expectations on a beach might generally include human footprints, people lounging, playing frisbee, beach volleyball, probably some seabird footprints, and perhaps some dogs frollicking around. all of these are pretty much fulfilled, but there are also hoofprints and cow dung...and herds of cattle with gnarly horns curving around their heads, nonchalauntly walking or lying beachside...and packs of dogs biting their skin catching some cool air in the shade of a shored boat.
there are some pretty fantastic restaurants too, offering a variety of food with equally great ambiance. the fresh fruit and their juices are out of this world...and there is good coffee to be found here (which unfortunately reintroduces and feeds my addiction that i just recovered from 2 days of caffeine withdrawal headaches from. but it is worth it for now. i guess i will have to rid myself of dependencies another time.) anyway, (back on course), our favorite restaurant here is called double dutch, so we continue to return. the beggars just do not give in though (the cats that is). they watch you, sit in the extra chair at the table and meow. or they treat the sandy ground beneath as a giant litter box and proceed to do their business beneath the chairs...and even theirs is not solid! hahaha
nonetheless, all of these 4-legged beasts are friendly.
and the 6+ legged and winged, i am not quite sure what it is but man, they are eating me alive!
life is good here and laid-back. it moves at a nice, slow pace. we have started to recognize some of the fellow travelers and locals, and they recognize us. but now the time has come for us to move on. we leave unbronzed...as pale as we came, but we are eastbound on an overnight bus the extensive ruins in the ghost-town of hampi (aka "humpy").
Showing posts with label arambol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arambol. Show all posts
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The Arambol Experience
i met meg and tim several hours after they arrived. in panjim (the previous town we set out from) i had removed money. taking my time to replace my card and receipt in their proper places, the atm machine sucked the cash back in. thus, i waited around until the bank opened and they audited the machine to retrieve my money. lesson learned. then, i took the local buses about 40 miles west to arombol. i have never seen a bus so crowded in my life. just when it did not seem like 1 more person could cram in, 15 more piled on. 2 1/2 hours later we arrived, i bathing in my pool of sweat. from the bus stop, i began walking toward the beach at our alotted meeting place, pack on my back. motorcycles and scooter far outnumber those of us on foot. when presented with the opportunity to take a load off, i caught the remainder of the walk on the back of a scooter of another visitor. (it was only about 1/2 mile, but it was still worth it).
we have been staying a quaint little basic hotel for $10 a night between the 3 of us. the owners are super friendly, and the man grew up in this house. "i am roman catholic. you are too." searching for a sign why he might assume that, he added excitedly, "you are american, so you are roman catholic." it was easiest to sort of agree, but i quietly added that not everyone in the u.s. is catholic.
thanksgiving eve treated us quite well. while it was not necessarily traditional, our meal was a thai feast at a beach front restaurant washed down with a little kingfisher beer. the sky was clear and the stars were shining bright. and the eve was spent discussing what we are thankful for now, in the past year, and what we are looking most forward to in the coming year. the conversations that ensued was an enjoyable and reflective way to spend the evening, focusing on our (new) perspectives and current travels.
We remain on this small beach resort in northern goa. all of us are admittedly "non-beach lovers", but upon arrival, we quickly changed our story and decided to spend a few extra days here. lounging on the beach is quite nice, but not necessarily relaxing. constantly approached by people selling sarongs and beaded necklaces and bracelets, adn silver anklets, the nice "no thank yous" just don't seem to cut it anymore. i just think to myself, "do not make eye contact" and "always wear your sunglasses...even at night". it is not that i don't want to be sociable. i quite like it, but i lose creativity for saying "NO NO NO, i don't suddenly feel like i want that beaded necklace i have now seen a million times. and i don't want my ears cleaned with whatever you are trying to sneak into my ears." but i never get tired of them asking "how or why are you so white? i can tell you just arrived to the beach." and suddenly they look blinded by my glow-in-the-dark skin.
a walk on the beach is quite enjoyable. the sand is soft and fine. and arambol is in close proximity with 3-4 other small beaches easily reached by a relaxing stroll, some with jagged rocks protruding from the sea. the beach is dotted with dozens of wooden boats and fishing net, taken out each morning for fresh catch, and dotted with even more beachside restaurants (which are fantastic night and day!)
the remainder of the 4-5 days here revolved around reading, relaxing, strolling to nearby beaches and bobbing in the rise and fall of the folding waves. not bad. and today, we mosied to the jungle around the bend, swam in the not so salty lake and followed other visitors along the short path of thick vegetation to "the banyan tree" where a dreadlocked fellow lives beneath and westerners head...for meditation or a spiritual experience perhaps?! between the backdrop of lush vegetation just beyond the palm-tree surrounded lake that is a stone's throw from the ocean, it feels like a little slice of heaven.
