Baba au Rhum is a great little cafe/bakery/restaurant on a backroad in Anjuna, northern Goa. It’s run by Dayini Feraud, who grew up in the Auroville community in Tamil Nadu, and if you know what a free-spirited culture that place has, you’ll understand the vibe. Sitting among paddy fields, under a canopy of billowing cotton fabric and mango trees, it’s perfect for breakfast: try a hot almond croissant and even hotter cup of tea. Go for a table on an elevated platform, lie back on the cushions and peer at the sky through the leaves. It’s winter, but it’s still 30C in December.
Many local hippies hang out here, but it’s still well off the tourist track. It’s open for dinner (great pizza) and sometimes has a DJ, but it’s always chilled. It’s easy to see what Goa must have been like in the 1960s, and easier still to get into a conversation with them about the old days. On your way out, ask the waiter where the two-headed coconut tree is. It’s like a Goan shaman, watching over people who ride past, without even noticing it.
facebook.com/babaaurhumgoa
Nikhil Chinapa, festival programmer, VH1 Supersonic. The festival takes place on Candolim beach, 27-30 December, gosupersonic.in
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