Being back in Benaulim is like putting on a comfy pair of slippers………bliss. Not much had changed but then it rarely does. We had lots of our favourite travel chums for playmates, and a warm welcome from the staff in all our favourite venues who we’ve known so long and have been so kind to us that we consider them friends. It was so good to be back.  The partying started almost immediately after we landed, and it went on pretty much throughout our time there.  We had some new experiences, a minor mishap for Neil which continues to annoy the hell out of him, and a lucky escape one evening all due to Neil being a miserable git.

It’s been a long time since we flew Air India with some good and some not so good experiences over the years.  However, the new direct flight into Goa instead of the usual painful hop via Mumbai or Delhi was too good to resist.  There have been several posts on the TripAdvisor Goa forum moaning about a few things, but we hoped that by turning left when we got on the plane rather than going right, we had half a chance of getting a good flight.

Well, the lounge at Gatwick was simple but the drinks flowed, and the food was fine including a huge plate of very good blue cheese which didn’t get finished so it found its way to Benaulim.  The flight was smooth, the food and drink really good and we both flattened our beds and slept soundly.  Talking of sleeping soundly, a lot has to do with being issued PJ’s and slippers, yes, very stylish PJ’s and made by TUMI, very posh.  There were only 18 seats in Business and once we were all dressed for bed it looked like a scene out of Con Air! 

As we were in posh class we were first off the plane and sailed through immigration only to stutter to a halt as our ‘priority baggage’ had obviously been loaded onto the plane first so was very slow in coming off – ‘so not quite priority then?’.

Next, we had to get a taxi and for the first time we used the Goa Miles App (similar to Uber) to share a taxi with a couple going to another complex just down the road from our apartment.  It worked well and we saved ourselves quite a bit of money by sharing which was just as well as the new airport at Mopa is a lot further North than Dabolim.  We arrived in Benaulim and lovely landlord Tony was waiting with the keys and had stocked the fridge with milk to make tea in the morning.  Time for a bit of unpacking before heading off to Savio’s for dinner.  A truly warm welcome from Gopal, Rueben, Roy and Lal and the usual quality nosh and a few Kingfisher Strong (8%) and Gin like substance with Tonic for Cheryl.

Saturday was a quiet day on the beach and saying hello to people including shack owner Rex and Vittal his long serving ‘shack boy’ (hardly a boy when he has 2 children!) plus new ‘shack boy’ Jimmy from north India.  Sky Rooftop restaurant for dinner to make sure we kept in Bishnu’s good books before an early night and once again the kitchen delivered superb food.

Sunday was the start of the partying with Brunch at The Fairfield.  Whilst we weren’t feeling starved of good wine, well not at this point, it was good to meet more friends over some excellent food and wine and very pleasant surroundings.  After plenty of drinks, and with jet lag still a factor, we got back to the apartment and had a very good sleep although Neil did manage to get out around 8pm for a couple of KF strongs and a cheese, garlic nan whilst Cheryl just slept.

The following week we had a trip on Betty’s Boats with John and Suz and this set the scene for the rest of our stay in Goa.  Sunday brunches interspersed with the odd boat trip broken up by lazy days on the beach laying in the shade either swimming, reading, doing puzzles or crosswords. Thanks to Connie and Paul we even had a themed Sounds of the Seventies Boat Trip. It was fabulous fun as everyone managed a costume and there was a lot of dad dancing going on.

Then, shock horror, it rained!  Not much but at this time of year rain is unheard of.

We couldn’t come to Goa without going to see Rahul the dentist to get our teeth checked out and we also did something we’ve never done before.  We then went to Victor Hospital for a full health check, something friends had done, we had talked about doing over the years but had never got around to.  The check included 5 blood samples for liver, diabetes, PSA, cholesterol, kidneys etc, a Health Questionnaire, blood pressure, urine and stool samples, chest X-Ray, ultrasound scan of all vital organs, an echo/stress test for the heart, an ECG, consultation with the eye specialist and dentist plus lots more.  Finally, a chat with a Senior Consultant about the results.  She said she had rarely seen one as good from a 70 year old, well done Neil. All this for less than £24.

That night we went to Greg’s birthday party at his favourite shack on the beach.  DJ Paul did the music so it was full of Greg’s favourites, 80’s, ska, northern soul and reggae.  We danced around like Tasmanian Devils only for Neil to wake up next morning hardly able to walk.  He had had problems in the past with this left foot but was now told by many previous sufferers that he probably had plantar fasciitis.  We had never heard of it before but quickly found out that its quite common.  It didn’t get much better for a day or two so Rex gave us the number of a doctor in Margao who specialised in problems just like this.  He confirmed the amateur diagnosis was correct and gave Neil exercises to do as that’s about all you can do.  He is getting better but then for no reason he has another bad day.  So, having had a body check that said he had a great ‘bod’ for a 70 year old he was now hobbling around like 100 year old!  That’ll teach him to be so bloody smug.

