Wanderlust Heaven!

My (current) twin obsessions of reading and exercise are happening, man. Finished up Ghostwritten, by David Mitchell. Like his later work, Cloud Atlas, which I read early last year, this novel consists of several distinct storylines woven together with a few threads. It’s one of those books which requires patience, i.e. you need to be willing to go backwards at times in order to go forwards. And Mitchell sometimes has his characters appear across books – there was a reporter named Luisa Rey in Cloud Atlas who also made an appearance in Ghostwritten (which was his first book). Not the best book for reading late at night after a bottle of wine…it’s quite sense…but truly fascinating stuff. Highly recommended.

Have also been tearing through my latest slew of magazines. Am almost finished with them…I’ve been reading round the clock for the past week. As always, The New Yorker astounds me with its treasures. There was an article about the global scrap metal trade, in which I learned that approximately one-third of Chinese who claim to understand/speak English say they learned the language from The Carpenters’ song ‘Yesterday Once More’. That’s an interesting factoid…but I’m probably more fascinated by the embedded inference, which is that karaoke is incredibly popular in China and that it seems to have some value in language education.

The January 14th edition of The New Yorker had a great short story called ‘Wakefield’ by one of my favorite authors, E.L. Doctorow. I often skip the fiction in these mags, but I read this story. It’s about a corporate lawyer who has a rough day at work, heads home, has all sorts of travails en route, and by the time he gets home he falls asleep in his garage. He awakes the next morning too mortified to confront his wife, and winds up hiding in the garage attic for months and months, pretending to be missing while secretly watching his family. Odd premise – but it works well. The fellow essentially becomes a homeless person – no cash, has to forage for clothes and food (sometimes he nabs a few crackers from his house when everyone’s out). Odd premise, but somehow plausible – this could be done.

While I was reading this story, sitting at the bar at Bean Me Up, owner Lisa came up and told me she was getting tired of her family’s demands. Her father and 3 step-siblings are here from Spain, and they’re cool but also seem to be a bit of work. I told her that she could just disappear and hide around BMU, watching the staff and her family. She thought that was pretty funny – I told her about the story I was reading. Then, fueled by a bit of booze, we got into the implications of her disappearing: the deterioration of BMU, across the board. The Goan pop/trance music would quickly be replaced by crappy Hindi show-biz dross…the special of the day, everyday, would be dal (plain lentils)…the chef and kitchen staff would sport filthy clothes, because Lisa wouldn’t be around to wash them…soup would be made from water scooped from the toilets. Seriously, everything would fall apart within days. Lisa found this notion flattering…which is good. My innately cynical self tended to view this (plausible) outcome as further ‘evidence’ that Lisa and Richard are indispensible to the minutiae at BMU and that a one-day absence would suffice to blow the place apart. Truly, those two have their work cut out for them; they know it well, but keep it together somehow.

That was a fun half-hour or so. I love those moments when smalltalk becomes something weird. Lisa has a great sense of humor, so I enjoy getting into some far-out stuff with her.

Was reading a recent Outside magazine and noticed an article in there about places to visit in Australia. I was a bit surprised to see a blurb on the Prairie Hotel in Parachilna. Friend Iain and I went there back in June 2006, driving through long stretches of the Outback to reach there. We stopped at a country hotel (pub) for a beer en route, and during the last stretch of driving got stopped by a passing cop car and then breathalyzed. It was like being breathalyzed while on the moon – completely out of context. Iain passed without a problem, then we got to the Prairie Hotel, where we ate the F.M.G. (Feral Mixed Grill) and danced to some great music till the wee hours. Hard to believe that was 18 or so months ago…

I was under the weather when Al and Janine were here – partly self-inflicted (see feni, cashew) and partly due to a bug I might have picked up from Janine. Whatever the cause, I didn’t hit the gym for 5 days. When I did, I expected to be a bit sluggish on the treadmill…but actually felt great. Legs were springy, stamina not half-bad. And when I weighed myself, I found that I had dropped a couple kilos – from barely eating over the past few days. More and more I’m realizing that I need to be more diligent with my diet if I want to shed a few more kilos…I’m generally good about running (yoga has been a sore spot lately…gotta get back into that), but I don’t seem to get any slimmer unless I slow down the gravy train.

