Hey guys you can see some photos of my time in Goa. I will catch up with my blog tomorrow.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=100077&l=7c417&id=638355506
I arrived in Mumbai & was very unlucky to got a very horrible taxi driver to take me to the domestic airport. He was very mean, demanding money from my country, which I didn't have. I gave him $5 dollars & he said that it would take over an hour to get to the airport. I knew he was lying so I said that I've been to India many times & he sheepishly said that I will be there in 10 minutes, I was dreading what was to come!! Luckily my taxi driver in Goa was a very friendly Goan guy called Sam. I shared the taxi ride to Arambol with a nice couple Frank & Lynne. We arrived early in the morning the taxi ride was cool, the mist was starting to clear revealing a lush green countryside, I was happy to be in India.
Arambol is the most northerly beach of Goa. It is very nice here with a mixture of backpackers & hippies. It is very chilled & so far I really like it. I'm staying in a really nice guest house not far from the beach. On my first night there was a power cut, I surprised myself how calm I was (I'm a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to the dark) I fell a sleep listening to the snake charmer in the next room.
I visited the beach the following morning & met a lovely Goan girl called Paula, she walks the beach every day selling sarongs & jewellery. We talked for ages & I helped her with her English. In the evening I met up with Frank & Lynne & went to the beach for a bonfire party.
Over the next couple of days I went exploring, visited the lake & then I found myself always drifting to the beach. I met Sai a local taxi driver who was my guide, on the back of his bike we drove through winding roads out of Arambol, passing through villages & rice paddies with great views of the countryside>. We stopped at Querim beach were I had a swim & then we visited Terekhol fort, which looks like a castle from a fairytale, it was stunning. It has now been turned into a heritage hotel but was well out of my price range !!
I met a really nice guy called Scott from London, who is a long timer in Arambol he took me to Cookie Walla's (the best place to hang out in Arambol) everyone knows Cookie he is so friendly & welcoming & makes a nice cup of chai. Scott & a few of his friends were going night fishing at Querim beach & invited me along ( Scott seems to be able to live here for so long by selling fish to the local restaurants, sometimes it might be only one fish!). We was fishing from shore, it was pretty cool fishing at night but unfortuetly we had no catch & had to pack up early as some locals said that elephants were coming. The next day I was ill, I had never felt so bad. I just had to sit it out & wait for the bug to pass through. The next day I felt a little better, Emma's mum Anne & sister Hannah arrived so will chilled out on the beach for a few days. One evening we visited Lokkie, a cool cafe that holds jamm nights, it was really lively. We all took part in a exercise were we had to open up our hearts, I was with some 60 year old dude from the US, we had to sing "my heart is open for your love" he was really into it, I was rubbish & felt a little uncomfortable but he said I was doing great so I carried on trying to keep a straight face!
After a few good days in Arambol we moved on to Anjuna, I was happy to be moving out of my beach hut, leaving behind the family of rats that had moved into my bathroom, the nest of ants & the spider that took a liking to my bed! Emma finally arrived from Thailand, we chilled out in a very nice hotel with a pool. We met a lovely girl called Amrit who hung out with us for a few days. We visited Mapusa, taking a local bus which was crammed but nice to travel with the locals before bargaining hard at the market. It was a nice few days here.
I then moved further south to meet up with my sisters in Calengute, we only used is as a base as it was horrible & full of packaged holidays & very crowed. I was so happy to see them! I was totally spoiled. We visited the beaches more south of Goa, Paloleme was our favourite. It was really chilled out & the sea was a lot calmer here so we could go for a swim. We enjoyed great food & pampered ourselves everyday. We had lots of catching up to do, I had such a lovely week, I really had missed them!!