Wanderlust Heaven!

Prem Joshua returned to Goa last week. His ‘homecoming’ is an annual rite in Goa, not officially recognized as such, but certainly noted by his many friends and fans. Josh came by Bean Me Up for lunch the other day, and we had a long chat. He’s been busy with gigs and also recording a live album – which is apparently incredibly hard to get just right. He seems keen to relax a bit on Goa, although he’s off again very soon for gigs in Dubai and elsewhere. We both return to Goa on December 4th. I need to bug him about giving me guitar lessons…

Before I took off for Vietnam, we went for dinner at the beloved Souza Lobo, home of the world’s finest tandoor kingfish. And the Goan masala prawns ain’t bad neither. We met up with Chintan, one of Josh’s bandmates, and a few others. Six of us, three kingfish – just right. Souza Lobo gets mobbed during the peak season so we need to get in a few visits in coming weeks, then stay away while the great unwashed from Europe descends on Goa.

I’ve been tinkering with my new laptop ever since I got it. What a lot of work…first, setting it up, then transferring all the files over, and finally a huge amount of tweaking/optimizing. And I was moving from Windows XP to Vista –that’s not a seamless process. All the tracks in my iTunes Library were duplicated…other third-party software got confused…key patches weren’t yet available…you name it. I’ve steadily been fixing problems, and have finally reached the promised land. One key piece of freeware that helped quite a bit was Advanced WindowsCare 2 (Personal). This nifty little application clears up registry errors (I didn’t even know what a registry was until recently – one benefit of digging into your computer is that you learn a hell of a lot), provides another layer of anti-spyware protection, and optimizes system performance. I was a little nervous about turning sensitive areas of my computer over to this program, but I crossed my fingers and let it resolve all the ‘problems’ it found, and it worked brilliantly. It even lets you remove programs from your Startup menu – whereas Windows makes this nearly impossible. Do Mac users have to deal with all this crap??

It was a full moon the other night. That seems to have a major effect on people in Goa, at least the more spiritual amongst us. Given the lack of night lighting in Goa, you do really see how much light the full moon provides…you can even wander around the beaches, which are slightly lit and have a weird aura. Just don’t walk into any bulls. I had dinner at BMU and talked with Lisa. Wasn’t planning on going out, but she was energized by the full moon and brought another guest and I over to Chapora, an isolated little town nearby that still seems stuck in the 60s. What a late-night freakshow on the streets! Every third person was lighting up a chillum; Lisa knew quite a few folks there, she’s moved on in life but most of the Chaporans haven’t. Was like an anthropological experiment for me.

After that, we went to Primrose to listen to some music. This place is exceedingly dodgy, but diverting for an hour or two. Ran into a few BMU staffers, who were playing pool and smoking cigarettes. After that our full moon-inspired energy ran out and we headed home to rest.

I had nothing planned the next day, so drove up to the northern beaches of Mandrem and Asvem. I hadn’t spent much time at these beaches, they’re a bit obscure but all the better. I first parked above Mandrem and just walked for a long while…eventually I came to Arambol, which was closer than I had imagined. In fact, I had told myself I wouldn’t go to Arambol, I’d concentrate today on Mandrem and Asvem, but my geography is a bit off and I came to learn that you can walk the entire stretch from Morjim in the south to Arambol in the north – not a modest initiative, but doable. I will do that walk one day, perhaps when my friends Ken and Carmen come for the Xmas holiday. As it was, my Mandrem-Arambol walk was great – superb views, calming on the mind and body.

After that, drove to Asvem – not easy to find, despite the obvious inclination to head west from road to water. There are some side streets you must take to get to Asvem, and I figured these out this time. Once at Asvem, I was impressed by the beauty of the beach there – uncrowded, dramatically rocky in certain spots, and supremely peaceful. Not sure if that will be the case in December/January, but for now it’s a great little secret and I mean to return soon. Took another long walk at Asvem – I believe I approached Mandrem to the north before calling it a day.

