And here I am!
To be precise, in an internet cafe just off Palolem beach in Goa. Arvind and I are staying in Benaulim, but decided to drive down to Palolem for sunset. The drive involved a five minute trip across a palm-fringed estuary on a dilapidated ferry for the grand total of 7 rupees (current exchange is almost 80 rupees to the pound) for three people and a car. Palolem is a beautiful bay that deserves its praise, but what I wouldn’t give to see it twenty years ago, before every inch of the sand’s edge was obscured by various kind of shack (whether for eating or sleeping). But the vibe is still very chilled out, and the shacks themselves are at least made of thatch and rattan so it maintains a hint of the desert island feel that the more concrete-dominated resorts up the coast reportedly lost a long time ago. As the last light disappeared, we sat on the beach with some Old Monk and toasted to the friends we wished could be there.
Benaulim, where we are staying, has managed to avoid sacrificing its identity to that of a purely tourist colony, which gives it the edge for me. It certainly runs on foreign currency, but the crowd feels older and less gap-year, which contributes to its gentle feel. We’re staying in a simple place a few minutes walk from the beach and a room-temperature ocean with enough waves to keep me entertained. It reminds me hugely of Bali, complete with dusty football pitch, stray dogs, and roosters welcoming in the morning.
We arrived in Goa last night after a fantastic (exhausting) twelve hour drive from Bombay. We left the city at 5am, which is a lovely time to see it before it explodes back into life, and wended our way down through Maharashtra into Goa. The heavens blackened and opened just after we crossed the state border, which felt somewhat ominous, but the downpour was over as quickly as it had begun and was unseasonal enough to claim a place on the front page of today’s paper.
The Goa expedition came on the heels of a lovely few days at Abhinav’s parents’ home in Bombay, where I was taken exquisite care of as always. Highlights being a sunset walk along Marine Drive which served to ensure that I realised I was Back, having a whisky and catch up with Abhinav’s Dad on my second night, and dinner at Oh! Calcutta on Thursday – Bengali-style fish to die for. Oof.
Now we’ll head back to Benaulim in 25 degree evening air, and tomorrow, who knows? Beach perhaps…?
