Yoga Goa
Door: Yaisa
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Yaisa
23 Januari 2011 | India, New Delhi
Goa... I was here before, in another life time it seems... I recognise the night market, the white churches, the strange over aged hippies from all the corners of the world... I don't remember the masses of Russians though, nor the restaurant menu's being written in Russian... Yes, unfortunately is seems they have taken over Goa too. But it doesn't matter, where we are staying it's quiet and loungy, the main ingredients coming out of the kitchen are soy beans and fresh fruit and vegetables juices (spiked with Old Arrack which we bought at the airport in Sri Lanka) and it's not the kind of place which typical peroxide blond and their stocky I-like-my-tshirts-too-tight Russians are looking for.
The place, Bean me up, is all about healthy vegetarian food and is located 15 minutes walk from Anjuna, one of the Goan beach towns where the hippies used to come in the 60's to exterminate what they had left of their brain cells. And the remains of this (or these rather) are still visible. Walking around at the Saturday night market last night was a feast for our eyes. Not only because of the hundreds of stalls selling all sorts of stuff, ranging from useless trinkets to almost design-like clothes, but mainly because of the strange creatures strolling around. Darja and I felt rather plain, but that may have also been because we were close to turning into zombies.
Having left Male at 6 pm the previous day, we travelled via Sri Lanka to Mumbai to Goa and then took a taxi to Bean me up where Adel was already waiting for us. We had breakfast together under the canope and after Adel had left for Purple Valley, Darja and I decided to refrain from taking a nap and wandered around in Anjuna, found some awesome clothes shops where we will have to come back when we have changed more money, had a two hour massage (ok, that was a bit of a nap actually), a huge vegetarian lunch with the best Palak Paneer, Tofu Massala and fresh Roti and Naan and then proceeded to attack the Arrack with Sprite back at the guesthouse. At 8 pm we took a taxi to the Night market where our senses were overwhelmed by the lights, smells and crowds. We managed to shop a bit but at 10 pm we were exhausted and had to give up. Since Bean me up services do not include dematerialised travel through space & time travel, we had to take a taxi home through the masses that were washing into the market and finally we crashed in our cute little room with double bed and fan. No bathroom, toilet or aircon, but for EUR 4 per night per person, who needs all that.
In the middle of the night I woke up hearing some voices outside and I thought I was on the boat and that my guests were up. So I got up to check out what was happening, opened the door, realised I was not on the boat but on land and then, totally confused I went back to bed, falling asleep while trying to remember where I was... It wasn't until 11 am that I got my senses back and realised that I was in Goa on holidays.
Holidays... after eight long weeks of hard work on Princess Haleema, I feel like I deserved them! We worked hard, very hard. Stefano did a lot of diving, I did a lot of paperwork. Together we did a lot of problem solving, dealt with a new tourist tax that has been introduced in the Maldives, with bureaucratic sloths for work permits and tourist visa's, with compressors that keep on breaking down and with all sorts of other issues you can run into on a boat far from land... We've been training new colleagues every month since the start of the season, which makes the job twice as heavy, it seems. But at the same time, we see manta's, sharks, whale sharks, leaf fish, microscopic shrimps and eagle rays every week. And we have the most beautiful sunsets every evening. And we have had the company of Darja, who has been working on the boat as a videographer with us for the past three trips. And we get lots of compliments from guests and our managers... It's a tough but rewarding job and a worthwhile price to pay knowing we will have at least four months off after this season. And after that? We don't know yet... will we come back again for a third season or will we look for a challenge elsewhere? It's all a big question mark as of yet, but we will let you know as soon as we know so you can book your next diving holiday with us... :-)
And in the meantime, I indulge in a two week holiday with Darja and Adel in Goa, where we have come for a yoga workshop in Purple Valley, one of the best places to be for Ashtanga practice, so they say. Our workshop starts next week and until then, we hang around and chill in Bean me up. I can think of worse ways to spend my holidays. And Stefano? Eating vegetarian, doing yoga and shopping at a night market? No, you're right, he didn't come along. He stayed in the Maldives and took a 12 hours ferry ride to Velidhoo, an island up North in Noonu atoll, where he will spend his days fishing tuna (the local way), eating fish and fishing some more. For sure he can think of worse ways to spend his time off... :-) I've been gone for two days and I already miss him, but it's good to do our "own" things every now and then, I guess...
So, while I'm off doing "my own things", I hope you are enjoying doing "your own things" too, be it staring out of your office window on the 15th floor, changing nappies, planning your next holiday, shopping till you drop, cooking up dinner parties, skiing down the slopes of the French Alps, dreaming of a sabbatical, cleaning the champagne corks from under your couch or drinking tea with your grand parents... It will soon be the year of the Rabbit and that can only be good...
Kisses from Goa
xxx
Y
The place, Bean me up, is all about healthy vegetarian food and is located 15 minutes walk from Anjuna, one of the Goan beach towns where the hippies used to come in the 60's to exterminate what they had left of their brain cells. And the remains of this (or these rather) are still visible. Walking around at the Saturday night market last night was a feast for our eyes. Not only because of the hundreds of stalls selling all sorts of stuff, ranging from useless trinkets to almost design-like clothes, but mainly because of the strange creatures strolling around. Darja and I felt rather plain, but that may have also been because we were close to turning into zombies.