While I was on the treadmill the other day, a guy got on the elliptical machine next to me. He was working out with a CD player – hadn’t seen that in a while. During his workout, he got off the machine to change the batteries in the CD player…then, a few minutes later, he got off again to fetch the player, which had fallen onto the floor. I couldn’t believe my eyes – the guy was Western and I had flashbacks to the 80s, when I’d get on the treadmill with my old CD player. Hasn’t this guy seen recent offerings, like the tiny iPod shuffle or other similar players? Pretty weak…

Outside the hotel where my gym is located, there are a few vendors selling the usual crap. One stall is operated by a Gujarati woman and her extended family. When I pull in on my bike, I always walk right to the gym…I want to get changed, do my thing, shower, and take off. Shopping for useless crap couldn’t be further from my mind. So I walk by her stall, and when she’s sitting out front she often asks me to come and have a look. I always say sorry and walk on. This woman has come to despise me – it’s fairly obvious. Her eyes cut holes in me these days – she’s apparently concluded that she’ll never get any money off me. And I can live with that…but I do question my intransigence at the same time. Why don’t I just give in and look in her shop for 2 minutes? Would that really be such an imposition or sacrifice for me? It’s almost too late now…but perhaps on my last day at the gym, I’ll go in and buy something small, just to bring my karma back into equilibrium. Or maybe not. All round the world I’m sure I’ve left lots of people with the impression that I’m a bit dim – that’s (usually) deliberate. I’m less comfortable leaving in my wake people who hate me, despite their own selfish motives. What do you think?

I’ve got about two more weeks to go here in Goa. I plan to go running nearly every day, and eat mostly at BMU to ensure a veg diet. Of course, when I leave here all bets are off. I am looking forward to moving on…and might already have done so, except that Lisa and Richard are getting married on Feb. 7th. Yesterday I went with them to Mapusa to see their lawyer and sign an affidavit – I’m one of their witnesses. Fairly painless process…and I enjoyed seeing a slice of legal life in India. Their lawyer is the brilliantly-named Benedict D. Nazareth, Advocate & Solicitor…I can imagine a new detective or legal series featuring a hard-boiled Indian gumshoe named Benny Nazareth. Yet another idea to put in the hopper.

I’ve gotten sick of a few things here in Goa. One is the Saturday Ingo’s Market…it’s good fun and diverting enough, but it’s always exactly the same and I do hate shopping, which is the raison d’etre of Ingo’s. I’m also getting sick of a few of the long-term guests here at BMU. There’s a yoga teacher from Portland, Oregon, who wears a pretentious little black hat everywhere he goes; one morning we talked a bit, and I was deeply underwhelmed by his opinions on everything from the US Presidential race to the state of religious relations here in India. I admit that I’m a bit quick to term someone a dolt, but to be honest I’d much rather read the newspaper than talk with someone I find dumb/annoying. And it’s a bit late in life to be changing my spots, methinks…

Umang’s friend Mo was also here for a few days, but has left. Good. Mo’s one of those guys who thinks he’s hip because he turns up the collar on his golf shirt. I seem to recall my high school classmates doing that in 1983. I know that India can be 25 years behind in some dimensions of life, but give me a break. Finally, there are 3 Aussie guys who are incredibly loud, in their rooms and on the grounds of BMU. They never stop talking room at their except when they’re asleep (I guess). OK, that’s my rant for this week – I’m sure to have another next entry.

Had dinner at Souza Lobo with Prem Joshua and a few other friends. As always, the tandoor kingfish was superb, and we had plenty of beer to wash it down. We got Josh talking in his perfect Indian accent about life in Goa, and we discussed the unfortunate tendency of Indian cabbies in the West to reek of Indian spices. There just may be an opportunity to come up with a cologne with that ‘fragrance’ – we could call it ‘Enjoy Esmell’ or something like that. Indians have some trouble with the word ‘smell’ and pronounce it more like ‘esmell’.

