Goan Casual / 10 Nov 09

Having been out late last night we were not in the mood for an early start. At 10:30 we piled into the van in a light rain and headed into town. In addition to seeing a few traditional sites such as Portuguese churches, we had silly goals in mind. Alex had introduced us to music by an Indian singer named Kishore Kumar and we wanted to visit a CD store. We’d read about a cashew liquor made in Goa called "Fenny" and wanted to pick up bottles to sample. We were also curious to see clothing by a local Goan designer, Wendell Rodericks, who we’d read about.

While in town we stopped for lunch at a locals-only restaurant and had a traditional meal eaten with fingers. I, being the Purell freak that I am, ate with a spoon.

In the afternoon it began raining heavily so we called a relatively early end to the day and returned to Siolim to pack our bags. We’d decided to eat at the hotel for dinner and at breakfast had placed orders for lobster, prawns, red snapper and lots of cauliflower for Cliff (his favorite veg). We sampled the cashew liquor, had more Sula wine, and after dinner retired to the media room to watch a Bollywood film. However the weather and the electricity had other plans. Every time we got the film queued up to the point we’d left off the power would go out. After the second time we gave up and decided it wasn’t meant to be.

When Ferris and I walked through the living room on our way to our room we saw little frogs hopping across the damp tile floor. The heavy rain sounded wonderful falling on the roof as we went to bed. I wonder if this is even remotely similar to what India must be like during monsoon?

Goa By Way of Bollywood / 9 Nov 09

Thanks in part to Alex and in part to Kashmera, we had a spectacular day. Alex de Sousa served as our guide. On the way south Alex drove through northern villages and along famous beaches including Morjim, Mandrem and Arambol. The weather was drizzly so our view of beaches was somewhat tempered but we could see the appeal of the less touristed north.

We’d read about a museum of Portuguese houses called CALIZZ near Candolim Beach and selected it as our first stop. Calizz is a restored village square with houses that represent both affluent Portuguese homes as well as native Goan mud-brick dwellings. The museum seems to be the pet project of a wealthy Goan who has a hobby of collecting antique objects and whose desire it is to preserve Goan heritage. Apparently there is very little in the way of museums in Goa so this small museum is a jewel. We had a beautiful young guide at the museum who knew every fact about the objects on display. She gave us fascinating insights into current Goan society by telling us stories about her own life.

We headed south, winding through more villages and fields. After two hours or so and many bumps over “sleeping policemen” (the Goan name for speed bumps) we arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel. Kashmera had only arrived in Goa a few hours earlier. She offered us her room to freshen up while she dashed off for a pre-show rehearsal. At 6pm her makeup artist and hair stylist arrived and they began final preparation. We had a great time watching the application of layers of stage makeup, including sparking silver eyeshadow. Several wigs and costumes were selected before dashing off at 7 for the performance.

The event was a corporate reward banquet for high-performing Bridgestone sales people from all over India. Kashmera was the featured entertainer of the evening and she both opened and closed the show. What looked like heavy stage makeup in her room appeared completely natural under lights. Kashmera danced with a troupe of 10 and lip-sync’d (as is customary in India) to popular Bollywood songs. The Bridgestone men adored her; they held still and video cameras high in the air despite a steady and hard rain. By the end of the performance we were thoroughly soaked but the warm rain felt good. Alex, our faithful friend and driver, had accompanied us to the performance and we were relieved to have him to drive us the long way back to Siolim.

The Miracle of Air Con / 8 Nov 09

Prawns, Baby Kingfish and Lobster presented before cooking at our Goan beachside restaurant

Ferris on the steps of Siolim House

Siolim House living room

Typical Goan village architecture

Cliff on the "throne" in his room!

Today was a day of travel and transition. Left Aurangabad on an 8:35 am flight; transferred in Mumbai for arrival in Goa at 1 pm. As we walked from the plane to the terminal building we were immediately struck, not only by Goa’s lush tropical vegetation, but also by the much higher temperature and humidity level.