Having left Male at 6 pm the previous day, we travelled via Sri Lanka to Mumbai to Goa and then took a taxi to Bean me up where Adel was already waiting for us. We had breakfast together under the canope and after Adel had left for Purple Valley, Darja and I decided to refrain from taking a nap and wandered around in Anjuna, found some awesome clothes shops where we will have to come back when we have changed more money, had a two hour massage (ok, that was a bit of a nap actually), a huge vegetarian lunch with the best Palak Paneer, Tofu Massala and fresh Roti and Naan and then proceeded to attack the Arrack with Sprite back at the guesthouse. At 8 pm we took a taxi to the Night market where our senses were overwhelmed by the lights, smells and crowds. We managed to shop a bit but at 10 pm we were exhausted and had to give up. Since Bean me up services do not include dematerialised travel through space & time travel, we had to take a taxi home through the masses that were washing into the market and finally we crashed in our cute little room with double bed and fan. No bathroom, toilet or aircon, but for EUR 4 per night per person, who needs all that.
In the middle of the night I woke up hearing some voices outside and I thought I was on the boat and that my guests were up. So I got up to check out what was happening, opened the door, realised I was not on the boat but on land and then, totally confused I went back to bed, falling asleep while trying to remember where I was... It wasn't until 11 am that I got my senses back and realised that I was in Goa on holidays.
Holidays... after eight long weeks of hard work on Princess Haleema, I feel like I deserved them! We worked hard, very hard. Stefano did a lot of diving, I did a lot of paperwork. Together we did a lot of problem solving, dealt with a new tourist tax that has been introduced in the Maldives, with bureaucratic sloths for work permits and tourist visa's, with compressors that keep on breaking down and with all sorts of other issues you can run into on a boat far from land... We've been training new colleagues every month since the start of the season, which makes the job twice as heavy, it seems. But at the same time, we see manta's, sharks, whale sharks, leaf fish, microscopic shrimps and eagle rays every week. And we have the most beautiful sunsets every evening. And we have had the company of Darja, who has been working on the boat as a videographer with us for the past three trips. And we get lots of compliments from guests and our managers... It's a tough but rewarding job and a worthwhile price to pay knowing we will have at least four months off after this season. And after that? We don't know yet... will we come back again for a third season or will we look for a challenge elsewhere? It's all a big question mark as of yet, but we will let you know as soon as we know so you can book your next diving holiday with us... :-)
And in the meantime, I indulge in a two week holiday with Darja and Adel in Goa, where we have come for a yoga workshop in Purple Valley, one of the best places to be for Ashtanga practice, so they say. Our workshop starts next week and until then, we hang around and chill in Bean me up. I can think of worse ways to spend my holidays. And Stefano? Eating vegetarian, doing yoga and shopping at a night market? No, you're right, he didn't come along. He stayed in the Maldives and took a 12 hours ferry ride to Velidhoo, an island up North in Noonu atoll, where he will spend his days fishing tuna (the local way), eating fish and fishing some more. For sure he can think of worse ways to spend his time off... :-) I've been gone for two days and I already miss him, but it's good to do our "own" things every now and then, I guess...
So, while I'm off doing "my own things", I hope you are enjoying doing "your own things" too, be it staring out of your office window on the 15th floor, changing nappies, planning your next holiday, shopping till you drop, cooking up dinner parties, skiing down the slopes of the French Alps, dreaming of a sabbatical, cleaning the champagne corks from under your couch or drinking tea with your grand parents... It will soon be the year of the Rabbit and that can only be good...
Kisses from Goa
xxx
Y
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23 Januari 2011 - 19:03
Anjo:
Heerlijk, zo'n hippie-paradijs!
About the year of the Rabbit: "sophisticated period with gracious manners and sensitivity." -
23 Januari 2011 - 19:23
Hanneke:
Hi Yais,
Leuk veslag! Voelt alsof ik erbij ben. Rob en ik zijn verhuisd en Tessa is helemaal gewend aan haar mooie blauwe kamer. Het huis is bijna klaar en het ziet er super uit. Als je volgende keer in NL bent, komt gezellig langs. Plek zat, ook voor Stefano. Doe Darja de groetjes en veel liefs van ons allemaal aan jullie in het mooie Goa! PEACE! XXH -
23 Januari 2011 - 21:04
Katelijne:
Leuk, Goa! Heel veel plezier en groeten aan Darja. x -
23 Januari 2011 - 21:31
VK:
Wow! Goa.. Enjoy your time off there and hope to catch you sometime this year in some corner of the world. -
23 Januari 2011 - 21:57
LadySKO:
Well Well the drink of champions ... miss that stuff ;) or did I mean snuff...
Have fun Miss xoxox -
24 Januari 2011 - 05:44
Mir:
Hippies, yoga and russians... my kind of place;)
Heerlijk Goa!! Njoy big time! XM
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19 Februari 2011 - 13:10
Viola:
Hoi Yaisa,
Bedankt voor je uitgebreide verslag.
Ik ben wel erg laat maar aangezien ik ziek was kwam er niets van.
Ik wens je nog een fijne tijd,
liefs Viola.
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