Colva

Definitely more secluded and not very crowded. Nice breaches (or a 10km stretch of white sand and palm trees to be exact) and space to breathe. Going to stay here for a few nights. Staying again in a 500Rs double room, this time right next to the beach but no running hot water. Not that I would be needing any, but still. Quite a good deal even though the cheapest accomodations are around 200Rs/night. But since one euro is currently 62-64 rupees, paying 500Rs or around 8 euros a night isn't that bad. Of course sharing that room would make the accomodation dirt-cheap but I guess that's just something you have to bear when travelling alone.

My Lonely Planet is only for the Goa region so the step of crossing the county lines is a bit harder but I think I'll be able to make it. Not that there wouldn't be tons of stuff to see and countless waves to surf but somehow a week on the beach sounds quite enough to get the trip started. Next up in Goa would probably be Palolem or some other beach more south.

The buses from Calangute to Colva cost me a little under 1e. 15Rs to Panjim, 22Rs to Magao, 8Rs to the Magao City, 10Rs to Colva beach. Took me a few hours but the atmosphere was nice and the buses well ventilated. But public transport = a bargain.

Arrival

I arrived safely to my destination and because of some overbooking scheme I was upgraded to business class on my flight from Hesinki to Mumbai. Very nice and those lie-flat seats are actually a really good reason to invest the extra money if you need to sleep.

I met also a fellow traveller from France who was going to spend 4 months in India. Well, I would still like to think that seven weeks is plenty enough. Anyway, arrival at Mumbai was at 4:30 am and the connecting flight wasn't until 2:50 pm. So between trying to sleep in one of the worst airports to sleep at (check sleepinginairports.com if you don't take my word for it) and waiting for the check-in to start i ran across a nice finnish couple who I ended up sharing a taxi with. Destination: Calangute.

Yes, the most touristic and "awful" place to go and get your canary islands vibe on... But still, sharing the cab fare three ways was tempting and the company was good so I took a hostel near their hotel (paid 500 rs per night for a double room, he was asking for 600, Marshall guest house, quite clean and nice, though the sheets weren't exactly clean and sterile looking). Well, after having some Kingfishers at the beach we headed back to our respective rooms and slept the night through. I'm continuing today to Colva, hoping to shake the worst effects of tourism from my feet and find some peace.

I took until second day to be offered some hashish. Frankly I'm surprised because last time the waiters were selling it in the beach shacks as well. Just like asking if you'd like to have another beer.

But I'm here, alive and well, still not sick. :)

Last minute panicing

Just remember: if you have passport, visa and money, you will be all right. Everything else is arrangeable.

Hours till departure: 7.

Packing

I don't know if the last days before leaving are supposed to be this way but it seems that every five minutes you think of something new that absolutely has to be done before you leave. Of course packing is one of the most obvious but there are just so many things... Forms to be filled, arrangements to be made and people to see (yeah, there usually are some people going to miss you at least a bit so it's nice to see them before you go). Obviously you shouldn't arrange your farewell party on the night before moving all of your stuff, but common sense is a scarce resource when it comes to planning ahead. At least for me.

Maybe that is why I still have so much to do before my plane leaves at 5pm tomorr... oh wait, it's already past midnight.

Hours till departure: 17.

Reason for leaving

People have asked me "why are you leaving?" Of course exploring, having time for myself, seeing the world etc. are all very good reasons but if I had to point out one single reason, it would be this:



Days till departure: 2

Alone

There is always some dispute over should you go alone or in a group. Of course the safety of having people that you know around you is a big plus in addition to usually saving a bunch of money on lodging. Being able to share all the experiences in real time with someone is also quite nice but you have to realize that you will be spending x amount of weeks/months together and most likely it will not be all fun and games. A good way to measure - and in worst case end - a friendship or a relationship.

For me it was quite clear: since there is no one that would be able to go with me I'll have to do it alone. And who knows, maybe a few weeks on my own, isolated from the normal life might actually do me some good.

Well, taken in to consideration that I will mostly be staying in hostels or guesthouses I won't be that alone in there. Of course solitude can be found should it come to that but for the most part it will probably be quite crowded at least in the Goa region. At least late November to December when the season really hits. More thought on the subject to come if I know myself.

Days till departure: 5

Jabs and pills

First thing of concern: are my vaccinations up-to-date? I've been to India once before for two weeks about one and a half years ago. For that trip I had taken two Twinrix shots, but of course missed the third booster shot 6 months after the first one. Thankfully it is possible to just get the booster shot after longer period of time and get the same protection so I should be set with it now. At least according to my doctor. No word from GlaxoSmithKline when I inquired about it.

I also had to renew my polio shot and get medication for malaria as I intend to do a bit more extreme stuff than just stay in luxury hotels under the mosquito net and hang around at the beach. I'm going with Lariam on the latter as it is quite inexpensive compared to Malarone and I didn't get any notable side-effects the last time apart from a little more dreaming activity (an effect that I actually kind of like since normally I don't remember 99% of my dreams).

Medical things are now taken care of and I've already started taking Lariam as you must begin the course one week prior getting to the malaria zone. If you are looking for last-minute protection, Malarone is started one day before so it's not totally lost yet.

Doxycycline would also have been an option, but due to the risk of getting photothermaditis (burned skin that is) quite easily under that medication was kind of a turn-off. And there has been reports of some forms of malaria being quite resistant against that drug and therefore at least the finnish national public health institute has upgraded their recommendation to Lariam or Malarone when in northern Goa. Better to be safe than sorry.

The start

Within one week I should be happily in Goa, India. For 7 weeks.

I booked the tickets just two week ago so you might describe the trip to be a bit extempore, but I have been dreaming of going away from the rainy and cold fall of Finland for quite a long now. And since I had the chance to go and no other obligations right now I decided to fulfill this short-lived dream of mine.

My flight will be to and from Goa, but I should have enough time to get bored staying still and travel around India during my stay there. At least that is the plan and such must-sees as Taj Mahal and Varanasi are of course on the list, but Kerala sounds quite tempting as well. I'm not on too tight schedule or don't have too much planned forward, just a hostel for the few first nights in Anjuna, from where it might be nice to hike southwards all the way to Palolem during the first week(s). From there maybe a train to Kerala... We'll see.

I will be updating this blog whenever i get the chance on the road. Not stressing about it too much though since the purpose of the trip is getting to know a little bit more about the culture, indulge in the awesome local cooking and basically just be away from wet snow blowing horizontally in the darkness of Helsinki.