The Goan Odyssey

By now, we were accustomed to all adversities. Things could not go downhill from here. We continued walking through the museums and the churches. Halfway through, we both realized we were not enjoying but instead, we were worried about the car. There were ways for things to go downhill from here. What if some lad decided to scratch the car. The crocodile guy would not be happy at all.  As soon as we realized that we both were deeply troubled, we decided to take the car back. Verum DT alla... Al DT! On the way back, DT realized she didn't get the chance to put on her shades anyway. It would be better to just sit in the car with the shades on.  At least in the car.  She put them on and sat there, while I silently drove back. Not at all how we planned. I was in a hurry to reach the rental and place the car safely in the guy's hands. Halfway through, DT told I was speeding. I didn't feel so, but I slowed a bit to respect her wishes. When we reached the place, ...

Certain things that don't catch your attention, later on, are very much visible when they become crucial to your existence. We learnt that when we looked around desperately. A little way behind the road was a big compound with a small house, slightly elevated, in the center. DT started banging on the gates and called out loud. No response. I, CID of the India. No take pen. Menon. Menon come. Aa avide vannu. Ente neck pidichu. Pidichu. Veenu. Pena pocket il kayari. Kandilla. Out came a black dog, which jumped on the fence and started barking ferociously. DT backed off a little. An old lady put her head out of the door, glared at us with suspicion and asked what happened. We expressed our plight in whatever ways we could. "Car. Tyre in the field. Help!" She finally understood and scolded us for putting the car in.  Well, that was needed... maybe.  " Aaj Gaanesh hai na ?" Athinu... As per her theory, we should have known better than to put the...

Heads bowed down in shame, we walked back to the rental. Little croco guy asked for ID proof and before I could take out mine, DT offered hers. The guy took DT's pan card and locked it, before DT could say anything. That's when it struck us. The guy was keeping it as a security. DT was worried. When she expressed her concern, the guy expressed an even bigger concern about his car. The car came. i10 was now replaced by Swift. It was a bit bigger than what I had in mind. But that's all he had. DT's friend had strongly suggested to take photos of the car before we start off. We went one step further and made a full length documentary of the car's damage (the rain did add to the effect). I wondered why the guy was so worried about this car. The guy asked to take a video of the fuel reading. I did. Then, he said to return it with the same amount of fuel we took it in. I got in, took the car from the narrow lane and reached a wide place only to realize I cant see th...

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! Our room @ Hard Rock Hotel, Calangute 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 th...

Aluva At last! A sight for my sore eyes... our first stop! What took you so long, crazy Indian train? After constantly checking our mobiles, we reached Aluva - at exactly 1 hour after the time we should have. It was dark outside. Google showed a nice restaurant with an above 4 rating - Kerala Kitchen. We took the prepaid auto to Aluva old market. The auto driver didn't know Kerala Kitchen. So we switched on Google maps ( of course! ) and moved forward. In between, the maps took time to update and we went in the wrong direction. DT yelled, "The other way!" - as soon as the map updated. At the end, Google showed an arrow saying it was close by. Apparently, the destination was in the new market. The auto driver scolded, saying it was in the new market and why did we say the old market. Ahem, sir... Shouldn't you be the one knowing the directions? We were irritated, too. We got down and decided to walk. Around 200m. And there... stood a very small restaurant ...

Friday morning. I did my last round of packing and set off to office. Had to get out by noon. Pic Idea Courtesy:  Deepak Narayan When I mentioned that I would be going to Goa to Prashobh, his first question was, "Are you going for Feni?" "Who is Feni?", was my quick question. I think he was sorry he asked. (Apparently, it is the local beer that Goa is famous for.) I shrugged my shoulders and tried to focus on checking in online for our flights to Goa. Sreejith promised to go over my travel plan to give me an idea on where all we should visit. At his desk, we opened Google maps and I told that we planned to cover the Basilica of Bom Jesus and Immaculate Conception Church and maybe hang around Panaji in one day - maybe check out the museum of Goa. And next day, start from Chapora Fort and come down to Vagator, Anjuna and whatever beaches were on the way and finally reach Calangute - our place of stay. The third day just before vacating the hotel...

"Let's go for a trip." These five words are easier to utter than we think. When I said this to my roommate, she made me realize it was easier to agree to it, too. DT asked, "Where?" To that question, we both did a quick check... which took about 5 hours. Travelling inside India was the only option, due to some of DT's constraints. We sat and thought. Manali? Verdict: At risk, due to the tension between India and China. Why, China? Why? Kashmir. Too risky. Punjab. Too far. Travel time would eat up our hols. Delhi. DT's been there. Rajasthan. DT's been there. Bangalore. We both have been there. Chennai. Been there. Hyderabad. I've been there. How about Goa?  Hmm... Dear Zindagi. The movie had a left a beautiful picturesque Goa in our minds. Let's go there. Sounded good enough. People were always travelling there. Let's find out what the fuss was all about. Goa is not so far from Trivandrum. Wel...