I’ve been good about exercising lately, but after my two long beach walks I didn’t feel like running. And when I came back to BMU, I learned there was a party at Curly’s again that night. Curly’s does seem to be going off a lot these days. First went to Nine Bar – half of the BMU staff was there, dancing away – they have Saturdays off. Then drove over to Anjuna Beach for the Curly’s bash – had to walk a ways on the beach, and by that hour it was high tide and I got pretty wet en route. No big deal – once at Curly’s, I was probably over-dressed and cleaner than most. Stayed there for an hour or so…for some reason I’m not into super-late nights recently. I think it’s because I’ve nearly seen it all and need a special reason to stick it out till the wee hours…

Got back around 1 a.m. Saw that I got an SMS from Deccan Air, the carrier I’d take that afternoon up to Mumbai. Their flight would be delayed by 45 minutes – was glad they SMSed me. The cheapo Thai carriers should learn to do this – my Nok Air misadventure a few weeks ago was annoying. I have to say that in some ways Indian services impresses, particularly with regards to tech – I can easily get email on my Treo, people text each other often, etc. But when a process is required – i.e., getting a Vietnam visa – it gets ugly. You just can’t do more than 2-3 things/day here…whereas in the West you can get many things done every day (not that you always feel in the mood).

Headed to Mumbai on Sunday afternoon. Was happy my flight was late, because I was facing a long layover in Mumbai, and the international airport is still a real dump. Anyway, I only had to spend 3 hours there, and I worked my way through a couple New Yorkers to pass the time. One edition had an article on Bobby Egan, who owns a BBQ joint in New Jersey and who, bizarrely enough, is a key unofficial conduit for North Korean contacts with the U.S. He’s been to Pyongyang several times and is buddies with key NKor officials there and in the U.S. Not a polished fellow, but what you see is what you get, and somehow he’s managed to befriend some pretty secretive people. These sorts of articles are why I read The New Yorker…

There was another article about Wehrner von Braun, the German space scientist who was captured by the U.S. at the end of the war and later put in charge of our space program. His story is fairly well-known, but I learned that Voyager One, which was launched decades ago and is now something like 10 billion miles from Earth, has pre-recorded greetings to any aliens who might cross its path. The voice of Earth? Kurt Waldheim, U.N. Sec-Gen at the time. Wonderful – an ex-Nazi (is there such a thing?) representing the human race. There is an incredible irony to that one…

The back cover of one of the New Yorkers was black, and some of the ink rubbed off on my white t-shirt. Torture. I went into the bathroom to clean it off, and that worked OK, except that I was now covered in water. The bathroom attendant gave me a hand towel to dry off. Frequent readers will know of my general detestation of bathroom attendants…but this guy was all right. I thanked him, but said I unfortunately had no rupees for a tip. He smiled and told me no problem and that I was ‘most welcome in India’. Wow – that was a record-setting statement for an untipped bathroom attendant. If we can clone this one, I might change my general impression of the profession…

Flew on to Kuala Lumpur at midnight. I love these cheapie air tix. Landed at 7:30 a.m., facing a severe layover in KL, and didn’t feel like going into town – I’d already been there many times and didn’t feel like any more sight-seeing. Had a coffee…checked email…then decided to find the airport transit hotel and sleep for a few hours. Found the hotel – they had a room for 140 ringgit (approx. US$40-45) for 6 hours. I only needed 4 hours, but it was the same price so I took it. I absolutely love these places – no need to leave the hotel (or collect your bag, if you’ve checked it to your final destination). Clean room, hot shower, aircon, TV, and bed. I showered, then lay down and slept for 3 hours. Woke up without an alarm, fully refreshed, showered again, and went to my gate. When I was at Monitor, I often stayed at the Singapore (Changi) Airport Hotel after a red-eye from Japan or Oz. These places are the true antidote to a red-eye – bless them.

Connected to my Saigon flight. Got into Ton Son Nhut Airport at 3:30 p.m. So quiet – as was KL Airport. Quite a change from Mumbai, Bangkok, etc. This was my first flight into Vietnam – realized that as I was pondering the quietude of the airport. Ton Son Nhut was once one of the world’s busiest airports, back during the war. Now it’s mellow, there’s a new international terminal which is very nice. Saigon is still a bit off the beaten path, but that’s changing and I think it won’t be long before the place is mobbed.

