The Unsung Psalm

So I’m back from another exhausting trip! And no, I don’t need another tor recover from this one… I only need some time to laze around a bit here, in familiar surroundings, but with tests from next Monday, that’s not an option!

Highlights of the Trip

Evening 1 – Arrival

• Goa finally happens for me! In the company of Pankaj, Hag-3-Designate (Chick 1), Pankaj’s On-and-off Girlfriend (Chick 2) and a friend of hers who I’d met 2 years back and concluded as an extremely snooty and unpleasant person (Chick 3). Would surprises ever cease? She must have been most unlike herself that evening, for she was the sweetest thing in the past 2 days!
• Relaxed train-ride (We had reservations! Albeit some cockroaches in the Sleeper. My very first 3+ hour journey by Sleeper, methinks, but I’m often wrong about these things. The one million cockroaches scurrying everywhere didn’t change my opinion of that mode of travel. Nor did the exhausting return journey, but we’ll come to that later!)
• Arrival at Goa, one and a half hour auto-ride from Madgaon station to Baga. Dusshera is long over, but they seem to have put up effigies of Ravan at every few hundred metres. Amusingly, these effigies aren’t meant to be burned. In fact, one or two are in celebratory poses… in one, Ravan looks sloshed!
• Arrival at guest-house. Rather quaint! We check-in, shower and head out to find out about Tito’s! Free entry for couples that night, so we decide to drink, dine and return to dance!
  On the way back, we discover Happy Hours at a Bar! One-on-one free on Cocktails! 6 LIIT’s for 5 folks who’ve been starved all day!
  By the time we’re seated at dinner, I’m tipsy, and getting higher by the moment. Doesn’t stop me from buying Goa’s renowned Kings Beer!
  We leave the rest~ and head back home, because Chick 3 was drinking for the first time that evening, and is puking away…

Day 2 – Drive Away!

• Breakfast at Infantari. I order Pancakes. They’re horrible. The patties and muffins are delightful though! So is pretty much everybody else’s food…
• Hunt for scooties on hire… I’m the only one with a valid Drivers’ License, it seems. Most people unwilling to give out on rent without license proof or exorbitant amounts of deposit. Eventually, one agrees. Off we goooo….
• Destination One : Anjuna Beach. Ladies buy hats. I brought one that I’d purchased on my last Goa trip (“with parents; thus it doesn’t count”)
  The beach is small but pleasant. That’s the only time we enter the ocean. I get a temporary tattoo close to the permanent kind that I want. The final result isn’t very close to what I really want, but she only offered so many designs as options!
  Here’s a snap:
  
• We commence ride to Curlie’s. One scootie breaks down. Over half an hour wasted while we wait for a replacement to be brought to us. We then head off to our destination. Divine place, divine food! Israleli food is simply Yum! All Hail Chicken Lafas! Humus and Pita is undefeated! Prawns, prawns, prawns!
  The ambiance too is divine… Foreigner couple spray painting on a wall… very hippie-like, them. Their baby snores away in its cradle. The father is wearing what seem to be low-waist boxers! He’s got a tattoo right on the ummm, hip. Rather repulsive, if you ask me! (Not the tattoo but the fact that he must show it off) Their art is divine!
• Desire to cancel our pre-booked tickets and book on another train. Thus, 40-km ride to the station. Goa roads are lovely! Exhausted by the end of the ride. Tickets wait-listed at 250 onwards! Another 20 km ride home. Skipping Vagator Beach this once. No one has the stamina to climb a million steps, as I hear one has to!
• Return to resort. Early dinner at another elegant joint called Cafe LazyDays. Run by an Indian and a white-chick, presumably a couple. The latter has a divine accent and is damn cute!
  Chick 1 and I gorge on a meal for three, between the two of us! We return to our rooms and sleep off. Woken up later by Pankaj. Last evening in Goa, must go to Mambo’s. (Mambo’s is apparently better than Tito’s, we’re told, even though it has the same ownership… I have no complaints! No Bollywood music at Mambo’s, unlike at Tito’s )
  I dress up in a black shirt, light-green tie, violet contacts, brown three-quarters and crocs! Talk about semi-formal!
• We enter Mambo’s after a bit of a drama. A single guy humbly requests us to let him in (Couple Entry Rs. 500, stag female entry free of cost, stag males Not Allowed for any amount of money!) However, the man at the entrance recognises him and refuses to let him enter, even when he’s acquired a temporary date! He ushers us in, and leaves the poor guy squealing. Oh well, there’s only so much we could do!
• We enter the disc. Pretty nice! I’m taking a short walk around the dance floor to acquaint myself with it, and I feel a hard thump on my shoulder. I turn around to see a most random fat, ugly dancing man grinning at me as if he’s known me since eternity! I assume he accidentally tapped on the wrong shoulder, and smile at him and move on.
  As I’m returning to my group, I feel another tap. I turn around. Same fat bloke, now offering me his drink! Like, OMG! I debate between accepting a drink from a stranger and free booze. Then realize he’s offering me a stupid Breezer. Thanks, I’m not that cheap. I smile, shake my head and return to my friends.
  Some 20 minutes later, we’re dancing, the 5 of us, and a random bloke suddenly joins the group. Guess what… he’s fat, ugly and familiar. I haven’t told the others about my secret admirer yet, so they’re more puzzled than I am. He keeps dancing, apparently part of our circle of 5 (now 6). We’re practically frozen on spot! After some 20 seconds, he turns to me, gives me another 3 taps on the shoulder, a broad grin and thankfully leaves. My company find it quite hilarious. I find it flattering and insulting at the same time… We leave pub early. The non-dancers are bored, and I’m not too into the music since the idiotic DJ, though he has a good selection of songs, is playing full-length tracks! Who does that?!?!
  Another interesting highlight of Mambo’s is  the staircase on the side, leading up to a balcony which seems to have been constructed for Go-Go dancers. Except that there are none, so first one and then another white chick climb up and entertain us instead. They dance really well, albeit one is elegant in her moves and another is Sporty Spice. They’re followed later by a silly Indian woman who cannot dance, and soon after, my students from my own university who decide to fool around on a “public platform”. I’m so damn tempted to climb up myself, but am pretty convinced that the bouncer on the staircase is positioned so as to only allow access to women!

