Why Palolem? Well - mostly because Dick and Jane are here! The consensus is that development has greatly spoiled the state as a whole, but mostly in the North. We are very far South! The Lonely Planet Guide says that the village's nickname is Palaga on account of loud British single-sex groups, and there certainly is some of that; (In fact last night there was an invasion of bimbos in neighbouring rooms!), but this is harsh! It has a 2km beach - fairly wide - and at the two ends - away from the easy vehicle access - it is very civilised!
Behind the whole beach are tall mature coconut palms, and amongst and in front of them are the restaurants, bars, kiosks and "resorts" - collections of beach huts of varied sophistication. All of this is completely dismantled in May or thereabouts, only to be reconstructed in October. The motivation is the monsoons, but it does also mean the holiday companies are fended off. It would make a better account if we were staying in a crude beach hutraised on stilts, and indeed some are very luxurious with full bathrooms; but we asked D&J to find something a tadge better, and we are therefore across the road in a solidly built guest house. In both directions from our beach are plenty of others. Bob walked over one headland and found two very quiet ones - including Patnem.
The bars here provide free sturdy and very comfortable sunbeds. On arrival we were introduced to The Nest (or, as we know it - the Office). It is run by Mohan and his English wife Ellie. This has become our hub for beach life. The list of "What's not to love in Goa?" is a very short one. (It might get an airing at some future point). On it is the total lack of wine worth paying the price for! The compensation is Kingfisher beer - as sold in many a British curry house! 33cl for 50rupees (0.75 GBP) or 66cl for 70 or even 60! There is a cheaper brand (Kings) but that is less attractive!
At 5.30 pm or so the clan of Office British long-stayers (and hangers-on like ourselves) assemble for Beer O'Clock. A major topic is "Where to eat?" With real resonances of Paleohora this can be a long discussion, because the choice of places is huge, and the differences between their menus and their quality quite small. So there might be report on runny dhal at X, small portions at Y, or slow (even for Goa) service at Z. As two of the Office contingent are restauranteurs from Devon we have a lot of fun with gastronomics!We might also have on the agenda "Bad behaviour by Russians". This is significant because there are a lot of them about. There are direct flights from Moscow to Goa, and now there are Russian-orientated bars, menus etc. We will hold off the full stereotyping whinges about them for the moment, They are not popular!
Or we might discuss"How to get here more cheaply" - a topic that is starting to interest us!
And then the sun sets, we go off to our variously hot or cold showers! Some might return for the night shift and the magnificent Honey Bee:- local brandy that is very moreish. We have developed signals for ordering:- flapping hands means Kingfisher - the same with buzzing is Honey Bee! easy and very silly!
And.. a few days ago there was Bollywood filming further down the beach, which caused a flurry! The film looked dire! We watched take after take of one minute of mass dance in bizarre costume. The location catering looked good, though!
