Goa

My journey to Goa seemed simple. Flight from Hyderabad to Mumbai with a connection to Goa. But in India nothing is so straightforward. The flight from HY was delayed,so I missed my connection. Jet Airways were pretty useless, so I ended up paying an extra $100 on a flight to Goa with Air India. I arrived at Goa airport at 9:30, jumped in a taxi and headed off to my b&b place in Palolem, about 1.5 hrs away - right in the southern tip of Goa. I got there and was warmly welcomed by the owners of 'The Village Guesthose', Goran, from London,  and his wife Janet who was Irish. We had several beers together on the verandah of their fantastic house. We were later joined by Keith, from Texas who had lived in Bangalore for 6 years. There was also a German couple staying there. My room was very nice & clean.

Fishing boats - Palolem

Early on Saturday I went for a walk along the sandy, palm-tree lined beach - it was very idyllic and quiet. There were many local fishing boats but none were out since there had been rough seas the last few days. This morning was calm & sunny though. I was fascinated with the boats - many were brightly coloured, with out-riggers and fishing nets piled inside.  I returned to the Village for breakfast - bacon, eggs, tomato & bread - nice! I decide the best way to see the area was by scooter. Goran arranged one for me - 200 rupees for the day - about $4! I spent most of the day riding around the quiet roads visiting other beaches - it was a great time, and nice to be on a road with little traffic - world away from HY! Later in the afternoon/early evening I watched the catch being brought onto the beach - there must have been 30 people pulling the nets in. The amount of fish did not seem that great for all the effort - maybe 5 baskets of fish total. Aparently the fishing is not so good just after the Monsoon.

Palolem Beach

That night I went for dinner with Keith - we chose a place right on Palolem Beach. The food was good - had chicken satay. We were joined later by the German couple & had  good evening - plenty of beer was consumed. I'd noticed at lunch (when I had a very hot fish curry) that smoking marijuana  was done quite openly, even in the restaurants. Same in the evening - a couple of girls sat down next to us & lit up without any hesitation.

Bringing in the catch

Dolphin boat trip

Early Sunday morning I paid a guy 800 rupees to take me on a 1 hr boat trip to see dolphins & some other beaches. I had my doubts about the dolphins, but sure enough within 10 mins we saw 2 come very close to the boat! I enjoyed the trip - was nice to be on the sea. We saw a fishing boat pulling in their nets for squid, only to spend most the time taking out  jellyfish - problem around here.  After breakfast I wondered into town looking to get a massage. I came across a hairdresser who also offered head massages - perfect sine I needed a hair cut. He used only scissors and did a nice job. For 200 rupees I got the hair cut and the massage. He put some oil onto my head and gave it a right pounding - very invigorating!  I then took a river trip on another traditional boat - we saw kingfishers and eagles. We also heard monkeys but did see them. After that it was time to head back to the airport. I came back feeling very re-freshed and ready to face the heat & traffic of HY!