Day 19, Palolem, Goa [Saturday 22nd December 2007]
Previous day: Day 18, Benaulim, Goa [Friday 21st December 2007]
Next day: Day 20, Margao, Goa [Sunday 23rd Deember 2007]
Get the bus to Palolem beach. The bus breaks down just outside Margao. We get off and catch another bus, which drops us off 10km from Palolem. A bloke in a Landrover stops and offers us (8 in total, all backpackers) a lift for Rs. 10 each. He's an English and Hindi teacher, I discover by trying out one of my Hindi phrases
"aap kya kaam kahte hai?" (what do you do)Palolem is a nice beach, arcing deep and wide and circles by palm trees. But it's got a few too many bong shops, tie dye vendors and Irish pubs for my taste. We get the bus back to Benaulim, reading in the newspaper about a suicide bomber in Islamabad who killed at least 54 people during Eid prayers at a mosque.
I have ambot tik for dinner. It is a hot and sour fish curry, and to a Goan this is bread and butter. It's the hottest thing I've eaten so far in India. We also get bebinca, their speciality pudding. It's a stodgy, layered pancake thing, all squeezed together like lardy cake or bread pudding. It's supposed to have coconut in, but what we get is quite bland.
Next day: Day 20, Margao, Goa [Sunday 23rd Deember 2007]
Previous day: Day 18, Benaulim, Goa [Friday 21st December 2007]