Not a good time to get sick

Jack Fruit, Spice Plantation [Enlarge & More]

It was 22:10, the train was already 10 minutes late arriving in Madgaon train station and Jono had been sick four times already. Of all the nights to pick to be sick it had to be the one where we had a 16 hour journey ahead of us to Kochi. We’re not sure what the culprit of the food poisoning was but our suspicions lie with the ‘light buffet’ we were given at a visit to a spice plantation.

We ended up spending four nights in Colva, a beach in south Goa. It was definitely busier than the others we had visited and the great location of the hotel and pool kept us there for two nights more that we were going to.

The spice plantation visit was to break up the routine of taking it easy having a swim and something to eat, the tour around the plantation was really interesting and informative. We learnt that the most expensive spice is saffron, the age of the beetle nut tree can be worked out by counting the rings on the outside, three per year and that the husk of the nutmeg nut is used to produce mace.

Train to Kerala [Enlarge & More]

We have about four hours of the train journey left to Kochi and Jono has been up and down all night running to the toilet. He’s asleep now but he recalled to me earlier how on his first run to the toilet he managed to get outside the berth door and be sick on his arm and then take a couple of steps and be sick on the floor and finally sick outside the toilet. He was still smiling though! He’s had a few more trips since and used both the Western and Indian (hole in the ground) style toilets depending on what the need was.

I tucked into a lovely breakfast of spicy omelette and bread this morning and as soon as Jono smelt it off he went running, I did feel a bit guilty but one of us has got to keep our strength up.;)

Petulant Waiter in Panaji

Laundry Returned [Enlarge & More]

There is nothing like getting back your clothes clean, all washed and ironed. One of the good things about travelling in India is that even if it feels like an extravagance it’s dirt cheap. We are now staying at a beach side hotel, Longuinhos, with a room overlooking the sea and a lovely pool for very little money. And as a bonus breakfast is included! It’s been lovely to go for a dip in the pool and cool down each day as it’s not always safe to swim in the sea during the Monsoon.

Colva Beach [Enlarge & More]

We’ve made our way to Colva, a beach in South Goa, which is much busier than the previous two beaches up north. One of the things I’ve noticed here and generally in India which you don’t always see travelling other developing countries is the locals love to enjoy the sights, including the beaches, as much as we do. I think that’s a very healthy sign and that in the case of India, that it is an emerging nation - as for more and more people there is extra money to spend on luxuries.

Fisherman on Colva Beach [Enlarge & More]

Spending so much time by the sea we’ve tried some fish dishes mostly using a fish called Kingfish. Neither of us know what one actually looks like whole but it must be pretty big based on the size of the steak we had the other night at the Portuguese restaurant called Viva Panjim in Panaji.

We were both hankering after something that wasn’t spicy so we had the equivalent of fish and chips. It was a steak of Kingfish covered in semolina and fried, very lovely. The only down side to the experience was the waiter brought us out a random plate of fried ‘Bhindi’ (Okra), which neither of us ordered. We refused to accept them and the waiter refused to serve us like a petulant child for the rest of the evening. Luckily one of his colleagues jumped in and was very helpful. He recommended for desert a speciality cake (bebinca) made up of 29 layers, we counted them like saddos. It was ginger based and very delicious.

When the roof leaked in Panaji

Panaji[Enlarge & More]

We left Arambol two days ago and have been staying in the state capital of Goa, Panaji, since then. Arambol was nice enough, but we were both ready to move on. There was a bit of a contingent of stoned hippies who spent all their time on the beach in Arambol – I’m not sure if they ever went to bed! Between them and the dogs which littered the beach and kept fighting, it started to become a bit less relaxing and seem more grotty.

Panaji is a lovely place, Portuguese in its architecture and its legacy. Most of the houses here are beautiful big Portuguese villas (one of which we are staying in), and the town retains a certain charm with its wide streets, large shops and a feel that is quite different from most Indian towns or cities. Panaji and all of Goa was actually a Portuguese colony until 1961, and this is reflected in the character of the town and many of the people – a lot of the people are almost western in their looks, hairstyles and clothing. It was a big surprise to us when we were walking down the main street as to just how many liquor stores there are here – they seem to be the most common shop! We were also surprised that there was a promotion for cheap Carlsberg in the town, complete with loud western music!

Finding our way[Enlarge & More]

On our first night here, I woke up at 2am to a big thunderstorm, and the sound of rain absolutely hammering down. I got up to make sure that there were no leaks in the bathroom – fortunately there weren’t, so I went back to bed. However, Mahmoud also woke up to find himself absolutely drenched – the roof was leaking directly onto his bed! After a bit of reshuffling of furniture, and Mahmoud changing clothes, the leaking crisis of Panaji was over – we requested a new mattress for Mahmoud in the morning!

The following day, we did a little self-managed walking tour of Panaji – it truly is a melting pot of European and Indian culture, with a heavy Christian influence as evidenced by a number of churches. The Hindu temple to Hanuman was also a good sight – very colourful! The people here are very friendly, not quite so forceful when they are selling or drumming up business – the taxi drivers call out to you as you walk past, and do a little driving motion with their hands – it’s very funny and they always laugh as they do it! The day was very hot and humid thanks to the rain from the night before, and by the end of the walk we were both drenched in sweat AGAIN – it was exhausting.

