jueves, 4 de diciembre de 2008

Goa.....India for some.....but perhaps not for others!!!!

So here we were, after 4 months of ups & downs, loves & hates, swings & roundabouts, heartaches & happiness, on the beaches of Goa. Was this to be the idyllic setting we were hoping for to end our journey?
As ever it took a solid & hard 15 hours by train to reach the Southern most tip of the Goan province.....Palolem beach. Arriving at night we even splashed out on a £15 a night hotel.....A/C, TV, hot water & terrace.....true package tour style......aaarrrghh it was painful......until my head hit the pillow, which culminated in a poetic night with the dreamweavers!!!! (although it is not like I hadn't slept well prior to this occasion). Eager to find out what was awaiting us on the shores of the Arabian Sea, I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn.....well around 11, & then took advantage of the fine breakfasts on offer......ah Goa....such fine foods, yet nothing of India.....funny eh!! So finally we got to the beach, & a pretty good one it was......a mesmerising, palm tree surrounded, crescent of golden sand, accompanied by clean crisp luke warm waters which were attacked at the soonest moment. All was good, Martina & I overly content & not even the young souvenir sellers could get to us, or the remainder of the not too many tourists. So 3 days flew past as we took our place on the beach with the cows, fruit sellers, armed police, & the odd, to be expected, letchy local. However there must have been more to Goa than a beach & surely it couldn't all be so pleasant.
Never ones to spend too long in a destination, we left the holiday makers and moved North to Panjim & Old Goa......where did all the people go!! Panjim has to be without doubt the quietest town in India & it was a pleasure to wander the streets amongst the pastel shaded buildings of Mediterranean influence. As with the most of Southern India we were treated to an array of fascinating churches & cathedrals, particularly in Old Goa, however viewing was cut short as we had a Goan Party Cruise awaiting us, with live music, folk dancing & singing.....hahaha......4 kids doing the oki koki in Goan dress & a DJ was not quite what we bargained for, although entertaining it was & allowed for Martina & I to demonstrate our Bhangra dancing skills, much to the delight of the adoring Indian audience!!!
Fearing we'd be asked to join the on-board team for future events, the following morning we made tracks back to the beach......next up Anjuna!! The home of the famous flee market, trance parties & middle aged Italian & Russians in thongs.....aaarrggghh too many men in thongs....am still traumatised!!! We found refuge in a small guesthouse, in which we could hear the sounds of the ocean from our window......marvellous, & remained at the sane end of the beach. Quiet & peaceful again, however the beach was not as pleasant as Palolem & Martina was once almost swept away by the nasty undercurrents of the ocean. Fortunately I was on hand to enforce full Baywatch procedures.
The days were now disappearing & seeing as our train out was further North we chose to spend the last few days in Arambol, the first beach to which the hippies of the 60s era landed. To this day the hippy vibe can still be felt with its laid back style & flower power so far beating off the property developers. But cant be long before Benidorm syndrome takes over!! It was here that we were to witness one of the most bizarre events of the trip, & there had been a few!! Having spent a wonderful day lazing on the beach, watching the world & cows go by, enjoying the odd beer & whatever hippy products may or may not have been available, the unbelievable was to happen. The 2 of us had pondered over how the beaches appeared relatively clean, with Palolem being immaculate, however as we sat enjoying a beer in the cool evening air a young gentleman came out from a beachside cafe, proceeded to dig a 3 foot hole in the sand, empty the full contents of his trash into the hole & then refill with sand......an amazing disregard to the environment & all the poor little fish of the sea!!!! Dumbstruck with confusion the only plausible answer to this we could find was..."hey this is India, & thats just how it is."

Beside this strange incident Arambol proved to be a fine end to our beachtime, but it was now time to board the Indian rail network for the final leg & trundle 12 hours North to Mumbai & back to the start again!!! Was a pleasure to take these 10 days & enjoy the sunshine amongst the holiday makers & a fitting end to an overly interesting adventure!!!!

2 comentarios:

Impossible is Nothing dijo...

Trip to Goa A fantastic trip to goa with college friends. Enjoy.

Homero Carmona dijo...

hey hey hey, como estas pequeña profesora?

Yo vine a sua sitio para entreinar mi español pero tu escribiste todo en inglés! Que feo!

Cuando vendrá a Brasil para aprender portugués?

Hasta luego!
Besos,
Homero