Goa

We finally made it to our destination in the evening of January 10 after one very long drive. I had started that morning with a sore throat and achy body, which despite me ingesting multiple pills during the day, handling a snake and meeting the Indian twin of Andy Kaufman, proceeded to increase in severity. Thank goodness Joe was driving.

Our destination was Goa. Well, we thought Goa was a town. It was - about 500 years ago. Now it’s a state in India. With a fascinating history, beautiful beaches and unique culture.

The Portuguese first voyaged to India in the early 16th century as merchants, and conquered the region now known as Goa, which prior to that had changed hands between multiple Mughal and Hindu empires. Goa became an overseas territory of the Portuguese Empire, part of what was then known as Portuguese India, and remained as such for about 456 years until it was finally annexed by India in 1961.

That period of Portuguese rule has resulted in a culture that is unique in India. A high percentage of the population are Catholic. We saw many Catholic churches, convents, seminaries and roadside prayer stations that we hadn’t seen elsewhere. The town of “Old Goa” is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that contains many European style buildings from the Portuguese era including the cathedral where the remains of St. Francis Xavier are located and venerated.

Anyways, our ultimate destination was Palolem Beach, which was south of Old Goa and is a popular tourist destination. We pulled up to the Royal Touch Beach Huts, which sounds fancy, but was pretty basic. We had the “deluxe” room facing the beach, which turned out to be situated above the local tattoo parlor.

It was lovely. There were tables on the beach and we enjoyed a nice meal with a bit of wine. The waiters were all Nepalese and very friendly. The beach was busy. Guys walking along hawking neon hats and other stuff. Lots of people enjoying the sound of the waves. Some really interesting scruffy looking boho types of people mostly from the UK who seem to have been there for indeterminate amounts of time.

And, a rave bar. Two buildings down. Hmm. The music had just started. There was also a bar next to our hut called “Coco’s” that a bunch of the rickshaw 30 something year old gang was partying at. Hmm. I wasn’t feeling well so we had a bit of food and retired to our room, which had a palm tree growing through the middle of it.

Here’s the general timing of how the night went.
9 pm: We attempted to go to sleep.

9pm - 12 am: Pounding music of all sorts from the rave bar that my ear plugs couldn’t block. Unfortunately no ABBA music.

12 am - 1:30 am: Rave bar shut down but Coco’s party continued.

1:30 am: Fireworks on the beach set off by some of our Australian colleagues (I learned the next day).

Around 4 am: Big dog fight on the beach.

Around 5 am: One dog barking pretending he was the local rooster.

6 am: I finally fell asleep. Joe woke up.

Needless to say January 11 was a bit of a write off. We swam in the ocean in the morning, did a bit of shopping, slept some more, had a bit of food, and slept some more. A nice break away from the rickshaw and some much needed rest.

Over top of the tattoo parlor.

PS We didn’t get a tattoo….Read more