Go ........

Finally the day we had all been waiting for had arrived. It was 31st December 2008 & we were in Goa with our bikes, just like we had wished (not planned). I was half awake with my blanket covering me from head to toe when I heard Jai telling someone that he had to rush back to Bhatkal & off he went. Even then we were 7 of us & one more bike was a must. Me & Shreeshaa went & hired an Activa for Rs.700 a day. It had enough petrol to get us to the petrol bunk about half a kilometre away. Shreeshaa was the only one among the remaining to have a license. But he was apprehensive about riding on the busy streets since he had hardly done it before. While we were deliberating about whether Roshan or Suttu (aka Murthy) should ride, Shreeshaa summoned up all his inner strength & declared he would do it himself. Every man comes across a situation when responsibility of the highest nature gets entrusted on him & the stand that he takes then defines him for a lifetime. Shreeshaa, the man, now had a story to tell his kids.



None of us had any plan to "see" places since most of us had seen everything that is to be seen in Goa. So we planned to laze around in Calangute beach till evening & then try out Anjuna or Baga for the night. We stopped by a small eating joint for breakfast. He turned out to be a Kannadiga & everywhere we went to in Goa we bumped into Kannadiga's this time around. He was a friendly guy & suggested some local restaurant for the night which was surely not the kind we had in mind. We bid him goodbye & started towards Calangute via Panaji. I must mention here that I was wearing shorts, a black tight-fitting sleeveless Hanes (no scratching tags) tee & my FCUK shades (helmets are not mandatory in Goa yet). Riding my bike on the streets of Goa in this attire was the only thing that I had as a To-Do item on this trip.



As soon as we parked our bikes & were heading towards the beach, we were approached by a guy for various water-sports, he turned to be Kannadiga as well. We asked him to come a little while later and he agreed but not before he had escorted us to one of the shacks which ultimately turned out to be the one which would play the loudest music later in the night. Finally it was feeling like Goa, all the shacks were brimming with people & the beach was just over-flowing with all kinds of watersport-rides for people. There were hardly any foreigners with their 'two-piece suits' strutting around but as I have mentioned we had all grown-up beyond such stuff. We were treated very nicely over there & we did our bit by ordering some really expensive fish platter later. After we had a couple, ok a lot of relaxing drinks I bargained with our guy for water-rides. Finally it was settled at Rs.600 a person he would give us each a bikeride, parasailing & an all-in-one banana-ride. Roshan wasnt in the mood for all this then, so the rest of us started on our rides one by one. On the bike ride, after he had taken us further into the sea he would hand over the handle to us & we could control the bike as we wanted. The parasailing wasnt as thrilling as it seemed. The banana ride was the most fun of all since we had a fall right at the start when a huge wave toppled us when we had just climbed overboard. Even our second attempt to climb overboard was a failure & Bhatta even had a nasty escape from being caught between a boat & our Banana. We were on our way on the third attempt & I can tell you falling into the sea without any pre-warning was a nice surprise to those who knew swimming (and were used to water) & a scary shock to those who didnt. Even though the life jackets were strapped around us the fact that our lives were held onto two straps was a scary thought. On the way back he dropped us into the water yet again & we were left at the mercy of the waves to be taken ashore. We left Calangute just before dusk. We took a wrong turn at the first turn from Calangute & in some confusion lost each other. Me & Suttu on my bike and Shreeshaa in his went together to Anjuna where fortunately the rest had already come.



We walked along the flea market of Anjuna & went past the restaurants which were all filled with foreigners having complete formal dinners. It didnt seem right for party-freaks like us (yeah right!!). One of Suttu's Goan friends, in the morning, had suggested some place in Anjuna (I cant recollect the name), since we couldnt think of any other place we decided to check it out. It turned out to be a huge place where loads of people were arriving to party for the night. The cost was Rs.1500 just for entry & none of us were ready to shell out so much. Another place right beside Anjuna beach was Rs.2500 for a stag entry!! So we said "Screw you all" and left back to Calangute.



As I was getting off my bike, I saw Ajay locking his helmet to his bike & asked him to somehow strap mine as well since it was a pain to carry it around. Me & Ashwin did take a tour all along the beach which was swarming with activity to get a feel of the party atmosphere building up. We ended up sitting in the same shack we had sat in all day long, but we sat outside with lamps on our table for lighting. When we told the waiter who first came to serve us that we had already been here in the morning he called over the same guy who had served for us in the morning!! It was like we were already regular loyal customers here!! We knew that the time for beer was up & it was time for the Whisky (Royal Stag) & Rum (Old Monk) to be brought on. From then on it was a two hour wait till the clock struck 12. I observed that most of the girls were hurriedly trying to make their way out. There were, of course, enough decent guys (like us) on the beach to ensure no untoward incident would happen but I guess they felt that it was better not to even give rise to any such situation. As 12'o clock was approaching the sky started getting lit up by firecrackers from all sides. The New Year arrived, we wished each other with bear hugs. I wish now that this song should have come to my mind then (modified to suit the occasion)
Here I am - this is me
There's no where else on earth I'd rather be
Here I am - it's just me
And tonight I will make my dreams come true

It's a new world - it's a new start
It's alive with the beating of young hearts
It's a new day - it's a new plan I've been waiting for this
Here I am !!

31-12-08: GOA