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Prepare to Log the Planet....
Travel Log
Travel Log
Arambol, Goa, India 29 Apr. 2002
So a friend of ours from here, Harel from Ashdod, walks by the German Bakery where we were dining for lunch and says, "I have this phone number of this guy who needs extras for a movie they're filming." Immediately the kids said, "Ask him if he needs kids too." Five minutes later Harel returns and says, "He needs all of us, but we have to leave now." Within an hour and a half we were on location in the middle of what is normally a night market. We spent two days as extras for an Indian movie. The genre is called "Masala" or mixed, and it's kind of like a musical, comedy, love story. The film is called Socha Na Tha, coming to a theatre near you (if you happen to live in Bombay).
It was a great exprience and the kids loved it. Maayan and Uriah were even part of a few dance numbers (they use extras and not professinal dancers). They paid us a bit and provided food for the two days.
As you can see, we are still in Goa. The truth is that we just didn't have the guts to leave (and we were having such a good time - we are part of the scene now). We couldn't have been closer to leaving, but as it turns out, we we're chicken. See, we had all of our bags packed, and Danna was extremely proud of getting the additional few tons of junk we've gathered into our original five bags, and our taxi driver was beginning his routine of pretending that we are keeping him from something very important. We had used him a few times earlier, and believe me he has nothing better to do. At one point Danna half jokingly said, "Maybe we'll stay." And Uriah jumped on the opportunity to harass her, a new hobby of his now that he's run out of books to read, and said, "Yes, yes. Are you serious?" Of course Danna replies, "Yes." The rest is history. I figured, as usual, whatever Danna wanted, that's what we'll do.
This story actually begins with my decision to go to Mahabalashwar to begin with. I needed a cold rinsing, but cold showers weren't enough. I was dying in this heat and had to get rid of this heat rash. The Hill Station seems like the perfect option. So we looked at a map - having lost our Lonely Planet (I was beginning to think that I subconsciously lost the book on purpose. It had only been trouble) - and saw Mahabalashwar, which Mumbains call Mahabz. Looks good to me. No one must know about it, it's so small. So we bought our train tickets, paid the extra 350 Rupees to have the agent run down to the station (one hour away) and buy them, and planned our end to Arambol. The day before our scheduled departure Danna borrowed the Lonely Planet from an Israeli friend we'd made here. She immediately began reading about Mahabalashwar. It specifically said do not get near the place in April - May, it's crawling with vacationing Indians. Wait. Isn't that why we came here, to see Indians? And the book listed the prices as "way out of your league, so what the hell are you thinking about anyway." The stage was set for a change in plans. Danna was worried and kept saying how unsure of this trip she was - more than ever before.
So it took very little to set her off. As soon as I heard about the conversation I thought, okay, let's see if our room is available and if we can get a refund on the train ticket. I went down thinking, I can't believe we're stuck in Goa, I can't believe we're stuck in Goa. I had made up my mind as well. Our room was vacant, but our train refund was not going to happen. Big deal. What're a thousand rupees among friends? We'll save much more than that by not paying outrageous prices in Mahabalashwar anyhow. In fact, now that we'll be saving so much, let's just spend the day spending more money. There's got to be an open market around here that we haven't seen yet. Now the nerdy travel agent across the road is really going to think we're filthy rich Israelis. I had changed $600 in three days just to have enough to pay the three-week hotel bill and have some left over for Mahabalashwar.
So I went and told Daniel the taxi driver that we're staying, but felt bad about it. So I asked him to take us somewhere - just to give him some work today. The market in Mapusa was the chosen place, but not before threatening a station manager and almost getting our heads kicked in by a mob who doesn't like cheeky Israelis cutting in line.
We stopped off at the Tvlim train station just outside of Mapusa to get our partial refund for the unused ticket. However, we arrived with about 30 others who had business at the same place. There is one window and each person takes anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. Do the math. So I thought I'd try my luck with the station manager. I had been told that if I need help to ask the station manager. No problem, except that this particular jerk was an unreceptive, thick-skinned nit. He wouldn't help me, perhaps because I decided not to try and bribe him - he didn't deserve the money. But when Danna tried, with three kids at her side, he threw her out of the office and ignored her cries for pity. By the way, his name is D. Padathra and if you happen to be at a train station in India, lodge a complaint about him, just for fun. He should be taken to the village square and given 30 lashes, but I'd be satisfied with a good old fashion wedgy.
We left the station disillusioned and mad as hell and with no refund. Who needs the $7 anyway. It was time to spend some real money and the Mapusa market had waited for us long enough. We had Daniel the Christian cabbie take us into the heart of the Mapusa market and let us loose.
The market isn't as impressive as Anjuna, but it had everything we needed. We have improved a great deal haggling and are usually able to get them down to at least half price. So we spent a lot. All in all the day was the most expensive in India, but we had gifts for the lot and the name of a station manager whose reputation we would smear like Holi paints all over the Internet. Never mess with an Internet Professional, particularly when he's packing a laptop.
So we settled down to 10 more days in Arambol.
Arambol, Goa, India 18 Apr. 2002
We have now been traveling in India for over three months. This is the third place at which we have stayed for more than two weeks. That's quite an accomplishment considering that this is Goa - not a place known for family travel. But we've found that being the end of the season, the number of parties is way down and the people still hanging around here are the type we like to be with. Last Sunday we even went to our first Trance party. The kids didn't want to leave, but at 10 PM we felt that they had enough.
Another activity that has kept us occupied has been henna drawing. The children and Danna each drew on each other and some of the drawings turned out really nice.
Henna drawing on Shachar
We are finally starting to buy some things. Up until now we had not bought anything. After going to the Anjuna Market twice, we started to take advantage of the incredible prices. It's the end of the season and each week the prices get lower and lower. Last week may have been the last of the season and we stayed until the end. The merchants were practically begging us to buy. So we did. It is highly recommended to get to these markets atthe end of the season. You save a fortune.
Yesterday we celebrated Israeli Independence Day by eating felafel. At least it looked like felafel. It was the least we could do considering that the rest of Israel was having a very hard time enjoying themselves this year.
Arambol, Goa, India 5 Apr. 2002
Goa isn't just for Trance parties and LSD trips. Families like our own can find peace and tranquility among the heavy beats of electronic music and florescent longies that take over the place. It has been a while since I arrived in a place I had heard so much about that my view of it was already shaped by images from stories. Like when I entered London the first and all I could think about was Peter Pan, entering Goa for the first time arouses all of those words uttered in Tel Aviv flats with Trance junkies I interviewed for my thesis describing their first acid trip. So why do I keep hearing the theme to Cheers in my head?
That may have to do with our physical state here. The first few days in Goa were riddled with minor illnesses and medical events. On the first night we arrived at Arambol Beach, our room was mistaken by a local beehive as home. Someone had apparently destroyed their previous residence, and ours was the closest available abode. Danna got stung five times trying to sweep them out of the room, and eventually we changed rooms. The next day Shachar had digestive problems that I will not go into, and the following day I (Bryan) got sick with a low grade fever. It took about four days for all of us to return to normal, and in the meantime we began to enjoy ourselves.
Arambol Beach was described to us as one of two quiet beaches in Goa, as if there are only two. Arambol is almost the furthest north and Palolem is almost the furthest south. Both, like much of Goa have quite a few Israelis, which is not surprising at all, considering it was Israelis, who heard from other Israelis that these two beaches where the quiet ones. And in Goa, there are Israelis everywhere. In season you can even order Humous and Pita at the local restaurant. In one place, Danna asked this Israeli looking girl if she had any books to exchange and suddenly some guy on the far side of the restaurant raised his hand and said in Hebrew, "I do!" Even some of the signs are in Hebrew.
What we realized right off was that this is not Varkala, but there has to be a "spring" around here somewhere. Not being Varkala meant many things, the most important is that we cannot copy the Varkala routine to Arambol, even if it is a beach. So we set out to find both the spring and the routine. They came together. Arambol has a lake at the far north end. Walk past the rocks, around the northern guesthouses, pass the rocky bay and keep going until you get to the next beach. The lake is on the right - you can't miss it. A taxi driver told us that if you come in season the lake is clearer and fresher, but it was fine for us. He also told us that the best time of year to visit is September and October, when "everything is green and fresh." But get out before the rest of the world gets here in November."
So we go to the lake every morning, come back and rest in the afternoon. It's rather warm here, like most of the south for the past two months. It's been between 30-33 degrees Celsius (86-90) and 70% humidity constantly (in Cochin I think it was 90% humidity). But we're working on our tans and spending good deal of time in water.
Every Wednesday there is an open market in a nearby beach. The Anjuna Flee Market is well known and amazing in scope and sensory stimulation.
Anjuna Flee Market
In Arambol we bought our plane tickets to North America. We can now see the end of our India excursion. One more month.
Arambol Beach
To Arambol Photos
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Logs so far:
Canada
U.S.
India
To Arambol
To Mysore
To Cochin
To Varkala
To Kakkamoolah
To Madurai
To Kodaikannal
To Thanjavur
To Auroville
To Mamallapuram
To Vietnam
To Thailand
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