Eliot and I came to Goa on saturday the 6th and have stayed here ever since. for two nights with stayed Horrible Harold the landlord at the Comfort Inn. The place was amazing, and the manager wasn't sooo bad, just really gruff and weird. He looked just like Chuck Hughes, for those in the know. lots of cool pictures of frank frazetta-esque female araby around. pretty great, actually.
on monday morning, i awoke at 7:00 from the most recent in a strange series of dreams i've been having with the resolve to lay the past to rest, and ride my nards off biking and working hard to explore this wonderful country. we set (not sail. wheels?) for the north beaches which are an old hippy strong hold that apparently went the way of the club / dance scene and then collapsed leaving ... well, accounts vary. we went to investigate.
passing the festival of something-or-other in several small towns along the way, we came a beautiful beach in an area called (i kid you not) "Disco Valley." don't let the name fool you - the beaches were pristine, the fort on the cliff was impressive, and the accomdation prices were gringo-riffic but there was no boogie-oogie-oogie happin' here. in fact, all the little beach communities in the north were dominated by, as eliot put it, "a scene." i called them "no-good doped up smelly hippies." take your pick.
tarnation, but there were hippies everywhere. and not the cool, lord of rings reading, plastic-fantastic fightin', fun loving ex-hippies of yesteryear. ooooh no, these were the nappy-dreaded, "like whoah, man," euro-trashy hippies that haunt beaches and forested music venues like plauge rats on a galley. we were bit off-put, as you may be able to gleam from my description, especially since our previous experiences revolved around locals, cheap eats, good conversation and exploration. we just didn't feel like settling down into an established tourist scene and "passing the doobie on the left side" you know?
so we biked back to panaji only to find our room had been taken. shucks! we looked around and found an almost-equally as good room right around the corner. we rested up.
today we took a self-destructive 80+km roundtrip to margao to buy train tickets to go to bangalore on thursday. that will take us deep into the heart of the country to the "silicon valley of India." should be interesting! not only do we have a family to stay with for a few days (thanks so much Samuel, Danny and Soya!) but our buddy seth arrives in the wee hours of saturday to join us! soon we will be a trio, and we'll be ditching the bikes when he arrives so look for more adventures by foot, boat and (fingers crossed) jet-propelled rocket pack.
until then, we are resolved to day trip out of the city, seeing beaches and wildlife preserves while we soak up the sun and eat well in panaji. our accomadations are excellent, the tourist trade through the town drives food prices down and we can bike away from the city to some of the most untouched stretches of beach in asia. it's been a nice break and definetite change of pace from "MUST GO SOUTH" all the time. still, sedentiary is not our style, as today's massive bike journey proved, but day trips keep the exploration in while giving us "home base" or a place we know we can return to at night.
keep peddling, ghost-followers.
Showing posts with label go go gadget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label go go gadget. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Go-Go Gadget Goa
Arise with the sunrise, as per usual, and leave the so-and-so hotel in so-and-so town. in just one or two days we would be in panji in goa. if we were to meet the alscasians, we would have to hurry. we made good time in the morning, cover about 30km in two hours. we managed to convine one of the three-wheeled truck wallas to give us a ride in the bed of his vehicle and covered about 15km before being dropped in the historic city of Savantvadi. ithe beautiful town is situated around a lake with many shops, fine bridges and old fortifications. if you have the time, stop over. worth a tourist photo or two.
from there, the weather had heated up, so the ride got much tougher. fortunately we hit a big hill and after some rugged climbing, hit the top and began the cruise down. zipping through the narrow bends of the downhill pass brought a welcome breeze to our sun-scorched bodies and we spent several minutes relishing the feeling as we dodged fully-laden trucks, motorcycles, potholes and monkeys on the road. seriously, folks: if you have the means, you must come bike the western ghats. the insane up hills are worth it for the equally insane downhills. do as i say, not as i do - wear a helmet.
unfortunately, the other side of the hill was even hotter. as we battled ever-rising heat with ever decreasing shade, we pumped the pedals to blow through a series of small towns before enthusiatic holi participants could get their toxin-stained little mits on us. we cross the border into goa about 13:00. no shade, few trees and a searing 95 degree heat meant we were in for a tough ride, slow going and potentially dangerous camping. being a tent with unguarded bikes in a snady expanse is a good way to attract snakes, bugs and bandits - a term i had never heard used seriously or literally until i came here.
