Back in Pandurang Ashram in Malleswaram, Bangalore. Have to say that this has been one the most awesome vacations I have ever taken. So, what happened in Goa? Well…here goes…
I left Bengeluru (funny name—going to call it Bangalore, thank you!) on the 6:30 PM bus to Goa. It was a loooooooong ride! Got the first 2 seats (had a friend with me) and sat in a half reclined position the whole time. The ride is 16 hours long! We stopped at a rest place about 2.5 hours into the journey, it was a proper rest stop with clean facilities. Then the rest of the time it was roadside stops…on very very bumpy dusty roads. Some places it was just a dirt path! If it must be said…take a flight anytime you can. Its about double the price but it’s a couple of hours at most and peace of mind. My bus ticket was Rs. 1050 which is roughly $22 or so…one way. Flight would have been $100-$150 – one way – its peak travel ‘cause of holiday season. You can see why I opted for the bus! I slept most of the trip and limited any solid and liquid intake…incase I had to make a pit stop. Little luck…at about 3:00AM, my bladder cried to be relieved! No way in this good earth was I going to go on the roadside in pitch black conditions! I figured I could hold it for a few more hours. It was a gorgeous ride, cool night, beautiful clear sky and a bright moon. The shadows of the coconut trees, outlines of the hills and mountains against the moonlight -- absolutely gorgeous. Thank goodness I had packed my wool shawl, it can get very cold at night. My friend insisted I had to make conversation…but I was still jet lagged and those who know me, know that I fall asleep in moving vehicles! So I handed over my I-pod as my substitute and went of to snoozeland. Of course my full bladder couldn’t keep me sleeping for long…but at 8AM I thought I could still hold out a bit longer. As the sun came up, it got warmer and I started to sweat profusely.
Under different circumstances, I would have struck up convos with neighbors on the ride…but I was surrounded by young boys on their way to party in Goa. They were all passed out. So I attempted to sleep again. My travel companion had started to snore very loudly so I got up and decided to drink in the sights. As I sat there, very uncomfortably due to bladder conditions, I was breath taken by the sights. The rivers, the trees, the hill and the people- It was all so lush, green and full of life. Last time I had been to Goa was with my ex and we had played a game as we had traveled the South—spot the man with out the moustache! I swear, every South Indian man has a moustache! Its supposed to be a sign of manhood and all that balderdash but its still amusing. Likely hood that if he doesn’t have a moustache they are probably not from Karnataka. As we got closer to the Panji (capital of Goa) you could see the ocean and feel the cool breeze, a soothing break from the sweltering heat.
At about 11AM we pull into our bus stop in Panji. I run off to find a toilet. First place I tried a restaurant…they point me to the back, all I saw were closed doors. So, no bathroom. I run to my friend and no luck there either. So I go across the street and into a bus stand cum office.
“Excuse me Maam, where is the closest toilet?” I ask
“Cross the street in the park.” She replies.
“Thank you!” I answer happily and head off towards the park across the next street. It still hasn’t registered that it is a public toilet. It takes me 5 min to cross the very busy street and finally decide to take my life into my own hands and dodge between the speeding motorcycles, rushing vans and swerving three wheelers. I land on the median. Thankfully the traffic on the other side is much lighter. I walk into the park – beautiful flowers and wonderfully clean—but no toilet. See a sweeper woman and go up to her and say one word.
“Toilet?” I ask
“Blue building.” She replies, pointing the direction. As I walk away, I register that she just replied to me in English! Dang! She goes on sweeping with a burlap sack over her shoulder and I half trot towards the blue structure. As I walk up I see two men standing and some signs. I ignore all and enter into a nasty smelling squatting toilet. I have to dispose of my full bladder so badly that I could care less! I hike up my jeans to avoid the wet stinking floor and somehow squat and go. As I walk out I notice between the men and women’s toilet is a small room with a bed and table. Someone actually sleeps in there. One of the men chases me out to ask for payment for using the toilet. I hand over 2 rupees. A much calmer and peaceful me walk over to meet my friends and hire a taxi to go to Candolim.
My friend haggles with some cab drivers and manages to get a decent rate for a mini van to take the three of us and our small luggage. The old man cribs the whole ride how we are getting a discounted rate. Just a note: Goa’s peak time and only time of the year most Goans living seaside make any business is during the holiday season. From end of October till about beginning of March are their business times. They live the rest of the year on the earnings made during this period. So, a Rs. 30 ride can cost upto Rs. 300 Xmas to New Year. Prices drop drastically by the 3rd of Jan. Being Indians (hey-I am thankful I look Indian during this time!) we can bargain reasonable rates and not pay the ridiculous tourist rates.
We have a comfortable ride to Candolim and land up at the Hotel Del Sol-Areia. It is run by Rudy and Glary, friends of Didi and Dada and have stayed with my ex last time. A modest hotel with full amenities and comfortable but very expensive compared to surrounding places. We were supposed to have a booking for a suite for 6. The three of us walk in and it’s a 1 queen size bed and a terrace. It’s a cute place but hardly big enough for more than 3 at any time! Where did Glary expect to put the other 3?? Even with extra mattresses the other 3 would have to sleep outside on the terrace!!! With the bugs in the chilly night!!! My two friends started fuming! What a way to start a vacation!
I was hungry, so we took a wash and said let’s eat and then figure out what to do and wait till the others come. So we went out to a restaurant…everything is on the strip and restaurants are all outdoors, meaning only a roof and open seating. We sit down and people watch as we down a few cold beers while waiting for the food. Everything goes at a very leisurely pace in Goa, food takes anywhere between 30-40 mins to arrive! Plenty of time to get a decent buzz on =)
I have been looking forward to some chicken vindaloo…a goan dish..spicy, tangy and oh so delicious. In the States, most Indian restaurants make it so spicy that you hardly taste the flavor of the food. But this Goan shack was not going to disappoint! My chicken vindaloo was the tastiest!! It was bright chili red with chunks of boneless chicken. It smelled tangy and tasted sour, spicy and oh so wonderful with the white rice that my mouth is watering just thinking about it!! It was absolute perfection…perfect way to start a vacation! A few more cold Kings beers and we were in Goa heaven.
Preety my dear, I most definitely thought of you! All through the trip! Really wish you could have been there!
After the hefty meal we started back to the hotel and passed by an Ayurvedic massage treatment center. I sorely needed a massage after that bus ride and I had been to the place on my last visit. My friends didn’t need much convincing to go in. After a bit of haggling on the price—the rate for 60 min was Rs.500 we bargained it for Rs.350 per person. We made appointments for 2 hours later to let our meals settle. In the meantime we had to figure out how to get out of our so called “suite” and find different accommodations. I decided to not take part in it cause I really didn’t want to stress about this on my vacation. The friends I was with were more than capable to handle the situation. By the time we arrived, the other 3 friends had joined. They managed to talk to Rudy and Glary and get us transferred to a one bedroom apartment 10mins away. While these talks were taking place, we had already gotten our 1 hour oily rubdown. I had come back and completely crashed out! I fell asleep about 5:00PM and kept on sleeping till 5:00AM!
It was awesome!!!
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