the last fleeting seconds

I’m currently on a plane to Bangalore, writing this post on my iPod using the WordPress app.

(I just spotted a scratch on the screen. This is why I shouldn’t have shiny, breakable toys. Drat.)

Goa is an amazing place. As I remember from previous trips, and as I learned from the people I met this trip, north and south Goa are very different places.

For example, in south Goa is the Leela hotel, where we stayed with my grandmother about ten years ago and stopped for a drink on this trip. While having our drink, after clearing security at the gate of the hotel, we mentioned that my aunt hadn’t seen the hotel. A stretch golf cart was immediately produced, and off we went, around the golf course, across the man made streams by the villas and down to the absolutely pristine beach where assorted beautiful Europeans were in various stages of turning bright red, or into beached whales, as my sister and I have called them since observing extreme exhibitions of them in Playa del Carmen, just south of Cancun.

Thank God I’m brown.

So that is south Goa. Beautiful, clean, expensive. And as one of our cabbies pointed out, far apart–south Goa revolves around the resorts and those are spread out.

North Goa, by contrast, is where we went to Sunburn. And seems to be largely dominated by a combination of hippies, rich Indian tourists, and what seems to be a minority in terms of the number of local people.

And an endless stream of parties. I had never really heard any psy-trance before, so Goa trance was definitely different. And the dance scene that goes along with it–very chilled…or drugged…out, with everyone very much dancing in their own bubble, often with eyes closed or dark glasses. But still dancing very intensely–it seemed that as long as there was a beat, people couldn’t stop moving. As it was Goa trance, there was always a beat.

And since it was Goa, these parties are on the beach, where you could walk over and there were literally drum circles on the sand and fire dancing people.

I think fire dancers are incredible. If I wasn’t so clumsy, I’d move to Goa and become one. Instead, I’m a CS major.

Basically. Goa=most fun New Years I’ve ever had. Even with my scooter accident and subsequent tetanus shot and subsequent vomiting.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, the crazy Goa parties are only in mid-Dec through the first week of Jan. The rest of the year, most of the shacks close up, the people with second homes leave to escape the heat and monsoons and our 4000/night hotel drops to 500/night, for a suite.

Welcome to Goa.

PS: You iPhone/iPod Touch people out there–get this application. It makes WordPress blogging incredibly easy. You can get through App Store–just search for WordPress. I’ll post a link when I’m back on my computer.