Griffs in Goa

Monday 26th

The weather this morning is very cloudy with a heavy dew and what appears to be mist. The humidity is rising and the sun feels a lot hotter. Tomorrow is forcast to be 37 degrees. We have new neighbours. An Indian family moved in a couple of weeks ago. The woman must be pregnant because her morning wretching reverberates through the complex. They are loud and have a strange annoying habit of washing all the daily pots and noisily hang them out in the communal back yard at or around midnight. Since they have moved in the back yard is becoming a litter bin. They did not really initially ingratiate themselves to us by using our washing lines without having the courtesy to ask. I feel the rubbish problem will only get worse. As I have highlighted in previous blogs,the disposal of rubbish is a continual problem here.

Wherever you go here you will come across Indian males urinating, particularly by the side of the road. It seems to be a national pastime. Anytime night or day they can be found watering there surrounding area. It really is unnecessary and rather disgusting. There seems to be perverse double standards at work here. I have never seen a woman do this, in fact, women are not allowed to show much flesh at all, when they go for a swim in the sea most are fully clothed, yet a man can strip off to his ‘Y’ fronts when he wants to, go for a swim and then piss wherever he feels like. 

Sunday 25th

We went down to Agonda with Den and Lin on scooters. It took about an hour and three quarters including the ferry crossing. Some of the road has vastly improved since our last visit six weeks ago. A very visible indication that elections are imminent. The local papers especially ‘The Herald’ report every aspect of the forthcoming elections, last week it highlighted electoral roll irregularities with the headline ‘Voter demands to know whether she is a man or a woman’.  The road from Assolna to Betul had been resurfaced to an unusually high standard, most of the time everything is done in a cheap, shoddy fashion.  Sometimes it is downright dangerous! Another item of news in ‘The Herald’ which caught my eye was the disastrous outcome of a road widening scheme in a village in South Goa. They had widened the road but failed to move the electricity poles so that they were now in the middle of the carraigeway with the consequence of multiple crashes. There is no such thing as coordination between agencies here and no-one knows when the poles will be moved to the side of the road.

Agonda is a very, very quiet place. Some of the bars are already closing because of the lack of tourists. The locals blame the lack of tourists on the possible threat of Al Queda terrorists in South Goa issued by the Israeli and Indian governments back in December. It is apparently, a favourite place for Israeli conscripts to come and relax after their six month stint in the army. Agonda is the place if you want tranquility. The 3kms bay is surrounded by hills of Cashew, Almond and Coconut trees. I have been told that every morning there is an unrehearsed acrobatic display by dolphins in the bay. This is very much an unspolit part of Goa and long may it remain. A strong northeast wind got up in the afternoon and we spent a rather pleasant couple of hours in a very basic but friendly shack which served very cold Kings beer and tasty vegetable dishes.

Last night we all had the best fish dish that we could remember ever having. We had a Red Snapper at the Seaview shack. It must have been two foot long, it was cooked to perfection and it only cost 600/- (7.10p).

Tuesday 20th ( Shrove Tuesday)
The week before Lent is Carnival time in Goa. There has been the usual discussions and denials in the newspapers about the local big-wigs allocating funding to their political supporters but this only was relevant for Panjim and Margao, the two main cities in Goa. In Benaulim there was no such funding available as far as I am aware. The floats were very ‘Heath Robinson’ but charming all the same. They mainly consisted of lorries packed to the gunnels with exuberant young Goans. These lorries were preceded by even more excited young Goan males on scooters and motorcycles. They were painted in various colours and some wore masks or were in drag. There main aim was to drive as fast and as dangerously as possible which had the unintentional result of clearing the road of pedestrians and spectators. The procession meandered its noisy way down to the beach car park where the usual traffic confusion and chaos ensued. This was followed by music, dancing and drinking into the early hours.
We went with Dennis and Linda to Fiplees Restaurant for a meal last night. We were presented with a rather obscure different menu from the usual one. On the top it had in big bold letters ‘A price hike was inevitable’ – after enquiring what this meant we found out that the increase for the night was due to the carnival but nowhere on the menu did it mention carnival. We were “entertained” by a dreadful male and female duo singing (with far too much echo and reverb) along to backing tracks. TG & I had the worst meal since we have been here. Dennis, in true Brit abroad fashion ordered two lemon pancakes and one chocolate pancake for his main course. The waiter courteously smiled and obviously thought he was insane when he tried to explain it was ‘Pancake Day’. Pancakes are available here every day!

This is a typical menu that can be found all over Goa. As you can see it is wide ranging and caters for vegetarians as well as meat-eaters. This was taken outside of Rafael’s in Colva.

