8th March 2011
12.15am. We’re now sitting outside room 202 of the Queens of Queens guesthouse, just 3 minutes walk from Calangute beach. After some bargaining, we managed to get this pretty spacious room (more like a little apartment really) for Rs.1000 a night. What we didn’t count on was for the apartment to be stuffy and windowless with a manky ceiling fan that can be heard creaking from downstairs. I’m convinced there’s an air sucking monster hiding somewhere in the room that’s farting thick, odorless gas in a continuous stream. Oh well. At least the TV works, meaning we can catch up on repeats of MTV’s Roadies.
Goa is a nice place with plenty friendly people. It is divided into the south and north and where we’re at now is at the north. Calangute is one of the more beautiful beaches in Goa with small bars/cafes all along the stretch of sand. You can lie on the deck chairs for free but that would mean that you’re obliged to buy drinks and food from whichever bar your deck chair is situated in front of. Here in Goa, beer (Rs50, small) is cheaper than fresh juice (Rs.90, very small). We picked a nice spot at Greg’s bar and were entertained by young girls selling trinkets and strange half naked men offering to rub oil on us. Greg gave us a tip to ward them off: just say you’re from Bombay and you visit Goa every year. Of course this will only work if you don’t have almond eyes and yellow skin. Or, if you’re with an Indian friend.
Finding wi-fi here is tougher than getting a parking spot in 1utama on a Saturday afternoon so be prepared to pay for internet at a café. We did however stop by for some fro-yo at Cocoberry (India’s First Premium Frozen Yoghurt!) and were pleasantly surprised to find that they were equipped with wi-fi. Unfortunately the staff couldn’t give me the right password so we’re going back again tomorrow before hitting Anjuna beach, second home to Above & Beyond.
Maybe it’s the season, we don’t know, and according to the locals it’s pretty normal, but we were struck by the uncanny volume of old, decadent tourists in this part of Goa. And when I say old I mean the kind of old who don’t mind sunbathing topless because they just don’t care if anyone dies from the sight of wrinkly boobs on display. Hopefully we’ll meet some unwrinkly people tomorrow at Anjuna.
This morning upon arrival from Bangalore via a 12 hour bus, we took a taxi and met Anthony, the driver. We wanted to head to Anjuna at first but he advised us, “Anjuna for hippies, Calangute for tourists!” Despite the (now) questionable advice, he was extremely helpful, driving us to a few places before finding Queen of Queens. He has also managed to book last minute train tickets to Mumbai for us (Rs.400 each, no a/c) departing Friday morning at 10a.m. It only struck me later that we trustingly gave him Rs.800 for the tickets…and are expecting him to come back with them this Friday.
We have a valid reason for trusting Anthony actually. Watch this.
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