When we landed the pilot announced that it was 40ºC and the wall of
heat sure hit me when I got off the plane. My destination was Palolem
Beach, about 40km south of the airport. The cheapest way was by taxi,
and there was a tourist info stand in the baggage claim where you
could get a taxi. The tourist agent called someone outside and they
wrote my name on a sign. Lots easier to deal with than the hundreds,
literally, of people waiting outside to grab you for their cab, hotel,
or whatever. The taxi was about 1000 Indian Rupees($20US), so I
decided to wait and see if someone else was going that direction to
split the cab. As I chatted with the tourist agent, he had his doubts,
but within 2 minutes someone came by, Janet, a nice women from Holland.
The ride was about an hour and fifteen minutes through winding roads
in the hills and you don't even see the sea. Until, at the very end
you hit a beautiful beach lined with beach huts, restaurants, and
bars. The first place I stayed at was Dylan's, compliments to Janet
who had been to Palolem before. The huts vary throughout the beach,
from very simple with no bathroom to luxurious. Dylan's was charging
200 Rps/day for the simple huts and 400Rps/day for attached bathrooms.
After the first day, I found a great place down the beach and
negotiated a nice deal for 300 Rps/day for a nice hut with a bathroom
and discounted internet.:) Usually from the 20th of December to the
1st of January the prices double or triple. However, due to the recent
terrorist activities tourism has dropped dramatically and I was able
to side step the price hike.
So far I've been filling my days with reading books, swimming,
tanning, and updating my blog while watching the sunset from the
beachfront restaurant of my place. It's a rough life, but I figure
someone has to do it, why not me?:P
Oh yeah, there's lots of dogs and cows roaming the beach, mostly
sleeping. It's really cool, in a weird sort of way.
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