we peeled ourselves off the beach and ventured to consult our bible -- the lonely planet. it told us that there are many things to see in a small town about 3 hours north of us called panaji. we did not argue. a day trip to panaji was the next mini mission.
now, renting rocket scooters is quite common but venturing anywere farther then the next beach down the road is unheardof, let alone on the highway. everyone told us to take a bus to panaji rather then taking the scooters because one: traffic is crazy and two: especially if you're white. cops try to run you off the road and if they succeed they'll fine you for unknown but 'very valid' reasons. absolutely no no no should a person take scooters to panaji.
so naturally, we took scooters to panaji. and man, can those things cruise. zero to seventy in one and a half minutes flat.
we learned quickly that the common one honk (commonly interchangable with the standard short double or triple honk) is a muli-lingual way to communicate on the road and can mean any of the following:
-please move out of the way
-don't even think about cutting me off
-which way to the town?
-the town is straight
-the town is left
-the town is not good, come to my cousin's town
-your friend has been pulled over by the cops
-you are driving too fast
-you are not driving fast enough
-middle finger
-it's a beautiful day for a scooter ride, wouldn't you say?
-congratulations on the arrival of your first born child
and when you think of something you would like to say to the dude riding next to you, or even oncomming, that isn't included in the list above, the standard one honk should suffice.
we made it to the town after picking up an indian hitchicker, running from the cops and dodging oncomming busses which had pulled out to pass a car. the driving was a bit crazy, but i've played enough of grand theft auto to prepare for it. we got our own personal rickshaw chauffeur to take us around the city and jumped out to take a few pictures. the ride back was nice too but we had to race the sunset. oh, and the monsoon decided to come early, then changed it's mind. all of a sudden the sky opened and it poured like crazy. we were comletely soaked. riding was fun but sometimes the rain felt like shards of glass in the eyeballs. minor detail.
anyways so our time here is nearing an end. we've already had to say some goodbye's. it sucks. but i guess the next two months will be full of them. hope they get easier.
nat. full of banoffee pie and ready for a hammock snooz.
xoxoo
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