Many seasons ago, the Chapora road that used to culminate near the Siolim church was hardly frequented. That has changed, and tourism has ensured that traffic swell with some sleek restaurants along the banks of River Chapora.
There are two distinct restaurants – the Moto Café and Kiki – that have added excitement to an otherwise nondescript road. Moto Café is a gel of the old with the new, while Kiki is a haven for Indian tourists for whom Chapora is becoming a second home.
Moto Café is frequented by foreigners for whom Goa has been a home for many years and will continue as long as they can return here. “I have been coming for the last 16 years and luckily the rustic nature of Goa has been maintained,” says Carl from Sweden.
Moto Café sells some nice pizzas, salads and sandwiches and as the sun sets, a band keeps everyone on a beat. “There are many changes taking place in Goa but the goodness of the people is still there. I feel at home here and miss the place when I am back home,” confesses Igmar from Germany
If Moto Café is a place to relax and let run memories of Goa of the past, Kiki allows its guests to enjoy the sunset on the banks of the river with food, drinks and music that normally borders on Indian genre.
From sunset to 10 pm, the music tries to get the clients on their feet but the volume raises concern amongst the residents who number around 30 around the place.
“It was nice before when they played loud music only on the weekends but now it is played continuously every night till 10 pm, disturbing my peace,” says a neighbour of the restaurant who claims to be suffering from diabetes.
“We play music but definitely within the permissible limits. We are not here to disturb anyone. Most of our staff are local people and we even employ widows,” admitted Kiki owner Harshit.
Kiki was swarming with guests around 5 pm on Tuesday with the ladies settling down with cocktails as the sun prepared to set over the waterline. “This is like being abroad man. It is too good. I hope I can find a place here,” confessed Mitra from New Delhi.
Before sunset this road sees a lot of activity with people parking by the river bank and relaxing before the night begins to set in. As night begins to fall, the band at Moto Café gets ready to play and the emcee at Kiki begins to rally the guests to take to the dance floor.
Whilst the neighbours around Kiki find the music loud and disturbing, the guests at Moto Café are having a laugh with some wine and melodies of the years gone by and Chapora appears to be ensconced between a trance of East and West.