Of course, mustn’t forget Wednesday quiz nights which we won the first week and having peaked early there really is only one way to go.  It doesn’t matter, all the money goes to the girl’s orphanage in nearby Colva.  It’s a fun night, it keeps the brain in gear and the current donation is close to £1000 and climbing which, for India, is a serious amount of money.

Having had Sunday Brunch at the nearby Fairfield by Marriott we decided to upgrade and go to The Alila Diwa in nearby Majorda.  The A. D. is now part of Hyatt Hotels, and they allow people to use the pool before Brunch.  The pool is outstanding, an infinity pool overlooking the paddies and the palms and somewhere between 40-50m long.  The food is excellent and came with additional entertainment – very upmarket and expensive Indian Weddings.  They are huge, cost eye watering amounts of money and yet we were always welcome to join in on the dancing. 

We had settled into a rut but what a rut!!  Beach in the day, dinner in the village in the evening, occasional boat trip to enjoy dolphin spotting and the stunning River Sal plus Sunday Brunch alternatively between The Fairfield and The Alila Diwa.  It’s tough but someone had to do it otherwise all those businesses wouldn’t exist. 

Trouble in Paradise

Our friends Anette and Keld from Denmark were due to leave Benaulim at midnight by taxi to go to the airport to fly home.  They like a restaurant called Valonia’s Wheels which on a Tuesday has live music.  They planned to say farewell to everyone with singing and dancing the evening away before walking back to their guest house to pick up the taxi.  We were invited but as Neil is a miserable git and, Cheryl kind of agrees on this one, the music by ‘Two to Tango’ is worse than ‘The Birdie Song’ – we didn’t go.

We got a message the next morning from Brenda explaining what happened that night. Colin and Jan left a little early as Colin wasn’t feeling great which left Anette and Keld, Roger and Ann plus Tony and Brenda to walk home.  They left shortly after 11 for the walk back to the village and then disaster happened.  The road was quiet, Benaulim is generally a sleepy place, but there was an idiot on a motor bike on his way back from the beach and he ploughed into Roger and Keld who were bringing up the rear of the party.  Both ended up seriously injured, Roger with a huge gash in his right calf and Keld with a smashed up left leg with the bone sticking out of his leg. 

The ambulance took 45 minutes to arrive and they were eventually whisked off to the private hospital where they received treatment.  Both of them were complaining of pain in the opposite leg that was obviously injured but the staff were busy treating the legs that were bleeding.  After a couple of days the doctors began to take notice as the pain for both of them was getting worse.  After further scans it was apparent that Roger had major ligament damage to his left leg and Keld had a minor fracture to his right leg.  To cut a very long story short, neither the UK or Danish insurance companies came out smelling of something nice, they were both patched up well in Victory Hospital and many of us formed a rota to go and see them regularly in hospital.  Keld was eventually airlifted home to Odense and Rogar chose to stay in Goa and have his ligaments fixed there rather than wait months for the NHS to get around to fixing him up.  At the time we type this Keld is home and healing well and Roger is still in Goa having daily physio after his operation.    It could all have been so much worse, but it does make you realise that none of us know what’s around the corner.  Lives can be changed, permanently, in a split second and it could have been us if we had been there.

There was one positive that came out of the accident.  Keld likes a cigarette, not many, but a puff a few times a day.  Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to smoke in hospital he had his last cigarette whilst laying in the road waiting for the ambulance and, as we type, he has still given it up.  He’ll dine out on the story of the last cigarette for some time to come.

We loved our stay in Goa and finished off with sundowners, food and the most exquisite sunset that we have seen in years – absolutely fabulous.  Colin and Jan, Tony and Brenda and Ann minus Roger had a lovely evening and after walking Ann home to nurse Roger we finished off in Savio’s for a few night caps and to say our goodbyes. 

Leaving on a Jet Plane

The next day we flew north with John and Suz to visit a place we’ve put off visiting ever since we first traveled India in the early 2000’s.  Varanasi, one of the most spiritual places on the planet.  Certainly, if you are Hindu and want to get good karma it’s the place to go to and dip in The Ganges and it’s the place to have your remains cremated on the banks of the river.  We pushed the boat out, literally, and paid a lot of money for a simple guesthouse that sits overlooking one of the bathing ghats.  The location was perfect, with a rooftop where we enjoyed watching the activity on the river and had breakfast and dinner. 

