The Smell of Freedom
Taking our bags, we walked out of the airport to find it raining. Umm... this was not expected. How would the beaches be?
Our packing scene the day before and the checklist quickly ran in front of my eyes.
Sunshades - Check
Sunscreen - Definite check. And a check.
Umbrella - Not needed but if the sun is too hot. If there's space in the bag, maybe...
Rush to the present scene... Thank God we brought our umbrellas!
Took prepaid to Hard Rock Hotel, Calangute - we were ready to check out the best bed ever.
The place looked beautiful. Very green. We reached the hotel and got an early check in - a room with a pool side view.
Hard Rock Hotel offers free 6 hour crash course to learn guitar and on request, they send an electric guitar to the room. I declined the offer. I was way past the 6-hour crash course. Anyway, I didn't need an electric guitar to play Jingle Bells or Mary had a Little Lamb.
The receptionist mentioned that there was a DJ coming that night. Okay, once we are done with the roaming, maybe we can come back and check it out.
Our pool side room was somewhere in between a maze. That was unexpected for a hotel this popular.
We got in. I opened my bag and found that water had not seeped in yet. I quickly moved my clothes out and left the bag open to dry.
I ran to take a shower and dressed up so that the selfies for the day would look awesome.
Hunger was to be satisfied. Our next step was to have breakfast. Or better yet. Take a rental car and go somewhere really good.
We walked to the nearby rental. Crocodile.
An old man was reading the paper. We said we wanted a car to rent and that we needed to know the rates. After the whole story, he asked us to sit down and wait. He wasn't the owner. Chumma njelinju irikkuva, alleyo...?
Since we were in a hurry, we asked when the owner would arrive. To that, he called the owner and checked where he was.
Not sure exactly how the conversation went but the guy at the other end must have said something like he was just going to have his breakfast. To which, the old man blasted, "Abbeyy! Nashtha kar rahe hai tu? Jaldi aa... Customers yeha hai... Tu aana!" (Are you just eating breakfast? Come fast! Customers are here... You aana - I mean - you come!)
I cringed. Definitely at unease. We waited.
I had a mental picture of the guy owning Crocodile. A heavily built, 6-pack guy, covered in tattoos. Wearing a leather jacket. Possibly a gang leader. A gang leader who was just now denied breakfast.
I'm going to die here, amn't I? Should I call my parents now?
If I was uneasy before. Now I was petrified. I looked at DT. She seemed cool.
Five minutes later. A fat guy comes on a moped in a t-shirt and shorts. Turns out, he is the owner.
With a girlish sound he asked us our details.
Ee cheelu paiyyan aano owner. We both stretched and leaned back on our chairs.
We asked the rates for taking the car for a day. The owner kept saying it was expensive for a day. We finally asked, "How expensive is it?"
1800 for a day. 1200 for 2.
We both were thinking 1200 for 2 days was way cheaper than 1800.
Again, we asked to check if we heard it right. He said 1200 for 2 days.
Then we enquired about taking the taxi. 2500. The old man was the driver. He would take us to Old Goa. Creepy old man was way more to handle than 2500. So, we opted out.
We thought. And finally decided 1200 for 2 days was some deal. So, we said we will take the car for 2 days.
The car - i10.
Do you have a smaller car maybe? I asked in my head. A nano?
The guy asked for one of our IDs.
I took my license out. He said to keep the license and to give another proof. I gave my PAN card. He filled in the details and finally put the rate as 2400. We both were stunned.
Err... 1200 for one day. Ah, that makes more sense. The journey to Goa had tired us out and we weren't thinking.
Just then 2 boys walked in asking for a 2-wheeler. The guy said for 2 days he would charge only 600 but for one day it would be 400.
The clients argued but the owner stood firm.
Though he looks like an innocent babe, it would be tough to deal with him. My heart sank.
We both told we needed to think and we would get back to him. He crossed out the bill. I took my PAN card.
We decided to eat and think and come back, if needed.
