Michele in Goa

India in email:
Michel, 4/11/03 Goa
"Hi All,

Jamie and I just spent the last 3 days in idyllic splendor in Goa. We were mostly at a remote beach town in the north named Arambol and it was really beautiful. Our guesthouse was set about 1/2 kilometer away from the water and we had to walk through a field of palm trees and cows to get to it. Or the other way was through a small town lined with hippy clothing stores and restaurants serving Israeli food and pasta and watered down Indian food.

We had interesting reactions to the place. We both thought that it was incredibly beautiful-- so lush and green and we rented a scooter for two days (Jamie is very very brave) and drove around to the different beach towns and visited different places-- but we were both also repulsed by the other tourists around us. Yo, don't they know that it's just not cool to walk around in technicolor Om shirts and short sarongs anymore? Or that one does not walk around with a g-string on on an Indian beach where Indian women swim with their saris on out of modesty? Yo, hello, the rave is dead, really. (And thank goodness).

One of the most memorable scenes-- we were eating breakfast this morning at this beach shack and we noticed a cow on the beach. On closer inspection, we also noticed a blond woman in a thong doing leg lifts while a blond hippy dude in a rainbow sarong played with a happy blond kid-- all were surrounded by a pack of beach dogs. Finally, it seemed like the cow had enough and so it decided to head back to safer less sandy pastures.

There were lots of german and english tourists. We unfortunately did not meet any Israelis although that was my goal for Goa. We did eat Israeli salad but it sucked. There were lots of signs in Hebrew and the bookstore had Hebrew books.

Goa really was a breath of fresh air after Bombay. I initially thought we were never going to get out-- we couldn't even figure out where and how to get on the train but we made it to our second class sleeper compartment and I promptly fell asleep, experiencing air conditioning for the first time in ages, and when I woke up the next morning and looked out the window-- SPACE. wow. No slums, no hoards of people, no smells of shit, just space. And the Arabian sea is incredible to swim in. Warm and clean and gentle, like a giant salty bathtub.

We are currently in Panjim, the capital of Goa, a city but a smaller one. In some ways it reminds me a little of Liabon in its architecture and the way that it feels. The cathedrals help a lot. We oddly passed a store before that was devoted to all things Portugese. It didn't really seem to fit in though. It's interesting how very Christian Goa is-- there are churches everywhere and for the most part, Christian Indian women do not wear saris or salwars but they were suits. There still are many Hindu temples and shrines of course.

I would now like to comment on two comments that I received from folks re: frisking richshaw drivers for 3 rupees. First of all, I would like to comment that it was done in jest and the rickshaw driver and I were smiley all the way across. Second of all, I understand that India is a place where foreigners should expect to get ripped off and because everything is SO SO SO cheap here, it makes it more acceptable, especially because people here need the money so much more than we do, and a little goes a long way. However, I get extremely pissed when a rate is agreed on and the other party then changes his/her mind at the last minute. This isn't fair. Maybe if he/she had tried to rip us off from the very beginning, that would make it ok. However, to so blatantly do so is not cool at all. Does that make sense? It's the principle of the issue.

OK, again, the blog is at www.whiteyonthemoon.com/india.html

We will leave tomorrow for either Hampi or Hydrabad. Not sure yet. I'm itching to head north though as it is getting HOT.

Love,
Michele"