Goan Rhapsody 2.

A trip to Goa is incomplete without sunglasses, sunblock, and shorts. Leave your jeans behind. And don’t forget your digi cam, beach bag, and floaters. I looked like I was going on a holiday from the very first step I took out of my house. But the one thing I didn’t really think about, which I should have, was food and medicine. I took the wrong pills thinking I could cure my self the next morning. I was partially right. But I didn’t take the accompanying medicine which would counter the nausea the first pill brought. But it wouldn’t have made a difference any way. Food poisoning doesn’t go away in a day. Although I did my best to ignore it and pretend I was ok.

I really took care of what I was eating. Breakfast at Infantaria was a simple affair for me, even though I was dying inside when I saw all the food the others had ordered for themselves.

By afternoon I got my prescription medication from my doctor and I was barely hanging on. But not once did I think of going home. We went shopping for our Saturday night party wear, we went to Baga beach and were in the water at Candolim.

Candolim was amazingly clean. And surprisingly empty. After a bit of bargaining we got ourselves chairs and umbrellas because the sun was really beating down on us by then. The guys who owned the umbrellas offered to give us ‘Jasmine’ foot massages (for a price). We politely declined. All the others wanted to go in the water after some time but I just couldn’t work up the nerve. I have a bit of a fear, of the sea. If I enter the water beyond a certain point I start panicking. Stupid, but true.

But little by little I did go into the water. First till my ankles, then knees, and then till my waist. But that’s about as far as I was willing to go. Entering the water made such a difference to the weather. It seemed to go from blazingly hot to amazingly cool. It felt like heaven and we were behaving like kids, holding hands and jumping at the waves and splashing around. We let the sea take over.

Theres a good Shack-like eating place at the edge of the beach called Sunny Side Up. Pretty decent. We were at the beach for as long as it was possible, and then we made our way to Mapusa market.

It was yet another really long drive. We’d noticed that whenever any one told us that something was 5-10 minutes away, it usually translated to half an hour atleast. We ultimately got used to the Goan Standard Time concept. Even if something was far away it was just a matter of 2 minutes to any one giving you directions. Maybe it was because there is no traffic so long distances can be covered faster, but even 20 minutes of traveling in goa can seem like a lot, even if you count your blessings in Mumbai if it takes you that much time to get to anywhere.

Mapusa market was a bit of a let down. We didn’t know what we were expecting, but it was just like a weekly food bazaar. Very crowded and filled with local people getting their grocery shopping done. We looked really conspicuous in our shorts and singlets, so after looking around to make sure we weren’t missing anything interesting, we headed back.

The plan for that night after a coffee stop ( where we met some people that we helped out for entry at a club) and some more shopping (in the dark…power outage) was to head to Mambos which is open till around 6 in the morning on Saturdays. But by the time we got ready and were out of the apartment I lost my nerve. My condition had worsened as the day progressed and my false bravado had reached the end of its limit.

So I stayed back alone. It was a night I’ll never forget. Pride is a foolish thing to hang on to sometimes. I didn’t want to spoil the trip for anyone, and I didn’t want to ruin anyone’s Saturday night in Goa, so I stuck it out on my own. At one point I was so weak that I felt like the waves of the sea, the strong ocean tide was pushing me back and forth. Washing me away with it. I watched the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy on TV even though I’d seen it before (the guy who plays Aurther Dent is so cute) and when that was over I watched the PowerPuff girls on Cartoon Network. And after that I don’t remember much. I went to sleep some time after 3:30 in the morning.