During the day we walked along the river footpath past the various ghats taking in the atmosphere and observing all the different activities taking place. On one of our walks, we watched a beautifully wrapped body unloaded from the roof of a tuk-tuk before it was taken to the riverside for cremation on one of the many funeral pyres at the two burning ghats. There was smoke everywhere from the many family celebrations/cremations that were taking place.  At dawn and dusk the Ganga Aarti is performed. Its a devotional ritual which uses fire as an offering and we were fortunate to observe both as part of the river cruises we took. Whilst neither of us are religious it was fascinating to see such passion from the devotees for their faith.

We thought it would be quite a sombre experience but the atmosphere was uplifting and full of joy. The pilgrim groups taking their holy dips were having a great time laughing together and the people on the many boats on the water were waving and taking pictures of each other and that included taking pictures of us.

Next stop was Amritsar, home of the famous Golden Temple and a return to one of our favourite places. This is another very spiritual place but this time for Sikhs.  It is a stunning temple that sits in the middle of a lake within a huge temple complex. We had to remove our shoes and wear a head covering. It was a first for John and Suz who loved it.  We wandered around the temple complex by day and at dusk as the atmosphere is different. We also took tea with the pilgrims in the Langar. It’s a communal kitchen and dining area which serves meals to all free of charge regardless of religion, caste, gender or economic status. People sit on the floor and eat together and the kitchen is manned by volunteers. We got chatting with several people including the lovely gentlemen pictured below and we had many requests to be in family selfies.

Early in the morning we queued for an hour to get inside the golden temple itself and see, yet again, the passion from the pilgrims.  Again the atmosphere was wonderfully uplifting. It was a lot of fun, chatting to Sikh families who were visiting from all over the world including Canada and Australia.  On the way out of the temple Neil was handed a red rose by one of the Temple’s Elders, ‘this is for you’ he said.  We are now trying to dry it in the hope that we can preserve it and it can go into our display cabinet at the top of the stairs which contains our travel memorabilia.   

Amritsar is also very close to the border with Pakistan. We took a taxi to nearby Wagah where every night there is a special ceremony as the flags of India and Pakistan are lowered as the border is officially closed for the night. Although it is performed by Border Force Guards it has evolved over the years into an over the top theatrical performance full of pomp, pride and swagger. There is a purpose built stadium on both sides to allow the public to view and it’s all free to attend. The Indian side is about ten times the size of the Pakistan stadium and the atmosphere was electric with lots of good humoured flag waving and singing beforehand as the audiences are whipped into a patriotic frenzy by the warm up performers who were superb. On the Pakistan side there was a one legged flag bearer who spun round and round like a whirling dervish to the delight and awe of all onlookers. It was truly astounding but sadly we weren’t able to get a good picture to share with you.

Homeward Bound

The time had come to fly home but our trip was to have one final twist – Neil woke up at 4am with Delhi Belly, well, The Amritsar Runs to be precise.  Not a good day to be constantly looking for a toilet with a 9hr flight home.  Fortunately, he wasn’t out of control, and we did have a nice flatbed to lie in once we had taken off.  Hoping, somewhat wishfully, he thought that several G&T’s would kill the bug.  It didn’t work but it did help him sleep most of the journey home with the regular visits to the loo.  With only 18 seats in Business Class it meant that he didn’t, thankfully, have to queue! 

We arrived back in Blighty and it was time to say our goodbyes To John & Suz – thanks for being great travel buddies. We caught the train from Gatwick to stay with Alex and Freddy and baby Luke and Neil went straight to bed. Thanks to Freddy for booking a ride on the Mail Rail. Located near the Postal Museum this is a tiny train which runs underground and carried mail beneath the busy streets of London. It was in use from 1927 until 2003 and is now used for tours into the subterranean world where the mail was sorted and ran from Paddington in the West to Whitechapel in the East, a distance of 6.5 miles. Lovely few days catching up with the boys although after endless repeats of reading Hairy McClary it’s no longer Cheryl’s favourite book!

We’ve been back in Seaton a while now and have got back into our normal routine.  It is good to be home even though it’s raining again as we type.  The grass is cut, the birds are singing as Spring erupts, bacon sandwiches, real ale, homemade Scotch eggs from the butcher, working the bar at The Gateway, Ringo is still making our garden look beautiful and, generally, life is good, very good.  Ah, and not to mention several more trips to look forward to but you’ll have to wait a while to hear about them.

Before we go let’s have a stalker update!  At the time we were ‘outed’ by our stalker(s) we did see some unusual activity on the site stats. We had a high number of hits and reads from a brand new location, and one which we couldn’t connect with any of you, our dear readers. We were at a loss until recently we struck gold and heard a comment about this place which could be the missing link we have been looking for.

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