Pune, Panaji and Palolem

Another week in, and we're still alive.

Our time in Pune was low-key, with Hamish in the throes of intestinal distress and Lauren recovering. Having arrived in the city, we quickly realized that there are at least five hospitals, and despite a lot of Google efforts, we couldn't work out which one Hamish's grandpa stayed in during the war. Oops! 

So instead, we went to the Katraj Snake Park and Zoo, which was a fascinating glimpse into reptilian life. Turns out India has tons of snakes, many of which are very poisonous. We saw a king cobra, several massive boas, pythons and vipers. At times it felt like we were getting more attention than the snakes, though, with people wanting to be photographed with us (sometimes insisting that we take the photos on Hamish's camera, which led to him making semi-believable camera sound effects and faking it, since he has limited film).

Someone's been on thesaurus.com. No ruffling the animals. (Who would ruffle a snake?!)

Snake pun! The best kind of pun.

Two cuddling crocs, behind bars.

Snake-wrangling.

The other highlight of Pune was our trip to the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum (unfortunately photos aren't allowed). They have an incredible collection of Indian art and cultural artifacts, some of which dated back thousands of years. Three packed floors displayed only 12% of their collection--the rest is sadly gathering dust in storage. They're trying to raise enough money to salvage the bulk of the collection. Some notable items included armor made from fish scales, armor made from crocodile skin, erotic nut crackers, a sitar shaped like a peacock, and a miniature-pony-sized cloth-and-mirrors horse.

We also enjoyed Koregaon Park, a leafy area of the city where Hamish got involved in a game of street cricket and we were entertained by a one-eyed street magician who gave us a private show. 

Hamish about "to get hit for a six."

Pretty conservatory in Koregaon Park. Note the elephant.

Then we took the 10-and-a-half hour night bus from Pune to Panjim, the capitol of Goa. The driver's assistant put on a Bollywood film called Jai Ho, and we had prime viewing positions, being in the second row. It took 40 minutes to get through the credits because the assistant repeatedly started it over. Halfway through the film, we stopped at a rest area. When we got back on, the film started from the beginning again, credits and all, which lead to groans from everyone. Just as we decided to give the film a miss and attempt sleep, the assistant decided to turn the volume up to deafening levels. This, plus the driver's honking habits and the pot-holed roads, made for an excellent night's sleep (NOT). When we disembarked at 7, bleary-eyed in Panjim, we noticed the wind screen had suffered a huge crack at some point in the night. Worrying.

Panjim was lovely, colorful and bright. We stayed at Afonso Guest House in a quiet part of town and enjoyed breakfasts each morning on the leafy roof terrace. Goan bread is especially fantastic. Our host, Jeanette, and her son, were friendly and eager to give us tips on the best places to go. Goa is a former Portuguese colony, so the architecture was an interesting mix of Indian and Portuguese, with some of the best walls we've ever seen. 

Half-built house in Goa, with Hamish.

One of Panjim's great walls. We took dozens of photos of walls. The locals didn't seem to get why we were so excited about them.

The Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, one of the oldest churches in Goa--built in 1540! It also resembles a wedding cake.

Goa is the only Indian state in which casinos are legal (though only on boats). We met a few teenaged guys who frequented this casino and were really into canasta.

Some of the offerings at the Deltin Royale. It was 1500 rupees to go in (including snacks)--but we decided to save our moneys.

Another great wall.

Afonso Guest House.

Panjim was preparing for Carnival when we were there--lots of huge colorful masks like this around the city.

We had heard good things about scenic dinner cruises from the Santa Monica pier, so we booked one for our last night in town. It wasn't quite what we expected. There was no dinner, rather a two-hour Indian disco with hundreds of people herded onto the top deck. A few DJs trying to cajole people to dance. It was not scenic. Different groups were called up to dance in turn--first kids, then couples (we refrained), men, then women. Teenaged boys were the most enthusiastic. We shared a beer and huddled next to some nice old women, who were also clearly expecting something more pleasant. 

It was not paradise.

Enthusiastic dancers.

Panjim's lights from inside the netted top deck.

The next morning, we hopped on and off a few local buses to get to Palolem Beach, in the south. The three-hour trip cost us each about $1. The buses were packed and sweaty, but everyone was amiable and the drivers were sane.

LIES.

One of the buses.

Now we're staying on the beach, in a hut called Neptune at a place called Dreamcatcher. There are chickens, and monkeys who fight in the trees above our heads, cows further along the beach, and there was even a frog in our bathroom.  The Arabian Sea is warm and clean, and this is definitely the most relaxing place we've been. The beach is beautiful, if slightly over-populated, and we've had excellent seafood, including the largest jumbo prawn ever--8 or 9 inches, lightly spiced and cooked in a tandor.

Beach cows.

Spice rainbow!

Coconut spice, tasty.

Hammocks in the market in Palolem.

Palolem at sunset.

Dreamcatcher at Dreamcatcher.

Palolem Beach.

Our bathroom frog. He was somewhat alarmingly active.

The only bad thing that's happened in the last few days is that Hamish has been breaking out in red welts all over his body. At first we thought it was about 100 mosquito bites, but on consulting a doctor, we know now it's an allergic reaction. We considered posting a photo but decided it was too gross. At the height of this affliction, Hamish was fearing leprosy/a parasite, but the doctor knew better and gave him a shot in his left butt cheek. Unfortunately the problem hasn't gone away and we're returning to the doctor after we post this.

Hamish's friendly doctor and some patients.

Tomorrow we're going to Gokarna, further south, to a less-developed part of the coast. Bye for now!

Raccoon checking out the menu at Dreamcatcher. We realized that we haven't actually introduced Raccoon, so here he is.