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It's rather funny how you find something you want without even realizing that you were looking for it or it exists in the first place. Something exactly like this happened to me when I visited Goa this fall. Every Indian wants to visit Goa at least once to see what the place is like, either because of the famous Bollywood movie, "Dil Chahta Hai" or because they've heard enthralling stories from their friends or family, but I went solo to see if there is another side to this State that has been stereotypied by the people as a "Party Hotspot" or a "Hippie attraction". Even though the fact remains that, there is a Goa not a lot of people explore, which I like to call the "Virgin Goa". One such place I discovered during an expedition of mine through the northern part of the state: the Mandrem Beach. From my Hostel in Vagator, I travelled 2 hours, jumping from one Local bus to another, which are really cheap in comparison to the other modes of travel, in my quest to reach the famous Arambol Beach. The bus took it's regular stops while I looked out of the window cluelessly waiting to hop out of it. The bus conductor yelled "Mandrem" and a white lady, maybe in her late 20s, stood up and got down there. By this point of my Solo Adventure, I realized that Foreigners who come to Goa do their research well, and are usually looking for something different and offbeat than the normal crowd that flocks every year in large numbers to Goa. My gut told that I won't regret getting down there, and regret, I didn't. I rushed to the door and got off. I happened to spot the white lady again and I approached her to enquire what she was looking for in this silent area, when the sun was shining the brightest. She told me that she was looking for the Mandrem Beach. I asked her if I could join her in her expedition and she nodded affirmatively. We followed where the Google Map led us. The road was rather silent and walking down, I started crooning one of my favorites, "Yesterday" by the Beatles. She joined me. To her surprise, I didn't miss a single word from the song or any note, for that matter. We continued walking and talking about each other. I learnt that she came to Goa all the way from Belgium, and her name was "Tori". We walked on learning more about each other, when we finally came across this cute little bridge we had been looking for. That was where we part ways and I walked closer to the beach and got a clear view. It was silent, clean and, well, just magnificent. I walked through the sparkling water illuminated by the sun, and I didn't feel like stopping. After walking for almost half an hour, my stomach started calling for food and that was not a call I could ignore. I stopped near a shack and ordered a plate of Fried Rice, since I wasn't in the mood to experiment. That's when, again, I spotted my new acquaintance from Belgium, Tori, and so did she. She started walking towards me and again we got to talking and she ordered a cup of coffee and tasted the fried rice I ordered. After my meal, I did my Good-byes and left, only to have forgotten my only constant companion throughout my journey, my peacock-green water bottle. I went back and I saw Tori run her way towards me to return the bottle. This time, with another round of good-byes, we actually parted. I walked towards the Arambol Beach, and took a stop to practice my vocals. The time called for Raag Shuddha Sarang and I went on singing for half-hour. I started moving again, and this time without stopping, I reached Arambol to take my bus back to Vagator. I don't know what compelled me to get down there, but I really don't regret listening to my instincts this once, as I made one of the most cherished memories of my trip to Goa.