Jono Dancing! [Enlarge & More]

That evening, we did a river cruise on the Santa Monica, a boat recommended by the Lonely Planet, which advertised it as a cruise with a performance and dancing. It also described it as less rowdy than the other cruises. Well – I can only assume by less rowdy they mean “family-oriented”, because the cruise had a DJ playing all the latest Bollywood songs at the highest decibel rating. There was some dancing, but mostly it was the people who had paid to ride the “leisurely” cruise, who knew all the moves from whichever movie each song was from. Well, it wasn’t what I expected, and it was admittedly atrocious, but I really enjoyed it – you can’t help but crack a smile when you see people enjoying themselves so much. As the only non-Asian person on the boat, I stood out like a sore thumb and as you can imagine, a few people tried to get me up to dance. One guy was pretty persistent, and in the end I very reluctantly did a little dance (copied his moves), and he got his requisite photo with me – hilarious for all I’m sure. Mahmoud was all for me doing a dance, but wasn’t quite so keen to get up there himself – don’t worry, I saw to it that he was included in the fun. Unfortunately he set his camera to some bizarre setting first, and I couldn’t get a good picture – sorry!

Old Goa[Enlarge & More]

Today, eardrums still vibrating, we visited Old Goa, the former state capital of Portuguese-administered Goa, and looked at some of the old churches and cathedrals there. Very interesting, and quite unique architecture – a display of colonial power which is still present today. The story of St. Francis Xavier’s incorruptible body which is entombed there is interesting, although rather macabre I think! It was another hot day, and for the first time since we arrived in India it rained during the day while we were out – we waited in one of the large churches until the rain stopped. Thanks to the rain though, it seems this afternoon is a bit cooler – what a relief!

We’re now off to try some Portuguese food – with Mahmoud having just got over a 24 hour bug, and my stomach a wee bit shaky, let’s hope we cope with whatever they give us!

Hippies, Sunburn and Cockroach

Blogging in Arambol [Enlarge & More]

Arambol did live up to its reputation, the best sight was a ‘German’ lady who hadn’t seen a good bath for a few months and had the requisite dreadlocks and hippie demeanour. We were in an Internet Café and I heard her say just before she fell asleep in her chair “W-w-w-w-w-How to you make it small letters?” in her strong slurry German accent. The nice internet lady came over and pressed the caps lock key for her.

Even though a lot of time it was cloudy the sun is pretty strong. Jono learnt the hard was by getting glowing red shoulder while going for a dip in the Arabian sea. I did the same however I was very aware that the Monsoon seas are really dangerous so did not venture out too far. The waves would have been ideal for a surfing

View at Dinner [Enlarge & More]

The most memorable part of Arambol was not the hippies or lazing around doing nothing but the cockroach that decided he liked our room and Jono’s backpack more than the rest of Arambol. I’m not a big fan of the critters and if I can, I’ll avoid being in the same room which means that Jono got the privilege of getting rid of it.

Trying to get rid of a Cockroach is not an easy thing, as you don’t want to squash it on anything of yours as it’ll just dump all it’s eggs right there, which will mean you’ll have a little family of them in no time at all. In the end after a few screams by Jono he got it outside and the homestay owner who had come out of his room to see what all the commotion was about expertly removed it from Jono’s backpack and squashed it.


See hilarious video here of cockroach!!

The bright yellow snake

Mandrem Beach [Enlarge & More]

I thought the bright yellow snake was dead until it moved! Lucky I did not get much closer to have a look.

Arrived in Goa expecting to be lashed by heavy rain and wind but it’s all calm so far. The train ride was long but comfortable, my bunk a little short for me but wide enough for me to curl up in. We got up in time for the sunrise this morning the first of our trip, from the train window a hazy orange glow greeted us with a very lush green landscape of banana and coconut trees, rice field and generally green vegetation. It was like watching TV as it did not seem real tome as it was so different to what we left behind in Mumbai. 12 hours later we arrive at Thivim our stop and it was the first time I’ve had to carry my backpack any distance – I definitely have too much stuff.

Villa River Cat[Enlarge & More]

We opted for a quiet beach called Mandrem and with a bit of persistence we found the Villa River Cat nestled just beside the beach. What we did not realise was it the off season really means everything is shut down and the hotel has been opened up for us. It’s lovely but the only dilemma we have is how do we feed ourselves? Luckily for tonight Yogesh the guy who runs it has kindly offered to take us to his friends place after a bit of persuasion from me in Hindi. I’m not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, we may decide to go and stay at the slightly busier beach down the coast which is full of hippies – that’s what we are told anyway – but it does not appeal to either of us.

Venomous Yellow Snake[Enlarge & More]

As you can imagine with no one else around the beach is deserted apart from sharing it with a bright yellow snake. It wasn’t moving much as I think it was injured, but on Jono’s advice, as he saw it move first, I kept a safe distance while taking a photo.