2005.03.24
The day after my birthday party, I departed to the Northern Goa, Palorem to be exact. Now hold on, before you go on and wandering, what? Goa again? What happen to this kid? Let me clarify that Goa is big and it have lots beaches. The previous trip I went was Bagan and Anjoona beaches in Southern Goa. As you may already know, Bagan and Anjoona is more to trance and psychedelic party all day and all night long, smoking up like crazy and beaches full of people, Palorem is completely the opposite.
Initially when I thought of going to Palorem, I didn’t expect so many people to come along but anyway, there was about 11 of us on the bus. Omar & Kristine is on their one month ghetto-travelling, which Palorem being the first place and the rest of us are me, Martin, Carolina, Yushi, Erin, Nina, David, Sharifi and unexpectedly, the last ride in, Anna.
We departed from Pune at around 5.30 pm and it was the same sleeper bus we were on the last trip. Before the bus could move on, I begin my favourite pastime to what would to become a long journey to Palorem (14 hours), listening to music and reading. This are the two most important things to bring along, so to accompany my ever bluesy journey. Earlier, I had finish John Grisham’s “The Summons” and it was great. What can I say apart from praising him a master of story teller. I am starting a marathon to read all of his books since the similar marathon of Jeffrey Archer’s books has been completed. At the same time I am also reading up all of Paulo Coelho’s collections.
Anyway, the books that accompanied me through the 14 hours odyssey were John Grisham’s “The last Juror” and the half way through Paulo Coelho’s “Eleven minutes”. The selected CDs were Search Unplugged, John Mistress, my all time favourite Amir Yussof’s “Aquarius” , Buena Vista Social Club, Coldplay’s “A rush of blood to the head”, Tracy Chapman, Beck’s “Mutations”, Guns n’ Roses greatest hits double CD, Joe Satriani, Kenya Langala music, Suede singles, my all time favourite compilation which featuring REM, Counting Crows, Toto, Aerosmith, Crowded house, Eric Clapton, Soul Asylum and etc.
So I started the journey with one of those CD and start reading “eleven minute”, a story that tell the story of a girl name Maria, a young girl from a Brazilian village, whose first innocence encounter with love left us heartbroken and made her believe that love is a terrible thing that will only make her suffer. It is about her life, about the dream she want to persue but end up drifter further away. In this odyssey of self discovery (after encounter with a handsome young painter), Maria has to choose between pursuing a path of darkness or risking everything to find her own inner right. This book is so far my second favourite of Paulo after “Veronica decides to die”.
In the bus, I was being approached by a very smart Danish guy name Yas. He was just trying his luck on me whether or not I have a supply of Valium for him. Unfortunately I didn’t have any kind of drug with me but anyhow, he is kind of cool. He ended up with Nina that night.
After a stopover for 20 minutes dinner, we proceeded our journey, with many CD and few chapters of “eleven minutes”, few sip of Vodka coke (by Sharifi), few sticks of cigarette, beautiful views by the upper window, I slept through the night, until the bus reached its destination at Panjim, capital of central Goa at around 7.30 am.
From Panjim, we took a hired bus which charged each of us (and some other backpackers) for Rs.30 per head. The journey from Panjim to the outskirt Palorem (the beach) took us about an hour and 20 minutes.
The journey to the deep inside of Palorem was serene and beautiful, filled with amazing landscapes of unpolluted place. The bus passed through huge and empty land, farm fields, wooden houses, with clear sky above us and kids were playing around and the animals were wandering around. I was lost in my own “rocking hard” world with first Joe Satriani’s guitar rift and soloing and after that followed by Guns n’ Roses greatest hits such as “Get in the ring”, “Paradise city”, “Live and let die” and so forth.
We reached the beautiful beach of Palorem, arguably the state’s most idyllic beach. Along the long stretch of its peaceful beaches, amid the lazy wind, shiny sun and waves hitting the shore weakly, you will see about 30 of small villages that offering huts to visitors. Some huts are facing the beach and some are located inside. In comparison with Anjoona and Bagan beach, Palorem is the complete opposite, more silent, less crowded, less trance and psychedelic and more chill out music.
Omar and Kristine check in by themselves and same goes to Nina. The rest of us rented two huts where Yushi, Sharifi and I shared the smaller hut.
Immediately after checking in, without further ado, I jump onto the beach and befriended with the water, the golden sand and the friendly waves.
This followed by laying lazily on the chair, with beers and music, inviting the sun to shine and cook the remaining of my exposed flesh.
