Lamgao...a near death experience...

by - 5/07/2015

Our morning had already started on a crazy note. We had a bunch of adventures on the Calangute Beach and it was not even eight yet! Well after the breakfast we hurried off to our hotel to begin our jam packed day. Our first stop were the Lamgao caves which was a two hour ride from our hotel. This spot was my idea. I have always been intrigued by Buddhist culture and these caves were ancient Buddhist ones. Hubs was not too fond of the plan because of the dearth of information of this place. But on persistent coaxing, he included it in our itinerary nonetheless.

We rode through Bicholim on the road towards Mapusa and reached the Lamgao village. From there we were supposed to ride uphill till the caves. On asking anyone in the village, they gestured to go further. We had already rode a lot uphill but there was neither any sign nor any human being. We had rode past the village and were in midst of a thick hilly jungle. Hubs started blaming me for the entire plan. But since there was a single way and we had come so far, we decided to continue. After riding about 10 minutes uphill, we saw a diversion and thankfully a board: from the Archeological Society of India indicating the Lamgao caves. This was the first affirmative sign  of our journey and we continued in the given direction.

way through the thick forests...are we going to come back  alive?

The signboard that brought hope in our hearts...
There were thick jungles of coconut and arecanut but no inhabitants. After a while we could hear running water. On approaching we saw a small waterfall that ran across the path. That meant our bike could not go further. As we deboarded, we saw an old man with a huge chopping knife coming towards us. A wave of chill ran  down my spine.

The place of the waterfall, sign board and the spot where we almost became victims...

He tried to be overtly friendly and persistently insisted to guide us to the caves. According to him the caves had to to trekked on foot. A plethora of wild thoughts came to my mind. What if the man was looking for people for human sacrifice? With that knife of his he could easily chop us into two with a single blow. What if he is a criminal and wants to loot us? What if he kidnaps me and asks hubs for ransom? The worst part? I could not even share my apprehensions with my hubby as he was standing with us. Moreover the man kept on saying ' What's the need to get scared? I am with you'. Who could explain him that he was the reason of our deathly scare?

The prospective murderer...the giant knife is not apparent in this picture...Take a closer look at his sinister face!

Anyways he almost dragged us to see the caves. Hubs asked me to stay behind and wait there. Those were the longest ten minutes of my life. What if he never came back or was drenched in blood? Well I prayed incessantly and my joy knew no bounds when he returned in a single piece. Sadly he did not take the camera with him (security issues) and hence we don't have the pictures of the actual caves for which we took so much trouble.

A crude Shiva Temple below the caves...the place where he could supposedly perform human sacrifices :D
After that he asked for tips for being a guide and hubs was more than happy to let him go with some change. We took a breath of air and looked around. It was indeed beautiful. Not wanting to get into a newer trouble, we quickly took some pictures and left. This would remain the scariest day of my life till date.

Wild caves here and there...

Tiny yet cute Lamgao lake


This place reminded me of Kerala
Exiting as fast as possible from the jungle...happy to be in one piece...

Lucky to be alive and safe at last...


Top, chain, Earrings: Forever21
Sunnies: Aldo
Skirt: Old
Hat: from Manila

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18 comments

  1. I didn't see the knife, but I'd definitely be scared too xD

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  2. Love your skirt in these photos!
    <3
    katsfashionfix.blogspot.com

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  3. what a scary adventure!:D but you always manage to look amazing! beautiful hat!♥

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  4. Have you ever lost in woods for 2-3 days... Next time try that....

    It happened to me and two of my friends once... But we really enjoyed that.. Three day, river water, eat creatures and soft bamboo shoots to survisurvive...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Have you ever lost in woods for 2-3 days... Next time try that....

    It happened to me and two of my friends once... But we really enjoyed that.. Three day, river water, eat creatures and soft bamboo shoots to survisurvive...

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  6. Awesome adventure ;)

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  7. Omg Mandira you guys need to be more careful. If you ever see a man with a big chopping knife in Germany I would suggest you run!! I'm glad nothing bad happened. Hubby was right to blame you for the plan ;-)Yes I would tip the guy with the knife too haha! Wish you a happy Sunday pretty!

    xx

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  8. Wow! Beautiful place!
    Passa a trovarmi VeryFP

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  9. It looks absolutely like a great place to visit..love these photos.
    Kisses

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  10. u r such an adventure seeker...never hear abt this place in GOa.
    cant believe u went trekking on those pretty wedges...u r a true diva.

    Aditi
    So-Saree
    www.sosaree.in

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  11. Your photos are always so fun! Location is gorgeous!

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  12. OMG, that must be really scary. Once a homeless tried to hit me in NYC, I just freaked out.

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  13. Ha ha..... Such a fun experience. I loved the way you described the killer gentleman.

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  14. What was that security issues you faced because of which you were unable to take more photos...?don't spread fake stories...

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