We were led to our van by a disinterested local contact named Joachim who, unlike all of our other airport greeters, did not lift a finger to help the driver load the van. This was our first clue that Joachim might not be a good fit for us. The drive to our hotel merely confirmed our suspicions. Joachim began telling us about the four-hour tour included in our package that was to begin at 8:30 tomorrow morning. This tour included several things we knew we didn’t want to do and omitted several things that we did want to do. We told Joachim we’d be willing to pay extra for changes and that these changes were important to us. Joachim was intractable. Our touring could only be from 8:30 to 12:30 and must include the four specified items.

Another factor in planning the next day was our desire to attend an evening performance by a friend of Cliff and Cathy’s – a Bollywood actress named Kashmera Shah – which would take place at the Intercontinental Hotel in south Goa, two hours from our hotel. We wanted to plan an itinerary that would gradually take us from north to south Goa and end by arriving at her hotel by 4pm. Joachim quoted a price for having a driver for the full day but insisted that the morning itinerary remain unchanged. We all looked at each other and knew that more than likely we’d end up canceling the entire morning and developing a new plan that did not include Joachim.

The airport is located near the Goan capital of Panaji, approximately midway down this long and narrow state. Goa is bordered on its western coast by the Arabian Sea. Our hotel, the Siolim House, is a one-hour drive north of the airport.

We spent the drive on narrow two lane roads passing through rice fields and small villages with brightly colored houses. As we traveled north, I had the sense of moving deeper into rural Goa. We passed through one village after another. Large houses with tile roofs surrounded by walls were interspersed with small ones made of mud brick. Even the most beautiful and best maintained houses showed signs of withering under the constant tropical moisture. There were dense groves of palm and coconut trees, pink, white and red bougainvillea, and even prickly pear cactus. I constantly had the feeling we were on an island, particularly as we drove along wide sandy beaches.

Finally the van turned off the larger road and onto an even smaller one. I didn’t seem possible that a hotel could be located anywhere nearby. We pulled off the tiny road and stopped suddenly in a dirt parking lot in front of a three-sided store selling potato chips. Joachim told us to get out. Puzzled, hot and tired we stumbled out and looked around. Across the street was a two storey white house with a plaque by the front gate saying Siolim House. The moment we entered we knew we were in for a treat. Siolim House is a restored 300 year old Portuguese Manor House with tile floors, tropical wood furniture, an open courtyard in the middle, and high beamed ceilings. It was once the residence of the Goan-Portuguese Governor of Macau.

We were led up a beautiful staircase to two large suites with a sitting area in between. There was even a media room with a huge flat screen TV. The only thing Siolim House seemed not to have was air conditioning. We were told to close the windows from 5 to 7 pm to avoid mosquitoes, but since there were no screens in the windows I was a bit skeptical about our ability to open the windows at all in the evenings. Mind you, it had to be in the very high 90s as we sat, sweating and contemplating our situation. At a beautiful hotel (with limited amenities), one hour from a major town and two hours from the Intercontinental, no plan for touring worked out, two full days ahead of us, in sweltering heat and humidity, limited to whatever cooling we were able to get from overhead ceiling fans.

I don’t know if it was the heat or fatigue from a long day of travel, but I opted for a bit of rest under the ceiling fan. When I awoke from my nap, Cliff, Cathy and Ferris came rushing in to tell me that our entire picture had changed. They’d not only discovered that Siolim House has other rooms available with air conditioning (we moved to them post haste) but it also has a driver/tour guide/waiter/jack of all trades named Alex who would be available to take us around Goa the next day and drive us to Kashmera’s performance. This changed everything.

We enjoyed a bottle of our favorite Indian wine, Sula Savignon Blanc, and delicious cashew nuts, courtesy of Alex. He then drove us to a restaurant about 20 minutes from Siolim where we had a wonderful dinner on the beach of lobster, prawns, Baby Kingfish and other local seafood specialties.