Christmas in Goa

Goa is a bubble. Much more than I thought it would be.

First things first: the food. Every restaurant here has foreign food as their main meals, indian is secondary. Also, most serve BEEF and PORK! I had a beefburger the other day! Then bacon! (I realize this doesn't sound too crazy, but for Hindus, the cow is holy, and there is a big Muslim population here too so usually no pork). There are also supermarkets here (!) with only foreigners inside, and where you can find pretty much everything from back home.

The beaches are an endless succession of bars, clubs, and restaurants pumping out psy-trance and techno all day and night. And there are thousands and thousands of foreing tourists (not just backpackers: honeymooners, families, many hippies, groups of friends here for the party...) sunbathing, drinking, and tripping. A lot of Russians and English. It's really like coastal Spain, a mini Ibiza, and this is the biggest culture shock I've had so far.

I'm staying in Anjuna, which has a lot of foreigners, but just down the coast to Baga there are more Indian tourists: Groups of hunky guys in wife-beaters with their ray bans and cigarettes, drinking on the beach. Light-skinned girls dressed like westerners, and speaking in English, while ordering the priciest items on the menu. The crowds here are so different to the people I've met on my travels, it's like another country.

I was really looking forward to a break from India, some westernness, but this is too much.

The towns of Panjim and Old Goa are nice, with many remnants of Portuguese colonialism: huge white churches, colourful villas, and Portuguese shops and street names.

The train ride down here was delayed 13 hours, but ended up being really nice. Met some good people on the train that I jammed with at night, and spent most of the day watching the amazing views; the people and food would change as well at each station we stopped at. Christmas was spent with my friend Dustin (met in Mumbai) and a few other guys just chilling and playing cards, it was nice.

2 days later I was hitch-hiking to see Dustin at his hotel and got a ride from a foreigner who had just rented a scooter. 20 seconds from leaving, and as we pick up speed, another bike approaches from the other side. My ride (an Englishman) doesn't seem to want to/be able to move to the other side of the road. Before I can say anything, we collide head-on, and we're all on the ground! No one was hurt but both bikes were pretty messed up.

Other than, not much else has happened. The days are mostly spent lazing on the beach. It's nice, but I'm looking forward to moving on. Hampi next!

Here's a picture of my hotel:

Soundtrack to my trip at the moment: Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.