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Sunday 7 December 2008
Palolem Beach, Goa

So it's time to face your fears. Scooters.

Evan and I needed to book our train to Kerala so we could go to this ashram. I also needed to use the ATM, and we wouldn't mind visiting some other beaches in the nearby area. So we took one scooter, and I went pillion. I was crapping myself frankly, but I knew I had to do it as otherwise I'd be stuck there.

So we did the ATM and then went to the train station, but the counter only opened at 3, so we went to Agonda Beach just to the north. It's damn quiet there, probably bigger than Palolem but hardly many buildings, only saw a couple of restaurants. We had lunch then went back to the train station and bought our tickets. And then home.

I'd survived. There were scary moments when we were going fast but we got through it. Still not keen on driving one myself through.

I go for a swim afterwards and then chill out as per usual. In the evening we go to a fish restaurant that young David has found and we all have a meal there. I have a sneezing fit as the cold that I've had for the last day comes into its own. I work my way through the entire serving of paper napkins at our table and have to ask for more.

After that my cold has calmed down so we make our way back to Alpha Bar where I was promised a long open mike session. We make our way there through the dark lanes behind the beach only to find for the third time that it's closed. We find out later that it had been raided by the police after we left the last time, and for “security reasons” (read: not a big enough bribe) it was closed down permanently.

There's another open mike at the Royal Touch restaurant so we make our way there. Unfortunately as it's lateish, the line up is full and there isn't any room for us to go on. As I'm coming back from the loo I have another major sneezing fit, and I see it as a sign that I should head home. I sit and watch a couple of songs anyway, including a woman with a bad voice doing an acoustic cover of Madonna's Please Don't Tell Me to Stop, which actually works quite well with her shaky voice. It gives it an air of honesty and vulnerability.

Anyway, there isn't enough to keep me there so I head home and get some rest.