india

i left for india today... finally. after returning to london - to get the visa for india changed after the last one got defaced due to an accidental encounter with rainwater under a tent (long stupid story!) – and a clinical trial study, i packed the small 45litre pack with the essentials for life on the road. i got the cheapest flight to india that i could find: to goa leaving from frankfurt. a flight avoided the time and hassle and expense of getting visas for pakistan and iran. only thing was how to get to frankfurt. hitching across the channel was a hit or miss affair... last time i got really unlucky and got stuck in calais (with the illegals playing cat and mouse with the police and me getting caught in the middle: not a nice experience and again another story), and with time not on my side, plan b was a lift-share via the mitfahrgelegenheit site on the web. that’s how i met rish, yet another fire-horse and similiar life perspective/experiences... as we shared travel and relationship stories, and the driving, from london to frankfurt. 

frankfurt was foggy and cold. i passed the occupy frankfurt protest in front of the european central bank and empathized with the activists. not so long ago, i would also have counted amongst their numbers. now it was just in spirit. i looked for an wifi hotspot, and the decision to take a netbook with me was already proving to be a good one as i got an emergency last minute host via that other useful website i use: couchsurfing.org. in ten minutes, i got a reply from sascha, and in an hour, i was at his place relaxing, helping to make sushi dinner in honour of his flat-mate and birthday girl julia, and some really good conversations till late at night with them. great hosts! real shame i had to go, but i got to the airport and checked-in and waited at the airport gate... when totally out of the blue, there stands this short woman with a big grin on her face. “i never expected to see you here”, she said. still shocked, and desperately trying hard to remember who this person was, i asked where we knew each other from. from chinguarime beach, in la gomera, she replied. of course, it was coming back to me. sabine (i had to ask her that too) had been one of the many german beach bums squatting the caves on chinguarime. it would be her first time in india, and she was also deciding where to go from the airport. at immigration, she met julia, who was going to arambol as part of a community there, and they agreed to go together. so whilst waiting at baggage reclaim, they asked what my plans were. i had no plans, only the notion to live in the here and now, and be alert to what was happening around me. i could see that i could give only one reply: “looks like i am going to arambol!” we shared a taxi there early that morning, our taxi driver being very jovial and informative. when we got to arambol, we sat on the beach and took it in: we are in india!! we split to find different accommodation... of course, i haggled like crazy and after much walking and haggling, finally one tout showed me a cheap room... no sea-view, but no matter for me, i told him... if i needed a sea-view, i need only walk 10 metres! it was getting amazing hot and walking the beach, i found someone to look after my gear whilst i went for a swim. sea-water therapy is very good for my soul! glorious sunset and beach jam session with drums and didge... and finally to sleep, long and deep. welcome to india.... it will be a few days before it really sinks in.