some pictures in goa

lunch at the beach

susi

church in panjim

garlic and ginger

anjuna market

on the boat to anjuna

at my place

susi at anjuna

baga beach

baga beach

vagator beach

vagator

these are just a few pictures, it seems i can only upload one at a time here and it takes quite a while here so if anyone wants to see the full albums that are on facebook, you can email me your email at meyergabes@gmail.com and even if you are not on facebook i can send you a link to the photo albums.

one more week....

well i have one more week in goa, i booked a train ticket today to go to hampi, which is in karnataka just east of goa. i leave next tuesday at 7:30am and arrive at 4:30pm, so not to bad a trip. i'm excited to move on, it's been amazing here and very relaxing but it's time to see some new sights, although i will miss being able to go to the beach whenever i want. i was going to go to kerala next but have decided to change my plans as i've heard it can get quite busy there over the christmas/new years season and prices double. so i will make my way there after new years.
i took a trip to panjim yesterday for something different then the beach, it's the capital of goa, it was about an hour on 2 busses and cost 15 rupees each way (0.40$) they are rickety old buses and i'm surprised they don't fall apart the way they drive them. we had to stop for gas on the way in, imagine being on the bus in the city and it pulls into the gas station.....there are no bus stops you just tell them when you want to get off and hold your hand out if you want them to stop and pick you up, they slow down a bit and you hop on, i'm getting good at it.
tomorrow is another day at vagator beach, it's about a 20 minute taxi ride from us, but a beautiful quite beach, susi likes it alot as do i......

p.s hi shane i wish you guys were here with me as well, laying on the beach having your feet rubbed, drinking pineapple juice and $1 beers......no chicken yet though....

hot! hot! hot!

today was another hot and humid day and night.....i feel like i am constently sweating. i keep thinking i will get used to the heat and stop sweating but it hasnt' happend yet. i can' t imagine how it will be when i leave goa and there will be no beach to jump into whenever i want.
today i went to another market in a town about a half hour away called maupsa, it's different then the other markets as it's not really geared towards tourists. susi's neighbour and friend brigette who is from italy and stayes here for 3 months wanted to get some plants and fabric so i went along with here. maupsa is not actually anything special but the market was pretty cool, tons of fabric shops and spice stands. i bought a bed cover with 2 pillow cases in a nice green with some designs on it for 850ru ($22cad) that's my biggest purchase so far. tomorrow is the night market again so i may have to do some shopping as i think i'm leaving goa in about a week or so. susi has been feeling sick the past few days with a cold, (how you can get a cold in this heat i have no idea) so i've been hanging out with Bee (brigette) or on my own, doing alot of reading and swimming. not much else to report on right now, hope everyone is well.......

MY FEET ARE CLEAN!

so as 95% of the ground here in baga is sand or dirt your feet are always dirty, no matter what you do how many times you wash them they seem to be a little brown. but today the daughter of one of susi's neighbours came over and gave us pedicures. so for most of the day i have managed to keep my feet relatively clean.
i have moved out of susi's now and into a hotel called alidias, it's beautiful has a pool which is surrounded by palm treas, it's like a little quiet oasis. it's not to expencive my room is 800 rupees a night which is $ 21can. it's alot for india but i'm hoping it get's cheaper after goa or i might be home in 4 months! it's also because i'm alone, i have to pay for a double room. but i have my own shower and two beds to choose from. there is a family of geckos sharing my room, but i don't charge them anything, as they eat the mosquitos.
last night i went to the saturday night market with two of susi's friends, as she was not up to coming. it was and amazing market, beautiful jewelery, fabrics, clothes and food stands from all over, greek, pizza, chinese etc.. also in the middle was a stage where live music was playing and a dance floor. kingfisher beer stands and a local wine stand which i did not try as i'm not sure how good the wine is in this heat. even beer seems to go warm before i can finish the bottle, nothing is ever really cold.

DAY 1-5

so after 28 hours in transit i arrived in goa on a lovely saturday afternoon, susi was waiting for me at the airport with a taxi. it was about an hours drive to baga which is the town where she lives. we arrived just in time to watch the sun go down on the beach and have a cold coffee. susi lives in a lovely small house about a minute walk from baga beach, she has a beautiful porch with a garden and it's where we spend most of the time when we're home. people keep telling me goa is not like the rest of india, it is very much geared towards the tourists. most people speak english and every restaurant has western, chinese, french, italian and indian food. the beach is lined with shacks that all have beach chairs to lie on and they all try and get you to sit at their shack. susi has the one she always goes to so that's where i go as well, nobody just lies on a towel on the beach. they have a couple guys that stay down by the sunbeds to take orders when you want something, water, juice, beer, food, massage.....
it's been pretty relaxing so far, nothing to adventurious, the biggest decision of the day is when to go to the beach. on tuesday we went to another beach about 2o min away that was beautiful. you have to walk down some steps built into a clif it's alot quiter and the water is calmer. yesterday we went to the next town called anjuna, every wednesday they have a huge market, it was pretty crazy, everyone wants your money. there is a restaurant on the edge of the market on the beach where they play live music while the sun is setting.....i'm staying with susi till tomorrow then moving into a hotel about a minute away from her for the next month.
so far the food has been great and i haven't had any tummy troubles, we have yogurt and fruit for breakfast, then usually lunch at the beach shack, sometimes indian, sometimes a grilled cheese with tomato if i need a break from indian, then we either have dinner at susi's or go out. well i'm off for a swim, it's getting pretty hot in this internet cafe. xoxo

A day away.....

tomorrow i will leave vancouver for up to a year to travel in and around india, i will use this blog (if i can figure it all out) to keep you all up to date on my whereabouts and goings on.  hopefully also posting pictures, (again, if i can figure out how to).  so stay tuned, for some hopefully interesting stories........