In Goa~ but InterNOT set up

Hi!  I’m writing from Goa!  I am staying in a beautiful hotel called the Empire Beach Resort.  It’s on Calangute Beach, in North Goa.  It was suggested to me by my sister’s friend Alec.  My cousin Pranu called to check on pricing for me (you never know when they’re going to rip you off just cause you’re a foreigner!) and we booked the place for the 6 nights I’ll be here.  I checked to make sure, but it’s definitely got internet access.  I got the wi-fi password even as I checked in.   However, my computer won’t connect.  In addition, my phone, which has been able to receive texts and phone calls with this Indian SIM card, is no longer doing even that, and I just upped the minutes, and added data to the plan!  So now, I have no way to communicate.  I can’t even call the Vodafone people to figure out what’s up.  Oh, India.

I arrived here a day ago.  Mrs. Irani, who owns the Empire Resort, sent a car to pick me up.  Pretty convenient not to have to arrange one.  (Also, I felt pretty special looking for my name on a sign as I came out of the airport!) My plane was delayed an hour or so, so it was already just past dusk as I came out of the airport.  The driver brought the car around and during the hour or so drive to the hotel told me about the area, places to go, things to see, local specialties, etc.

My hotel room is on the  main floor, with a little balcony that overlooks the pool, which overlooks the lawn which opens to the beach.  Pretty sweet.

I went down to the beach the first night and sat at one of the shacks and had some shrimp sauteed in garlic butter (something I had been told by several people not to miss).  They were amazing and satisfying.  I headed back to the hotel.

In the morning, I had breakfast at the Empire’s Restaurant.  It’s located in a little tower on the grounds, giving a bit of a bird’s eye view up and down the beach and the area. Really spectacular…  I enjoyed my morning coffee a lot up there, and tried to convince my laptop to connect to the internet.  I also placed an order for dinner that night.  One of the local dishes, the Kingfish.

Aside from some serious attempts to make the internet connection today, my only real goal involves lying around on the beach a lot and swimming.

*    *    *    *    *

I’ve been hanging out here at one of the beach shacks (basically bars on the beach, usually with lounge chairs, umbrellas, (sometimes the wi-fi they advertise even works!)  I had some beach induced insight…it even sounds a little poetic:  The might of one just might, but the might of many is mighty.  I was watching a boy start pushing with all his strength to try and move a boat (the one in the picture, clearly stuck in the sand , far from the water).  He was somehow joined by many others and successfully launched the boat against the tide, a task he literally could not have accomplished alone.  The boat I assumed beached until morning (which may not have even belonged to the two boys who are now joyriding along the shore…) is now gone from my immediate view. Actually, a rather impressive feat, the might of many!

I am going to head back to the hotel now, to try out a Kingfish. I like Kingfisher beer, (it’s my favorite Indian lager). Kingfisher birds must eat Kingfish. I assume, therefore, that I’ll like the Kingfish I ordered for dinner….
Mar 27, 2014 @ 23:25

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