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Published: April 6th 2007
Paddy fields
enroute from Palolem to AgondaI don't know what I was thinking when I decided to change my plans and go south. I had originally planned on just going north from Agra, which makes logical and practical sense, but the beach was screaming my name, so I had to follow the voices in my head and get on a 36-hour train ride to Goa, one of the smallest states in India. Goa has an interesting history, as it was the first region in India to get colonized in 1510 and the last to be given independence in 1961 by the Portuguese; inbetween all this, the British and French colonized and eventually gave independence to the rest in the subcontinent.
The 48-hour train ride from China to Tibet was not so bad b/c the train is pretty pimped out compared to the trains here, but you just need one look at an Indian train to also believe that I was on hallucinogens when I decided to head south. Oh, plus it's like 100 degrees here. Of course no train ride in India would be complete without some sort of weird encounter. There was an older man on the bunk across my row, who was a high
spices
Palolem school teacher in Kashmir. I could hardly understand him through his heavy accent, but continued to have a nonversation with him occasionally throughout the ride. As we neared our destination, he started to ask where in Goa I would stay, and if we could stay
together, and that he would pay for me! BarfFFF! These two nice Catholic women were whispering to me the whole time, “Don’t listen to him. He’s a strange man!” Yes, I know.
I arrived in Margao, the city center of southern Goa and got on a local bus to Palolem Beach, which is one of the most southern beaches in Goa. I got off the bus stand, to be greeted by a group of lazy rickshaw drivers, who all charged Rs50 (little over a dollar) to get to Palolem.
Okay, so I have to interrupt my annoying little story here, to shed light on how I became such a pathetic penny pincher. After a month of travel in India, and getting ripped off all the time and paying the negotiation dance ALL THE DAMN TIME, it's not a matter of a dollar anymore. It's just annoying now. Plus, an Israeli I met in
Varanasi had seen me getting suckered in a shop. She told me not to buy it, then took me outside and schooled me, "Grace, there are four prices in India. One for the retired foreigners who travel with tour companies. They pay the most. Then there are 'backpacker prices' which is what you were about to pay inside that shop. Then there are the Israeli prices. Lastly there are the local prices. You have to get the Israeli prices if you want to keep traveling 'until your money runs out.'" And open to being the good student that I never was, I decided to be that good student for once. Mental scribble, scribble, scribble. Okay, lesson NOTED! So back to my cheapo-on-a-moral-mission story:
I tried to negotiate with all the tricks the Israeli backpackers taught me, but these drivers would
not budge. Now this kind of stuff annoys me; the fact that they will only work if they can rip you off massively, rather than work and rip you off a little. Anyhow, so I tried to act tough and told the group of weasels that I'd walk even though I wasn’t sure how far it was. And I
Attending mass for Good Friday
(Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception) Panaji started...walking!…with my larger-than-life backpacker bag!
So I walk, and I walk, and I walk... and I walk..... and I walk. 😞 I am such a gansta.
Finally, I ended up at my destination, which turned out to be fairly close, and in no way, Rs50! I check into a place called "Cupid's Guesthouse" and I thought the red light bulb in my room was some sort of kinky thing, until I realize that the red light is to thwart off mosquitoes! Hahaa.. me and my dirty mind! Well, the name did say Cupid! 😊 The room was only Rs150 (after negotiation) and I stayed for five days, so it became quite homey there, with all my stuff sprawled out on the bed, the table and in the bathroom. I even had some intrusive company during my whole stay... ants, ants, ants! Anyway, the workers here are SUPER nice, possibly the nicest fellows I've met so far!
It's interesting here in Goa. Since it had been colonized by the Portuguese, there is a heavy Portuguese influence here, like the food, clothing, and Christianity. I've met many Catholics here, and it's the first time I've met a Catholic-Indian here
Um sorry I thought this was the beach...
...not the zoo!! This one area of the beach always had these cows come wandering in around sunset. The dogs are just always there, as in all other parts of India. in India, since the majority of the people here are Hindu.
Palolem is beautiful. It doesn't have the powdery sand or the crystal clear waters of tropical beaches, but it has a nice, liberating vibe; the people are super friendly; and the entire shoreline is engulfed by a never-ending line of palm trees that shade the entire beach, from one end to the other, creating an idyllic, laid back atmosphere. In front of the palm trees, add a teaspoon of row boats, a sprinkle of dogs, a pinch of cows, a handful of sunbathers, and a bundle of beach shack bars/restaurants and bungalows, and there you have Palolem. And in all this, there are cricket games, volleyball matches and soccer games going on. It's quite a lively, but tranquil place to be.
As lovely as the environment was, the first two days were blah... I had split from my travelmate, Elad, so I was feeling lazy to meet other people. I met some people here and there, but was not getting into anything…although the food
was spectacular, and I found menthol cigarettes for the first time since I started traveling!!! Anyhow, so I decided to take this downer,
and turn it into something positive by spending some quality time with me, myself and I (my three favorite people anyway).
