The overnight bus ride to Goa was long and windy as the bus travelled throughout the night. Twisting and turning and driving probably way too quickly, the driver had no problems at screeching to a halt in the middle of the road on several occasions. Half asleep, I wondered how many more times the driver could clamp down on those brakes as he had been doing before they would finally give in and kill us all. The perils of Indian transport!
When nightfall turned to dawn, the scenary was mesmerizing. Overnight, we had gone from the busy city of Mumbai to a countryside landscape of rust coloured earth with rice paddies surrounded by giant fringed palm trees and the beautiful sight of the giant orange sun blazing over the horizon. (as lovely as the sight was, there was also the unfortunate sound of a busload of people throwing up from the ride)
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| Arambol, Goa |
Our first stop in Goa was Arambol, a hippie backpacker beach town. Filled with beach huts along the cliff side and hundreds of stalls selling alternative clothing, this is the place where you can find the original hippies who apparently found Arambol back in 60’s and decided to never leave.
We spent the afternoon hanging on the beach and exploring the town before enjoying a night of fun and certainly interesting live entertainment. At one point, there was a bare chested Italian in long dreadlocks violently belting out Italian folksongs about birds and penises. It was all very lively, fun yet a bit creepy all at the same time.We spent two nights in Arambol and then go to a seaside beach hut in the quieter beach town of Mandrem, a gorgeous stretch of sandy beach where we fall asleep and wake up to the sound of waves crashing against the shore.
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| Mandrem, Goa |
