Lost in Goa
After indulging in water sports in Goa, we started moving toward our rented Kinetic. What! we did not remember where we parked it. All exit points looked same to us. Sand and shacks everywhere. And you know what, when we asked for the directions, we were told that we were still at Candolim beach and not Calangute! Calangute was just a road away at next turn! We spent 15-20 minutes to search for our bikes, but no avail! 😦 I was getting tired, hence I was very chauvinistically suggested that girls should sit at Barista so that guys could get the bikes! Well, we girls revengefully ordered most expensive drink at Barista, hoping to get it paid by absentees. 🙂
At a Goan Disco
At night, we decided to go to famous disco called Tito’s at Bagha beach. They were having a full-blown party-cum-stage show that night that cost 4500/- for a couple. There was a long queue that would have easily taken us 20 minutes to buy their tickets. The show was too crowded inside as well. We decided to go to Mambo’s that was adjacent to Tito’s. It was also crowded, yet comparatively it was not as suffocating as Tito’s. They were charging 1200/- per couple. We were starving for dinner. So we verified at the counter, if they did serve food. They answered yes, a false claim that we were to discover later in edibles. 😦 Once inside Mambo’s, we were told in the kitchen that only kathi rolls were available. I guess that night we all had only kathi rolls, drinks and hookah. I had gin and tonic. I don’t remember what else I drank that night, but I remember being bit tipsy. 😛
We again met the two couples from our parasailing boat. One of the girls was shying away when we exchanges hellos. Her friend explained, “She is feeling embarrassed because she threw up in boat this morning.” Oh that! We hastened to assure her that it was ok. We shaked our legs for few hours on dance floor and had a vanilla-flavoured hookah before retreating to our hotel at night. Crime free Goa, my troupe says.
Next day, we went to Anjuna beach. We walked through the flea market and I almost did buy a swim suit. But I rejected it when it was clear, on a closer look, that it was too revealing. We went to Vagatore beach and Sinquerim beach. We sat on the walls of Fort Aguada. We looked around, clicked pictures (that were ruined, we discovered later).
Rescue at Goan beach
At Vagatore beach, we were having lunch at a beach shack with a balcony facing the beach. It was there we witnessed a live rescue of a man drowning in the beach. It appeared that a man had gone to beach after taking drinks too many. He went little deep into beach and was carried away by the treacherous high tides on the beach. The man was actually gone too far and would have drowned if the life guards hadn’t intervened. It took three lifeguards to get him to shore as the drunk victim was pushing and pulling them into deep waters. The three lifeguards were tethered to the shore, while several other lifeguards were holding the rope and pulling the rope from shore, sensing that this rescue had become difficult. Eventually, this man was saved.
But as soon as he reached shore, all the lifeguards who were just 10 minutes ago using all their might to save him got thick bamboo rods to beat him! Man, I was scared. I stopped eating my lunch. They all seemed determined to draw the man’s blood. Did these lifeguards save him for this? Understandably, man did not seem drunk anymore. The women folk in his family-his sister, daughter, wife-they all pleaded them to spare the men by falling at the feet of lifeguards. They were crying hoarsely at their feet. I think that the worst thing that you can do to a human is to strip them of dignity. The sight of women weeping and holding feet of lifeguards was too much to bear. This was real life, and no soap opera. My friends said perhaps lifeguards now want money. Nevertheless, someone called police that arrived promptly and was taking statement from the victim. They all said that he could be arrested. I could not find out on what grounds. We left though, immediately after!
Next day was new year’s eve. More to come.
Read previous day posts here:
Visceral Observations 
Luks like your Goa trip was quite an experience.
To be continued….(agle episode mein aap dekhenge, ki new year eve pe poonam ne kya kia, drunken man ko dubane mein kiska haath tha….)
What is this, a trip or a thriller series?
😉
@Liju: It was fun. I want to go back again. Also, I want to send my parents there. Though this time it wouldn’t be during new year. Everything is so exorbitantly prices during this time.
@Anshul: Ha ha…I can also hear the sound effects that usually accompany such to be continued messages in daily soaps on TV. 😀
Yes, this rescue bit did become a thriller but seems like it is a common occurrence in Goa.
The cost of a holiday in India is what beats me. For a fraction of that cost that i spend on a holiday in india, i can easily visit thailand or kl or singapore. Its riduculous that we need to pay 1500 rupees surcharge on a 500 rupees air ticket. If you count in the fare of a reasonably good hotel, then you are stuck.
something drastic needs to be done. also i wish there are more budget hotels in India. With more than a lakh hotel rooms being built, hope things will only improve in the years to come.
@Liju: Yes, that’s what my friend said. With the money we spent in Goa, we could have a great time abroad. Next time, a trip abroad. 🙂