Not surprisingly, it was quite late before we felt able to get up. Whilst lying in bed, I finished Rich Man, Poor Man by Irwin Shaw. I have been reading the book since we were in Lusaka and had become very involved with it. For this reason, the rather tragic ending didn't put me in very high spirits at all. Authors who put these sad endings in books are perverts and should be shot.
We were pushed for time so we got straight onto the bus for Mapusa. The conductor charged a German girl Rs.7 for the trip. We got away with paying Rs.3 each, but that was probably too much.
At Mapusa we got a bus to Panaji (called Panjim by most people). Despite the fact that the journey was twice the distance of Anjuna Beach to Mapusa, we were charged only Rs.2 each. You can't even trust bus conductors in India.
Panaji turned out to be quite nice—definitely better than Bombay. The first hotel we saw was the Tourist Hotel. The rooms had a balcony, a fan, and an en-suite bathroom. They were also nice and clean. At Rs.150 for the room, we really couldn't say no.
Checking in was another massive form-filling exercise. My encashment certificate was closely scrutinised; I filled in the registration forms for Olly and myself; the receptionist had to fill in a form. What a load of crap.
The hotel has a restaurant, and it seemed dirt cheap. Olly had Mixed Vegetable Masala, which was hot. I had a Prawn Vindaloo, which was evil.
In the afternoon we explored town and found a small beach. No good though.
In the evening we ate at the hotel again. We had beers, coffee, mango juice, fenny, and decent meals. The whole lot came to Rs.109. Absolutely incredible. The fenny was only Rs.3 for 30ml. A good job, really, because it was so foul I had to throw mine over the balcony.
After watching MTV for half and hour, we retired to our rather pleasant room.
We were pushed for time so we got straight onto the bus for Mapusa. The conductor charged a German girl Rs.7 for the trip. We got away with paying Rs.3 each, but that was probably too much.
At Mapusa we got a bus to Panaji (called Panjim by most people). Despite the fact that the journey was twice the distance of Anjuna Beach to Mapusa, we were charged only Rs.2 each. You can't even trust bus conductors in India.
Panaji turned out to be quite nice—definitely better than Bombay. The first hotel we saw was the Tourist Hotel. The rooms had a balcony, a fan, and an en-suite bathroom. They were also nice and clean. At Rs.150 for the room, we really couldn't say no.
Checking in was another massive form-filling exercise. My encashment certificate was closely scrutinised; I filled in the registration forms for Olly and myself; the receptionist had to fill in a form. What a load of crap.
The hotel has a restaurant, and it seemed dirt cheap. Olly had Mixed Vegetable Masala, which was hot. I had a Prawn Vindaloo, which was evil.
In the afternoon we explored town and found a small beach. No good though.
In the evening we ate at the hotel again. We had beers, coffee, mango juice, fenny, and decent meals. The whole lot came to Rs.109. Absolutely incredible. The fenny was only Rs.3 for 30ml. A good job, really, because it was so foul I had to throw mine over the balcony.
After watching MTV for half and hour, we retired to our rather pleasant room.
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