Monday, January 02, 2006

Goa- Travelogue - 2005


Traveling adds another vector to your scale, as you motor along, it will suddenly strike - ‘time’. That time or what we call ‘change’, can be measured on many scales. Kilometers can serve, as good as conventional hours. 630 kms demands -16 hours from bike and patience from you. Somewhere along the way you need to stop counting and appreciate infinity.

This time we missed Milind and many guys who we wished were there. Again rishies road sense pulled the trip along fine and put me back at my door in Bangalore full self.
And the trip- bagalore-hubli-karwar-panjim-baga-panjim-londa-dharwad/hubli-bangalore.
1630 kms in short. Change measured in distance, time relegated.

'Fnal destination' kya?
The signs were all along.
A few days before the trip, on my way to nellore, I wake with a ‘sudden start and blood’ the bus has rammed into a truck, cutting many a chins noses and few major bones.- A light cut on my left brow.
A speeding auto trips rams into Rishi from behind, throwing him onto the road. The ‘auto repair karcha’ had to be shelled out for no reason. – A scarred right elbow.
We feigned ignorant bout the signs and continued.

Signs are missed again.
NH4is barren. After Tumkur, the 120 kms to chitradurga teaches patience, and the further 200ksm to hubli, is for you to appreciate infinity, like it or not, like it for better. There are no road signs to keep the hope alive and the bumps keep you reminding. The signs were most missed on that stretch.

Karwar, the lost beach.India is building a deep port in Karwar, on Arabian sea. It is to become to Indian navy, what Bombay was, in addition more safer and farther then Karachi. Pakistan is also building a deep port in Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, it is to become to Pakistani navy, what Karachi was, and more safer and farther then Bomaby.

Karwar and gadwar,
See the symmetry, lost beaches and oil slicks.
Hindustan and Pakistan,
See the symmetry, why wage war.


Phooo.
The beach was croweded. There were women, chicks, aunties, each variety of many kinds, humble, arrogant, flashy, bikined, topfree adocatees. They were women, we saw women and Rishi said ‘seeing is believing’, I agreed. ”We went we saw we believed”, and then we said in unsion ‘phooo’. The best time though was spent in a shack lining the beaches, the time just flew. Red bull, whiskey on the rock, tuna and tiger fish, I think in normal case are not supposed to last so long.[Beach PhOOO.] Still we went there every night, but then again women don’t pose as good as churches and they don’t wait for you set your tripods, and Rishi absolutely hates to hurry through photography.


Velha Goa
Goa was once upon a time, planned to be the capital of Christian world in the orient. Portugese no more but culture lingers on. Velha means old, that is the place history to see live, there roads are paved, people play football, cobblers move tucked in, fisherwomen wear HMT watches and Paulo is a common name. Churches though deserted are big, time stand stll. If you want to see that culture you watch some Micheal Jackson vedios, shot in latin America.

The rest.
Vasco port, railway station, gaon breakfast, the one which, had we born in goa, would have taken. St Andrews church, aguada fort, vijay mallys masion, the properaiter at the lodge who mistook for students, someone who showed us the way to Konkani library, the barber in Paingin, who was more than happy to get photographed, the old man who needed a tripod to be cajoled into the photograph, goa heraled, inqilab urdu paper. Soda limes > (On the rocks + redbulls). Tuna, king fish, prompret, shellfish, prawns. That’s the rest.

Happy new year.
5,4,3,2,1 happy new year, fireworks, claps and shouts, ample flesh to ogle, good food but there is still something better? Onto bike we cruised to marimar beaches, blazers and full suits and women wearing dresses, marimar beach, where goan people celebrate the new year, as i think their fathers did. We did not capture them on lens, but such a scene to cherish

Butt abuse.
We rode.

New years eve in goa is hyper, but 1600+ kms under my arse is infinitely better.

No comments: