We want to find a nice place by the sea, not too costly, and stay there a few days just to relax, snorkel, maybe do some scuba diving. We only have a couple of weeks so I don’t really want to be rushing around from one place to another. We do some research on the Internet and pick an outlying island that seems not too touristical.

We arrive at Nandi airport and take the public bus system straight to the nearest town, four hours drive, and super cheap.

Then there’s a drive by taxi, followed by a half hour boat ride to arrive at the island.

We have to stay in town one night as it’s not possible to get a boat today and besides that we have to do some food shopping for the next few days. We check out the accommodation in the centre – there seems only to be a single motel. I check it out – Ebru understands the look on my face when I exit, but she really has no idea of the things I saw in there…. makes me shudder to think of it.

A local taxi driver of Indian descent makes us aware of a better option and takes us there. It’s reasonably priced and we like it a lot. Its rooms are preserved as from the 1970s or 1980s – the carpet, the bed spread, the little FM radio integrated into the bedside table. It also seems to be a place where many local Fijians come to stay or dine (food’s really good), so there’s a really happy, smiley Fijian atmosphere going on here. We drink beer and swim at the swimming pool outside and converse with a couple (Fijian and an Aussie) here for a wedding. Awesome place.

There are many people here of Indian descent. It’s a bit like being back in India, except there’s so many Fijians around. Fiji, being a British colonial territory, was determined to be a suitable place for sugar cane cultivation. Indians were lured over to build the rain infrastructure (which they of course had plenty of experience in) and many remained here. It’s another thing that adds to the flavour of this country: the Fijians are cool, the Indians are cool, the country is cool…. perfect!

The next day we go grocery shopping and the taxi driver, whom we befriend the day before, takes us to the pier. A boat meets us, piloted by the trusty caretaker of the property Pravesh, who is, by the way, an expert fisherman! (Thanks for all the tips and bait mate!)

On the other side we arrive on one of the most heavenly little pieces of land ever created on this earth.

We stay in a lovely bungalow, called “Bure” locally, with kitchen and bathroom, a stone throw from the beach. Perfect for two.

There are no shops here, so our supplies we need to bring along from main land. Electricity (generator) only works from afternoon to about 10PM, and the drinking water is rain water collected in a large tank behind the Bure.

Our two weeks here represent our most vivid memories of tranquility, isolation, relaxation, just pure existence surrounded by beautiful nature alone.

We find a small resort on the other side of the island with an excellent diving instructor named Steve, a South African. With him we accomplish our PADI Advanced certifications, and, in the water, we see the most dramatic displays of sea-life yet – sharks, fish, coral caverns…. Impossible to give a just description.

And the underwater beauty is not only accessible from a diving boat. Almost daily we’re out for hours, snorkelling in the vast coral gardens accessible just 50 metres out from the beach. Literally like an expansive garden of flowers in every shape and tone, with all colours of sea-life hovering around. It doesn’t get more magnificent than this.

Of course I dedicate a lot of my time to my main addiction: fishing. And contrary to the results in other places to date, I actually catch a fair bit, and of an edible size!

And believe it or not, Ebru joins me!

So we have some lovely fish BBQs out in front of the Bure.

Thanks again Graeme!

In fact, probably the most impressive catch was off the back of the diving boat, trawling a line. Within 15 minutes I landed a 1 metre barracuda!

Oh, worth mentioning (if you find this place) that there is a food menu available here in the evenings, by pre-order, and dishes are prepared by Filo, the lovely Fijian lady who manages the place day to day. She makes a mean pizza, and other guests had nothing but praise for her cooking.

We meet a few interesting people as well. Jan pilots big freight ships through a major canal around Kiel in Germany – “Helmsman”, I think it is called – and he’s is here spending some quality with his special lady, who is a nurse and thus they lack this quality time back at home. He’s a awesome chap, full of life and humour, and he comes well prepared with a stock of the local 50% rum.

We spend some nights together, drinking beer and Cuba Libres and exchanging experiences from our travels. He has plenty of fascinating stories from his ship voyages around the world, during his time in the navy and working on research vessels. The best one of which must be the crazy story of when he and a few navy mates, stationed in the Caribbean, happened by chance upon an long-lost Spanish Galleon sunken 30 metres off the island coast, hundreds of years ago!

One weekend an Irish Priest and his accomplice, a Fijian missionary, come to visit. We spend a night in interesting discussion about biblical history, whilst taking part in a Cava ceremony – an intoxicating brew made with the powdered root of the pepper tree.

