A Short but Sweet Stop in Goa...

Well well well, its been a v hectic couple of days since I last wrote- mainly spent on crazy overnight bus journeys! I'll begin with the one from Mumbai to Goa...
   It didn't exactly get off to the greatest start- we were on there 2 minutes when we were told  that the bus had no wipers. In monsoon season. Great! The bus was then an hour and a half late taking off- when Pat went to investigate, he saw the driver taking the battery from a smaller bus to our one.My faith in the bus was ever increasing. But, 14 hours later, no doubt by some intervention with fate, we made it to Panaji, the capital of Goa- exhausted, but relieved to be alive!

One of the tiny Panaji streets

    Then came Close Brush With Death #3- crossing the roads from the bus station. After being stuck on a roundabout for 15mins, we decided to copy the Indian method of 'just cross and hope for the best'.Luckily, we found accommodation quickly, and at a bargain price- only 200 rupees a night!  We soon found out why it was so cheap- the toilets were truly GRIM (I won't go into why!)- but hey, it was a place to lay our heads for the night.
   Today was the day that were were booking our trains to Kerala- or so we thought. As it stands, we STILL haven't got a way of getting there! All the trains are booked out, which means we'd be on a 'waiting list' (still a little unsure of what this means...). Hence why we've made this random detour to Mangalore- we don't mind though, it seems like a slightly smaller, less dirty version of Mumbai, and random detours are all part of the fun, right?? Besides,we get to try the Mangalorean seafood cuisine, which is meant to be unbelieveable!
    ANYWAY, back to Goa! Sorry for sidetracking! After a looong first day in Panaji,and discovering there was some sort of Indian party in the room next door, we decided to de-stress in the Top Gear pub down the road. Sadly, no Jeremy Clarkson or Richard Hammond in sight, but it was a very COSY little place- there were 6 people in there (including us),and lets just say 4 more people would have made it decidedly cramped! So Pat and I shared a Kingfisher pitcher and chatted to the English couple and Indian businessmen about everything and anything, then once they had gone to the Indian owner about Indians' extraordinary ability with language. On a completely random note, I find it bizarre how Kingfisher is both a type of beer and an airline- its a bit like having Carlsberg Airlines (which would probably be the best airline in the world, right? Ha!)
    As we set out the next day with very sore backs (I think it would have been more comfortable sleeping on the floor!), we found an old Indian man trailing us, saying 'Hello? Hello?' Thinking he was going to be one of the many who ask if we want a 'taxi?', we automatically said 'no thank you' and quickened our step. However, he soon caught us up and said 'Where are you from? Do you have any stamps?' He turned out to be a collector of foreign stamps, and just wanted us to send him some stamps from Canada and the UK? Such a sweet man- v curious about what we did back home. He then proceeded to write down his address, a strict instruction to only call between the hours of 10pm and 11pm (wonder what he does the rest of the time?)and ended with the words 'God Bless You!' He was so nice that I actually felt a little choked walking away from him! I will definitely send him some stamps!
    My first Indian post office experience was also a funny one! We went to but a box to send one of my bags home, but were told in no uncertain terms that it was past the 'box buying hour'(which is 3pm, apparently,just so you all know). Equally confused and bemused by this, we headed down the road to a 'parcel packing' shop- a quaint,musty smelling place with old typewriters and pictures of Jesus on the wall! My standard idea of a parcel is brown paper with lots of duct tape- but no no, not in India! I wondered what was taking so long, when the little Indian shop owner presented me with my bag in a little cotton sleeping bag he had just made and sewn up! Very cute- just like a pillow!
   I'm sure I'm beginning to bore you so I'll wrap up the Goa chapter. Final thoughts on Panaji? A very quaint, brightly painted little town (although its Goa's capital city, it doesn't feel big) with cobbled streets, LOTS of scooters EVERYWHERE,  and lush trees surrounding the river. It was surreal seeing such a Portuguese influence- for example we headed to the 'farmacia' to get some Strepsils! Glad we stopped there though- needed a but more of a chilled place after Mumbai!

A guy just sleeping by the roadside- a pretty common sight in Panaji

   Just one more Indian encounter before I sign off. While we were waiting for the bus, we had the usual fan club gather around us- especially women who'd smile shyly and mutter 'how are you?' The meeting that really made me smile was a group of guys that came up to us, explaining they were from Gujarat- they seemed incredulous that Pat was from Canada! They kept repeating 'CA-NA-DA?' all the way to the bus, then even when they were on the bus they were still talking about it! Funny stuff!

Our very cosy sleeper bus!

    Anyway- enough from me. I will write soon about our very jolty Mangalore bus journey and Kerala experience soon (if we ever find a way there!). I'll hopefully put some pictures up soon too. Namaste! xxxx