Ze Goa Trip (Part Five)

The fact that we'd actually lost our car sunk in the next day. So we spent most of our time at Calangute and decided to do some water sports. At Rs. 800 a head we got para-sailing, banana boat, water scooter and sting "Bumpa Ride" ray, not a bad fuckin deal if I say so myself. The sports were pretty cool and we all had a lot of fun. So on the whole a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. In the evening we again split up into two groups and headed in different directions. This time Gillu, Abhinav, Pandu and I went towards Anjuna, desperate to relive the Shiva Valley experience. The others went to Baga to catch up on what they'd missed. We reached Anjuna, to discover that Thursday meant a party at Curlies and not Shiva Valley. We had dinner at Shiva Valley, a few bowls of Chicken Fingers and Chilly Prawns, washed down with Mojitos and beer. The party at Curlies was cool, not as intoxicating as the one at Shiva Valley, but still pretty good. We danced around for some time, a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The party stopped at 4 in the morning and by that time we were all hungry. Just outside the main restaurants there are several thelas which serve omelettes stuffed in a vada sort of bun. We had those and really enjoyed them.

Our last day in Goa was a relaxed one. Packing up and a brunch at Simon's Bar, followed by a long drive to Vasco Station, where we got onto the Goa Express. The train sucked ass. It stopped at almost every goddamned station in between Delhi, and was something like seven hours late by the time we finally reached Delhi. The train journey though was pretty interesting. Advait and I had a theological discussion with a pastor, Daniel Svenson. He was traveling to Simla with his family and we decided to go up to him and talk about the original sin amongst other things. He was a well traveled man and had us fascinated with his tales of Ecuador and other places he'd been. That was a very enlightening conversation and the cool thing is that Malli got selected at UCBS and that's where this guy lives, so that's one up for the fate/destiny assholes. A train journey is a cramped affair, so every now and then we'd get off and stretch. Gillu and I got off at some random station hunting for food. We bought a plate of Chola Bhaturas and a couple of bottles of Thums Up, when to our surprise the train started moving. We climbed onto the "General" compartment only to discover that the entrance to our sleeper class was sealed. And so started our two-hour stand in the general compartment. The irony of it? Before that station, the train had been making regular stops, like every twenty minutes. When we wanted it to stop, it took its time, two fucking hours of it. We didn't have our phones, so obviously the others were worried. Eventually, I stuck my head out of the door, only to see Ashish looking out from his windows. Smiles and abuses followed.