Goa

Prem and I landed in Goa and I can start counting the number of hours I’m sober for the rest of this weekend.

My first drink at Goa - feni, is made of fermented cashews and usually home-brewed but you can get it in almost any restaurants and bars in Goa. We stopped at this hole-in-the-wall and here the bartender is mixing my cocktail of feni with Limca (Indian lime flavored soda, kinda like Sprite except it has a limier taste and it looks a little muddled) into a used plastic bottle.


Mixing a feni cocktail.

We had arranged with Anjuna Hotel at Anjuna Beach to have a car for the whole day. First stop: Old Goa.


St. Francis Xavier Church.


St. Francis Xavier's coffin


Walking on water on Morjim Beach


Sunset at Morjim Beach

BEACH EVENTS
Anjuna Beach. We were looking for a spot to lay and soak in some rays when I pass a few Indian men gawking at some caucasian chick in a black bikini. By the time we got on the other side, they made themselves comfortable by sitting on the sand with arms folded, a few feet from her. The beach isn’t crowded because it’s off peak (peak between October to June, I think) but these men will have a blast during peak season.


Getting a massage on the beach … what a luxury, right? But for some reason, I was so disturbed by what I saw, I have to share this with you. A few feet away from where we laid our beach towels, an Indian woman was changing into her bikini and her boobs were spilling out in front of this small India man. It turned out the small Indian man was a masseuse but would lay his hands on her er, private parts. She then pushes his hands away (or attempt to) and try to cover those parts but he would try again and again. When he was done with her, he walked over to us and asked if Merv and I wanted a massage. Merv politely declined with, “I don’t like to be touched” and he walks away.


On this very same spot, we were also attacked by a group of what Merv calls “scavengers”, who blissfully displayed their products on our beach towels and won’t leave until we buy something.


View from a nice little beach shack on Anjuna beach.

We had dinner and dance at Baga. It’s off peak so we were the first customers at the restaurant and the first (and the only ones for the next 3 hours) to hit the dance floor. The club we picked was pitch black when we got there because there were no power in the area and I guess three foreigners were not important enough for them to turn on the generator.


SPICE FARM
The first 1.5 days was sunny and nice but the rest of our stay in Goa was rainy and gray so we decided to go inland. We visited a spice farm that provided lunch (with complimentary lemongrass tea and on request, a tiny shot of feni) and during off-monsoon seasons, you could bathe with the elephants. I was petting Babu, the male elephant when I heard Prem and Merv snickering behind me. Apparently, Babu’s 5th leg appeared out of nowhere. I wasn’t sure if I should be amused or afraid of an elephant with a hard-on.


Can you spot his 5th leg?


Spice farm


Feni

PANJIM
Panjim is a charming little Portuguese influenced town. We stayed at Panjim Inn, which was a bit pricey and had a bad stench from the river across the street but overall very comfortable and clean.


Celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi on the Goan streets with fireworks.


Must be nice to have an open-air washroom


Little kids hanging out by the window.




I can't remember his name but the man with the hat is the Panjim Inn owner.

A few hours before our flight and what better way to kill time than to have a bottle of Portuguese wine at Hotel Venit. Merv and I shared a chicken Portuguese dish that is pretty tasty but Prem's mac and cheese was a bit disappointing.


Casa Mendes rose


Hotel Venite

More Goa Pictures