Post #103 - January 22, 2013 - Baga (Goa), India

What we did: switched hotels, caught up on blog, sunset at beach
Budget: 3500R/$70; Spent: 4473R/$89

At last, today we left the worst-value-for-money hotel EVER. It’s such a shame, especially since this was supposed to be a treat to ourselves. Oh well, next time. This is a phrase one must get used to while in India.

We had another good buffet breakfast and chatted about whether and how our trip has been changing us. It’s been a somewhat overwhelming experience here in India, with getting sick, the poverty, the dirtiness, the masses of people, the fighting for everything… It’s been stressful and, at times, horrible. Both of us have been imagining the comforts of home more and more – most especially our families and friends. It’s this struggle, however, that I feel is actually changing our beings.

We’re discovering just how hard it is to change; how hard it is to be different in important, meaningful ways. It wasn't until today, eating breakfast with the love of my life that I realized that I feel different, as if the person who left Winnipeg more than three months ago is gone, in some sense. It’s like I've shed a skin that has been holding me back, weighing me down, from something more. It’s refreshing. It’s a relief. It’s scary. I feel like I’m becoming myself, though I don’t know what that means.

I've never liked defining myself because I believe the only good this would do is limit the directions of my own growth. But because of this, I also don’t feel like I understand how I’m changing, or what direction, in a sense, my life is leading me. It feels somewhat out of my control. This is why it’s scary. It’s a relief because I have been unsatisfied for a long time, but did not know how to do anything about it. It’s refreshing because it’s given me a new lease on life, a new vision of what life can be…and the knowledge that I will never settle.

What is comforting is that I know I’m grounded by my most cherished values. And I think I will change around these and, hopefully, they will guide the change.

India has also been an exhausting experience, and I think it’s finally catching up to me. The last couple of days we have relaxed and I have finally allowed myself a break. And these past days I've been mentally dead, much more so than Patty. There’s been very little life in me. But I also feel like it was a much needed recharge of my batteries. Today I feel a little more lively.

We checked out of our hotel with no problems and while I was at reception, Patty happened to start talking to a couple and their friend who, it turns out, are from Winnipeg! The couple had their young son with them. He was a real cutie and seemed quite content to be carried this way and that. I can’t imagine Patty and I bringing a young child to India! But it seems to be working for them. The friend was quite a character and seems to have traveled extensively throughout Asia. He owns a construction company and this seems to afford him the luxury of extended travels. Must be nice! (Though I’m not complaining!)

We caught the shuttle with them into Baga and just chatted. I still felt pretty lifeless and was frustrated by my lack of involvement in the conversation, although I piped in here and there. Patty had a nice talk with him though. They were very nice people. Considering how many times we've crossed paths with them at this resort already (we took another shuttle with them and they were the ones yelling at reception the other night) I have a feeling we’ll be seeing them again.

We wandered over to our near hotel, Cavala, and happily checked in. The resort is very nice, and we both were wishing we’d just stayed there the whole time. Sadly, we’d even singled out this place as soon as we reached India, in Delhi. That’s what too much research and second-guessing can do! Oh well, next time… although the likelihood of us returning to Goa at this point seems low. We have been less than impressed. Patty has been comparing it to Mexico the whole time. I bet you can guess which country came out on top.

Check in at Cavala went smoothly and we were given welcome drinks. We chose fresh lime sodas. Unfortunately, these come in either salty or sweet versions and I think some people can’t resist adding salt, even to the sweet ones. This was the case here and Patty couldn't drink hers. I didn't mind so much, so instead of one welcome drink, I had two.

We spent a couple hours working on our blog. Cavala actually has free internet in their restaurant so we had no problems there! Again, what a shame we didn't stay here!

Around 5pm, we went looking for Cavala's pool. It was across the street on another property, but by this time the sun had set and neither of us felt like jumping in a cold pool with no sun to warm us up after. We went back to our rooms and showered.

We decided to have dinner at Cavala tonight, and what a good choice! They were doing a special seafood BBQ tonight and had a special menu for the occasion. We were a little early, so we sat down and decided to just order some drinks before dinner. We looked through the drink list, but everything was quite pricey. We eventually settled on a bottle of port wine, which was $5. Very reasonable! We had never had port wine before, but knew it was sweet. We thought, what the heck!? Turned out to be quite tasty, though sweet.

We were able to order much earlier than they said we could. Patty ordered garlic and butter, grilled shrimp and I ordered garlic and butter, grilled fish. We loved it. Finally, seafood done right! We had been imagining what Goan seafood would taste like for some time, but had been disappointed since we had arrived. This hit the spot!

For dessert we ordered what the menu said was a mango cheesecake, though this wasn't what we got. What we got certainly looked like cheesecake, but we don’t think there was actually any cheese in it. Don’t get me wrong, it was tasty, but not cheesecake. The mango taste was delicious though. We then ordered a forgettable and overpriced milkshake.

I should have mentioned that, since we had arrived, a wonderful three-person band had been playing Western music from the '70s and '80s. At first, we were the only people they were playing for. Patty eventually asked them to play La Bamba, and they did it quite well! By the end of the night, there were some couples dancing. It was a really nice dinner experience. A beautiful way to end our time in Goa. The only thing that would have made it better is if Patty and I had danced to a couple songs. It was while watching one Indian couple dancing that I realized I really wanted to learn how to dance – nothing complex, but something fun.

In case we haven’t mentioned this before, we are strongly considering spending a month in Spain in April to hone our Spanish. This might be the perfect opportunity to also take some dancing lessons! Hopefully it works out!

It was an awesome way to end a mediocre stay in Goa. It left us wondering how much different our time in Goa would have been had we stayed at Cavala. We really need to stop thinking of that!

In other news, on recommendation of our dear friend Colin Ambrose, we have altered our India saying in a slight, but significant, way: “What India giveth, it shall taketh back ten-fold!” Sounds pretty good to me, but suggestions are always welcome!