Talking of trees, we finally made some progress here with our Planting Around the World *L mission!

During our time – or time-out – on Fiji, the removal from work, routine and urban life really hits home in a big way. The experience is not that of a mere vacation any more. It’s becomes a state of meditation. If there was ever a specific state of mind I was looking for out here on the journey, I think this is it.

Our boat from Bali lands at Trawangan and we get off there as we know we’ll find accommodation and hope to strike a good balance between action and secluded relaxation here. The first impression is pretty good, the sand is fine and bright, the water is clear and deep blue and it doesn’t look very crowded at all. There are a few touts trying to sell us into one accommodation or another but we just sit down on the beach for a while until the new arrivals crowd has dispersed and then we begin our search.

It turns out the island is pretty busy on the Southeast side, lots of people, bars and restaurants competing late into the night. Diving resorts and bungalows packed neatly next to one another. – Thank goodness we’ve come off season! If you walk further inland there are a few more out-of-the-way guest houses with cheap rates, but in a place like this you want to be at the beach!

After about 3 hours walking the coast line and bargaining for room rates, we find a nice accommodation on Northeast side called Beach Bungalow (120KRp/night, quite cheap compared to the centre). The breakfast (included) leaves much to be desired though and the staff are rather lethargic. But it’s away from the party zone, well away from the mosque which threatens to wake us up at inhospitable hours of the morning, and it’s right at the beach front. Of course we have a 15min walk to get to the main market, but this is a price worth paying. (This is confirmed to us several times by other guests that move up to Beach Bungalow from accommodations in the centre, due to lack of undisturbed sleep.)

Not keen to entertain more blood-boiling encounters with Bemo drivers, we decide to spend the rest of our Indonesian stay here and take it easy.

We get up in the mornings, have a breakfast and then commit ourselves to the sea for a few hours, swimming or snorkeling. Sometimes we take a walk to the centre to buy food and drink supplies and drink a good cup of coffee. In the afternoons I generally swim out and go fishing from one of the boats anchored out in the channel while Ebru sunbathes or does more snorkeling. It’s a great pace of life.

The snorkeling is fantastic around the North side of the island where the reef extends over a hundred metres out and depths reach at least ten to fifteen metres. Fish are abundant and a spectacular show of colour! We’re really gutted that we don’t have underwater camera equipment. It’s less spectacular on the East side but even here we encounter lion and scorpion fish on one occasion. Also they have a turtle sanctuary on the island, so sea turtles can be seen almost daily.

Unfortunately I cannot say that much for the fishing. I do all my fishing in the channel on the East side and occasionally off the diesel tanker that brings the generator fuel daily. But all I catch is so small it’s only good for fish food. For anyone going, please note that fishing supplies can be found in a couple of shops just around the back streets behind the night market. (Make sure you go alone so your wife/girlfriend doesn’t see you buying more fishing tackle AGAIN!)

(Mainstream media failed to inform you of the latest threat: the Suicide Fisherman!)

We get to know some good people at the Beach Bungalow as well. As I recall it, each couple moved in next door to us after a rather disturbing episode closer to the town centre (noise, obnoxious guests etc), so they decided to find a place where they could get some sleep. Here they are:

Ruth and Roel from Holland. It was really funny having a dinner with them one night, as it turned out they seem to be undergoing the same interesting behavioural phenomena on their travels: she plans everything and pushes to keep on schedule; he doesn’t care how long it taked as long as the beer is cold and they’re having a good time. LOL!

Cecelia (Uruguay) and Carsten (Denmark)

At the History Bungalows just a few metres down from us we meet a chap called Chaia. He’s from Lombok, a rice farmer, but has come here to earn some extra cash. He’s helpful and honest, and we immediately become befriended.

This is a place where everybody will bargain with you for the last buck but not him, and that is something we really appreciate. His bungalows are pretty quiet at the moment but we spend a few nights over at his bar, hanging out and talking about life in Indonesia and elsewhere, and he introduces us to a local rice wine, which is non-alcoholic but gets its kick from a type of tree bark – lovely stuff! Chaia I hope you read this some day. We were so happy to have met you and really enjoyed spending time with you on Gili. If we make it to Lombok again some day we’ll try to look you up. And thanks for letting us plant our tree for our Planting Around the World mission!

