The Other Side!

"Maybe next year!"

We left Shikara assuring the manager that we would not mention the state of the towels on any review sites:- so we haven`t! (We also told him we liked the location, the service and the value for money, and we literally didn´t bring up breakfast - though we could easily have done so!) We were at the taxi a bit early and the driver got excited at the prospect of making it to the imminent ferry. We weren't expecting to be able to go this way so we were excited too:- followed by scared as he raced down the narrow roads and sounded the horn to delay departure and wait for us. They are erecting a bridge across the River Sal, as otherwise it is the ferry or a long diversionary drive. To us the bridge looked the same as last year, but there were signs of life, and the driver said it might be finished next year.... Mmmm! It took about 10 minutes on the ferry and 5 minutes later we at a stop monitored by the police!  We told the driver it was fortunate he had just put on his official shirt, but he said it wasn´t a traffic check but filming. Again! This time it was apparently something to do with coconut oil! We were held up for about ten minutes, but then sped down to Palolem, where we were greeted by Prakash´s wife and taken to our huge room. It was immediately clear that John and Tracey´s foam rubber mattresses would not be needed. There is now an enormous bed with a deep European-standard mattress, and above the bathroom is a stack of various previous offending ones. Downstairs there is now  a cookery school as well as the good restaurant and we have wi-fi from 9am to 10pm. Our residency has a number of long-stayers, and has been described as a cross between Fawlty Towers and One Flew over the Cuckoo´s Nest! We fit in perfectly!

 

.So off to The Office to see if it was staffed! We knew of some who had needed to send apologies, but Peter and Maggie have been on duty since the New Year, and Bob and Geri are doing most of the season, as is Pat (though John has gone to UK) and Brigitte from Switzerland arrived just after us. This gives a quorum for Beer O`Clock, but daytime activity has been modified in the light of an insane council ruling that this season there are to be no sunbeds beyond the boundary of each beach bar. Mohan has put a dozen closely packed ones up from the beach between the huts, and this is OK, but down below it´s a case of just mattresses with umbrellas. The pond life at the Nest has re-surfaced and makes its presence felt from time to time, but we seem to have missed the worst of it. Not much else has changed! The fireworks notice has been removed and we have some sort of display from somewhere on most nights. There seems to be less live music in the evening (and some is quite bad!), but the open-air cinema at the Steak House has been excellent. We saw Les Misereables and Django Unchained. This year´s "Very Apt for Goa" award goes to Life of Pi, of course. (Best Exotic Marigold Hotel being disqualified as we had seen it before!)

 

From the list of "Differences between Up North and Palolem" (see previous blog) we have seen plenty of everything except Toddy-Tappers. We can also add that prescription spectacles are also cheaper here. Bob had a pair of "all singing, all dancing" made for 5100 rups (about 65 GBP), and the Russians seem to have migrated en masse back up there to the relief of many.

 

Yesterday was the nadir of our experience as absentee-landlords. That´s another story.  The next post will be from Croydon (Ah, bliss!)

 

 

 

Bollywood Night and Goan Soft!

This post is being composed during a spot of Vasco de Gama´s Revenge during which Ruth dare not stray too far from civilised sanitation! We are having a month in Goa and have been here a week. The last two occasions have seemed a bit like freebies (apart from return UK flights, return domestic flights, insurance, visas and vaccinations, of course!) as we started depleting the Sainsbury/Tesco Airmiles, but now they have all been turned into Avios and are barely worth the paper they are not written on, and the London-Mumbai flights were going to cost so much in uncovered elements that we could have spent as much on the whole flights with an airline other than BA and saved the Avios for something else. (Like what?) However after due cursing of Tesco for doing this, shared sentiments about getting on a bit, and Bob´s expressed desire to work his way through BA´s in-flight movies and wine selection we bit the bullet and booked the same route again with a pathetic subsidy from Avios.

