Pondering over Xacutti, Caffreals and Vindaloos...

Just had a short holiday in Goa. Food is a great introduction to any place. It reflects the history of the place and the culture of its people. I stayed in a much hyped place called Taj Fort Aguada. I was forced to explore the world outside of the confines of the hotel.The first night we had dinner at a beach side place called 'Souza Lobo'. The place is located on Calangute beach. I tried a Goan dish called Xacuti. Xacuti is made out of Coconut based gravy and is really yummy. Try with steamed rice. We aslo tried Pomfret Rechado. This uses Red Goan masala and is pretty good. The next day, I had lunch at RioRica, which is a pretty authentic place in the legendary Hotel Mandovi. I tried Red Snapper fish in Caffreal preparation. This was introduced by the Portugese from their colonies in Africa. Cafreal is simply out of earth. I thought the food was awesome. I also tried another Goan altime favourite called as Vindaloo. Vindaloo is the hot and fiery gravy based dish. Try it out if you like spicy, hot food.Food in Goa brings you close to a culturally rich people who have beautifully imbibed global influences from Europe and Africa. No wonder Goa feels home for people from anywhere in the world.I relished every moment of my short vacation and ensured that I maximise the fun I have for every moment. And why not? I was paying exorbitant amount of money for staying in Taj. I was shelling out a princely sum for something as basic as tea. I wanted to ensure that I get the maximum returns on my buck. I guess this is what most tourist do and this is not surprising. Time is premium when you are on holiday and you want to maximise the enjoyment.However, what is surprising that we have a totally different attitude when it comes to 'life' which is nothing but a vacation of a life time. We do not care a damn about how we spend our precious moments. We focus on trivial things. Just imagine if we bring the same intensity to our lives as we give to our holidays. Spending every moment on things that matter. Treating every moment as a expensive gift from god. I am sure we will then try to maximise the value we get for the time we spend.Tomorrow when you wake up in the morning, treat it as a vacation. Ask yourself what you want to do today. It can be something you always wanted to do but never tried it out. It may be just picking up the phone and saying hello to a good friend or an old aunt. Maximise Your Life. Its the most expensive vacation we have got.