Lisa’s father turned 69 that day, and there was a small celebration at BMU for him. He’s one of the original Goa freaks and still looks like he could outlast most people in any contest of substance abuse. Cool guy – a real connection to the 1960s.

Drove up to Mandrem on Tuesday to see Al and Janine. They had just finished their 5-day yoga course and were ready to blow off some steam. They got me a room at their beachside hotel, as it wasn’t likely I’d be in any shape to drive home that night. Good move, indeed. Janine’s birthday had been on Sunday, so our excuse for getting together and getting sloppy was to celebrate that. Had a few beers on the beach, then walked up to Arambol, joined by a couple other friends (Marcos and a Kiwi whose name I forget). Nice long peaceful stroll…followed by a very nice dinner at Fellini’s, a solid Italian joint. Shared lots of travel stories, and got some good ideas for my future jaunt in South America. Al, Janine and the Kiwi fellow had all spent many months in SA and had some funny stories to share…

Wound up the night at a late-night beachside bar which was the scene of some Russian guy’s birthday party. I think it was about 3 a.m. by the time we rolled back to our hotel, O’Saiba’s (what a name – half Irish, half Indian?). I was hoping to run into the woman staying in the room next to mine – a supercute yoga teacher from Byron Bay, Oz, one of my favorite spots in the world. We had met earlier in the evening, she had just flown in and was getting ready to teach a month-long yoga teacher training session at the hotel. Turned out that she does some classes in Tokyo, and is friendly with my friend Leza, who owns/operates Sun & Moon Yoga studio in Meguro, Tokyo. Very small world. Earlier in the evening I’d come out of my room and seen her practicing yoga on the patio…I think I was taken by the splits she was doing against the wall…guilty as charged. Anyway, she was probably well & truly asleep by 3 a.m…but I did see her the following morning, and had a nice chat with her on the beach. Al/Janine, if you’re reading this please provide an update on this lovely creature…

Had great fun with Al & Janine – there’s always so much to discuss. They’re mulling another 5-day yoga program in Arambol, but might just chill a bit and then head up to Mumbai (lucky them!). I’ve previously mentioned that my one-year ‘anniversary’ is coming up, I started this trip on Feb. 5, 2007, and they started a bit later, so it’s been nearly a year for them as well. So they seem to be feeling a bit like the finish line is nearing and that they should start heading home. They’re considering starting a small biz in Spain, where Al’s folks live, and will probably stop there for a month en route to the UK. No matter what they do, I think our paths will cross again – I hope it does.

What else? I found a place to watch the upcoming Super Bowl, in which my team (New England Patriots) are competing. It’s on here at 4:30 a.m. Monday, and no bar/restaurant will be open then. Not many Americans here, so not much demand for this. But a nearby hotel has the cable channel, TenSports, and I will get a room there Sunday night and get up early Monday (ugh!) for the big game. The only person I know who likes getting up at 4:30 a.m.? My father. Where did my genes go awry?

The Patriots are undefeated this season, and are the favorites, but their opponent, the New York Giants, are hot and gave the Pats a scare in their regular-reason finale. I am optimistic but think the game will be close – every time the Pats play in the Super Bowl it’s close. Pats 26, Giants 17. You heard it here.

Walked by a house near BMU yesterday. The owners sometimes write biblical quotes on a chalkboard outside – this time it read something like ‘the best facelift in the world is a smile.’ I like that one. Must take another crack at the Bible one of these days – although the preachers in the US Presidential race seem to be falling by the wayside, and we might even get a new President who believes in crazy concepts like evolution and peace. I’m willing to stick it out this year, economically and politically, and hope for better times. But not ‘the End of Days.’ Over and out.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 1st, 2008 at 12:50 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.