Our outward journey went like clockwork, starting with the usual cattle-herding of Ryanair, then smooth exit at Stansted with time for some Greene King (first beer for 3 months for R!), fast coach to Terminal 5 where once again we got a member of staff to check us in, food and bev goodies from M and S and a shuttle to Premier Inn. The last represents a gesture of economy over previous Heathrow hotels but was very good indeed! The Mumbai flight was half-full, entertainment good on Films, too US-based on TV, food uninspiring and we landed early. The new terminal is not quite finished so there was bussing and then potentially queuing, but we played the Senior Citizen card and jumped to the front. We topped up with Duty Free French wine to the maximum and proceeded to the domestic terminal in the only way possible which makes Ryanair look like The Ritz! And then a funny thing happened!

1.30 am or so February 5^{th :} In Mumbai Domestic Terminal Father Christmas is sitting patiently waiting and occasionally ringing his bell! Around him there are many young and giggling people with no luggage, some people looking uncomfortable in faux airline uniforms, and some men doing some lighting rigging. Santa engages us in conversation about the Women´s Cricket World Cup and the joys of East Sussex. People with clipboards arrive, some seats are moved, girls are given new tops to put on and a Christmas tree is brought in. We hold our ground! We know seats are precious in these hours until check-in desks open at 3.30, and now new arrivals are being directed by the police away from the area. We are told that we are OK where we are, but later we are politely asked to move because filming is about to begin. R says there is nowhere to sit and she needs a chair. “OK then, but please keep your head turned away from the camera!”

And so it was that she found herself in a Bollywood Movie!

The excitement and embarrassment became too much and we moved through to the quieter bit and so had our first Kingfisher by 3.45am, domestic flight  left early, we got a taxi at Dabolim  and were swiftly in Cavelossim, desperately searching for our hotel!

Last year we had two occasions to visit this area:- Betty´s Cruise with The Office when we were intrigued by the River Sal´s mouth, and the trip to meet Ken and Kate (Paleo) who stay regularly just to the north, during which we loved the long quiet stretch of beach. So this year we planned ten days based in Cavelossim. We booked through UK based Sunshine Holidays who have always served us well for cheap and cheerful. We had a voucher, a name for the property, a mental map, a (non-functioning) mobile contact and a vague image of the site from their website. After a lot of U-turns and shaken heads we eventually tried a place that had the name Luisa by the Sea over it. This was right! There is obviously some story as to why this two-pool complex of one-time lavish privately-owned bungalows and a few rooms changed its name but doesn´t publicise the new one. Anyway it is perfectly located for both beach and restaurants, and we have a large airy room with a big private balcony and a view of the main Mobor road and (just) the sea. Fellow guests are Russian and Russian, with the odd bit of English from folk who may still own one of the villas.

(Bob has been waiting for the moment to shout "Pussy Riot good  - Putin bad!")

Mission accomplished in terms of exploring said river and long expanse of beach! We rode bikes beside the river to the final bit of beach at Mobor and spent the day at the Blue Whale. We were delighted with it all, and even quite liked the dogs sheltering under the sunbeds, but by mid-afternoon it was unbearable in terms of dogs fighting and chasing. We rode back along the beach – which is a wonderful experience. (Update:- As R languished Bob rode an even worse bicycle all the way up the beach to Benaulim and back!)

Yesterday we did Betty´s cruise again, sitting alongside a party which surreptitiously scattered ashes and flowers out at sea. Just as good as last time except for absence of Office friends, and we saw a good lot of both dolphins and birds (including Brahminy kites, an osprey, cormorants and bee-eaters. We also met a very nice Aussie couple of silver  travellers and picked up some tips, and a Geordie who was attracted by Bob´s Cropredy T - shirt.

Brahminy Kite

We will soon be off to Palolem. We overheard Brit tourists bad-mouthing it after a visit. We, however, are looking forward to the differences – a case of chacun a son gout! The beach here is striking by its sheer length, but it is not as sheltered as the bay at P. and was a bit frightening in the waves at times. There are plenty of good restaurants with all the trappings of European service and décor, and there as many dentists, night time fireworks, botox merchants and punters, jewellers and opticians as one could wish for! Second only to the Russians for numbers are British elderly couples, many of whom seem to have been nowhere else and love it. Not many good bicycles for hire here.

Nor have we seen here:

• beach huts for rent
• cattle and pigs on the road (let alone in restaurants)
• dreadlocks
• backpackers
• muesli on the menu
• toddy-tappers
• tuk-tuks in any quantity.
• open air cinema
• "pond-life" Brits

We can´t wait!