Eva and I left Dharward, just the two of us, on Thursday evening for a weekend of independence after a semi frustrating week. While the things we have seen in pediatrics have been very interesting (two cases of malaria, a case of cerebral palsy, and a few new born exams) we stand around a lot and waste time as the unit seems short staffed and unprepared for students. Aside from the hospital, life at home with the family has been a bit confining- both Eva and I are used to living more independently (everybody here is very concerned with our well being- over the top concerned). We headed out of town on an overnight train to Goa on Thursday the 21st around 11:30. Goa is the state neighboring Karnataka to the west and is well know for its beautiful beaches. The train ride wasn’t too bad, we were in a sleeper car and aside from being a little too close to the bathrooms I was able to sleep most of the way.
We arrived at our stop around 7 AM and unfortunately there was no car to pick us up- a bit of a mix up with the hotel. In general it isn’t super safe (for women) to just hop in a taxi here- so Eva and I had arranged for the hotel to pick us up. Well turns out the car went to a different train station, so after a few phone calls, we got in a pre-paid taxi and headed to our hotel, the Sunset Village Resort. Unfortunately, June isn’t exactly beach weather, what with it being monsoon season and all, but we were determined to make the best of our freedom/independence!! Eva and I checked into our hotel early, got some breakfast (cereal w/ cold milk, lots of fruit, and amazing coffee- most American breakfast I’ve had since arriving), and headed back to our room for a nap. Between the air-conditioned room and soft mattress Eva and I had about the most amazing naps ever.
We crawled out of bed in the afternoon and set off to explore Baga and its beaches. We wandered around but unfortunately most of the shops, restaurants, and hotels are closed for the off season and won’t open again until September. We saw a few foreigners and found an open book store. After purchasing some books (we have finished all the ones brought from home) we walked back to our hotel along the beach. The Arabian Sea looked extremely ruff (due to the season) and there were very few people swimming or even in beach attire. (It hadn’t really rained yet… so I was a bit confused about the monsoon business.)
After returning to the hotel, I took a long hot shower, first one since I left home. We only have cold water at the house- of course with how hot it has been the cold water usually feels pretty good. But the hot shower was truly amazing! Eva and I had dinner and drinks at one of the restaurants in our hotel. After which we sat by the pool for awhile… there were two gentlemen playing a mix of Indian and some pretty bad American music. It is so interesting which American songs people cover all over the world. It began raining while we were at dinner and didn’t really stop for the rest of our time in Goa. I have to say monsoon rain is pretty awesome… it just pours and pours and pours.
On Saturday it was still raining, so after another lovely breakfast, we decided to just relax in our air conditioning and comfy beds. I started one of the new books, napped a little, and worked out. Our hotel had a real gym… with weights and cardio machines :) I’m pretty sure the gym hasn’t ever really been used and I definitely got some strange looks while working out but it felt soo good (again I haven’t had a good workout since I left- gyms aren’t easy to come by here and running outside is sort of out of the question for several reasons). In the evening we took a cab to one of the few restaurants which remains open in the off season for some seafood. Dinner was wonderful. It wasn’t so much that the seafood was wonderful (good but not wonderful)… but more importantly there was Diet Coke (my first… and second… Diet Coke since May). Eva and I also ordered 3 desserts to share. YUM! When we got back to the hotel we enjoyed the poolside entertainment once again and then headed to bed.
I woke up early Sunday to work out and take one last long hot shower. After breakfast we checked out and headed to the train station. Despite the complete absence of ideal beach weather, I didn’t even get my swim suit out of my bag; our weekend at the beach was wonderful. Between the hot showers, the Diet Coke, and the gym… I felt spoiled. The train ride home was fairly uneventful. The scenery was beautiful- rolling mountains covered in jungle and fog and a few waterfalls. After about 7 hours we returned to Dharward around 10 PM. I will remember Goa fondly and will have to attempt to return during the high season- around Christmas time.
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