One of the reasons why I am disinclined to purchase a property here is because of a general lack of transparent responsibility taken by the authorities. The local newspapers are full of what one local government minister is claiming and what another is denying. Unfortunately, the truth is that nothing is really getting achieved except that those in positions of power are getting richer from the dispersal of lucrative commercial contracts. This cannot be done without the tacit approval and support of the police. Tacit support however, could be interpruted as lack of inclination or independence but I doubt it. Compare the present UK situation with PM Blair and his second interview by the police for the ‘cash for honours’ investigation. I very much doubt that the police here and the associated investigative bodies have the rigour of the UK system. It is after all the local government who pull all the financial purse strings for police funding so it is understandable that the police are not willing to unearth financial irregularities with their paymasters.  However, the police are corrupt and worse still they are inept and hide their misdemeanours in tiers of bureacracy and mindless paperwork. 

We have patrolling our beach uniformed armed police who carry rifles and other semi automatic weapons. Their role is supposed to be an anti terrorist role, to deter or  ‘god forbid’ detect any terrorist activity. These ‘brown caps’ as the local beach sellers call them do not seem to serve any purpose other than being a visible presence. Taking bribes from itinerant hawkers I am sure, is not in their job description but I am afraid that seems to be their main preoccupation. But worse still a couple of them have shown a complete dereliction of duty.

A week or so ago there was rather an odd individual on the beach who had a very upper class English accent, who claimed to be Canadian but was in fact Indian and called himself Julian, not his real name as I found out later that he registered in his accomodation as Rajan David. He ingratiated himself with several other tourists but particularly with two American male tourists, who I would guess were an item. All afternoon he was drinking with them and using their camera to take cute close-up snapshots of his new companions. Later his behaviour became more bizarre when he started to chase stray dogs for more pictures. In the late afternoon when the ‘brown caps’ were allegedly patrolling the beach he asked the cops if he could have his photo taken with them. They agreed and one of the cops gave him his semi-automatic weapon to pose with. This was a total dereliction of duty and just crass stupidity. Can you imagine a UK security police officer surrendering his weapon to have a picture taken, it is just unimaginable. The man could have actually been a terrorist, he could have been a schzophrenic, he looked a bit of a madman and he certainly was drunk. His strange behaviour was noticed and commented on by several other bystanders.

It later transpired that the man was a con-man, a common criminal. He had built up a large bill over a week at one of the beach shacks without settling his bill and had run off from a guest house owing over 4000/-. The local Goan people have this photo of the man but unfortunately it also shows the hapless cop who surrendered his weapon. The locals feel that it would not be wise to go to the local police. They know that the reprucussions from the police would not be in their favour, the negative fallout from the suspension of the errant police officer and the general defensive nature of the police’s pschye would all be detrimental to their own business activity. For example, there would be many trips to the police staion to answer questions and fill in paperwork. In other words, they feel that they would get penalised for bringing to the police attention a picture of a known felon and a cop who was not carrying out his role correctly. The wrong doers will go free and the victims will be persecuted.

This small but relevant example (which is typical across India) of the lack of civil responsibilty and trust highlights how far India has to travel before it can be truly recognised as a world player. If the democratic foundations of a civil society such as the rights of victims, fair play and trust in the police and the authorities cannot be maintained then the country will be seen as a fake giant. A giant with no backbone. India now has nuclear weapons but can we trust a country which allows ministers and police to be corrupt?

The Western world mainly has little knowledge of how India works. Most westerners who have never visited India have half-baked mixed up images of mysticism, beauty and poverty. The country is all of that and a lot more, however, many like me would  abhor and be dismayed at how endemic corruption and the lack of will to combat it is.

Last night we went into Colva which is about three miles away.
Bus to Colva 12/- (14p)
Meal at Zagar Kinara:
Onion Uttapa, Masala Dosa & 2 Lime Sodas 100/- (1.17p)
Tuk Tuk home (three wheeled taxi) 60/- (70p)
Drinks on the Beach:
Large Honeybee brandy, Large Gin & Tonic & LaMumba cocktail 155/- (1.82p)

Night out for two including tips:
Total cost:  357/-             ₤4.20

More power cuts, very frustrating, this is the third attempt at posting this blog.

Our new friends Clive and Margaret have returned to Bolton. It was their first time in Goa and they are hooked. The next few weeks will be busy. Our neighbours Jimmy and Jean from the UK are already here. Den and Lin are travelling up from Cochin and will be here on Thursday and TGs work colleague Lin is planning a visit in March. 

The last week or so we have spent just ‘chillin out’. The weather is definitely getting hotter which disinclines unnecessary activity and we have both been captivated by our reading material. (TG - ‘Earthly Powers’ by Anthony Burgess & NG - ‘The Way We Live Now’ by Anthony Trollope both highly recommended). Another reason for not doing much is that I have also not felt 100% from a heavy cold which still lingers.

Gaetri, the local lady school teacher kindly volunteered her healthy cold recipe using natural ingredients, mine  is unfortunately far more toxic.

Gaetri’s Cold remedy

Half a litre of water

Half a teaspoon of tea powder

One leaf of Lemon Grass

10 – 15 Tulsi leaves and 2 seeds (Tulsi = Holy Basil has a hot, spicy flavour sometimes compared to cloves)

4 Pudina (mint) leaves

2 black peppercorns

1 small piece of ginger

Add the ingredients to the water, heat and reduce to half its volume.