Met up with Phuong that night. Had a very late dinner, as she had to work till 10 p.m. No problem. She liked the silk sari I’d bought for her in Goa – although it was a challenge to remember how it’s precisely worn. She looked tantalizing wrapped up in it….I was getting all sorts of ideas.

I had booked a room at the Sheraton Saigon, a newish five-star right in the cool Dong Khoi area. It’s right near the Caravelle, Continental, and Park Hyatt. Problem – they want to see a marriage certificate before allowing a Vietnamese woman to accompany a foreign man upstairs. Ugh. I am not above forging documents every now and then, but lack a copy of this one – so we had to resort to subterfuge to get her upstairs. I won’t detail the operation here, I’d prefer to keep it a secret. But we got upstairs – mission accomplished.

Slept very late the next morning – something I haven’t done in ages. I tend to get up with the sun in Goa, or soon thereafter. I guess big-city life is more tiring (and less healthy) and my body responds accordingly. Phuong went off to teach yoga…I had kaiten-zushi (conveyor belt sushi) for lunch…we met again at the Sheraton to go swimming. Again, some interference from security – how annoying. I should check out the local laws on this – they appear to echo Laos’. I can see how they want to avoid becoming the next Thailand…and I can only imagine the sorts of freaks the hotels must deal with. Still – they should be less heavy-handed. Security guard at the Sheraton Saigon – that’s not a job any of us would want. What would you do if a well-dressed foreigner and a similarly decked-out Vietnamese of the opposite sex walked up to the elevator? It would be pretty fucking hard for a guard to avoid offending said couple…

Anyway, I’m moving to a smaller, more relaxed hotel in a few days – I had planned that anyway, and am now doubly happy about making the move. Less luxury, but less aggravation as well – besides the ridiculous level of security, the Sheraton charges US$18/day for Internet access; I’m not sure I’ve ever seen higher. The next hotel charges nothing. People sometimes ask me if I miss staying in five-star establishments – and I always answer no. The only reason I chose the Sheraton here is to give Phuong a treat – and the payback is that I have to lie and sneak her up to my room. Paradox, thy name is Starwood…

Was walking around the Pham Ngu Lao area late the other night. The cyclo (rickshaw) drivers were asleep in their cyclos…one guy had literally tied his feet to a lamp-post to remain horizontal. It was absolutely classic – wish I had had my camera on me then.

Had learned from an old client in Bangkok that another ex-client was now head of a pharma company’s subsidiary in Vietnam. This ex-client and I had worked on a great project in Sydney back in 2000, and we hadn’t seen each other since then. I emailed her, and we had a drink last night. Was great to catch up with her – she’s done very well in the past few years. And she gave me some helpful insight on Vietnam – for instance, the real estate sector has been growing like mad, but it may be because government officials are cadging from the national bank and using those funds for development/purchases. And the bourse (stockmarket) has also been rising…but the scale is such that until recently, if you bought US$10,000 of a major stock, you’d hike it one point yourself. Hmmm…that creates some interesting system-gaming opportunities. India was in a similar situation back in ’92, when I was there for the first time…and the deck of cards eventually collapsed, with huge pain all round. I hope Vietnam isn’t headed for the same shoals…

Noticed on my Treo Calendar that today, Thursday November 29, is the day when my current American Airlines round-the-world ticket runs out. Today I was scheduled to fly from Madrid to New York to Boston. When I set up the RTW ticket in January of this year, that was as far out as I was allowed to book – the understanding was that I’d just push everything out as time passed. But you’ll recall that I blew off my Bangkok-Mumbai ticket to stay longer in Indochina, and a conversation with Alan and Janine helped me re-think my general travel approach; consequently, I decided to stop the RTW way of travel and just move to a point-to-point plan. I wasted what was left of my AA ticket…but having the total freedom to go where I want, when I want, is worth that cost. How can you really know what you want 9 months in advance, or even 3? I can afford to spend the extra money on flights, and will just try to use frequent-flyer miles when possible.