Then through Nina, I met up with a Bombay girl name Sapna. Both Nina and Sapna were naked most of the time. I never thought of Sapna as a Indian girl. Her looks and appearance looks like she is from South American girl, perhaps Brazil. Anyway, she is the first celebrity’s celebration connection I met in Palorem. She is so cool and she rocks heaven and hell. I was amazed by what she had to said and all about her past and present. Night before, together with her husband (Sam) and Tonic, another Indian, we were smoking up on the beach and we were chatting about mutual respect for gender equality, without any sort of discrimination. Proud to say that she was impressed on my stand on this issue. How did I know? When Tonic, Sam and I were smoking up in the morning after that, Sam had told me that Sapna are so eagerly to tell Gouri Khan about her encounter with me. Gouri Khan is a wife of Shah Rukh Khan. I was truly honoured, thinking that Gouri Khan would soon know about me but Sam rebutted that NO, it is not about Gouri, it is about (matter of time) Shah Rukh Khan will know about me.
Sapna is a hairstylist in Bombay, owner of the infamous “Mad or what” in Bombay. “Mad or what” is a very famous expression in Bombay, just like “Keong Kan” in Hokkien.
Her connection with Gouri and Shah Rukh Khan and other Bollywood’s celebrities is just tip of a iceberg of her celebrity connection. She had the hair of Tina Turner, smaller size, beautiful body big boobs. Most of the time, we were either chatting on the beach or up the sand with her breast (topless) continue to stare at me uncomfortably. (somehow I got use to it in a very short span of time since I came from an island myself and had been skipping school many times in those days just to hang around the beaches in Tanjung Bunga and Batu Feringghi.
Her body was full of meaningful tattoos. The whole of her back was fully tattooed with a sort of Goddess, with the lotus flower floating on the bottom. Her upper arm was tattooed with “Daddy’s little girl forever”, a symbol of ancient love with the word “papa” imprinted in it and the lower arms is a combination of the image of Elvis Presley and his name. (very nice tattoo, professionally done). On her tight near her vagina was a tattoo of sperm leading to the direction of her vagina. On top of her stomach was a “Born against” outstretching from side to the other and a snake surrounding her stomach. On her both legs was full of trivial tattoo. And while Sam and Tonic was away to the beach and while were talking up the sand, she decided to get another tattoo then and there which her husband’s name on her breast. Most of the tattoos on her body was being done for her daddy, according to her.
She had live in the America for 14 years before decided to came back to Bombay. She was also a hairstylist in America and had lived in various places namely LA, New Mexico and Chicago. During her tenure as a professional hairstylist there, she had done some of celebrity’s hair. Some of them are Lenny Kravitz, Eminem, John Fight (front man of the rock band Tool which is her all time favourite band), Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, Janet Jackson, Brandon of Incubus, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit and so forth.
Talking to her you somehow can tell whether or not she is bullshitting. To me, she is way too humble to boast up all of this and I don’t think she was bullshitting. I called her “The rebel”. She walked from one pole to the other, on the rope while exposing her boobs and all her tattoos to the sun and every ones who cheered and lauded for her.
The guy who did the tattoo for her was her ex boyfriend, Kevin Queen, one of the top tattoo maker in the world. Kevin also did tattoo for Guns n’ Roses, my all time number 1 favourite band. (Remember Axl Rose, Slash, Duffy, Dizzy, Gilby Clark and Sorum?)
Other topless girl that I came to know is this German girl which right now I couldn’t remember her name. She is Neema’s girlfriend which I also came to know. Neema is a Persian and live in Germany, together with his girlfriend. Neema is a very nice and soft spoken guy. We were like a small community. This Neema’s girlfriend (I will call her Monica, for some reason) is fucking gorgeous. And when she went topless, I was fascinated by her gorgeous, sexy and oily body. Her shape of breast was one of the most beautiful I ever saw, after Monica Belluci. In facts whenever I looked at her or talking to her, seating by her chair while she was lying down sun tanning, my mind suddenly think of Monica Belluci (Malena, Irreversible)
In the later day, I went to the other side of beach, to this café name Banyan Café which allowed you to play your own CD and few bamboo chair tied and swing on the trees. Most of the time there, I read few more chapters of “Eleven minutes”, enjoying my own CD of Amir Yussof, Kenya’s Langala music and so forth. I also ordered my lunch there and few round of beers.
At night, all of us met up to have one of Goa’s famous dishes, seafood, especially its grill king fish and shark. I ordered a chicken sizzle steak while sharing with the rest the grill King fish and shark. It was great.
