Sand, Sun and the Cowherd

The story begins with a lazy day in Calungute, Goa on a hot summer afternoon. The beach was a kilometer away from the hotel, so we decided to walk it up. We spent the day in the beach - playing in the water, resting under the shade of an umbrella in a beach chair, eating and drinking in a 'Shack' - one of the many makeshift restaurants at the beach.

In the night, we decided to head out to Baga beach and eat either at Mambo's or Tito's located in the famous Tito's lane near Baga beach. We walked by the sea where the sand is the softest from Calungute to Baga by the moonlight. It was calm and a nice breeze was blowing. We didn't realize the distance we had covered. We ate again at a shack on Baga as most other restaurants were shut as it was Good Friday.

When it was time to head back, my hubby insisted on us walking back to our hotel. So the troop trudged along reluctantly behind our cowherd aka my hubby - who lead us ( or tried to rather ) with a map in hand and an imaginary stick to herd the reluctant cattle behind him. After walking many kilometers when there were murmurs and complaints asking for breaks or calling for a taxi- the Cowherd stops and shows us on the map how we are close to a Tibetian market which itself isn't too far from our hotel. We trudged along reluctantly- our food all digested and pulling the weight of our aching bodies. After another 30 mins of this we see another Tibetian market and realize the area is full of them and only after a few more so called ' hundreds of meters' did we reach a place that was even listed on the map.Finally after walking for about two hours or so we finally arrived at our hotel.

Herding cattle, they say, is an art and a science that requires patience, knowledge of flight-zone, and a bit of bovine psychology. On this trip, I was convinced that my hubby would make an awesome Cowherd as he not only managed to get a reluctant group to walk , but also made us walk for hours together.

The 'Souq' experience

I entered an arena and saw rows and rows of lit up stalls. The crowd was diverse with people from different nationalities. In the corner was a man making bubbles enclosing objects and stacking them up to make a bubble pyramid. In the center was a huge mango tree with its branches bearing green mangoes. Below the tree was a make shift pedestal lit up with blue stars and atop it was a stage with a band playing music. The audience were all around- smoking, drinking, eating, shopping and making merry.

As I walked around, I saw stalls selling pottery, jewellery, clothes from beach wear to gowns worthy of the 'Khaleesi' aka Danerys Targeryan of Game of Thrones fame. There was a nip in the air and as I climbed the hill I could see below all the shops lit up with their knick knacks. There was a mix of smells in the air from the various food stalls in the market. The menus ranged from meatballs in Bulgaria, to German bakeries, to Thai salads, to waffles and crepes to dosa and pav Bhaji. There were make shift shops dealing with forex in the open and so were shops selling drinks from draught beer to elegant cocktails. The place was clean with a set of people constantly picking up the trash and cleaning the tables near food stalls.

I sat in the open arena under the stars on that saturday night in march listening to music, watching a bunch of youngsters entering a stall a few feet from the stage - picking up sign boards, bright colored toupees and funky accessories all in a minute and making a memory with a souvenir pic telling they were having fun at the ' Saturday Night Market' in Arpora, Goa.