The coach journey that started at 7:00pm finally concluded at 9:00am but it was a experience all the same, as soon as we left the bus in Mapusa we got swamped by beggars and taxi drivers, we hoped on the cheapest taxi we could find and onto our destination, The Silvermoon guest house in Anjuna. The place was run by Maria a really nice lady and her family. We stayed in a guest house with some more 'western' travelers. Up till now we hadnt met that many tourists in Mumbai, the bunch of people we stayed with were a great lot and looking back on it I wish i'd stayed in Anjuna longer. So after introductions we donned the beachware to go discover this hippie's paradise. The water was so warm although quite murky and the beach was good too, lots of cows there too emma. I brought a sarong. It was such a stark contrast to where we were less than 15 hours ago. I tried to stay awake to chat to fellow travelers but fell asleep on a beachbed as the sun went down. After my nap we were going to checkout the beachbars but about halfway down it poured with rain, thunder and lighting. None the less we made it to a clifftop bar and had a few beers watching the lightning strikes out at sea, the electrics in the bar flickering from time to time. The barman was on acid or something, he had majorly bug-eyes and was dancing like a crab, he got really mad and throw his tray at us because we wouldnt tip him, the service really wasnt that good though.
Today we rented out scooters from Maria and drove to Baga for the day, a much larger stretch of beach. The roads are insane though people just overtake in the smallest of gaps and well you just have to be pretty switched on. massive trucks and coaches would pass in the middle of the road, scooters and cars would pullout seconds in front of you, and then you had to avoid the occasional sacred cow. But when you found a good quiet road it was great, (check out mumford and sons, the cave music video to see what i'm talking about) Baga is India's answer to Ibiza and it was packed with Indians all traveling here on holiday, its pretty weird because I think they come here to get away from the hustle and bustle but even in the sea its crowded. You can only swim between the flags and not out very far because I think there is quite a dangerous riptide. In the water a few people wanted a photo, I assumed they wanted me to take it but they were saying "tom cruise, tom cruise" and they got in a photo with me, slightly flattered very confused. We traveled further south to Fort Aguada where you could see the full stretch of Goa. In the evening we had a meal with housemates and onto the beach bars, as the night went on the tide crept up, so a few people lost flip flops and got a bit soggy, great night.
The Aim today is to book transport back to Mumbai for the flight to Thailand. We went out on the scooters to try and find a train station. On the way the skies opened again with torrential rain and thunder and lightning, It was too dangerous to drive in this (especially with so many massive mining vehicles on the road) so we took shelter under a shack. Once the rain cleared the roads quickly dried up and on we went on our epic voyage for the train station, After a few more hours of searching the scooter ran out of gas, and there was a petrol shortage in Goa, luckily a local offered to take Andy to get petrol about 15km away. Literally as soon as we had refuels Andy managed to look the scooter key in the compartment under the seat, pretty funny huh, so we were about to ditch the bike and get a coach back when another local saved the day by reaching under the back of the bike and flicking a switch (so let that be a lesson, don't store things under the seat) Eventually we found the train station but all trains were fully booked until the 15th of November, balls! so we stopped of in Mapusa and booked the cheapest coach back we could get, going back to Anjuna we got lost again and had to work it out in the dark, but it was all fun. the evening was far more relaxing, few beers with the housemates.
Today is our day in Goa so we took out the scooter and followed one of the guys who had been exploring Goa for a while to the most northern tip, the beach here was the best by far nice sized waves and good sand with not to many cowpats. The city life is nice to experience and everything but I think this chilled beach deal is much more my thing. On the way back we took the scooters for a bit of offroading up a big hill to look over the cliffs and Anjuna. There were lots of Eagles gliding in the thermals right in front of us. We packed up said by to the housemates and Maria and went to Mapusa to be picked up by a very cramped bus which turned out to be a 16 hour journey to Mumbai for our flight to Thailand. On the journey I just kept thinking, why didn't I stay longer in Anjuna.
No comments:
Post a Comment