leisure time with a child has two options: either you sit for weeks inside four walls with snot up to your waist, or you crawl out for a walk and feel like Fyodor Konyukhov, who conquered the North Pole. At the same time, Moscow life, full of “peace and pleasure,” costs fabulous money. As a result, after this painful November, I give up every time and buy a ticket to Goa.
Wintering in Goa is extremely pleasant for the body, the soul, and the family wallet. Firstly, it has the mildest climate in Asia, and secondly, it’s really cheap. Moreover, the respectable south of Goa does not interest me – it is just expensive there, emasculated and therefore lifeless. The North, on the other hand, is accessible, cheerful, bustling, with many Russian mothers with children who actively attend lectures, developmental classes, children’s cafes and evening film screenings in the open air. With its large numbers, the mother-child crowd has long pushed aside not only the famous hippies of Goa, but even the Indians themselves. Signs in Russian, menus in Russian, Russian kindergartens with semolina porridge and even manicurists are all entirely Russian. Hindus are very peaceful about the seizure of their native territory – they love people and especially children. The North has only one drawback – only ascetic houses with pink walls and plastic furniture are offered for rent. They are all absolutely the same and cannot be called cozy. But last year I met a nice Russian couple who run a family hotel right next to the ocean, and I realized that five-star luxury comes at affordable prices.
Papa Jolie is not just a hotel, chained and faceless. Vlad and Masha put their souls into it. Every guest feels as if they are staying with friends in a luxurious Indian villa. The hotel is surrounded by a tropical garden – canopied gazebos, Buddha statues, a swimming pool with sun loungers, colonial-style rooms, spacious terraces and a restaurant with outdoor tables. Chef Danila enchantingly prepares all kinds of sea creatures and exotic Indian cuisine for a romantic dinner, and for children – homemade cutlets with mashed potatoes, chicken soup or borscht, as well as cheesecakes, dumplings and pancakes – everything that they are used to eating at home. The hotel is located in a closed, guarded area, and you can relax that children will not run away outside of it. Every evening in the open-air garden, Masha shows cartoons on the projector for the little ones, and later films for the big ones. There is Ayurveda, massage, and a Russian nanny. But the most important thing is that just three minutes away there is a multi-kilometer sandy beach and the warm waters of the Indian Ocean.
Vlad and Masha will provide a 15% discount to those who book a ticket through the OneTwoTrip website and give the password – OneTwoTrip hotel! If your stay is more than a month, the discount will be 50% of the official cost. And also the Papa Jolie Hotel will give everyone who gives the password a VIP transfer – they will meet you and bring you in a comfortable car. Link to the hotel website here: goapapa.com
May the Buddha be with you!
