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Published: December 22nd 2007
Goa
First, I want to say that T and I really appreciate hearing from everyone. It's so much fun to read your comments and it feels like you are all with us.
We arrived in Goa after an overnight train ride from Mumbai. The Shahani's have a villa that they invited us to stay in with their vacationing son Arun. He lives in Sweden working as a chef and spends the winter summering in Goa. The very first thing I did was put a plummeria in my hair and we went off to the beach. So far we have experienced India-lite. Even in the chaos of Mumbai it is safe to say that they are prepared for tourists and so things are clean-ish (most restaurants serve filtered water, bath rooms are westernized and there is even toilet paper!) Goa is even better than that. I can even trust the ice cubes here! And the meat. We have treated ourselves to the Goan seafood, fresh salads, papaya lassis and hand pressed ginger-lime sodas,
Arun set us up with a scooter which is the main mode of transportation. Goa is mostly all about the beaches. There are many beautiful
beaches lining the coast here, each vying for the tourist dollar. After spending a couple of days exploring Calangute beach and Panaji the capital of Goa, we took a ride upto the Anjuna flea market. Finally we were able to buy some handmade blankets, shirts, pants, jewelry, all so colorful to dazzle the eyes. Flea markets here are a lot of work. Every vender is literally chasing you down trying to get you to come into their stall. And then if you do go in it is hard to leave. We had one woman track us down at a cafe and press us to buy a bracelet that I had tried on miles before. We won that particular barter, though not all the negotiating was that successful. They know what they can get from tourists. We did get some good deals but not all the prices were as low as we expected.
Next we traveled north in Goa to a small, quiet beach called Mandrem. We found the most delightful inn called the River Cat Villa owned by a worldly artist who designed the building, inspired by the view of the river that it faces. He stood in
his favorite spot, took a rope and layed out the oval shape that was to become the back terrace where socializing, eating and relaxing on hammocks under the eaves takes place. I couldn't get T out of the hammocks no matter how hard I tried! The building was spacious, filled with art from around the world, clean and softly lit. Renoo, the owner, was warm and hospitable and attracted the most interesting people into his abode. We met an American family, the Daggatts, traveling from Seattle with their two small girls and a fascinating Welch artist Jon Groom and his enchanting Persian wife Dorna Hekma with whom we are hoping to meet up with when we return to Europe on our way home. We stayed an extra day and enjoyed the slow relaxed pace, the warm ocean, beautiful views and sweet smiles of all the friendly people.
Back in Calangute on our last night in Goa June Shahani treated us to an elegant dinner at the oldest restaurant right on the beach. We basked in the sultry air eating fresh local fish and listening to musicians playing traditional Goan songs on their string instruments reflecting the Portuguese influence
Panaji
Touristas de la capitaland history of the area. If I was to close my eyes I might have thought I was in Mexico because the music was reminiscent of the Mariachis. How strange to find that in India!
The next morning off to the Goa airport to board a plane to Bangalore.......to be continued!
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Kahni
non-member comment
Intriguing, addictive!
I admit it; I've become a travelblog junkie! I'm so far beyond just run-of-the-mill envy, devouring every word and clicking on all the photos to enlarge them and become part of them as much as possible. Goa looks like the same place where one of the "Bourne Identity" movies was partly filmed...is that right? I find myself hoping also that you guys have a camcorder, or can get one. On with the adventure! Merry Christmas!