It was drizzling outside. Google maps suggested Kenny's Breakfast Brunch, out of the closer options. Let's try it. We walked out and saw KFC just opposite.
DT queried if we should just eat at KFC.
No, DT! Not in the early morning. Let's have a proper breakfast at Kenny's. Kenny might have something really good to offer.
Drizzle changed to rain. And rain, it heavily did.
We both had only one umbrella. DT switched her umbrella with one power bank, at the last moment before getting out of the hotel.
While crossing the road, DT dropped the one water bottle we had taken from the hotel. Well, it's raining anyway. We don't need water. If thirsty, we will open our mouth and stand. No one knows us here anyway.
Google maps pointed us to the corner of a store, to get to Kenny's. That didn't look right. We walked assuming some directions. And finally we found the board showing Kenny's. That's it? Just a board. We looked around us. The place looked very awkward.
U-turn. We walked back towards the hotel, hoping to stop by at the restaurant we saw on our way. One place was closed. Another was open. We were getting wet by now. We ran in.
The waiter came and said that breakfast was over. We checked the time. It was 11:00 a.m. already.
Okaaaay... So, KFC it is!
Should have just walked there initially. Wouldn't have gotten so wet in the rain.
I ordered a Chicken Rockin' and Virgin Mojito.
As soon as we got the order, I had to wash my hands. I walked to where I thought the wash was. The staff rudely asked where I was going.
I told them what I was looking for. They said it was at the top floor and their tone did not sound right.
Cleanliness - 4/5, Popularity - 1/5, Rudeness of Staff - 6.5/5.
Maybe they don't like people washing their hands. Is it against their culture or what?
As we ate our food, DT checked with her friend whether the rental car rates were good and what our options were without a car.
I called up Sreejith. He said the rates seemed reasonable and I should just go ahead.
So, it was decided. We'd go and take the car.
We tried to finish our breakfast fast. Not a moment to lose. I hit my paper cup and out splashed the Mojito. There flowed my drink, dripping off the edges of our table.
Dushakunam 2.
Our packing scene the day before and the checklist quickly ran in front of my eyes.
Sunshades - Check
Sunscreen - Definite check. And a check.
Umbrella - Not needed but if the sun is too hot. If there's space in the bag, maybe...
Rush to the present scene... Thank God we brought our umbrellas!
 |
| Our room @ Hard Rock Hotel, Calangute |
The place looked beautiful. Very green. We reached the hotel and got an early check in - a room with a pool side view.
Hard Rock Hotel offers free 6 hour crash course to learn guitar and on request, they send an electric guitar to the room. I declined the offer. I was way past the 6-hour crash course. Anyway, I didn't need an electric guitar to play Jingle Bells or Mary had a Little Lamb.
The receptionist mentioned that there was a DJ coming that night. Okay, once we are done with the roaming, maybe we can come back and check it out.
Our pool side room was somewhere in between a maze. That was unexpected for a hotel this popular.
We got in. I opened my bag and found that water had not seeped in yet. I quickly moved my clothes out and left the bag open to dry.
I ran to take a shower and dressed up so that the selfies for the day would look awesome.
Hunger was to be satisfied. Our next step was to have breakfast. Or better yet. Take a rental car and go somewhere really good.
We walked to the nearby rental. Crocodile.
An old man was reading the paper. We said we wanted a car to rent and that we needed to know the rates. After the whole story, he asked us to sit down and wait. He wasn't the owner. Chumma njelinju irikkuva, alleyo...?
Since we were in a hurry, we asked when the owner would arrive. To that, he called the owner and checked where he was.
Not sure exactly how the conversation went but the guy at the other end must have said something like he was just going to have his breakfast. To which, the old man blasted, "Abbeyy! Nashtha kar rahe hai tu? Jaldi aa... Customers yeha hai... Tu aana!" (Are you just eating breakfast? Come fast! Customers are here... You aana - I mean - you come!)
I cringed. Definitely at unease. We waited.
