GOA....

Next up….Goa!!

Goa has the smallest airport I have ever seen. A small building for a terminal along with a runway beside it constitutes the airport. Passengers have to walk to the plane to get on. Now days Indian flights have become so cheap because of cost cutting that they charge you even for water, sandwiches and juices served commonly in any plane. Goa is generally a place for friends and couples. Dil Chahta Hai perfectly depicts the Goa’s scene. A place to relax on the beaches and occasionally enjoy the water rides.

It is a very friendly place in general. But the people loot the foreign tourists like anything. You won’t believe it how much they raise the prices. I bought a gift (Ali your basuri) for which they said 600 Rs. It’s crazy. For which I bargained and got it down to 75 Rs and I still feel I got robbed. The funny thing is to hear the village ladies (bhanhanji’s) selling stuff in the flea markets speak English in accents better than the English. It’s so funny man. Ali you would go mad. I wish I recorded it. Also many white skins are not only tourists, they are residents too. They have come and loved the place so much that they decided to settle down. The fact that I didn’t know about Goa was that it was ruled by the Portuguese till 1961. So many stayed back and began to reside there.

Goa is football crazy. It is unbelievable. Every 5 kilometers you can find a football pitch and players playing professionally like with referees and in jerseys and everything. That was good to see.

There are many churches and temples to visit for all the religious people. So there you go. Then there is the Agwada Fort where that famous ship scene was shot in DCH. For the rest, beaches are best place to just lay back and sleep or take a dip and play around with the nasty waves. Occasionally if you are lucky, you may get a live show. (if you know what I mean) Just one thing, stay of the Indian-occupied-part of the beach. You seriously don’t want to go for a swim with Indian bhanhanji’s who go to the water wearing saris and salwar kamiz and the men go in with transparent vests or dhotis. Just find your own private spot or relatively empty place.

The water sports are awesome there. I was over at Baga beach. We got see dolphins for free, we were just lucky I guess, otherwise you have to pay 300 Rs to go by boat to the deep sea and get a glimpse of them. Our dolphin came near the shore. That was kind of cool. I went for parasailing and water scooter rides. The good thing is that it is not that expensive. The scooter is for 200 bucks which you can bargain and get it down to a 100. Parasailing is 500 – 600 for Indians and 1000+ for white skin. Seriously parasailing was an experience which nobody can forget easily. A different feeling altogether. You can also go for Scuba diving buts that quite expensive, it will come around 2700 Rs. Overall, I was quite impressed with Goa. It is a very good holiday spot. For all those going to Bombay or Bangalore, they can go to Goa on weekends to chill out and have quality fun. It’s worth it.

India - Delhi and Jaipur

Just been Blogstipated for a long time now, don't know sometimes you have so much to write that you don't know where to start and finish. And sometimes you transcribe so much that you don’t want to touch the key board ever again.

Yea where I left of…Delhi. I don’t want to seem hypocritical as against my last post but as the days went by I began to fall in love with the place. It somehow seemed to grow on me. Talking to the people, the auto drivers, the internet café dudes, the Indian footballers with whom I played football, everyone just began to make feel at home. Dubai is a foreign land no matter what. I do not belong to this country and it makes me feel like that. There is so much to do there other than just hanging around in malls for time pass. Delhi might be a place without any sense of civic conscience, none at all. But sometimes having none can make it more fun and exciting. Everyday was an adventure, literally. Something new is going to happen and you know it. Going to meet Harry in Gurgaon, my sister in a remote place, family members millions of miles away were just awesome experiences and people you meet along the way can be quite interesting. In Dubai, it has become a routine. You either hang out in this mall or the other. It’s just that I am bored of this place. I am frustrated of all the black and white I see here after coming from a place full of color. I mean, in India, people celebrate anything and everything. I don’t like the whole concept of religious ceremonies and pujas, but I have realized it is nothing like that. It’s just an excuse for people to hang out, chill and more importantly socialize. It’s an excuse because people live so far away from each other that they can hardly meet unless for such occasions. My point being, somehow Dubai does not give me that emotional attachment, which every citizen needs, even though I have lived the crucial period of my life here. Delhi may not be as developed as Dubai, but it still gives me a sense of happiness and belonging that Dubai will never be able to provide. I belong there, I do not belong here. If it were not for my friends and school, I would have stayed there much longer.

Let’s cut the crap of comparing Dubai and Delhi and move on to Jaipur. After the long and delayed train ride to Jaipur from Delhi we found Harry waiting for us at the station. Sweetu!!! His farm house is one of the coolest and the scariest places I have seen. They were both partly because of Harry and his pregnant horses. He had raised our expectations of his farm house very high and it did manage to keep up with it. Starting from dogs to geese, they were all there. At day, his place can be quite fascinating with cats chasing mice and the dog chasing the cats. From pregnant horses fooling around to geese being presented as gifts, it was all happening. At night the place is freaky as hell. From Harry sleep walking and running around screaming like a crazy to Ali calling Satan and the lights going out followed by a thunder storm, rare in Rajasthan, and then the horse’s neighing and windows breaking and stuff. We almost believed that Harry was possessed.

First day we went to see the sophisticated-bitch-play, “Piano for sale.” Harry you screwed us. The play was so bad that most of the audience left at half time. We met Harry’s cool Uncle and Aunty who had the funniest dogs in the world, Buddhu Singh and Gabbar Singh. They made us laugh very much so. I still can't get over those two and Harry head butting Gabbar was just too funny.
Swimming in the rain in a pool full of rotten leaves and flowers was just awesome. “Swimming fighters…deadly positions…very nice!!”

Cycling through the village was interesting where we got some fantastic shots, saw a camel posing for the camera and the word SEX in big letters in the middle of no where. Who would have thunk? Happy happy times....seems only yesterday we were there. Time flies when you are having fun. Life?! :)

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. and Mrs. Kapoor (Harry’s parents) for keeping up with us for 4 days. Harry's mom for controlling Ali’s desire to kick a cat. Thanks for letting us stay and have a great time. I say this on behalf of Ali and I.
For more photos please check my facebook.

To be continued….