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Our day to day is pretty rigid an uneventful here in Nettoor. There is the intensive training but most days are rather dull. This is a sleepy village and the only cool place is this internet cafe which daily and nightly attracts throngs of bored locals teens, desparate for something stimulating tp happen.
This time is giving us a chance to reflect on much; our trip thus far, loved ones back home, what we want for our direct and distant futures, and different ways we could possibly avoid the oppressive heat. One aspect of our experience that doesn't get conveyed back home is the cast of funny characters we meet in passing for short to medium periods of time and colour the backdrop of our days. I decided to write about a few of them for you.
The German guys: Bene and David.
When Jenna and i were booking rail tickets to leave Mumbai and start our beach bum Goa adventure we met these 2 guys who were really nice but had no clue how to book a train. Having done this a couple times at this point we were able to provide them with much needed assistance. Before we got to them they were about to buy a ticket from a quite sketchy character who was leading one of them down a dark alley to "the real ticket booths" where they certainly would have purchased tickets, but they would not have been valid in any way shape or form to a train conductor. We managed to convey to the germans non-verbally that this guy was about to screw them and fortunately for them they got the message. These phony ticket sellers are everywhere and are called touts. Touts will sell anything to you and claim anything to do so. i.e. "that ticket office is closed/unsafe/burned down yesterday", "this is the finest silk in india my friend", or my personal favourite, "these were handmaid by my family for generations".
Touts aside, the german guys were cool and appreciative for our aid so we went out for some beers and chat and hit it off quite well. They were going far south to meet their ladyfriends who convinced them to come visit them in india. We parted ways after a few drinks to retire but met up randomly on the street for breakfast the next day. After a fine meal of Dosas and lime juice we parted to catch our respective trains.
Alexis the Belgian
We met this guy in a coffee shop in mumbai. I asked him for the time and we ended up striking a conversation about how insane the streets Mumbai were. It turned out he was a film student but lived and studied in Tokyo. We liked a lot of the same films and he was into the tokyo rave scene so we had lots to talk about. I asked him how crazy tokyo was compared to mumbai (as they are somewhat similar population) and much to my surpirze he said that tokyo is no where near the insanity of mumbai. This was gratifying because it felt like no place else could possibly be as Mumbai and Alexis supported that feeling. We finished our caffeine and parted ways, wishing each other well.
Johnny the DJ
We met johnny when we boarded our train in Mumbai bound for Goa. We were in the same berth of seats/beds as travelers/foreigner are always grouped together on trains. This works out nicely as you get to meet other folks in similar situations as you. Pretty quickly into chat Johnny told us how he originated from London but moved to Mumbai to try and make it as a DJ. Weird to move from one of the world's electronic music hubs to go to a relatively quiet scene but he was happy and doing well for himself.
It turned out he was going to Anjuna Beach where Jenna and i planned to go first in Goa. This was a sleeper train that left at 11pm so we only talked for a bit before retiring. In the morning we all grabbed the same buses to Anjuna. We parted to find accomedation but met up later for drinks as that night Johnny was spinning house and techno at the Elephant, a beach-front bar. Anjuna is awash with restaurants and clubs that look out onto the ocean but this one was really nice and chill (and cheap). We ended up hangin with johnny a few more times as he was in Anjuna for 2 weeks so we met up on the beach a bunch to swim and relax. Never got to say goodbye to him but that happens a lot here.
Ed the Brit
Ed was our neighbour at a guest house in Palolem Beach. He was a solo traveler, a bike enthusiast, and knew where to get good health food. We got along well but he left after 1 night of us being in Palolem. He had funny stories of getting stuck in the heat on country roads with no water and advised us on the best way to get to the nearby Cotigao Bird sanctuary. 2 weeks later when we were in Hampi, Karnataka, we ran into Ed randomly on the street at night during a power outage. He had just arrived in town and we had just had the worst restaurant service imaginable (because the staff were zombified by a cricket game on TV). We advised ed which restaurant to avoid and why. He didn't seem to care about the food but got very excited about cricket and promptly tried to explain the scoring system to us. He failed and i still know very little about cricket. We said our good-nights and never saw each other again. (that's is just how it goes... i find it humerus though)
That's all for now but these are the less-oddball of the bunch. Next issue we will introduce you to the bizarre german nurse, more british people, and the insane quagmire that is suraj.
As for Jenna and i, we are going to go lay under a fan until we have to train. Hopefully it rains but i seriously doubt it as it look far to pleasant in the skies. (maybe tomorrow)
Singing off,
Brian and Jenna
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Dean Gugler
non-member comment
Wondering
I wonder what they all are saying about the two of you. I am also wondering about the guy that could take on 30 that you talked of a while ago. What if he met 30 others with the same skills. Messy?