Goa- Just like Paradise! Except for all the Europeans in Speedos!

Goa is everything i thought it would and more. Beach huts line the white sandy beach, small business selling Indian clothes and beach towels, restaurants with open fronts face the ocean, that serve banana pancakes and Masala tea for breakfast, fish curry and veg curry for lunch and dinner. And Goan Banofee pie for dessert. Cows walk up and down the beach like they own the place, and technically in this mostly Hindu country, they actually do. The sunsets paint the sky red for hours and fall behind the Arabian sea. It's been bliss!However, getting to Goa was anything but bliss. But I don't want to over exaggerate either, it wasn't that bad!

Joseph and I took a sleeper bus to Goa and we were told it would take about 11 hours. Now nothing takes the exact time you are told in India, and in essence it took 15 hours! Just to give you an idea of what the roads are like, Goa and Mumbai are 500km apart - and it took 15 hours!
The bottom of the bus was like regular seats, and on top were a sort of bunk bed and that was just enough room for 2 regular size people to lay flat. There was about a half foot of room between my head and the ceiling. It took me about 20 minutes to get used to it, as it was sort of claustrophobic.

Luckily I slept most of the way. I was still dealing with jet lag so it was the perfect opportunity to catch up on sleep. We made a few pit stops for bathroom breaks a long the way, and it was a good opportunity to stretch. It was certainly not comfortable to not be able to move for that long.

But alas, we arrived in Goa around 11am, and then we had to take a taxi to Palolem which is at the southern tip of Goa. Joseph and I met Pascal from Switzerland in Mumbai, and he was also traveling with Nadine from Switzerland. Pascal met her traveling in China in August, and they split up while she went trekking in Nepal, and he went through northern India, and they decided to meet up again n Mumbai to go to Goa. Anyway, we shared a taxi to Palolem, and Nadine has been to Goa 3 times so she suggested we stay at Tony's Coco huts.

The huts are exactly what you would picture them to be. A rickety hut on stilts with a grass roof (with a tarp to protect from rain) a small bathroom and a hammock and porch out front. also when you sit outside you can see the Arabian sea. It's literally a stones throw away!

My days here consist of nothing more than eating awesome food, swimming in the Arabian sea (which is very warm), walking along the beach, reading in a hammock, sipping gin and tonics with our new Swiss friends and doing it all over again the next day!

The sun is hot and I am getting some colour, but the breeze from the sea ,makes everything a little more bearable! I have bought some nice beach wear as my clothes were not appropriate for the laid back beachy feel. Everything is very cheap, so it hasn't set me back at all!

As for the next leg of our trip, we plan to be in Goa until Sunday, this way we can go to the Anjuna hippie market on Saturday (which is 2 and a bit hours north in Goa). Joseph and I are taking the night bus to Hampi on Sunday night. We were told it would take 8 hours but we figure more like 10, taking Indian roads and time into account. But we are in no rush and kind of winging it as we go, which is perfect. We are glad we came to Goa first, as the prices are going to sky rocket as of next week when the high season hits, and this will last until New Years.

Anyway, Joseph and I are hungry and we are going to go and eat breakfast now. I went for a run along the beach this morning, so now the hunger is kicking in.

But before I go here are a few pieces of info/tidbits/facts for you to ponder:

-Goa was colonized by the Portuguese for 450 years, and only became part of India in the early 1960's. So the architecture here takes on a very European/Portuguese hacienda feel.

-Like north Americans go to Cuba/Mexico/Dominican, Europeans and Israelis come to Goa. It's much cheaper! In Palolem anyway there are no large 5 star resorts. Just beach huts with fans, that cost $5-$8 a night!!

-I have not met any Canadians or Americans in Goa (although our friend Sebi who works at the guesthouse says he has met many Canadian friends here. He loves Canada and Joseph and I get to eat then replant the top of the pineapple in the Canadian Pineapple garden (Only Canadians allowed). But I haven't heard a lot of English spoken here, as it seems to be mostly Swedish, Swiss, German, Farsi and French spoken. But it's great!!

Typical prices in Goa:
1 night in beach hut =400 rupees (rps) or $9.50 CND (next week price will double to 800 or 1000 rps ($20-$24)
Cup of tea= 15 rps or 30 cents
Breakfast of Banana pancake, fruit Muesli and 500ml of water= 100rps or $2.40 CDN
Gin and Tonic= 60 rps or $1.45
Indian dress= 300 rps or $7 ( bartered down from $10 to $7)
1 hour Internet= 40 rps or 90 cents.
Night bu to Hampi = 550 rps or $13.

Hope that gives you an idea of how cheap it is here. And it actually will cheaper when we head to Hampi and then eventually up north.

Hope all is well and I hope to post again soon, so I don't have so much to write!

Miss you all, but having a blast!!!

Oh and yes, I have seen way too many Banana hammocks here (AKA Speedos)! YUCK!

Next up: The cast of characters we have seen and met here. Some interesting, some not so much!