Saigon, Saigon. My third visit in two months – who would have guessed I’d spend so much time here? I recall my initial 3-day visit – frantic non-stop sight-seeing as my visa ran out. Now I’ve returned for two separate one-week stints, and more may be in the cards. So far things with Phuong are good…she’s a sweet woman and I have fun with her. Communications aren’t always easy, but we make an effort. My problem is that I’ve never done well with long-distance relationships…and these days, I have so many places I want to visit, it’s a juggling act even without Saigon being in the mix. I suppose it all comes back to prioritization, yet another of my many weaknesses. Even at the age of 40, I’ve got a lot to learn. But it’s all good and helps to get me out of bed every morning (or afternoon).

Just noticed that my slog, in its totality, is nearly at 500 pages in the Word document in which I write it. I’ll need to come up with something momentous to mark the 500-page watershed – never before has so much been written but so little said, or something Churchillian like that. Submissions and suggestions welcomed. Over and out.

Not long after polishing off last week’s entry, I heard about a beach party at the infamous Curly’s, on Anjuna Beach. I was at Bean Me Up, about to have dinner, when Lisa told me about the party. And it was a very slow night at BMU, so she let a few staff take off and join the party. I was torn…had yoga the next morning, but did feel like joining the lads and blowing off some steam. The steam arose largely from my being the dunce of the yoga class…while it’s not a competitive session, I do feel intensely self-conscious and inadequate when standing or sitting next to some of my class’s flexibabes, who are pretzel-like in their poses. My solution? Sulk for a while, then drink heavily. So far, it’s kept me sane…

Curly’s was well into it by the time I got there. Parked relatively far away, to avoid late-night traffic jams. It was very crowded…DJ was spinning and the dance floor was heaving with all the flotsam and jetsam of Goa. A seemingly pregnant woman (I hope not, but…) was prancing around next to a Jesus-like figure sporting only a towel…and next to him was a woman wearing a large arm cast. Nice – I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The air was redolent with all manner of resins and sweat. Tried to locate the BMU crew, lead by headwaiter Bini, but couldn’t see ‘em. Finally, at a break in the action, I simply yelled out ‘Bini!’ and sure enough, he came right up and high-fived me. I was back amongst familiar faces.

With Bini was Umesh the bartender and Surendra the dishwasher. They’ve all been at BMU for some time, I knew them all from last season. All good guys. Surendra in particular is an absolute riot…he speaks about 5 words of English, yet now wants to be called ‘Jack.’ Not too sure why, but he likes that name and I think it’s hilarious. Now, whenever I see him at BMU, I yell ‘Jack!’ and he grins widely. It’s one form of connecting, I suppose…

Left there after a couple hours, and rode home. It was a cold evening, the weather continues to be mild here. Lisa rang me up and told me she left a blanket outside my room – nice of her. There is a personal touch here at BMU which is generally lacking in other establishments. Might be due to my friendship with Lisa and Richard, but it’s beyond that – they run a tight yet friendly ship and I think hospitality comes naturally to them. It sure doesn’t to me.

Went to yoga class the next morning. Good class, but my hamstrings are tight as hell, probably from running, and I’m caught in a vicious cycle wherein I try to stretch them out in yoga class, then they’re sore and it’s difficult to go running at night…but I try to do so anyway, and that doesn’t help me in yoga class the next day. I had to take a day off from running (and yoga class, a different day) to let my body calm down and return to center.

Gaby, our yoga instructor, is a cool Aussie who’s been in Goa forever. She and Lisa know each other well – Lisa turned me on to Gaby, yet another good recommendation from Lisa. I continue to wonder what sort of yoga is best for me, given my ‘hot nature’ (in ayurvedic terms I am a ‘pitta-dosha,’ my constitution is fiery). Ashtanga yoga, what I’m practicing now with Gaby et al, is demanding and intense, and might be too much for my joints, which have been conditioned by years of running. A more gentle/restorative yoga might be better for me, but for the next few weeks I’ll stick with Ashtanga and see how I feel. I did like Gaby’s preamble to class the other day – she advised us to clean our bowels and noses before class, as it’s difficult to practice with a full lower intenstine and a clogged nose. I tend to start my days doing so…and perhaps this is one area in which I’m near or at the head of our class!!

Gaby told us there’s no class one full moon days. I have yet to ask her why, but I think it’s kind of cool regardless. Maybe she’s a witch and has some dark arts to conduct those nights?

