A day in the life.

Oh beach culture, how I love thee.
I am so relaxed right now I could attain enlightenment. And no I'm not on drugs, I just have nothing to do, and it's incredible. If Arambol, Goa is a drug then I'm high as a kite. I think I made a post like this last year when I was on Koh Lanta in Thailand. I don't think it was received very well because of the jealousy if prompted from reader((s) I hope there's more than one of you). And since I don't really care about your feelings, and I'm really happy with where I am right now, I'll explain an average day in Arambol:

I'll usually wake up around 11ish, and Amelia is just leaving to go get breakfast. I'll lay in bed and ponder awhile(Often about nothing in peticular because I can) and maybe scratch at an ant bite or two before making the great and exhausting journey that is getting on my feet and out of bed.

Joanna is still asleep, and I take my time putting my day bag together:
One Journal, check. Malaria pills(I know, I can't believe I'm taking them either, but they cost almost nothing, so sue me.) check. Discman, headphones, mini speakers and batteries, check check check. A very torn and raggedy looking Issue of Time magazine, my Drum tobacco and rolling papers, sunscreen for the beach and mosquito repellent for sunset and I'm done.

I'll usually remember to brush my teeth and pee at the last minute, just when I thought I was home free. At which point I'll choose to be a little more Trypsie(trip gypsies) or a little more Ben, depending on whether or not I choose to be hygenic or not. But who am I here to impress? forget it, I'll pee in a bush and brush my teeth with my eggs and bacon.

There is a Dutch owned restaurant across the road from the tattoo shop two minutes down the "main" road called Double Dutch(I say main, because it's no more than 10 feet wide and lined with restaurants and shops on both sides) where we like to eat breakfast. The food is a little more expensive, but you can actually get bacon, sweet salty, fatty bacon. Having bacon on the menu is like giving you a chritmas gift every morning with breakfast. I've been Vegetarian almost the whole trip so far, but it's Bacon and eggs! I can't resist it, and wouldn't anyway. At Double Dutch They have long picnic-like tables set up, so the amount of new people you meet and talk to is huge. I ended up talking to a couple of Sweedes yesterday for two and a half hours after breakfast. I love just listening to people talking around me, and trying to count how many different languages I can hear being spoken, there are usually more than 4 at least. I'm fortunate that english is my first language, because most everyone here can speak it, so I don't have to worry about dusting off my non-existent Sweedish or Hebrew to have a conversation with someone I meet.

After breakfast the choice is up to me, I can go back to sleep, hang out on the internet, go lie on the beach and swim, maybe head over to the "sweet lake" down the beach where the river meets the ocean. Play some pool at Bohi beach side restaurant near our hotel, or just sit and read at a random cafe and have some more Masala Chai(Indian tea). What I do not want to do is exert myself, unless it's to go swimming and body surfing, which is a lot of fun. I guess I could make a trek past the sweet lake and hang out with some sadduhs(those holy dudes) in the forest at their little camp under a massive mango tree and hang out the the trypsie elite, but I think today I'll save myself from that spiritual journey today.

I settle on a little Mexican cafe to read through the rest of that weathered Time magazine I've been carrying around since Mumbai a week ago. Vladimir Putin is on the cover and he's Time's Person of the Year(really interesting stuff if you're interested, I would highly recommend it). I shy away from the Mexican food on the menu because I know better, but maybe for dinner I'll risk it, but right now I just want some fruit juice and maybe another glass of chai. I finish reading the magazine cover to cover, rip out some book and music reviews I'd like to remember to look up later, throw the magazine away and head down to the beach.

Joanna's been on the beach for awhile now, and she's trying to get the tan her Scandinavian heritage has been refusing to give her for the last few days. We hang out and go swimming periodically, and when the sunlight begins to get cooler, we move off of the beach and into that beach side restaurant I was telling you about for some(more) food and drink. Amelia will meet up with Jo on the beach before I arrive, or afterwards at the restaurant or hotel room. We hang out and talk for a bit before heading back to the hotel to wash off the salty, sandy water that covers us head to toe. We won't however wash our hair, because beach hair is something to relish and hold on to, like a bar of dark chocolate you paid far too many rupees for.

At night there are beach parties, and different restaurants to try out. Arambol is a small enough place, that if you meet someone on the beach or in a cafe, chances are you'll see them later on, so we always manage to find people to hang out with. The night ends whenever it ends, and maybe we'll go on the internet for another hour at 1am before heading back to the hotel. I've been learning songs as we go along so I'll just play around and hum along as we chill, and if we're not too lazy, bring out the hookah I bought in Mumbai for some shisha before we turn out the light.

If I managed to entertain and hold your attention this far without offending you too much with my pretentiousness, I've done my job. Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it. Now if you'll excuse me, all this writing is making me awfully tired, I think I'll go and have a nap.

-Ben