NGs remedy

2 Dispirin preceded by a large Honeybee Brandy with lemon and honey.

TG hasn’t been feeling too 100% of late. A few weeks ago she had shooting pains up her neck and into the back of her head. This was followed by dizzy spells and she was convinced her hearing in one ear had diminished. She is not the sort of person to complain about any ailment but this was truly troubling her so we decided to act. This morning she went to without making an appointment for a consultation with the local GP who happens to be an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist. He checked her blood pressure and examined her ears and informed her that there was no aural infection but to be on the safe side she should go for a spinal CT scan and a HRCT temporal bone scan at the Apollo Victor hospital in Margao. When she asked the cost of the scan he candidly replied, “that it depended on the colour of your skin”. No discrimination here then!!! His consultation cost only 200/-  (2.35p). We were told that if we get there before 1.00 p.m. they could do the scan today. At 10.30 a.m. we were at the hospital reception and paid for both scans which cost 8250/- (97 pound). At 11.30 TG had the scan and we were told the results would be ready for 2.00 p.m. so we went and did some shopping.  I bought a new nylon acoustic Yamaha C70 guitar for 7500/- from Pedro Fernandez music shop which is near the market and next door to the Leprosy clinic. TG bought some soft pillows. The pillows supplied with the apartment are basically concrete blocks with a material surround.
We returned just before 2.00 p.m. for the promised results and were told that they would not be ready until 4.30 p.m. This happens all the time in India either Indian people have no concept of time or they cannot tell the truth. However, I was impressed with the availability of the local GP and with the speed that the hospital carried out the scan even though had a dubious price structure.
TG returned to Margao at around 5.30 p.m. to pick up the results of the scan and they confirmed that she has had her brain removed and replaced by a very small pea but other than that everything was thankfully, 100%.

I woke this morning to very old fashioned loud music blaring out from one of my neighbours close by. The music reminded me of the type of records that were played in the sixties on a Sunday morning radio programme called Two Way Family Favourites, I could even smell the Sunday roast cooking……..

After a long deliberation, thoughtful contemplation and honest consideration we have decided not to purchase in Goa. My heart says buy but my head says why? The reason being it is so cheap to rent. The idea of buying is great and seems so attractive when you are here for a short vacation, in a happy frame of mind and the practicalities do not really seem obvious or relevant. We have been here for nine weeks now and we have looked at numerous housing developments and really none have presented us with what we want. All the new building work that is occurring is on the development of complexes. The complexes usually comprise of a mixture of 4 bedroomed villas, 3 bedroomed villas, 3 bedroomed terrace (cluster houses) and 1 and 2 bedroomed apartments. These apartments often are situated above business premises. These particularly do not seem a very attractive proposition at all. The developers will lease or sell the premises out to any business. So below your apartment could be anything from a fashion boutique to a welding shop and from what we have seen from similar locations there is serious litter problem.

The property prices have increased dramatically to the extent that nobody seems to know the true value of land anymore. Available land is at a premium and developers will pay any price to get their hands on it. Often a developer will include one or two apartments as part of the deal for members of the seller’s extended family. There seems to be no transparent regulation by the authorities and housing development seems to be out of control with complexes being built right next to each other, putting further strain on an already weak infrastructure which can hardly cope with demand now. The local media point the finger at greedy Ministers for the lack of scrutiny and they are allege that they benefit financially from inducements from developers. The roads are poor, pot-holed and narrow. Water supply is at a premium and further construction of large homes complete with ensuite bathrooms, swimming pool and tended gardens plus the extra water needed for the migrant construction workers add to an already serious problem.

On a more practical level privacy is an important factor. If a potential English purchaser expects the same norms here in their new dream home as they do back home in the UK then they should think again. Noise and litter are a constant problem. Developers usually offer and manage a five year deal on new property complexes where everyone pays a type of housing association fee to have a security guard, a general maintenance man and a gardner. After five years however, it is up to the residents to organise and it only takes one owner/resident not to agree to pay the fee and the whole lot falls apart.

Buying on a complex if security is one of your main concerns, particularly if you are out of the country for long periods of time. Complexes usually have a twenty four hour security guard who is a visible presence which fends off unwelcome visitors such as hawkers, beggars and burglars (or Dacoits as they are called here). Our complex has a five foot perimeter wall with added deterrrent of broken glass cemented on top with a run off three strands of barb wire for good measure. The neglected nature of the back of the property gives it a really run down feel.

Another consideration when buying is maintenance. Properties quickly deteriorate and become tired looking without constant attention. Where we are staying is a case in point and we have a maintenance man. There is green mould everywhere on the exterior of the buildings and the whole place needs revitalising. Goa is tropical and the Monsoon rains last for four to five months, high humidity and numerous varieties of invasive insects which will take any opportunity to enter an accommodation via the smallest entrance all contribute to the general onslaught. We have huge cobwebs that appear daily in front of our kitchen window, ants of various sizes that think they are house guests and we have put lines of toxic chalk across the step on the front and back doors to repel cockroaches. If we were not here they would be everywhere!!