I had a mental picture of the guy owning Crocodile. A heavily built, 6-pack guy, covered in tattoos. Wearing a leather jacket. Possibly a gang leader. A gang leader who was just now denied breakfast.
I'm going to die here, amn't I? Should I call my parents now?
If I was uneasy before. Now I was petrified. I looked at DT. She seemed cool.
Five minutes later. A fat guy comes on a moped in a t-shirt and shorts. Turns out, he is the owner.
With a girlish sound he asked us our details.
 |
| Crocodile guy reminded me of this guy. |
Ee cheelu paiyyan aano owner. We both stretched and leaned back on our chairs.
We asked the rates for taking the car for a day. The owner kept saying it was expensive for a day. We finally asked, "How expensive is it?"
1800 for a day. 1200 for 2.
We both were thinking 1200 for 2 days was way cheaper than 1800.
Again, we asked to check if we heard it right. He said 1200 for 2 days.
Then we enquired about taking the taxi. 2500. The old man was the driver. He would take us to Old Goa. Creepy old man was way more to handle than 2500. So, we opted out.
We thought. And finally decided 1200 for 2 days was some deal. So, we said we will take the car for 2 days.
The car - i10.
Do you have a smaller car maybe? I asked in my head. A nano?
The guy asked for one of our IDs.
I took my license out. He said to keep the license and to give another proof. I gave my PAN card. He filled in the details and finally put the rate as 2400. We both were stunned.
Err... 1200 for one day. Ah, that makes more sense. The journey to Goa had tired us out and we weren't thinking.
Just then 2 boys walked in asking for a 2-wheeler. The guy said for 2 days he would charge only 600 but for one day it would be 400.
The clients argued but the owner stood firm.
Though he looks like an innocent babe, it would be tough to deal with him. My heart sank.
We both told we needed to think and we would get back to him. He crossed out the bill. I took my PAN card.
We decided to eat and think and come back, if needed.
It was drizzling outside. Google maps suggested Kenny's Breakfast Brunch, out of the closer options. Let's try it. We walked out and saw KFC just opposite.
DT queried if we should just eat at KFC.
No, DT! Not in the early morning. Let's have a proper breakfast at Kenny's. Kenny might have something really good to offer.
Drizzle changed to rain. And rain, it heavily did.
We both had only one umbrella. DT switched her umbrella with one power bank, at the last moment before getting out of the hotel.
While crossing the road, DT dropped the one water bottle we had taken from the hotel. Well, it's raining anyway. We don't need water. If thirsty, we will open our mouth and stand. No one knows us here anyway.
Google maps pointed us to the corner of a store, to get to Kenny's. That didn't look right. We walked assuming some directions. And finally we found the board showing Kenny's. That's it? Just a board. We looked around us. The place looked very awkward.
U-turn. We walked back towards the hotel, hoping to stop by at the restaurant we saw on our way. One place was closed. Another was open. We were getting wet by now. We ran in.
The waiter came and said that breakfast was over. We checked the time. It was 11:00 a.m. already.
Okaaaay... So, KFC it is!
Should have just walked there initially. Wouldn't have gotten so wet in the rain.
I ordered a Chicken Rockin' and Virgin Mojito.
As soon as we got the order, I had to wash my hands. I walked to where I thought the wash was. The staff rudely asked where I was going.
I told them what I was looking for. They said it was at the top floor and their tone did not sound right.
Cleanliness - 4/5, Popularity - 1/5, Rudeness of Staff - 6.5/5.
Maybe they don't like people washing their hands. Is it against their culture or what?
As we ate our food, DT checked with her friend whether the rental car rates were good and what our options were without a car.
I called up Sreejith. He said the rates seemed reasonable and I should just go ahead.
So, it was decided. We'd go and take the car.
We tried to finish our breakfast fast. Not a moment to lose. I hit my paper cup and out splashed the Mojito. There flowed my drink, dripping off the edges of our table.
Dushakunam 2.
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