Karnataka / Goa – day 12
Mysore – Bangalore – Palolem
Monday, 10th April 2023
We wake up at 4:30 in the morning. By 5:00 AM, we’re already walking to Mysore’s main station. We barely make it to the 5:30 AM train. Luckily, we managed to book sleeper class tickets yesterday. We get middle berths and both fall asleep right away.
It’s quite comfortable way to travel, but it’s a shame these tickets are almost always sold out. We get off in Bangalore. At the station, a ticket inspector stops us and unpleasantly demands our tickets before finally letting us go. We ask if there’s a train to the airport. We’re in luck, there’s one at 10:00 AM, and it fits perfectly with our schedule so we’ll be at the airport two hours before our flight. We go to grab some food. The traffic here is insane, and the noise is overwhelming. Before 10:00 AM, we’re sitting at the station, watching as the minutes tick by.
The train finally departs at 10:25 AM. There are hardly any people on board. The trip takes 45 minutes, but we still have to travel another 4 km to the terminal. The train stops at the station, but since we’re in the last carriage, we end up getting off outside the platform.
We hurry to the shuttle bus. There are only four of us in the entire bus, and two of the passengers are people going to work and get off along the way. We have this huge bus to ourselves. We need to go to Terminal 2, but the driver turns toward Terminal 1. We were about to get off and walk, but he tells us to stay on. It’s pretty jammed up there, and Jozef starts getting nervous about the time shortage. We stop at the terminal, and the driver tells us to switch to another bus. We board, and then that bus starts turning around. We don’t understand why it didn’t turn earlier to head out immediately. Then it drives another 800 meters before we finally get off. It’s totally bizarre how much effort they put into something that doesn’t work and doesn’t make any sense. The airport is nice, still under some construction, and there are plants everywhere.
Since it’s a domestic flight, all we need to do is get through security. I have a pair of scissors in my backpack. I hoped they’d pass, but they were confiscated. They also threw out a lighter that had traveled with me from Slovakia on two flights. I had completely forgotten it was there and kept insisting to the security officer that I didn’t have one. After a short wait, we boarded the plane. We bought tickets last night. The flight to Goa takes 1 hour and 20 minutes. I fall asleep, but the flight attendant wakes me up to serve food. We didn’t expect that, but we ate everything, unlike the Indians around us. We land at Dabolim Airport. As we exit, we’re swarmed by taxi drivers, but we’re determined to take the bus. We find the stop and get on the bus. We sit there for 10 minutes, and nothing happens. Then a group of people arrives, and we’re finally on our way. It moves so slowly that Jozef could outrun it. We assume it’s because the bus would fall apart if it went any faster.
We finally reach the city and start looking for a scooter rental. We rent a scooter at the third place, which offered the best price. They couldn’t believe we actually wanted two helmets since only the driver is required to wear one. You can see it around the city – the driver wears a helmet, but then he’s carrying a woman and two kids, none of whom are wearing helmets. They eventually found me a second helmet. We set off for our accommodation, 70 km away, near Palolem Beach. It takes us about 1.5 hours. The last 30 minutes are tough, and my butt starts to hurt, but we manage. We have trouble finding the accommodation because it’s hidden among local houses. After asking about three local women, we finally find it. We’re greeted by Lupti, who manages the place and lives across the street. She’s shorter than me. The accommodation is great. We have air conditioning, a fridge, a kettle, and there are langur monkeys living in the tree next to us. There are also some small, cute ones.
We drop off our stuff and head to the beach for a swim before sunset. On the way, we buy beer (there’s no prohibition in this state) and ice cream. There are few cows on the beach, but the water is perfect, and the waves aren’t too big. Jozef threw me into the sea as part of today’s Slovak Easter tradition. I didn’t expect it, and it really cleared out my sinuses. After sunset, we head back to the accommodation, shower, and have some tea. Then we go to town to look for a place for dinner, but there isn’t much around. Almost everything is in the touristy part near the beach. We opt for the usual chana masala and chicken curry.
For the rest of our trip, we’ll stay in the state of Goa, and we’ll use the scooter to explore the surrounding area.