fortunately, we flagged downa goods carrier truck. a couple of young guys let us stow the bikes above the cab, as we rode inside with the bags. they took us the remaining 40km to panaji, but not before we were stopped at a police check point and your old pal drew was called in to talk to the cops. i spent a tense 10 seconds staring at an indian police customs agent- nototriously corrupt dudes - hastily answering questions before he asked the truckers for 50Rs in "baksheesh" (bribe) before letting us go. whew.
in the end, the truckers were nice guys but their one long nail, gaunt looks and insistence that we pay them more than the ride was worth left us feeling a bit uneasy. to be honest, they are probably only slightly crooked, like much of the infastructure of the country. we arrived safely and reminded ourselves that even though things were fine and safe, in teh future we should barter more and discuss pricing and stuff up front. back-ending your transactions is a good way to get overcharged. there was never any fear that these guys would harm us or steal outright from us - that sort of thing is extremely rare here. but still, be careful. again, do as i say, not as i do - i trust myself and i trust eliot so i know that in a scrap, we'll deal and be fine. but in your travels, exercise caution when doing dumb gringo stuff like taking a ride with strangers.
a new lesson learned, we loaded up and headed into panaji. the former protuguese stronghold feels just like a tiny european town, complete with tiles rooftop cafes, winding streets and a heavily trafficed waterfront. finding a great room (Rs.600 for two nights! safe, secure, great windows, good beds - tourism definetly drives prices down!), we spent the night visiting a book store, watching a thousand-person street festival and then heading back to the room for a kingfisher, a little BBC world service (such a a treat!) and a good rest. i nod off to the breeze billowing our curtain, the sounds of the city dying under the police curfew and the knowledge that tomorrow, for the first time the trip started, i can sleep in ...
from there, the weather had heated up, so the ride got much tougher. fortunately we hit a big hill and after some rugged climbing, hit the top and began the cruise down. zipping through the narrow bends of the downhill pass brought a welcome breeze to our sun-scorched bodies and we spent several minutes relishing the feeling as we dodged fully-laden trucks, motorcycles, potholes and monkeys on the road. seriously, folks: if you have the means, you must come bike the western ghats. the insane up hills are worth it for the equally insane downhills. do as i say, not as i do - wear a helmet.
unfortunately, the other side of the hill was even hotter. as we battled ever-rising heat with ever decreasing shade, we pumped the pedals to blow through a series of small towns before enthusiatic holi participants could get their toxin-stained little mits on us. we cross the border into goa about 13:00. no shade, few trees and a searing 95 degree heat meant we were in for a tough ride, slow going and potentially dangerous camping. being a tent with unguarded bikes in a snady expanse is a good way to attract snakes, bugs and bandits - a term i had never heard used seriously or literally until i came here.
fortunately, we flagged downa goods carrier truck. a couple of young guys let us stow the bikes above the cab, as we rode inside with the bags. they took us the remaining 40km to panaji, but not before we were stopped at a police check point and your old pal drew was called in to talk to the cops. i spent a tense 10 seconds staring at an indian police customs agent- nototriously corrupt dudes - hastily answering questions before he asked the truckers for 50Rs in "baksheesh" (bribe) before letting us go. whew.
in the end, the truckers were nice guys but their one long nail, gaunt looks and insistence that we pay them more than the ride was worth left us feeling a bit uneasy. to be honest, they are probably only slightly crooked, like much of the infastructure of the country. we arrived safely and reminded ourselves that even though things were fine and safe, in teh future we should barter more and discuss pricing and stuff up front. back-ending your transactions is a good way to get overcharged. there was never any fear that these guys would harm us or steal outright from us - that sort of thing is extremely rare here. but still, be careful. again, do as i say, not as i do - i trust myself and i trust eliot so i know that in a scrap, we'll deal and be fine. but in your travels, exercise caution when doing dumb gringo stuff like taking a ride with strangers.
a new lesson learned, we loaded up and headed into panaji. the former protuguese stronghold feels just like a tiny european town, complete with tiles rooftop cafes, winding streets and a heavily trafficed waterfront. finding a great room (Rs.600 for two nights! safe, secure, great windows, good beds - tourism definetly drives prices down!), we spent the night visiting a book store, watching a thousand-person street festival and then heading back to the room for a kingfisher, a little BBC world service (such a a treat!) and a good rest. i nod off to the breeze billowing our curtain, the sounds of the city dying under the police curfew and the knowledge that tomorrow, for the first time the trip started, i can sleep in ...
