Yesterday we went right up coast to Morjim, Asvem and Arombol, easily the most beautiful beaches that I have seen so far in Goa. Not only are the beaches free from sellers and visitors alike, the sea level is hip height for about 100 meters, there aren’t any waves, and it looks very clean as well. There were lots of holiday huts on stilts so it seems a lot more exotic than other parts of Goa. This situation wont be lasting for long though as there are plans to build another airport there.
We went to a lovely restaurant last night called Fiesta on Tito’s road where I had gorgeous goat’s cheese mousse which as a starter, was more than enough for the whole meal. I am enjoying lots of fruit Moctails this week which makes a pleasantly huge difference to expenditure and to my feelings of well being. We have now found a The Chippie where they make a good effort at steak and kidney pie but the highlight of my culinary adventure in Goa came at the Plantain Leaf where we had veg Thali (70Rs). I must say that it is really weird not having seen the inside of a kitchen for a month.
We are nearly ready to go to Thailand now so I am getting excited and the itinerary will hopefully be very cool. We are planning to go via Mumbai where we will spend a day. I am going to put a posting for a travel companion after Christmas on the Boot And All travel website because I’m prevaricating about doing the trains etc on my own.
I had a manicure and pedicure yesterday in an attempt to get all the Ayurvedic oil off my hands – of course the polish had to be applied in the dark because of fading light and the ‘assistant’ (soon the be sister in law) to the actual beautician did my hands under the proud gaze of her mother and then the brother came in. It was indeed a joyous family event.
We posted some unneeded stuff back to London and found that the post office is another uniquely Indian experience: There was a queue about 10 deep at one counter and no customers at the other 3 manned counters, there was queue jumping going on and everything seemed to be taking forever when an English woman looked like she was going to loose it as none of the counter staff were able to tell her why the ‘system’ couldn’t be more flexible. I think I made a mistake in agreeing that the package was to be sent airmail, I have a feeling that the price would be a lot more palatable if it goes by boat or donkey or sum’it – I live and learn.
The smell of Monsoon mould has gone and the whole of Goa is now starting to look a lot cleaner. The fresh paint everywhere makes me think the queen might be coming to visit but it still feels like Glastonbury on a massive scale. There is one thing about the place that bothers me. There is a small army of women sellers here who have successfully mimicked English cockney-accented phrases and will approach with three whiney sounding sentences – ‘remember me from the beach’, ‘you promised’, ‘aright mate’ and it loses its charm pretty quickly. They have even taken a seat and waited with their wares at the side of the water for us to stop swimming. The other day, we were told that a police lorry had confiscated all the goods that were being sold without licence but they were all ready for action with renewed stock the following morning. I have a strong feeling that years ago when it seemed like a sweet idea, visitors taught the local girls how to speak like this not realising that it was going to make them seem insincere. Lots of travel info discussed the pros and cons of giving presents to local kids but it does take the shine off the experience for other travellers if they are made to feel mean for not providing pens or extra tips. Saying all that, people work very hard and are always friendly. I have had a lovely time here but I’m looking forward to moving on now.
Yesterday we went right up coast to Morjim, Asvem and Arombol, easily the most beautiful beaches that I have seen so far in Goa. Not only are the beaches free from sellers and visitors alike, the sea level is hip height for about 100 meters, there aren’t any waves, and it looks very clean as well. There were lots of holiday huts on stilts so it seems a lot more exotic than other parts of Goa. This situation wont be lasting for long though as there are plans to build another airport there.
We went to a lovely restaurant last night called Fiesta on Tito’s road where I had gorgeous goat’s cheese mousse which as a starter, was more than enough for the whole meal. I am enjoying lots of fruit Moctails this week which makes a pleasantly huge difference to expenditure and to my feelings of well being. We have now found a The Chippie where they make a good effort at steak and kidney pie but the highlight of my culinary adventure in Goa came at the Plantain Leaf where we had veg Thali (70Rs). I must say that it is really weird not having seen the inside of a kitchen for a month.
We are nearly ready to go to Thailand now so I am getting excited and the itinerary will hopefully be very cool. We are planning to go via Mumbai where we will spend a day. I am going to put a posting for a travel companion after Christmas on the Boot And All travel website because I’m prevaricating about doing the trains etc on my own.
I had a manicure and pedicure yesterday in an attempt to get all the Ayurvedic oil off my hands – of course the polish had to be applied in the dark because of fading light and the ‘assistant’ (soon the be sister in law) to the actual beautician did my hands under the proud gaze of her mother and then the brother came in. It was indeed a joyous family event.
We posted some unneeded stuff back to London and found that the post office is another uniquely Indian experience: There was a queue about 10 deep at one counter and no customers at the other 3 manned counters, there was queue jumping going on and everything seemed to be taking forever when an English woman looked like she was going to loose it as none of the counter staff were able to tell her why the ‘system’ couldn’t be more flexible. I think I made a mistake in agreeing that the package was to be sent airmail, I have a feeling that the price would be a lot more palatable if it goes by boat or donkey or sum’it – I live and learn.
The smell of Monsoon mould has gone and the whole of Goa is now starting to look a lot cleaner. The fresh paint everywhere makes me think the queen might be coming to visit but it still feels like Glastonbury on a massive scale. There is one thing about the place that bothers me. There is a small army of women sellers here who have successfully mimicked English cockney-accented phrases and will approach with three whiney sounding sentences – ‘remember me from the beach’, ‘you promised’, ‘aright mate’ and it loses its charm pretty quickly. They have even taken a seat and waited with their wares at the side of the water for us to stop swimming. The other day, we were told that a police lorry had confiscated all the goods that were being sold without licence but they were all ready for action with renewed stock the following morning. I have a strong feeling that years ago when it seemed like a sweet idea, visitors taught the local girls how to speak like this not realising that it was going to make them seem insincere. Lots of travel info discussed the pros and cons of giving presents to local kids but it does take the shine off the experience for other travellers if they are made to feel mean for not providing pens or extra tips. Saying all that, people work very hard and are always friendly. I have had a lovely time here but I’m looking forward to moving on now.
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