Bhaji on the beach

At Miramar I finally met Vivek Shah the famous Gujju at the hostel. I met a few other IIT undergrads, his friends. At about 7.30 pm we decided to take walk on the beach. Then we saw a few Pav Bhaji stalls and promptly decided to have some Bhaji on the beach. It was cool. By 9.15 we decided to go back to the hostel.

Then we decided to check out the Miramar beach. There is this wonderful and quiet place just near the hostel on the beach that Vivek had discovered. At night the place looks hauntingly beautiful. You can sit here all night long and meditate. The waves come and kiss your feet. A lighthouse lights up the place every few minutes. It is silent and all you can hear is the sea quietly strumming some imaginary guitar. On the dark brooding horizon a few ships floated on to some heavenly destination.

It is in moments like these that you feel melancholy and euphoric at the same time. We sat there on the wet sand and as the white fizzling froth inched towards me I sat there and contemplated on the mistakes of the past and decided to come back to life!

Somehow Pink Floyd always has answers to everything and always come to your mind in moments of great joy or sorrow or just about anytime when you experience deep emotions.

I took a heavenly ride through our silence

I knew the moment had arrived

For killing the past and coming back to life

As the moonlight comes in from far away, various cruise boats with decks dazzling with brilliant, bright, gaudy lights crammed with people laughing, dancing and letting go, glide a few meters away from you. You can see and hear their joy and yet in some strange inexplicable way not share it. At about 10.00 pm the hostel doors close, so we scramble into the hostel and call it a day.

Anjuna flea market

Picture this- innumerable stalls lining the pathway, an assortment of gaudy colours that could intimidate a rainbow, vendors screaming, women in Rajasthani attire trying to catch the attention of the unsuspecting firang, trying to convince him that the lungi with ‘Om’ motifs could essentially be the most important feature of his India trip.As you soak in these visuals remind yourself of that visit to that vegetable market close to your home and remind yourself of the cacophony of sounds that surround you like an unsettling background score… Already smelling a bargain? Welcome to the world famous Anjuna flea market. It is held on Wednesdays at the Southern end of the beach amidst the coconut plantations. It starts at noon and goes on till sunset.

In India, this market provides cheap goodies and brings out the Goan spirit in hefty doses through their ambiance. Flea market is a translation of the French term marche aux puces, a name originally given to open- air markets in Paris. Literally means ‘market with fleas’ and generally flea connotes low rent or cheap.

The Anjuna flea market reminds us of the 60s character that made Goa famous. It came into existence with the hippies auctioning their belongings in a bid to spend some more time in the Paradise of Goa, all during the late 60’s. Since then it has only got better and bigger. So what did I buy in that market? Nothing! In spite of all the handicrafts, beach clothes, mirror work bags, European stuff, wooden crafts and carvings, beautiful wall hangings, musical instruments, bed covers, CDs with anything from Goa trance to Rock collectibles, kurtas, sarongs, artificial ornaments and T-shirts, all at the same place.

General advice: bargain like crazy if you plan to buy anything. Yeah I mean crazy. They quote just about any price that comes to their mind. A nice way of getting to and from the market is by boats. You get to avoid traffic snarls and if luck favors you might just get to see a few dolphins. Regular boat services can be availed from Baga. I left Anjuna for Miramar at about 5.30 p.m.

P.S.: Anjuna is not considered safe for swimming because of an unpredictable undertow, except near the Flea market end.

Anjuna- hippy haven

I didn’t stay too long at the beach; I was planning to reach that haven of hippies- Anjuna. The way to reach Anjuna beach from Miramar is a bit cumbersome if you plan to use public transport. First catch a bus to Panaji, from there to Mapusa and then to Anjuna. At Panaji bus stand I saw the bus going to Anjuna and another one parked next to it. That one was going off to Calangute. I sighted a lonely firang babe in the window seat in that one. Now that I think was my chance but I didn’t take it. Often in life we are faced with choices and it is often our fears that keep us away from doing incredible things. I mean I am not too sure if I would have ended up screwing the firang babe but at least I would have spent some interesting time roaming Calangute with her or at least would have made yet another friend. But I didn’t do anything. I took the bus to Anjuna instead.