Friday, February 12, 2010
sidi
i've decided to name my bike. i noticed alot of guys who do these long trips give their bikes names, from girl's names to physical descriptions to stand-bys like "old reliable." after some thought, i'm naming my bike Sidi.
Sidi Mubarak Bombay was an African dude who was captured by Swahili tribesmen and sold for a few bolts of cloth. He shipped off to Zanzibar to serve an Arab merchant and traveled to India. When his master died, he was freed and decided to go back to Zanzibar where he served in the Sultan's army. He ended up back in the African mainland, where he met up with a bunch of honkeys from england, namely John Harring Speke who was trying to find the source of the Nile (spoiler alert: it's Lake Victoria [kind of] or Lake Tana, depending on if you're following the White or Blue Nile). He agreed to go with him and the two set off speaking nothing but Hindi to each other since it was the only language they shared. Later, when Henry M. Stanley (the guy who fought on BOTH sides of the civil war - i kid you not) went looking for Dr. Livingstone (of "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" fame), Sibi was chosen to be in charge of the whole caravan - including some 200+ porters.
it's tough to find much information about him other than he was apparently incredible nice (if occasionally temperamental), super helpful and one tough hombre - he was constantly fighting off banditos, tribesmen, and slavers during his various expeditions. he fought in armies, he worked as a slave, he travelled the world and he helped out dumb white dudes. i would ask the same of my bike.
Specialized Crosstrail Sport - I christen thee "Sidi." Long may we ride together, wild and free. Arise a knight.
ps - my back-up choice was "Varthema" which, in addition to sounding like a kingdom full of tolkien-esque dwarves, is the name of the first european non-muslim to ever make Hajj to Mecca. An explorer in his own write and an entertaining writer, he just didn't seem to have just the right spirit. Something about pretending to be something you're not bugged me. Hence, Sidi.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
countdown: 7
[[ soundtrack: cloudkicker ]]
god willing and the creeks don't rise, i'll be in the international terminal of the Houston airport this time next week. until then, this has become my life:
boxed up books and records for lauren today. she's being amazing with me leaving. i'm sure it's not easy or fun for her to watch me box up my life and leave the country for 3 months. but she's being super encouraging and in an act of what seems to be only slightly-less-than-pure-generosity, is taking a selection of books, my DVDs and my records to her house for safe storage. go-go gadget girlfriend.
called a storage place that'll keep my stuff for the next three months for much less than i thought i'd have to pay. gotta keep boxing stuff up. coming from a family of pack-rats and bibliophiles, i have boxes and boxes filled to the brim with books. besides that, everything i own seems to be 4 lamps, a 48-star flag and a painting of edgar allen poe.
new pictures of the bike coming today or tomorrow. the new bag configuration is highly efficient and awesome. plus now my pepper spray is actually where i can get to it. as i said, pictures forthcoming. the lesson learned? pay for quality when you can, but a little thought and a little elbow grease go a looooooong way.
god willing and the creeks don't rise, i'll be in the international terminal of the Houston airport this time next week. until then, this has become my life:
LISTS, LISTS, LISTS
boxed up books and records for lauren today. she's being amazing with me leaving. i'm sure it's not easy or fun for her to watch me box up my life and leave the country for 3 months. but she's being super encouraging and in an act of what seems to be only slightly-less-than-pure-generosity, is taking a selection of books, my DVDs and my records to her house for safe storage. go-go gadget girlfriend.
called a storage place that'll keep my stuff for the next three months for much less than i thought i'd have to pay. gotta keep boxing stuff up. coming from a family of pack-rats and bibliophiles, i have boxes and boxes filled to the brim with books. besides that, everything i own seems to be 4 lamps, a 48-star flag and a painting of edgar allen poe.
new pictures of the bike coming today or tomorrow. the new bag configuration is highly efficient and awesome. plus now my pepper spray is actually where i can get to it. as i said, pictures forthcoming. the lesson learned? pay for quality when you can, but a little thought and a little elbow grease go a looooooong way.
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