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Published: January 29th 2011
So, from my Costa da Gama Homestay in Fort Kochin, together with Helen from England, we shared a rickshaw to get to Ernakulam Railway Station, took us about 15-30 minutes to get there. We were worried for we might've missed the train. However, Benson assure us that we'll be there on time. Well, that's how relaxed South Indians are.
We reached the station, and I decided to get some knick-knacks for my train journey. A lot of people keep telling me not to buy anything in the train station, even from the chai-wallahs. Well, better be safe than sorry.
Helen and I went on separate ways, she was in S6 coach and I was in S11 coach; Sleeper class. Ok, I was quite skeptical about the sleeper class, because it looks horrible to me. I requested for an 3AC from Benson but he told me it was full; or maybe he wants me to try out the sleeper class and not to waste my money!
After finding my seat, I sat down at the lower berth, since no one was sleeping on it yet. An Indian looked at me and asked where I'm from. You know, the thing
I love about India is that how the locals asked for your homeland, and you replied yours, and the answer you get is, "Oh! Country X, very good country, very bla bla bla." So I asked, "Have you been there?" He replied, "No."
Ultimate mundane mode. -_- But he was nice though we chatted for about an hour and I was getting abit tired.
I got the upper berth, and I remember someone told me that it's good to have an upper berth, since you can throw your stuff on the top, and worry less about getting robbed. I put my bag-pack on the upper berth, and rest my legs on top of it. I had an air pillow with me, which was definitely a life-saver! Thank God it was a night train, so it wasn't really that warm until when the next day, it was too warm that I decided to get my ass down and have a fag. It took me about 16 hours from Ernakulam Railway Station to Thivim Railway Station.
Once reach Thivim Railway Station, I was a bit lost as it is actually a pretty small station, with only one reservation counter.
As I got down the steps to the prepaid taxi booth, a bike came towards me. "You want bike?"
Wow. I suddenly recalled of how I experienced the same thing in Vietnam, after I got down from Ga Da Nang, to get to Hoi An. I smiled at him and asked how much?
"200Rps" Well that's not bad afterall... although I realised I should've taken a bus or something since they cost even less than 200Rps!
I regret taking the bike, because throughout the 30mins of journey, I was carrying my 15kg of load, and I was already feeling like crap; no shower, no fresh clothes. What a loser! But at the same time, I was happy because I finally moved on, and this time round, to Anjuna in Goa, only to realise that my excitement is temporary.
I'm not going to post anything much about Anjuna. Most of the times were bad experiences for me, because I got ripped off like USD 100 for like getting two pairs of harem pants, a flimsy kurta shirt, a wall hanging (which I used it for bedsheets and blanket) and a bracelet which I didn't even use! Here's
what happened:
It was 9am on a lovely morning, I decided to get some clothes since I didn't bring enough, so I went to the flea around the beach area and check on some stuff before deciding on what to get. Well I happened to get into some dodgy area and an Indian lady saw me and shoved me with loads of things, which I told her it's ok I'm just looking.
"Ok Sir, look at my shop Sir, just looking, no pay!"
Then I saw the harem pants, and she wanted to sell me 4! Holy Shit, I don't need that much for 'baggy trousers' LOL. So I decided to make-do with 2 harem pants, 1 kurta shirt and 1 blanket. She quoted me 3800Rps.
"Good price!" Ok fine I was a sucker back then because I didn't even bother to calculate how much that was in USD or SGD, and I gave her a 4000Rps bill. She didn't have any changed to give me back. At this time, I was a bit.. irritated.
"Ok, nevermind Sir, only 200Rps, you pick anything you want! This one for Good luck Sir, please help me!"
I said I really do not want anything and asked her to somehow find a change back for me. She still keep telling me to pick any stuff from her table. Tired and annoyed, I gave up, and she gave me a bracelet with an 'Aum' sign. While trying to get my stuff and head back to my guesthouse, 3 other ladies surrounded me and one of them grabbed my items, took it with her, and asked me to look at her stall. As usual, "Come and look Sir, looking only, no pay!"
This time I was really pissed off, but trying to keep my cool down. I wouldn't want to blast my fire off to that poor old lady, afraid that she might've been some unknown holy person or holy mama and curse me for life, just like what happened to Sarah Macdonald's Holy Cow! I told that old lady to give my stuff back and I said no. It seems that they don't understand the word 'NO' and take 'YES' as an answer instead. I kept bugging her to give my items back, and I told her if she's not returning my stuff, she could take it,
but I swear that it'll be bad karma for her. Hearing that, she put my items in a plastic bag, and gave it to me.
Oh no, now two young ladies grabbed my arms; I was literally being pulled left to right to left! Pretty strong women, LOL! Again, "Come Sir, help me Sir, for Good LUCK Sir, looking only, no Pay!"
"Oh for FUCK SAKE I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE. It's ok ladies THANK YOU, IT'S NO!!!"
And I rushed my way out of that shithole. Anjuna gave a very bad impression to me. And fucking hell, I'm not coming back to that place. Never. Not even the parties.
I quickly went back to my guesthouse, and remembered about Arambol, where Karien, recommended it to me and asked me to check it out. I met Karien during my stay in Fort Kochin, only to found out on my last day that we were staying in the same guesthouse!
Arambol is 17km away from Anjuna, and I could actually get there by bus. Somehow I decided to take a taxi. The next day, I checked out from Avalon Sunset Guesthouse, and looking forward to Arambol.
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Mark
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Anjuna
I was not a fan of Anjuna at all. There was a certain undertone that just didn't feel right. I much prefer Arambol (No doubt you are there now, the fresh water lake a great spot found on the far right of the headland). I also enjoyed Vagator which is back north again. South Goa, Palolem and the surrounding beaches are still my favorites for chilled out attitues and less in your face hawkers. 4000RS, thats crazy. I paid 250RS for one pair of Harem pants and flet I paid too much. Enjoy the rest of Goa :)