It can get pretty boring at times traveling alone. So I did carry an Outlook Goa guide with me. It said the following things about Anjuna.

“It is undisputed king of Goa’s rave scene. They say everyone congregates here; from bums on the dole, from barely literate ravers to PhDs, eccentric millionaires. Anjuna can’t really be described too well. It has to be experienced, preferably on a full moon night at a beach hopping party. A shallow red laterite cliff borders the beach. To the right are terraced coconut plantations. Below, jagged laterite boulders alternate with little spits of sand. Azure water swirls and bubbles between the rocks. Anjuna beach is as beautiful as things can get.”

So with great hopes I reached the place. It was disappointing to say the least of things. Except for a few hippies in some of the restaurants there wasn’t much to rave about. The beach is beautiful and the view is breathtaking. Sample a few pics...

Goa!

Sawantwadi is quite modern and is very beautiful. From there I got on a bus to Panaji at 8.45 a.m. The bus entered Goa at Patradevi at about 9.25 a.m. As the bus trundled through the narrow streets on the way to Mapusa you can sight a lot of crucifixes. A few of them are really beautiful. As we go from Maharashtra to Goa, the change of sport seems conspicuous- cricket to football happens in a matter of kilometers.

I reached Panaji at about 10.30 a.m. You know you have touched Panaji when you get that peculiar smell of sea and salt. Its total bliss. From Panaji I left for Miramar as I had to first find accommodation at the Youth Hostel. I located the Hostel. It is right next to Mariott and faces the beach. It is beautiful and cheap. Rs.50 per night is amazing. Then I located a cyber café, sent a few mails and charged my ipod. At about 3.00 pm I decided to start checking out the sights around and also try and reach Anjuna. They have the Wednesday bazaar over there.

Miramar beach comprises a massive spread of sand west of Panaji, where the Mandovi River joins the sea. The area is referred to as the Marine drive of Goa and gets very crowded in the evening. The beach is one of the best in Goa. It is clean and nicely maintained. It is relatively quiet as compared to the noisy Calangute and Baga. There is this stretch near the Hostel that is very beautiful and you can sit here all alone in peace with no soul in sight and just the sea.

23rd May, 2007

They say virginity is not dignity but a lack of opportunity. Now if there is any place that is filled to the brim with opportunities for gratifying activities, then it is Goa.

Why do most people go to Goa?

1. to booze
2. to dope
3. to have sex
4. on a vacation as seen in Dil Chahta Hai.

Why was I in Goa? I might just say to have as much of point 3 as possible! {Mom I am just kidding all right!}Actually as I already mentioned in my post I was here to unwind, de-stress and contemplate life. I wanted to dip into the ‘ susegat’ Goan culture. I was here to relax and take things in a cool chilled way. Of course I could have been to the infinite other places in India to do that, but the lure of Goa was too seducing to stay away. Goa was a childhood dream. There is one more reason why I went to Goa. I have a thing for water or the sea. I don’t know why… but the sea tends to have a calming soothing influence on me.

So off I was to Goa at 6 am in true backpacker style. A black backpack lugged on my back with water-bottle, a Goa guidebook and other necessary stuff to roam Goa. From here on I was alone in my journey. I decided to take the Maharashtra state transport bus to Goa. I first took a bus to Sawantwadi. It was really hot in the S.T.

From what I actually saw of the Konkan region while passing through I can clearly claim one thing it is really developing at a frenzied pace. The Konkan Railway seems to have accelerated the growth. New technologies in farming can be seen on some farms dotting the road. Amidst all this development I hope that we don’t lose the scenic beauty and soul of the place.

The road that the bus took is scenic. It is often interspersed with such road signs as shown below:

· Control your nerves on curves

· Safety on road Safe tea at home

Now the last one nearly killed me. I was laughing my ass off on the window seat. It was really funny. It reminded me of Ameya.