Day 3 – Au Revoir Casa Goa!

• We awaken at 9, hurriedly get ready, pack and check out by 11. We head off to Baga Beach, for luncheon at another famed shack, Britto’s. The view of Baga from the shack is simply divine. Whilst there, we realize that we have grossly insufficient cash to order, so 2 of us take transport to an ATM to retrieve the requisite amounts. They return, and we order. Food is decent, dessert is divine! For once, genuine Tiramasu and Blueberry Cheesecake that is to die for!
• We decide to step on the beach for a while, but it’s terribly hot. Beds on rent for 100 bucks an hour!!! Instead, we decide to take a quick walk. As soon as our feet touch the water, it isn’t so sultry anymore… We walk a considerable distance, laughing, talking, photographing. Some interesting sites along the way. A large-ish dead crab, a swarm of tiny fish. I try to get them to give me a pedicure, but they don’t seem to  be interested in doing so.
  A little further, Chick 2 spots a real live jelly-fish and warns us not to venture close to it! I manage to spot it too, and cannot believe my eyes! It’s huge and mesmerising to look at. There’s scope for humour in everything. I notice a floating disposable spoon and yell, “OMG watch out, Spoon-fish!” Chick 3 yells, “Look! Boat-shark!” Chick 2 joins in with “Oh, and Parachute Whale!” Trivial conversation be so much fun!
• We lie on the beach for about half an hour. The sun is scorching. Subsequently, we return to the town and invest over 5 hours walking, as the girls shop for knick-knacks that won’t last longer than a few days.
• A short dinner of Spanish starters at a new place that just opened up. I pick the place. The Spanish-sounding (damn cute) owner is more incentive than the food itself. The decor is pretty nice though! Makes for some good photographs.
• We return to the resort, freshen up in the reception’s restroom, much to the owner’s annoyance who’d rather let out a room for half a day and make some bucks off us.
  We take our luggage, and  cramp into an Auto for a 45-minute journey to the station. One of five reservations confirmed. We all board the train anyway, and 3 girls cramp onto the one confirmed berth, while Pankaj and I squeeze ourselves into whatever we can find. Eventually, the TTE kicks us off the berth we were sharing (miraculously) to hand it to some folks who probably bribed him. Pankaj goes in search of greener pastures. I opt for a place on the foot-board, where I spend the greater part of my travel. Thankfully, I’ve managed to acquire my iPod from my luggage, so that makes it only slightly better.
• We eventually reach our station, are forced to share an auto with a most repulsive smelling gigantic man. I fight with the auto driver, under the impression that he’s trying to rip us off first thing in the morning. He is trying to rip us off, it seems, but not as badly as we’d thought.
  I return to my room, take the longest shower to get the awful sleeper-compartment smell off me, write most of this post, sleep, wake-up, attend class, complete the post and am about to go to sleep again.

Viva La Goa, I shall return again soon!