Speaking of hidden talents, one of my yoga classmates is apparently the Goan state boxing champ (female division). I’m not that surprised, come to think of it – we practice (for now) in a boxing studio, and this chick looks tough. She has feet that look (tragically) like mine, and fairly hairy legs. I wouldn’t have messed with her before, and now won’t for sure.

Next week classes shift to a custom-built shala (studio) right on Vagator Beach. Of course, I’ll be in Vietnam next week. Which is perfectly OK…I’ll bring my mat to Saigon, and anyway my lady friend there is a yoga teacher so she can keep me honest.

My new resistance cord came in the mail. It’s made by Gaiam, a ‘lifestyle company,’ whatever that means. McDonald’s is a lifestyle company too, no? Anyway…my new cord is better than my old one, which had moving parts and required assembly. The new one is fully integrated and is ready to use straight out of the box. Now I can get my upper body muscles back in shape…my old cord broke a few weeks ago, and I’ve missed the damned thing.

Finally got my Vietnam visa. Maria at Connexions (the travel agent) didn’t call me once with a status update, so I went by there every other day for 2 weeks till it was concluded. At one point I thought, perhaps I won’t go by and she’ll eventually call me. But after 3 days, no call, so I reverted to form. Lisa at BMU told me that Maria (and other Goans in the service biz) won’t spend the 1 rupee for the local call. Incredible. In India you’d best be prepared to slog through the simplest of tasks. I miss Laos and Cambodia, where you can almost get a visa by clapping your hands 3 times. Might be a business opportunity in consolidating the visa application process online, as it’s done for Oz.

I told Maria that I had been concerned I wouldn’t get the visa. She said she had also been worried. Oh, yeah? Maria displaying concern is akin to the Buddha’s visage whilst meditating – you could have fooled me. Anyway, she did come through, albeit for the price of US$130 or so. It’s just money…

Along with the resistance cord, my mail drop included a few letters. One was from the US Internal Revenue Service, a much-feared beast. Apparently on a recent submission I hadn’t signed a form – the Foreign Bank Report form. So I had to sign the new letter and send that back to the States. Hopefully it will get there…the Indian post office doesn’t have the best rep. I also received a small package from my healthcare insurer, Blue Cross, informing me that my rates will rise 20% next month and thereafter. Torture. That prompted me to call Blue Cross and switch to a cheaper plan. Making the call was not fun, given that payphones here won’t connect to US toll-free #s, necessitating a Skype call which may or may not be of decent quality. My call was OK, but I had to speak with 3 different people to 1) set up a new policy and 2) junk my old one. Is there any vendor out there which understands that people (even me) are busy and prefer to have a single point of contact?

Further torture – they insist on sending snail mail, so my welcome package and first bill will come to Newton, whereupon my family will need to FedEx it quickly to me in Goa, so that I can somehow take care of the first bill in time. That might be tricky…I really need to switch to auto-withdrawal as I had it with my old policy. Dealing with these sorts of things from abroad is not fun.

It’s Thanksgiving time in the States, which means that waistlines expand (even further) and hopefully the wallets will come out. The stock market has crapped out in the past couple months and it looks to be a rocky ride. Many thanks to Ameriquest and other mortgage loan pushers who aggressively solicited and approved people with shitty credit and low incomes and put them in houses they couldn’t afford. Ameriquest is now entering Chapter 11 (or 7), I believe – good. Thanks also to those feeble-minded consumers who fell for it, or instigated their own downfall. I really hate to read the newspapers over here and see Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hanging out and crowing over the weakening US economy (and socio-political position) and the falling dollar. That absolutely gives me the shits. I can live with a stock market downturn…I have more of a problem with global psychos holding forth on new world orders. I guess I am patriotic after all.

Am getting ready to go to Saigon on Sunday. Bought the woman a silk sari at Anjuna Market – that should be well-received. Visa is in hand…as are loads of magazines, useful because I have serious layovers on both ends of my trip. Will be gone 8-9 days in all, including a night in Mumbai. Ugh. Finding a decent hotel room there might be a task equal to obtaining a Vietnamese visa in India. Just when you think you’ve got it made, there’s always something waiting round the corner. At least Saigon should be fun, and errand-free. Will I have to eat my words? Wait till next week to find out!

Over and out – the Gentle Dragon.

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