Monday 25 October 2010

North Goa, a mission from down South

We've been in Arumbol, North Goa for over a week now and it's been a funny one - a mix between really loving the little apartment we're in, enjoying being able to do some cooking (we had a crazy mission buying a little kerosene stove last week; surprisingly user friendly!), and being frustrated by sudden downpours of rain.  It always seems to happen just as we're going out, bit uncanny!  So the tans we were looking forward to working on have faded a bit, and the cute little beach we're right next to has not seen as much sunbathing action as it might!  (Today was an improvement though!!)

Saturday before last we had a bit of a shock getting an autorickshaw at 5:30am, to get our train up here.  But we were very chuffed with the breakfast we had packed (banana bread and samosas!).  We'd just put away a samosa when a train turned up earlier than expected.  We were a bit confused generally, and when we'd got it together enough to ask if it was the train we wanted it had started moving and we needed to be several coaches down.  So I ran, jumped at a door and hoped for the best.  Unfortunately though, my bag wasn't over both shoulders so I just flailed whilst two very kind men pulled me on!  Tim made it look much easier!  (I felt even more of an arse when I found out the train was half hourly!)

When we reached Arumbol, I went on a mission and found the place we're staying.  Amazing view over the rocky coastline, and really cheep.  Also, hardly any mosquitos, loads of geckos and a bakery nearby that does the most intense chocolate brownies and croissants!!  It's taking great restraint not to eat them all!  All up the main street are shops/stalls selling generic hippy fare, it's a bit weary being constantly asked to 'look, buy something'.  We're planning to check out some markets on Wed, so any shopping will be attempted then!  We've had a scooter a couple of days and checked out the surrounding areas, but nowhere's appealing massively.  The loose plan is to head inland in a few days.  Hampi, I understand, is a good spot on the tourist route..

Friday 15 October 2010

South Goa in two weeks

We've now spent a week in Agonda, followed by a week in Patnem - both quiet little places either side of Palolem.  Tomorrow we're planning to head up north, although we're mildly sceptical as we've heard it's quite busy up there.  Still, we're up for checking out the region, and if Arumbol is too busy, we'll explore!  I'm feeling a bit rough today as somehow I have a cold(!), but I'll throw done a bit of detail as it comes to mind. 

These two weeks have mainly been spent checking out lots of local places to eat, avoiding rain spells, getting some sun on the beach and zipping around on scooters, avoiding cows.  We've made it to a local wildlife reserve, where we saw some monkeys and lots of crabs in the forest!  (Fortunately we didn't spot any bears, deer or wild cats as the sign claimed - on foot doesn't seen the best method for that kind of exploration!) 

The place we've been staying this past week is set in a grove of palm trees next to the beach in Patnem - really chilled out.  You get used to the frequent power cuts, cats climbing trees like monkeys, dogs, chicken and cows everywhere, although maybe not the mosquitos!  They've been busily building a bar/restaurant where we're staying, as well as loads of beach huts, which all looks amazing.  It's surprising to see how most of the tourist accommodation, shops and food & drink venues are literally built at the start of the season.

Tim and I have been liking the cheap local places to eat and hang out, such as tiny thali places (big plate of rice with fish/veg, curry, salsa etc, usually 40R/60p), the local chai shop and a recent discovery, fast food vans that do a spicy omelette roll for 20R!  Just about to raid more of their menu for lunch!  Catch you later

Tuesday 5 October 2010

Goa, by plane, train and taxi

Wow, what a crazy week.  Tues to Fri was pretty much spent travelling, and since Fri we've been having a well needed chill in a lovely quiet little place called Agonda, South Goa.  I'm feeling quite reluctant to do much, although today we've got round to getting a scooter and started checking out the surrounding area,  Thus, finding an internet cafe (with a surprisingly fast connection!)  We also got an ice cream and watched some monkeys! :)

So the flight to Mumbai was fairly non eventful, slightly delayed as someone poured fuel all over the engine of the plane we were meant to get!  Mumbai was quite a shock, especially the hour and a half taxi from the airport to the train station.  Talk about diving into the deep end of India - slums everywhere; children, animals, people walking along the sides of the road, chilling in any area of shade.  Traffic following no rules apart from the need to beep at and overtake as many other vehicles as possible.  We had expected rain, but it didn't rain for the first couple of days, so hot hot hot! 

The train station was intense - we felt conspicuous as the only white travellers.  We also had about 7 hours to kill after finally managing to get tickets for the sleeper train to Goa.  We spent much of it sitting on the floor with everyone else, and played some cribbage (Dad, thanks for the refresher course!!)  When 11pm & the train finally came, we had to overcome being told they'd double booked our bunks, but we ended up getting upgraded (with the help of a small bribe!)  Things work very differently out here! 

Coming into Goa on Thurs morning on the train was lovely: beautiful green views.  We'd got some sleep which was well needed, and had a near miss with some super-sweet chai tea!  12:30, we arrived at Malgao, where we opted for a pre-paid taxi down to Palolem.  We'd liked the sound of Palolem in the travel guide book, but although the journey there was stunning, the place wasn't quite what we had expected.  Clearly very geared up for the tourist season, with lots of hippy shops, bars and restaurants.  The guest house we were dropped at was grim, although we were desperate to stop so we said yes and regretted it later.  The evening we spent in Palolem was actually surprisingly lovely, with a spotting of two monkeys, an incredible storm and a wonderful meal on the beach (shark masala, mmmm!).  We ate whilst watching strobe-like lightning, which I've never imagined could last so long.  Going back to our room was a bit depressing - we had to play a game of 'things I hate about this room' to cheer ourselves up!  Water leaked out of the AC unit on the bed during the night..  We got the hell out of there in the morning!

So on Friday we came a bit along the coast to Agonda, where we're now staying, on a recommendation from a guy we met called Seth.  It's dead quiet, the guest house we're at has a little restaurant, and the beach is 2 mins away.  We're enjoying having some time to read, draw, sew and generally chill.  We also met a nice couple, Eve and Jay, who we've had a couple of meals with and got some good tips on, for example, how to haggle!

At the moment, we're back in Palolem making the most of the facilities (cash, post card for Nanny!)  Tim is off getting a bit more used to the scooter whilst I do internet stuff.  I suspect we'll do a bit more exploring this afternoon and find somewhere to have a meal later.  I think we'll be doing much of the same for a while yet!!