Tonic, another celebrity’s celebration or maybe celebrity himself, friend of Sam and Sapna, which stayed at the same village with us. She is quite knowledgeable as well. That morning, during our smoking up session before starting the rest of days, Sam, Tonic and I were hang out at Tonic’s hut. Lots of topics were conversed under the sun and one of them was Che Guevara. Coincidently, not surprisingly, all of them had read and watched the movie. (While me, I had only read the book).
Tonic is a screenwriter for theatre and independent movie and sometime, the Bollywood production. He is having writer’s block hence trying to get some new inspiration in Goa.
He is now acting on a theatre that would be coming to Pune soon in 2 or 3 months time. The theatre is about the origin of Martial arts are from India, Not China. He is holding the lead role of the Indian prince, travelling to Chine to spread Buddhism. When the prince reached China, he found out that most of the monks are very lazy so he developed a kind of living technique (martial art) to keep the monks healthy and build up. The theatre (which is still untitled) will be directed by the infamous director Mira Nair, well known for her international movie, “The monsoon wedding”.
Just for the record, I was losing track on time and days when I was in Goa (Palorem) and worse still, I was lazy enough to note down my diary. Therefore, whatever I wrote here are not in chronological order of time and days and are solely based on the recollection of my yesterday’s memories.
On the third day, if I am not mistaken, David, Carolina, Yushi, Martin and I woke up as early as 6.30 am to catch the sunrise and the morning breeze. We rented a boat and a driver. The boat driver drove us to the middle of ocean and watches the dolphins bathe in sea under the morning sunlight. It was beautiful to see the wonderful creature flipping and jumping off the ocean to catch the glimpse of light.
The sounds of the ocean, the sound of the waves hitting the rocks, attempted to separate them, that will takes hundred of years, were in the air.
From middle of ocean, we went to monkey beach and after that to Butterfly beach, which both are without monkey and butterfly respectively.
The boat ride took us about 1 hour. In the afternoon, I decided to separate myself to travel and wander the beach alone, to be with myself (thing that I regret because I never do enough of the entire 4 days in Goa). I went to the end of the beach and walked up the piles of rocks and across the other until I see entire new part of the further ocean. I started to be amazed with the God gifted landscapes and beautiful natures, so I snaps lots of photo and recorded some good short movies. (Thanks to Thomas who lend me his digicam)
At night, again all of us met up for a dinner. This time at the Drocadi restaurant. We tried the night before but were fully occupied. Again, we ordered lots of seafood grill shark and king fishes. I ordered Briyani chicken rice. Prior to that, I already downer 350 ml of port wines and that, had enabled me to talk like, either a fool or intelligent bastard. At the end of the dinner, I was almost there, gone but somehow managed to keep myself together. Dracodi restaurant had an endorsement of Matt Damon and the entire production crew of Bourne supremacy. Matt and the crews were at Dracodi most of the time during the time when they were shooting Bourne Supremacy at Palorem beach.
On the third day, everyone else left, back to Pune. In that eleventh hour and in the nick of time, Erin, Sharifi (who both had become closer and intimate), Nina and I decided to stay for another day in paradise. So, we checked out of our hut and check in with Nina. Nina, always cool, had already established contacts with people in and around her, so when we moved in, everybody started to asked about Nina, who most of the time, either disappear or appear nude in the beach.
The group of Israelis people in the village where Nina stayed. Our neighbour was Raft (Israelis) and his Australian girlfriend. They invited us to smoke with them, this time using Chalem. Raft is a stone guy. And then came his friend, another Israelis, who surprise to heard that I was from Malaysia. Not because he is not allowed to enter the country, but because of our harsh (death mandatory) policy on drug possession which images and treatment he learned not from books or factual basis but from a Hollywood movie “Return to Paradise” starring Anne Heche (Donnie Brasco), Jacquin Phoenix (Ladder 49, Gladiator), Vince Vaughn (Old school). I happen to watch these movie weeks before I left for India and some of the events are simply not true. This 1998 movie also starring Patrick Teoh as a Penang high court judge and Lina Teoh as a bitch.
On that third day, it was particularly boring for me. Maybe because I was tired, completely grilled and cooked (sun burned). One of the events on this boring day that can be highlighted is when Omar & Kristine, Sharifi & Erin and Nina & I rented a bike to cruise around the outskirt of Palorem. The feeling of riding the wind with only short and nothing else provided the maximum pleasure. We passed through the palm and coconut trees, villages houses, many kind of livestock and finally we reached a super grand 5 star hotel, at about 15 minutes drive away from Palorem beach. We were stranger and we were beggar at that place. I put on my dirty and smelly Coca-Cola shirt on while Sharifi and Omar was topless, only with short. Every one around us was either in proper dress, expensive perfume, with family, golf suite etc. Omar was walking like he is walking to his own castle, talking and shouting in Arabic to Sharifi that are faraway.
