GOA is not Magilligan or Bettystown
Trip Start
Apr 20, 2004
1
3
21
Trip End
Mar 30, 2005
Bangalore,
India
Saturday, May 1, 2004
Now where do I start, I know that most of you will get this on Monday morning. You have got to trust me that this was not my original intention :) I had planned to add this entry earlier in the week but the stress of lying on the white sandy beaches of GOA got to me. I was unable to bring myself to update the travel pod. Ooh everything you have heard about GOA is right. It is a real paradise. We have never holidayed anywhere like this in our lives before. It was nearly too relaxed as the season officially ended yesterday a lot of the tourist amenities where closing down. We still had a couple of kilometers of beach to ourselves
The food and beer where excellent and very cheap. Unfortunately we are getting used to having to eat out every night. I realise that eating out is not every ones cup of tea but we will have to grin and bear it :)
Apart from lying on the beach we did do some tourist stuff as well. Last Tuesday we headed to a spice plantation. The new things that I learned is that Vanilla is the most expensive spice in the world. The stuff we get in our ice cream is shock horror a fake synthetic ingredient. All the rest of the interesting facts where missed by me as my Irish body was struggling against the 40C heat and humidity. I really did believe that I was melting. Who needs the Atkins diet!
We also had the pleasure of going to a really cool club in GOA on Wednesday night. For a cover charge of 10 Euro you had the benefit of a free bar all night. To say that this is a recipe for disaster for three Irish people would be a understatement. Suffice to say I thought I was going to die on Thursday and have promised myself that I will not get drunk anywhere where the temperature the next day will be 40C
You guys would love the driving here. There are no rules and you can overtake whenever you wish. Its OK because most people here are Hindu and will be reincarnated. Unfortunately being Christians we are screwed but our concern has not been noted by the local taxi drivers. For instance when overtaking and you meet oncoming traffic on that blind hill doing 10 mph in your 500CC 1950's taxi. Don't worry the guy coming the other way will probably slow down and let you in. I think on most journeys it is best to sleep or think happy thoughts.
We left GOA yesterday and our flight was delayed for three hours. It was also canceled as well and then rescheduled. Apologies for the pun but it really was a case of too many Indians and not enough chiefs. In hindsight all I will say that it was the worst flight I was ever on in my life and the three of us where extremely nervous. I was going to do the pope thing when I landed:)
We arrived in Bangalore last night and our hotel is in the thick of things. Initially this city looks a hundred times more developed than Mumbai. It also has a lot of western influence. Domino's and Pizza Hut are right outside so we might try a pizza later. If Xerox where ever to come here they will get a shock though don't believe what you read in the western media about the super infrastructure here.
Tomorrow we go to Mysore and take our first tentative steps on the Indian rail network. Should be fun. From there we will head to Kerela for you guessed it some boat trips on the backwaters and to lie on the beaches. From there the world is our oyster.
As a footnote when we arrived in Bangalore last night Des took us to his favourite restaurant. There was a Disco on upstairs. It was a Queer disco. I think Des has some questions to answer.
Des only joking, thanks for taking your holiday time and spending it with us!
Thanks for your time and I hope we brightened up your Monday morning