Walking around the rest of the island (about an hour) there’s not much to be found but a few resorts which look rather empty, there is one great secluded bar on the north side and on the West somewhere they have the full moon parties, but that’s about it. The only place we visit in town worth mentioning is a night at Sama Sama where they have live music and a good vibe.

Regarding food, we’re unfortunately still struggling to find something we like, as with the rest of Indonesia, but the our best meals and definitely the best value for money is to be found at the night market. Several stalls are waiting to grill you a fresh fish to serve with salad, and some other stalls sell various vegetable dishes to accompany. I don’t think we ever spend more than 50KRp for a fresh fish meal for two. And aside from that, a must try is the pumpkin curry from the old lady’s shop in the alley just off the market. Just ask around and you’re sure to find it.

Now in truth, there’s nothing much I can muster in words to convey to you the absolute tranquility and awe we felt in this place, waking up to its simple beauty day after day and letting the picture-perfect vistas wash over our optic nerves with the sound of the water rushing over coral sand. Shorts & flip-flops day in, day out (no shirt required). Sun tanning you right to the bone. We were transported away. Hypnotized. Conscious, yet dreaming.

So instead I give you these photographs to explain as best they can. Enjoy….

We spend our time updating the web site, sorting photographs and taking it easy.

We decide to eat late lunch at the Cafe Inn and have a Laffa, which is a flat bread filled with grilled meat of your choice and topped with a selection of fresh salads and pickles. Absolutely delicious!

Also we try the Cheeky Chapati, a cosy wood-finished restaurant run by an English expatriate, where they do an excellent tandoor meal of meat and vegetables marinated in yoghurt and spices on a large skewer. Yum! He also seems to take his beer pretty seriously, so it comes ice cold out of the freezer, taking the edge of that indian-brewed beer taste.

I also have the chance to do some hand-line fishing off the beach. It’s great and I catch about 5 catfish (2 of them too small to eat) and one beautiful fish with black and golden stripes along its horizontal. Our plan is to braai them in the evening but the weather turns out too rainy so we end up giving them to the guest house owner when we leave.

We take the bus from Palolem aroung 15:00 to ensure we make it to Dabolim airport before 19:00. The journey, with change in Margao, is pretty smooth despite rush hour traffic.

We check in and clear security in Dabolim. it’s raining cats and dogs outside and are soon informed that our flight is delayed by 30 minutes. Later we’re informed that it will be delayed until 23:30 – I gather as the plane is unable to land here in these conditions.

A fair bit of hoo-haa arises, with SpiceJet staff getting absolutley minced by dozens of shouting Indians, each drawing an additional crowd of their own to watch the spectacle. Finally, at about 23:00 the jet lands to a roar of applause and cheers from the waiting passengers.

Delhi here we come!

Ebru is about to blow a gasket – well past tense actually. What doesn’t help the situation is that in her Rough Guide to India the HDSC branch is correctly mapped. We sit down for a while under some shelter to “cool off” and watch a maimed and starved rat limp across the floor in search of nourishment – or maybe euthanasia. We walk back to point of arrival and I make the deposit.

We make our way to the best coffee shop in India, opposite the Margao bus station. Ebru storms in like a bull in a china shop and I am reluctant to follow. Firstly I don’t like air conditioning and secondly I would prefer to sit outside and smoke a cigarette. Little do I know the vibe of our trip is about to change.

I get talking to a young traveling duo from E’spain named Eduardo and Isa. He seems superbly chilled out and may-the-world-throw-at-me-what-it-will, while she is attractively studying her Lonely Planet or equivalent. We exchange a cigarette and talk about our Indian experiences – they have been on the road for a few days and have just survived an train and overnight sleeper bus from Mumbai and Aurangabad. They are in need of sleep. Now they are on route to the North of Goa, to Baga beach.

Ebru joins us outside for a while and after drying off for a while (the rain has abated) they get up to leave. A welcome surprise, Eduardo returns and asks if we would like to join them. I am overjoyed as I would love some company and I know that some traveling company would be just the recipe to diffuse Ebru’s frustration. Since we have no hope for good weather in the south and could really do with some good company, we accept! The bus is packed and the chilled out music the driver slaps on puts a smile on everyone’s face.

A couple of hours later we step off at Colva, a stone-throw from Baga, with two French travelers who were also on the bus. We all head the same direction, using our guides and a compass to find our bearings to the recommended accommodations in Tito’s Road. We book into Joachims for 400INR per room per night.