On the third day, I started toying with the idea of riding a scooter to northern Goa. This idea probably stemmed from having motorcycled around parts of India with Elad and realizing the freedom and fun that a pair of motorized wheels can bring you. I went to a scooter rental stand and the owner, Ganesh, said he would teach me how to ride it, and if I passed his approval, then I could rent the scooter. Ooohh... has been so long since I've taken a test, of any sort! At first, I was a wimp and scared, as Ganesh showed me how to ride a scooter. After the lesson, I demonstrated my scootering skills to which he said, "Umm.. no I don’t think you should take it." This is a BAD SIGN bc as I have come to understand Indian small business owners, they will take your money when-e-ver they can. So I must've looked like a disaster for him to reject the idea of me renting a scooter. Maybe it was the rejection or something, but
I asked him for a second "audition." Then suddenly, these fantastic scootering skills came to me, and I was whizzing by here and there on his scooter popping wheelies and doing handstands on the handlebars. :P Needless to say, the keys were in my hands. 😊 Forgetting that I had barely passed my scooter drivers test, I told Ganesh that I would drive 100 km to northern Goa, but he said if I got caught riding without a license, then I would have to pay heavy "baksheesh," and plus, as a rookie scooter driver, going that far on my first day would be kind of insane. So I opted to drive around Palolem, and to a beach several kilometers north called Agonda. Renting a scooter turned out to be the best decision yet!
Along the ride, I pulled over several times to take pictures of the lush, vibrant scenery. At one particular stop, a woman came out of the bushes and in broken English, said, "One, two?" and pointed at the scooter, meaning she wants to bum a ride from me. I have no problems with it, but was nervous b/c I just learned how to ride
the thing 30 minutes ago. So I pantomimed and replied in broken English, "Me no good drive. I learn now. Today! No drive good. Ok? You ok?" She's ok. I might as well been telling her a recipe for all she cares. So off we go! The scooter was a bit heavier with her on it, and locals were pointing and laughing, and I could hear her smile. We cruised for about 7 km and she's happy, I'm happy.
After I dropped her off, I went off to Agonda. I stopped by a group of bungalows and walked to the shore, and looked right then looked left. WOW! Where are the people? There were maybe, at
most, 20 people total as far as my eyes could see! Woowhee. It's like my own private beach. I saw an extroverted nude sunbather to my right and thought, "Hmm... it would be nice not to have tan lines." And so I hop on the bandwagon, but just the top. Felt weird at first because I'd never done this before and you hardly see this kind of stuff in the LA beaches, but it's pretty liberating and I'm feeling good about my full
tan. But a weird, awkward moment confronted me while I was laying topless with my eyes closed. Then I open my eyes and see an Indian tout standing over me holding a board with all sorts of trinkets, trying to sell something. Since the nearest people were like 30 feet off to each direction, I suddenly became so scared! So with my "don't F with me" deadpan expression I have mastered as a female backpacker traveling solo, I said, "No, get away." But I was scared as F inside.
The next day, I did the same thing, and rented the scooter from Ganesh. When I get to Agonda, I see that there are even less people, and 0 touts. The extroverted nude sunbather is there again, and she really is serious about getting a full body tan. I can see people walk by looking embarrassed, and discreetly staring at her (and her humongous boobs) as they stroll past. The couples are the funniest to see… the guy wants to look, but is aware that the gf is next to him, but then they both just stare shocked at the girl and some of the poses she’s in. Hahahaa.
Indians make the cutest babies
The girl in the orange had the bunk next to mine. Smart, talkative girl... she asked for reading material and all I had was the Economist.. which she read for about an hour! Then she said, "This is sort of hard to read because I'm a kid. Do you have anything else?" So I gave her my Lonely Planet guide...Hahaa.. My last day at Palolem was spent eating at my two favorite restaurants, Casa Fiesta (best fruit curd muesli in all of India) and Ciaran's Camp (great seafood). From here, I headed north for Panaji (Panjim), which is the capital of Goa. It’s a romantic, quaint, city that has all the evidence of its years of colonization, with beautiful architecture and compact, organized streets. It's so interesting how Goa is completely different from the India I have seen up to this point. Even on my way to Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, a local gave me a ride over there as he was on his way to mass. He said if I had more time in Goa, he would tell me the ways Goa is unique from the rest of the subcontinent. I wish I could've stayed for that!
I saw some sites at Panjim, but the real highlight was going to Old Goa, which is 1.5 km away, taking only 20 minutes on the local bus. Wow…. Is this really India? It felt like I walked straight into Europe. The whole area is a UNESCO site, and it used to be the capital
of Goa under Portuguese rule, until an endemic spread in the area and the capital was relocated to its current location (Panjim). The beautiful whitewash churches throughout the town are unique in differing Renaissance and Baroque styles, and it's all beautiful. Engulfed by the sweltering, unforgiving heat, I managed to walk to all of the churches and out to the river to rest under the trees. I couldn't help thinking that if I had a scooter, I could be whizzing from church to church. Despite the massive sweatfest, the walk was nice...I guess. 😊
I'm off to Mumbai (Bombay) from here on an overnight bus (my first!). I'm only staying two nights b/c I have big-indian-city-phobia, and will probably just do nothing. This laid back, hippie beach community has put me in major laze mode. It's like I'm yearning for Jack-Johnson-days after three months of intense backpacking.
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joooanne
non-member comment
wow, what a beautiful city. i can't believe you went topless, but i guess since you do have a nice rack, i can understand. haha, also stop showing off your flat abs, my beer guy felt a little depressed and asked me to ask you to stop showing off.. hahaha btw, i got into parsons and i'm moving to NY in August, woo woo! i miss you dearly and i love you to pieces!