Goa

It’s Friday, February 21^st and at 8:45PM Kate, Angela, and I are sitting outside on a stone bench on Paud Road waiting for a bus, which we booked online a week in advance for 1350 rupees each, round-trip, to Goa. After catching a minibus to the bus actually going to Goa we are sleepy, but after the twelve-hour, three-pit stop, bumpy, noisy bus ride to Goa, when we arrive at the taxi stand, we’re still sleepy.

After the pricey autorickshaw ride to Anjuyna beach we arrive at the Red Door Hostel, which was brand new and very hospitable, two hours before check in at 11:00AM. We drop off our bags and get some tea and eggs at a café right down the road. Several showers later, the entire group of Alliance students, fifteen or so, all meet up at the beach and have a relaxing, fun filled day in the water. Along the road to the beach we see cows walking and roaming about freely, a Catholic church, a Hindu temple, and lots of shops. The shopkeepers, as well as jewelry sellers, ice cream sellers, fruit sellers, drum sellers, café workers, and men offering foot and leg massages persistently vie for sales from the tourists on the beach. The tourists hanging out at the beach were mostly Russians, and so almost all of the local salespeople spoke Russian, and many signs were in Russian.

The influence and influx of East Europeans to Goa was even more apparent at the night market we went to for dinner. The hundreds of shops haphazardly lined up, selling scarves, clothes, shoes, jewelry, bags, spices, food, and almost anything else one can imagine, even chair hammocks, were frequented mostly by Russian, Ukrainian, French, German, and British people, as well as by Indian Goaians and Tibetans. A significant number of shopkeepers at the night market were European as well. This immigration, according to my tabla (an Indian drum) instructor was because of the poor economic conditions many East Europeans face in their home countries.

After a second day at the beach, we all headed back to Pune on Sunday night, for a long day of Monday classes; but Goa was worth it!