Leaving for Copenhagen

Monday, Dec. 19, North Goa

It was a year ago today that I arrived in Copenhagen for Christmas. It's four more days before I will arrive there this year.
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I took a bus to Mapusa this morning. It was a disappointment. Although it's one of the three larger cities in Goa, it was rather dumpy and ugly looking. I was glad I went, however, for two reasons. First, there was an entergainment program being presented by the schools. I watched as various groups did exercises, performed with long strips of cloth, did a dance in Raj costumes, etc. Several boys explained what it was and visited with me during it. Second, the town has a nice market that was alive with people, since today is a holiday here. It was fun looking although nothing really special was being sold. A few women were there in regional native costume. While there, I ate lunch--a fish curry with rice platter.

I considered going to a beach from Marpusa, but I really didn't want to. So I caught a bus back to Panaji and had to stand all the way. I bought a small house gift for Nurse Grethe. Then I went to a cyber cafe. From there, I walked to the waterfront. It's just another day of passing time.
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As I walked back to town, I passed a small park set up with a stage and chairs. A school rock band was testing their sound equipment. I stayed to hear them do 4-5 songs from the 60s and 70s and to understand it was a Christmas party for children. They had games for children to win gifts. The first involved standing in circles by age group and passing a large elastic band which they had to pass their body through (head first) before handing it to the next child. When the music stopped, whoever held the elastic band was eliminated. The last person in each group got a prize. It was interesting, but I was hungry and left to find a restaurant.

The place I chose for dinner was somewhat of a disappointment. The prices were similar to the nice place where I ate last night, but the atmosphere was more like a Denney's in the U.S. or a Vips in Mexico. The food was good, however. I had chicken tikka masala (ordered spicy and leaving me with a tingling tongue) and butter naan. On the side were thin sliced red onions, a green pasty mixture, and "pickle" (pickled lemon or lime rind). I was stuffed when I finished it all.
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On the way back to the hotel, I bought another small Christmas present for Nurse Grethe. Sue says she is sure she could find lots to buy here in India, but I find it difficult to find anything worthwhile. What I have is not much, but it is usuable in the west and typical of India.

Tuesday, Dec. 20, Goa to Mumbai

I discovered that the house gift I bought Grethe will not fit in my suitcase. I had expected it to lay flat in the bottom of it. Now I have to worry about hand carrying it while trying to avoid it being damaged, since it is fragile.

I have to check out of my hotel at 11:00. I'll go ahead and catch a bus to Margaon then, I guess.
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It's 2:10, and I'm at the train station. My train leaves at 6:00, so I have a long wait. That's fine. I'm just glad to be here. And since my train begins here, it will probably be available for boarding around 5:30.

It was a difficult bus trip here. Every seat was filled, and my luggage was in the way. I had to worry the whole hour-long trip about damaging Grethe's gift. I maneuvered to get up fast and grab my things so I could get out of everyone's way as soon as the bus stopped and avoid having people pushing and pressing to get by me.

The bus station is 3 km north of town, and the train station is 3 km south of town, so I had 6 km (about 3.5 miles) to traverse. Since I was in no hurry, I walked. That allowed me to make two stops. The best bookstore in Goa is here, so I stopped to see if I could buy The Art of Cooking. They didn't have it. That may be good, since I've already got too much of a load and no room anywhere for anything else. The second stop was at a restaurant for lunch. I picked out a place on the road to the train station. It's a vegetarian place. I had the thali (luncheon plate) and two fresh lime sodas.
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I'm sitting on the train. Although this is the originating station, it's already almost 20 minutes late departing. So far, I'm the only person in my "compartment" which has 6 seats--4 (2 facing 2) on my side of the aisle and 2 others (1 facting 1) on the other side. I could see that all but one of the seats (the one beside me and sleeping above me) are reserved, so the others must be coming on board later. It's the fanciest (and most expensive--$21 with my over-60 reduction of 30%) train car I've traveled in with only two levels for sleeping, privacy curtains, and seats that are still soft (versus the foam having been worn out).
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I had a great dinner. It was served in a thermos=like container. It was chicken and basmati rice with a nice curry sauce and half of a boiled egg. Ummm! I ate every bite.

I also finished reading Possession, A Romance by A. S. Byatt. I've taken longer to read it than most books. One reason is that it's my last novel I brought, so there was no need to rush. Another, however, is that it was almost too intellectual for me. It's about two poets, and there are pages and pages of long epic poems as well as many shorter poems. I found myself very involved in the story, but not wanting to read the poetry as carfully as is required to tie it to the story of what was happening in their lives. I gave it 3 out of 4 stars. And now I have nothing to read until I get to Copenhagen where I think I have 2-3 books stowed in a suitcase.

It's 8:30, and I'm still the only person in my compartment. We arrive early (around 5:30) at Mumbai tomorrow, so I should prepare my bed and see if I can get to sleep.

Wednesday, Dec. 21, Mumbai

A couple entered my compartment just after I had gone to bed last night. I was so tired that I went to sleep and never even heard them make their beds. I slept until 5 this morning when there began to be noises in the carriage. It's now 6:00, and we are nearing Mumbai. It's still dark and just about to turn light.
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We arrivedat 7:05. It took about 45 minutes to walk to where the map showed the hotel I had picked out to be. Then it took another hour of asking and looking to realize something wasn't right. I went to another hotel and asked if they had a room. Instead of showing me a single (which was available), they showed me a suite for 1675 rupees and a double for 1375 ruppes. The single was priced at 1125 which I could tell was going to be too much based on the appearance of the double. So I told them I didn't want to see it. I had asked for a single and they should have shown it to me first, I told them. Anyway, I walked to where the map indicated my second choice should be, entered, and it was the place I had originally been looking for! How strange.

My room is rather unique. It has a private bath, but it's down the hall. I have the key to it, and no one else can use it. With this type of bath, the room is only 426. With a bath in the room, the rate would be double that.

I went to the Lufthansa office by train to check on my reservation. While there, I saw the World Press Photo exhibition of winners for 2005. Arne and I used to see this exhibition in Copenhagen each year. The photos are always wonderful. Then I walked back along Marine Drive, a waterfront drive lined with nice art deco buildings 7-8 floors high that are in decent condition but with thye potential to be great if fully restored. Along the way, I watched for the SAS office but never found it.

I took the train to Andheri Station (near the international airport) just to explore the way. I'll probably do that tomorrow night for my flight, since I can travel after rush hours are over.

For a late lunch, I had mutton tikka masala and buttered naan at a nearby muslim restaurant. Tonight for dinner, I just had snacks--two samosas filled with a very spicy potato-green pea mixture and two pieces of fried dough shaped like samosas and soaked in honey.

The evening was quiet. I watched TV and watched people out the window both on the street and in the buildings. Almost everyone in the neighborhood is muslim.

Thursday, Dec. 22, Last Day in Mumbai (Part 1)

I had dreaded today. It's going to be a very long day, since my flight is at 3:25 a.m. tomorrow morning. I will be so happy when I am on the plane. But that will be 18 hours from now. I'll just wander the city in the meantime. But I am lucky that my hotel let me pay half the room rate and extend my stay until midnight. That will allow me to go back to the room to rest, to use the toilet, to watch the news, etc. That's far better than having to be outside all day long waiting until time to go to the airport.