The hotel is the only grand hotel. It is Intercontinental hotel. Just imagine our Equatorial Hotel. This hotel needless to say is only occupied by “tourist” who is on business trip or holidaying and NOT backpackers that are travelling.
The beach here was so much silent and the only thing that can be heard was the sound of the ocean.
Fast forwarded to the last day morning. Night before I was tired and I slept quite early. I woke up and started to walk barefooted and semi naked along the beach. I stopped by at Tonic’s hut. After that, I proceeded to walked into the village area in search of cheap breakfast. I came to this grocery store and bought few pieces of creamy bread and fresh milk, for both me and Daisy. Now, who the fuck is Daisy??
Daisy is the small dog that always stalking and be with me whenever I was around my hut or at Sameer café. Erin and I named her. That morning before I left to wander around and to Tonic’s hut, I told Daisy that I am gonna get her a breakfast while she was still deep into her sleep.
Daisy was God-bless. Because when I came to my hut with breakfast, she was gone. So I started to feed other dogs around and just before I wasted the breakfast on other dogs, I decided to keep some of it in case Daisy came back. But I gave up easily, so I stood up and search for Daisy in Sameer café. And there she was, eating eggs scramble, feed by a very beautiful girl. So I sat there, waiting for the silence to be broke. Others dogs started to be friend with me, in attempt to convince me to give away the remaining of the food. So I feed them. And our compassion for dogs, fate brought me and the beautiful girl together. She is from Germany and her name is Jasmin. Since that morning, we stick with each other until the time had come for me to go.
I had fun talking to her and likewise. And the more time we wasted, the deeper our conversation goes. We talked about her past, her unlucky quest with love (which prompted her to come all the way to India, to persue Osho courses. She talked about her past wild and reckless life, struggling with the addiction of Cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, Valium and God knows what else? When we were talking about life and its existence, I suddenly became so intelligent to talk about the concept of our body, mind and soul, time relativity, heaven and hell and everything else I understand from Nealth Donald’s “Conversation with God”. I couldn’t believe it I was so well verse with the understanding of the content even though I never read that book. I guess it was after all the endless discussion with Omar whose fascination with the subject had lead him from one thing and another. I am going to buy and read the books (3 books) after I finish Grisham’s “The last Juror”.
And when she shed about her past love life with me, I told her that her story remind me of Maria, from Paulo Coelho’s “Eleven minutes” which book I was reading it then. Not surprisingly, She knew about it and she told me how she wept over and over again for Maria because the whole story resemblance so much of her experience though she wasn’t a prostitute. She entered her short story of her life experience into competition and that writing competition won her few thousand euro hence she is able to travel to India, as well as Thailand. Her other menial job in Germany was a receptionist, advertisement model for West (she earned 4000 euro for that one shot), selling gems as well as selling her professional photo shots to ad agency.
Jasmin is another celebrity’s connection. Her ex boyfriend is now the upcoming actor in silver screen in Germany. He is Birol Ünel, now starring the movie directed by Fatin Akin, entitled “Gegen die wand”. Her best friend which according to her is the most beautiful one among them and are now touring with Alicia Keys across the United States. Her name is Sasha Hoktan.
And then came along Clive Grylls. A photographer for various magazine namely Time, National Geographic, Focus etc. He is a very funny, intelligent and articulate guy. Just search his name on the internet and you will see his various article on snakes and other wild life appeared on the online magazines.
I am so regret that I didn’t travel and wander by myself that much. How I wish I could met Jasmin the night before not the day after. Anyway, we had a fun time together and tonight or tomorrow I am expecting her visit to Pune. Just got her email that she is coming, directly from Goa.
After kissing her goodbye, we departed from Palorem to the capital (Panjim) and reached there around 5.30pm.
On the way back to Pune, I met up with Sandra, from Sweden. She is, forgive me for saying this again, fucking gorgeous, the kind of gorgeous charmed with attitude and charisma. She reminds me of Gesine who is heading back to Germany in less than 2 weeks time.
We slept through the night and we reached Pune at around 6.30am. Everyone went separate way. Sandra and I shared a rickshaw to Koregeon Park where she would register herself with the Osho commune international and me, going home.
Goa, although it is only a beach but at the end of august, I will go back there again, at least this is my vow. But this time, I am travelling alone. My plan now should my visa is extended; I will work until end of August and travelling for one month. All by myself, with hope that I will meet more and more interesting people, particularly girls!!
With that, God bless and Happy Easter Day.
Love & Regards
Peter
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