MB & J

May 27th, 2006

Goa
Goa was AWESOME.

Wait, let me step back a bit, on our way to the airport on Tuesday to move to India, MB got a page from Jim Fancher. It said that he and some other folks were going to Goa for the weekend. We decided that we should go too and MB called the travel agency to book us a flight and a hotel. Originally, we thought we would be driving to Goa when we wanted to go, but apparently it takes a really long time to drive there. Ravi later told us this was because the roads are not good and you drive thru many small towns.

Okay, on to Goa. Friday, MB and I slept late as our flight didn't leave Bangalore until 1:30 PM. We got up, packed and got to the airport about half an hour before our flight. We thought getting there at this time wouldn't be a big deal cause the airport is really small. When we checked in to get our tickets, the guy at the counter said "Run!", so we took off through the airport. At security, men and women go through separate lines, and MB and I were both stopped to search our bags, of which we just had carry-on. We're still not sure why they stopped MB, but some toenail clippers were the culprit in my bag. They didn't take them away, just needed to see what they were. So we get up to the gate and find that security forgot to tag and stamp MB's bag, so we had to run back and get that quickly before the flight left. We finally got to the flight as one of the last two people to board..."Looks like we made it!" (thanks Russ!). They actually serve a meal on a 1 hour flight to Goa. It was Indian and I didn't care for it, except for the rice. Oddly enough, some American kids are sitting across from us on the plane, their parents work for Accenture and are from Alabama. The parents who are with them are both "Trailing Spouses", as the workers were joining the families on Saturday. Trailing Spouse is a common term among Accenture employees, and I am one. David and Cat were very nice and invited me to play tennis with them on Monday.

Getting a cab was a little stressful, but once we figured out what to do, we were off to our hotel, Intercontinental, The Grand Resort. The cab was hilarious: tinted windows, terry cloth seat covers, a silver ornament hung from the rear view mirror (not a disco ball, it was a silver Christmas ornament), and we left out of the airport with Michael Jackson's Billie Jean blasting on the radio. It took about 45 minutes to get there from the airport and is a pretty drive thru small Indian villages, open valleys with rice fields and dense jungle mountains. As it turns out, The Grand Resort is just that, GRAND. The landscaping was immaculate. We were immediately calling this our second honeymoon because of the tropical surroundings, posh rooms and excellent service. On the campus, there was a large pool (with a swim to bar), 9 hole golf course, beach, spa, several restaurants, evening discotheque, and business center. Also, as it turned out, we were no where near where Fancher and the other Accenture employees were staying. We immediately hit the pool and pool bar to test out Kingfisher and Feni. Kingfisher is an Indian brewed lager beer, actually brewed in Bangalore, and available by the quart. Feni is a liquor distilled strictly in Goa. There are two kinds of Feni, Cashew and Coconut, both kinds taste a lot like pure grain alcohol. From there we got cleaned up and had dinner at one of the restaurants at the resort. Dinner was excellent, I had King Fish and garlic mashed potatoes, MB had risotto and asparagus, we both drank an Italian wine. The next day, we headed to breakfast about 10:00, which is a buffet and includes both American and Indian cuisines. I am enjoying Indian breakfast foods. There is a fried breakfast food that I really like (sorry, can't remember the name), it's like a fried crab cake or hushpuppy or something in between the two. Mango fruit is a very common food here, available in juices, chutney or just by itself. I like mangos, but they are very sweet. After breakfast we noticed a life sized chess board next to the pool, so we proceeded to play. It ended with both of us being very burned and me forfeiting. We went for a walk on the beach and splashed around in the Arabian Sea. Later, in the pool, we met some people living in Mumbai (Bombay), 2 ladies, one from Scotland and the other from Jacksonville, FL. It is amazing what a small world we live in. After a late lunch, we took naps and ordered dinner in the room as we recovered from our sunburns. Traveling back to Bangalore was no problem. We decided on the plane that we should stay in Bangalore next weekend as we are both a bit tired of traveling.

Goa was a wonderful experience and a beautiful part of India, I feel sure that we will be back in Goa before the year is up.