A few days ago I had a nice paragliding flight at Arambol Beach and landed at the Olive Garden as I have done many times before. What was unusual was that upon landing, not only did the last note of a Red Hot Chilli Peppers song hit just as my foot touched the ground, but I received a small round of applause from sunbathers lying and sitting on sun beds. First time that’s happened. Then a woman approached me at it happened to be a fellow Canadian, Brittany, whom I’d met here last season. Not only is she a fellow Canadian but lives in a suburb city of Edmonton, 30 kilometres from where I grew up.
I sat down and had a beer with her and her three Swedish traveling companions as we watched the sun set and joked about the “moon” rising (there was a woman performing yoga in front of us in a bikini and a short dress...invoking some funny remarks by all). There were brother and sister, Jonas and Ellen, and another compatriot they met during their trip, a bleach blonde haired guy named Pelle. All of them are in their 20s and very friendly.
Over the next few days we enjoyed some dinners, hanging on the beach and swimming in Sweet Lake. A plan was hatched to go to the famous Wednesday Anjuna market including staying over for a night and they asked if I would like to join them. Sure why not? Strangely the only other time I’ve been to the Anjuna market was back in February with Naomi and the Swedish couple Martin and Ida. What’s with Swedes taking me to shop? And it’s not IKEA!
I rented a scooter as did Pelle. Brittany and Jonas both preferred motorbikes and Ellen took turns riding with Jonas or Pelle. Having the best knowledge of the local roads, I led our little convoy on the half hour ride down to Anjuna.
Gassing up:
Looks like a cock fight, but not much happened:
We first had lunch then sorted out our accommodation before hitting the market. I had one or two items I was looking for but in the end only bought a baseball cap for the server Ram at the Olive Garden which he requested when he heard I was going. More interesting than looking at the myriad of products laid out were some of the shoppers. One Russian woman wore a pink mesh dress over a bikini along with some big leather boots...oh dear.
In the market:
Brittany with one big sandal:
The shopping spree lasted all of 45 minutes before Brittany and I ran off to a beachside restaurant to have a drink. I had heard through a friend that Elvis might be in the building later. No, not the real king but a guitarist named Elvis Lobo who has supposedly been ranked as the best guitarist in Asia. Sure enough, over an hour later there was finally some movement of tables to make an area for some musicians to play. Elvis was on electric guitar while another guy Cliff was on an acoustic one...and they rocked. They were absolutely incredible and well worth the wait. Pelle and Ellen joined us for the entertainment too.
Brittany enjoying a beer after the “hard” shopping:
And so am I:
A young girl tightrope walking:
Now she’s upping the ante, adding a wheel:
I like the kid’s shirt behind Pelle:
Surrounded by Kingfisher products:
After a couple of hours we headed back to our guesthouse to find Jonas and sort out our dinner and evening plans. In the end we headed to a wifi cafe run by an Indian guy that Brittany knew from last season. Sitting on beanbag chairs, we enjoyed some snacks and beverages while getting to know a couple of guys from the far away state of Gujarat in the northwest of India. Gujarat is a dry state although they did say that they do consume some alcohol in their homes but it’s a definte no-no out in public so they come all the way down to Goa each year (takes a couple of days by train) just for the relaxed liquor laws.
Eating and drinking in the wifi cafe:
Our new Indian friends:
There were big plans to go out to a nightclub but moving 5-6 people who have had a few drinks is like herding cats...and in the end we just hung out on the beach but it sure was a fun evening. The next day we had breakfast by the beach, ice cream at Baskin-Robbins and then hopped back on the bikes to head to Arambol.
Pelle and Brittany the morning after:
And the other side of the table is doing about as well:
Pelle’s bike was hungover too...it wouldn’t start:
Brittany was itching to go...
It was a fun little excursion but I don’t think I’ll be shopping in the market again anytime too soon but do hope to see Elvis and Cliff play again.
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