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Published: December 17th 2008
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What to say? To start, Goa is fantastic, well Palolem is at least - I can't speak for the whole state. We have been hanging out at the beach for nearly two weeks and have had nothing but fun, except of course for the debacle with Helen's passport, oh and I lost another pair of specs but all is good now and I can see again.
I think I have mentioned how friendly and un-friendly some parts of India have been, thinking about it now, the main reason I mentioned it was because other Indians did. For example when we were in Punjab and Bengal people asked us how friendly we thought they were and if we thought they were more friendly than other places we had been. In Goa, we have not once been asked that same self gratifying question we have been else where because these guys know it already. Everyone, and I mean everyone we have met in Palolem made us more than welcome. Maybe the extra friendliness is because tourism had dipped, which it has and for various reasons, including terrorism and the worlds current financial problems. These guys obviously need to keep the customers that
they have but I do think its simpler than that, they just are a friendly bunch. Living on the beach for a third of the year probably helps too.
As Helen mentioned in our previous blog we have been hanging out with a couple of English guys from London who have been to Palolem before, when we arrived they were gutted to find that their favourite chef had gone out of business. Apparently when they were last here his was the only food they ate. So after a few phone calls and some help from our ever friendly landlord we got invited to the chef's house who was just living up the road in Patnem. We had to see for ourselves if Will and Amit's boasts were true and they were. Santos and his partner, Michelle made us incredibly welcome. We were treated to masala prawns and King fish poloochatu which was so good I can't imagine how to describe it. Obviously we had to pay our contributions towards the meal but it never once felt like we were in restaurant and we even got a cooking lesson and the recipe! Our evening with Santos and Michelle was just
one of super friendly experiences we have had in Palolem, I won't go into all of them but I do have to mention the big bamboo reggae bar.
The big bamboo was situated next to our beach huts where we were staying (I say 'was' only because the bars and huts locations move yearly as they have to be dismantled or else face the monsoon!) and is run by two brothers Deepak and Ajid who, along with their staff could possibly be the friendliest guys we have met on our trip so far. Every night Deepak and his brother happily hosted late night parties for us playing music from our mp3 players and generally entertaining us into the early hours. They were flouting the local authorities late night music rules but then so were all the other bars, the Goa Herald also mentioned it, saying that the 'local authorities were acting as mute spectators for reason only they knew.' We later learnt that this meant they had been paid off but were also being a little bit lax because tourism in the area had been so badly affected.
One night we ordered crab and red snapper from
the Bamboo as a treat. It was amazing, it was so fresh and brilliantly cooked and presented - it was worth every penny. We had joined a family from Cromer who had moved into the huts behind us for the meal and just as we sat chatting on the beach watching the waves roll in Deepak came down from the bar with a surprise. Earlier in the day he had asked me to write mine and Helen's name but didn't explain why. The reason was because they had baked us a cake which read on top 'happy marriage, Steve and Aelen from the big bamboo'. How nice was that? suffice to say, we were chuffed. We shared the cake all round and left the bamboo very happy bunnies. I was even happier later when Spurs managed to get a draw against Man U - get in! This obviously didn't cheer Helen as much but I think the wine and chocolate cake were adequate alternatives. It was a great night all round and one we doubted could be topped...
...that is until Deepak organised a trip to turtle beach (20 minute rickshaw ride south of Palolem), he wanted to give
us a good send off while we all still together. So along with Will, his girlfriend Catalina and Amit, the guys from Cromer, Gemma, our next door neighbor and Deepaks best chef we headed down to the beach. Deepak organised the beers n ice, a huge snapper, 50 odd king prawns (I kid you not!) and some shark which we barbecued on the very quiet and secluded beach. It was a great way to end our stint in Palolem and say goodbye to the new friends we had made. Cheers Deepak, see you next week. (we're heading back for Christmas dinner, sadly though all the other guys will have left but I have no doubt we will still have a great time.)
I could go but I won't, I think you get the idea.
I wish everyone could have as good a time in Palolem as we did, obviously you can't always guarantee good company but I can guarantee a friendly welcome, white sands and blue sea. Its definitely worth a visit.
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sushil
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visit goa alone need company
hi waiting for company in goa from 15 nov to 17 nov. male 30 years handsome immediate mail me.