Palolem Beach

After dropping Chris off at the airport, Tim and I picked up Carol and Emily from Jackie's Day n' Nite, and we all headed down south to Palolem beach, full of anticipation (it's supposed to be lovely).
Tim had to drive the loan car the whole way (I was not confident enough to drive in India!), but we found that the traffic wasn't too bad at all... being a Sunday, and it was a very scenic drive with lots of beautiful buildings etc.

Me and Emily in the back seat, listening to the Rolling Stones.

A Goan girl out the front of a little church in Mapusa.

Indian guys in the back of a well decorated truck... horn OK please!

When we arrived, there was much oohh-ing and aahh-ing coming from the backseat as Emily and I pressed our noses to the window... "look at the beach! look at the shops! look at the restaurants!". I think we all knew that we were going to stay longer than our pre-arranged 2.5 days.

The great thing about arriving somewhere on the edge of the season in India (and this is particularly true for Goa), is that it's much less hectic, generally cheaper but you can still get a good sense of the "vibe" of the place.

For Palolem beach that meant: fisherman pulling in their nets and fishing boats; Indian women in their saris wading in the water; little kids playing cricket; dogs defending their territory; and people congregating in the beach front restaurants.

Palolem is a lovely beach, and we all had a very relaxing time there. :)

Me, Emily and Carol on Palolem beach.
Tim modeling my new scarves.
The inviting ocean...
The beach dogs were very freindly and very territorial.
Everyone's got to have a cheesy photo like this...
Sunset, walking back to our hut on the beach.

Looking back at Palolem beach from the point.

One morning, we felt like a bit of pampering, and so we headed down to the Intercontinental Hotel to see how the other half lived... very, very well it would seem. Carol, Emily, Tim and I sat pool-side with a cold drink in our hands admiring the grounds. Our bill for two cocktails and two sodas (plus a bottle of mineral water) came to over 1,000 rupees!! Not for those on a budget, clearly.

Tim and Carol (his mum), pool side, at the Intercontinental.

Emily and I (foreground), with Carol (background), at the Intercontinental... darling.