we have been staying a quaint little basic hotel for $10 a night between the 3 of us. the owners are super friendly, and the man grew up in this house. "i am roman catholic. you are too." searching for a sign why he might assume that, he added excitedly, "you are american, so you are roman catholic." it was easiest to sort of agree, but i quietly added that not everyone in the u.s. is catholic.
thanksgiving eve treated us quite well. while it was not necessarily traditional, our meal was a thai feast at a beach front restaurant washed down with a little kingfisher beer. the sky was clear and the stars were shining bright. and the eve was spent discussing what we are thankful for now, in the past year, and what we are looking most forward to in the coming year. the conversations that ensued was an enjoyable and reflective way to spend the evening, focusing on our (new) perspectives and current travels.
We remain on this small beach resort in northern goa. all of us are admittedly "non-beach lovers", but upon arrival, we quickly changed our story and decided to spend a few extra days here. lounging on the beach is quite nice, but not necessarily relaxing. constantly approached by people selling sarongs and beaded necklaces and bracelets, adn silver anklets, the nice "no thank yous" just don't seem to cut it anymore. i just think to myself, "do not make eye contact" and "always wear your sunglasses...even at night". it is not that i don't want to be sociable. i quite like it, but i lose creativity for saying "NO NO NO, i don't suddenly feel like i want that beaded necklace i have now seen a million times. and i don't want my ears cleaned with whatever you are trying to sneak into my ears." but i never get tired of them asking "how or why are you so white? i can tell you just arrived to the beach." and suddenly they look blinded by my glow-in-the-dark skin.
a walk on the beach is quite enjoyable. the sand is soft and fine. and arambol is in close proximity with 3-4 other small beaches easily reached by a relaxing stroll, some with jagged rocks protruding from the sea. the beach is dotted with dozens of wooden boats and fishing net, taken out each morning for fresh catch, and dotted with even more beachside restaurants (which are fantastic night and day!)
the remainder of the 4-5 days here revolved around reading, relaxing, strolling to nearby beaches and bobbing in the rise and fall of the folding waves. not bad. and today, we mosied to the jungle around the bend, swam in the not so salty lake and followed other visitors along the short path of thick vegetation to "the banyan tree" where a dreadlocked fellow lives beneath and westerners head...for meditation or a spiritual experience perhaps?! between the backdrop of lush vegetation just beyond the palm-tree surrounded lake that is a stone's throw from the ocean, it feels like a little slice of heaven.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Safe and Sound
hey guys! thank you all for your thoughts and concerned emails regarding our safety during the devastating terrorist attacks in mumbai. it is strange to hear of them as we were in many of those places a week and a half ago: the taj mahal bathrooms were the nicest around, we had drinks at leopold's, and took a train out of the main station. our thoughts our with those effected, and hope the city can recover these horrible acts, and that peace will ensue.
i had just gotten off of the bus when i noticed "breaking news" on a local tv screen, and asked about it. we have limited media access, but will be following it as closely as possible. we are quite a bit south of the city now, and are very fortunate to be far from the it...or any city for that matter. we are currently in the state of Goa, many hours south of mumbai, beachside. we will be exploring the remote beaches over the next few days via 2 wheels of some sort (yet to be determined) and our 2 feet. the action is quite different in this leisurely world where the streets are filled with long-hair, dreadlocked hippies, less clothing, beautiful sandy beaches, and drinks and food to match. while it will not be the typical thanksgiving fare, i think ours will be in the form of drink and seafood/indian food. in any case we are very thankful to be where we are, and surrounded by such wonderful friends and family. thanks again for all of your kind thoughts. i hope you all are great! happy thanksgiving!
i had just gotten off of the bus when i noticed "breaking news" on a local tv screen, and asked about it. we have limited media access, but will be following it as closely as possible. we are quite a bit south of the city now, and are very fortunate to be far from the it...or any city for that matter. we are currently in the state of Goa, many hours south of mumbai, beachside. we will be exploring the remote beaches over the next few days via 2 wheels of some sort (yet to be determined) and our 2 feet. the action is quite different in this leisurely world where the streets are filled with long-hair, dreadlocked hippies, less clothing, beautiful sandy beaches, and drinks and food to match. while it will not be the typical thanksgiving fare, i think ours will be in the form of drink and seafood/indian food. in any case we are very thankful to be where we are, and surrounded by such wonderful friends and family. thanks again for all of your kind thoughts. i hope you all are great! happy thanksgiving!
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