Baga is quite commercialized and the beach is crowded with Indian tourists. We spend a good night at a beach-front restaurant talking and drinking, as none of us has much of a stomach for food due to Delhi Belly.

We take a bus trip to Anjuna for a day with the Spaniards (the French beat us out of bed by miles). Anjuna has a pretty coast line with beach and rocks, but was otherwise pretty crap in most ways I could care to mention.

However we have a most splendid time on the next day, when we hire 3 motorbikes and take the small coastal roads towards the village of Arambol, about 40km north. Merely a few minutes after we set off it starts to rain heavily, which causes us to stop and find shelter in a most cozy and pleasant little bar/restaurants and we settle in for a nice fresh drink while we wait. This is not the only time we have to stop but it adds to the flavour of the day.

It’s chaotic Indian ride with sun, torrential rain, cows, buffalo and other obstacles in the road and it makes for a challenging but fun journey. Along the way we visit an out-of the way beach where we find full coconuts, which we skin and puncture with a swiss army knife and enjoy before we move on.

Our destination is Arambol, which is about 50km northwards and we get there in the early afternoon. We follow a steep sandy path between buildings down to the beach, park, and eventually after looking around, settle in at the first restaurant to on the left where our bikes are parked. The waiter brings over the catches of the day on a metal platter and we choose our food. While it’s prepared we go foe a quick swim in the sea.

We then have a most delicious meal of fresh seafood: fish and HUGE tiger prawns (8 for 400INR), my particular dish cooked in the traditional Tandoor clay oven with a marsala spice. Heavenly!

After food it’s time to return as we want to avoid riding in the dark. We almost manage this, with the last half hour being a mind-blowing dodge-fest in the dark narrow streets to Baga. Whew!

The rest of our time around these parts was spent mainly having good breakfast and dinner at a place called Nishan’s, where the waiter Regan took very good care of us and the time was filled with good conversation and plenty of rum/whisky and cokes in the night time.

SEE MORE PHOTOS OF BAGA

SEE MORE PHOTOS OF ANJUNA

SEE MORE PHOTOS OF ARAMBOL

On arrival we walk from the bus stand to the beach front and decide the best way forward is for Eduardo and I to settle in for a drink at the first beach-front restaurant while the ladies walk off the area in search for accommodation. They return about an hour later and we follow them to Hilias Retreat, a nice clean guest house on the far south end of the beach, somewhere in the palm forest, for 400INR the night. We even have rooms with balconies adjacent to each other.

The beach here is beautiful, definitely the best we have seen in India so far. It is about a kilometre stretch of fine sand backed by a forest of palm trees between which there are several dwellings of varynig stability. It’s not crowded (it is out of season), there isn’t much litter around and the local beach vendors aren’t too agressive either. However their repetitive mantra does start to grate after while: “Hello; how are you? What’s your name? Want come have a look at some jewellery [..] in my shop? Just look not buy, looking is free. No? Later/Tomorrow then? Promise?” There are also people selling cattle rides up along the river into the hills and trips by boat to the monkey island at the north side of the beach, which is barely detached from the mainland.

Palolem has (at least during this time of year) that nice small village atmosphere which is so rewarding to find in India, especially after you have had to struggle your way through the more built-up areas where you don’t seem to be able to find any respite from wheelers, dealers, beggars, pollution and chaos.

The only down side is that the monsoon has hit a bit harder than usual and most of the days we spend here are rainy. Actually there is another down-side: I have caught a pretty bad cough from excessive fanning in the Indian restaurants and bars and Eduardo has a pretty serious bout of diarrhoea so he’s not quite himself.

During our stay we eat some very good fresh fish at the first beach front restaurant. Also every morning we have a fantastic breakfast at the Cafe Inn, who also make brilliant coffees (Black Gold). On the third day Ebru and I spend an entire day preparing and uploading content to our web site and in the evening, meet Edu and Isa for a meal at the 24-hour beach-front bar/restaurant “Cocktails & Dreams”, which unfortunately gives me a slightly upset stomach and does nothing for Edu’s diarrhoea.

All of the places, except the first one and the Cocktails & Dreams have the most welcoming staff, making the stay there feel like home away from home.

With Eduardo and Isabel keen to move on southward to Gokarna, we have to make a decision whether to remain chilling in Palolem or to explore onward with our friends. The Rough Guide mentions much historic and religious significance and some beautiful beaches, so we decide that this combined with the good company of our friends will be the best way forward. We leave for Gokarna by train tomorrow afternoon.