Sunny Goa

Our flight to Goa was very pleasant .  We travelled  Premium, so we were comfortable, fed some uninspiring food and plenty of complimentary drinks.  We got chatting to the people in front of us who have been here for a month/six weeks every year for nine years.  They  had lots of dentistry work done on their last visit, he’d had two full sets of implants top and bottom, and the lady had all her teeth crowned.  They looked very impressive and for a fraction of the price back home.

We arrived about midnight UK time, 5.30 am local time, and the very efficient Indian authorities zoomed us through immigration, baggage collection and out in less than half an hour.   Quite incredible!  Our driver was standing outside the arrivals hall with  a “Welcome Richard Kendrick” sign and he whisked us off into the darkness along very quiet roads, a blessing.

Archie, our German landlord greeted us at the Imperial Residence and we made tea and went to bed.  The bed is the firmest I have ever, ever slept on.  Himself had to check to see that there was a mattress there and that we were not lying on a board!

We awoke about 9 and there was fog in the distance over the paddy fields, apparently it’s the coolest time of the year.  We had breakfast, then hiked up the road to the bank to change money, but it doesn’t work like that in India, the bank sent us across the road to the supermarket and the cashier did us a good deal 100 rupees to the £.  Whilst himself was changing the dough, I looked at the prices of general stuff, I was amazed how cheap it was.

We walked a little further to the local phone shop and arranged to buy two sim cards, one with internet access and one basic, and a dongle as the wifi is patchy.  Our communications package will cost us about £35 for the lot and should see our 6 weeks out.  Calls in India are the equivalent of a penny a minute, and back home for 4p a minute.  Slight hitch, we need passport photos for the contract, but the man said he could fix that too.  So Sunday morning we should be sorted.  Update, John our new best friend and now to be called The Fixer, has fixed the sim card and dongle problem at half the price result!