Goa I, 04.11.03

Hello Everybody

Well, it is quite a while since my last mail, but this was due to the very slowly and unreliable connections in those parts of India, which discourage one from sending long emails, cause usually there is some powercut or the connection breaks down just when the message would be ready to send, and its just not fun using the internet when it is so slow an unreliable...

But thats enough of my cheap excuses...

So what did I do? From Aurangabad I went by a deluxe Bus (only the name is deluxe in this indian buses) in direction of Hampi, unfortunately I could only go half way to Hampi in this overnight bus, so I arrived in the middle of nowhere early in the morning and there where no more private buses, so I had to continiue my journey with government buses, which should be rewarded for the invention of the most unconfortable seats you could but in buses. So after another 8 hours beeing tortured in this buses, I finally arrived in Hampi.

Hampi is an amazing place, the climate is quite tropical there, and the village is surrounded by banana plantations and of course the remains of the old Hindu Empire once situated there and to add some more excitement, the ruins of temples and palaces are surrounded by unnatural looking rock formations, one thinks, that those round big boulders on top of the hills have been put by men on their place, but they are too big and heavy.

So it was a great place to wander around through the ruins and climb over the rocks and just enjoy the very special atmosphere of the place...

Another good thing are the nice restaurants there, the "mango tree" for example, as its name might suggest, is situated under a 300 years old mango tree which provide the customers with a comfortable cool shade, where you can enjoy an excellent Thali (Rice and cooked vegetables) served on a fresh banana leave...

Unfortunately it was almost every day raining, and it always started to rain, when I hab hardly a chance to escape it, like when I was crossing the river in one of those nut-shells they called boat...

Well, and now I have to finish it, cause the UPS will only last for about five minutes, ant than the power will be gone....

So, more later today

Martin

Goa II, 04.11.03

Hello, here I am again...

Ok, after some days in Hampi, I was in the mood to leave, and I booked a train ticket to Margao (Goa). Even thought it is only 300 km the train took about 9 hours, which was a rather boring experience, the landscape just does not change fast enough in front of the windows, to really enjoy the journey, and there are also those iron bars in front of the windows, which makes one feel like beeing in a kind of prison. But the good thing about train journeys are the various food and tea sellers which board the train at every station, so one dont have to starve during his journey....

Right for the Diwali evening I was in Margao (Diwali is the Hindi equivalent to christmas), so the whole city was garlanded with lights and everywhere in the streets there where people celebrating with fireworks, well, more or less just firecrackers, which made me almost deaf with their explosions...

After another flea invested hotelroom, I was glad to move to the beach the next day, and I stayed a couple of days in Benaulim, in a guest house just at the beach. It was a quiet place, almost to quiet, so I moved further north, to Anjuna, famous for its flea marked and its rave partys (some years ago).

But never the less, it is a more lively place than Benaulim, and the beach is nicer. Again I stay in a very nice guest house just at the beach, with a big garden with palm trees to span your hammok in between.

But there is not much to do here, so I am spending my days laying on the beach and reading books and going for a little swim in the sea...

And in the evenings you can go to one of the numerous restaurants to eat whatever you would like, they even serve beef! Well, I dont trust those indian meat dishes, so I stick to Rice and Vegetables, and of course a nice cold Beer...

But I am going to leave soon, cause it is just too boreing and it seems that Goa have had its best days behind and slowly degenerates into one of those spoiled beach resorts who could be anywhere on any beach and doesnt have to do anymore anything with the rest of india... well, maybe it never had, at least it was until the '60 under portugues rule...

Well, it is nice to go swimming in the sea and to read books, but I couldnt do this for 5 month, like the other guests in my guest house, who told me that they will stay over the whole winter here, in Goa, better they than me...

So, many greetings from the sunny, sandy beaches of goa, and I hope it is not too miserable in switzerland and that the sun makes it through the clouds one or another day ( even in Villigen)

Martin

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