My Life! My World!

Goan Nights – 2

// December 14th, 2009 // Comments // Random, Travelogues

We spent the next day chilling out on the beach, apart from pulling each other’s legs occasionally over the incidents of the previous night… I cant explain how good it was to get into the calm sea with a life jacket on…. We guys were happily floating around chit chatting as the gentle waves, small and big, enveloped us now and then…. Ok, ok… I know where you are getting at… Fast Forward -> Night no 2

The Anjuna Experience:

Adi’s college mate was in Goa at the time we were there. And he happened to know the happening places in Goa. As per his recommendation, we guys headed to Anjuna beach. La Paradiso, to be precise. After paying the entry fee of 1k per head for which we get unlimited drinks, we barge in. The pathway leading to the dance floor itself suggested this place had class. The walls were plastered white and the roof was high. The floors were shining clean and the sideways had ornamental structures erected around. Between the pathway and the dance floor was a balcony that overlooked a landscaped garden. The dance floor was great – large dance area, bordered by huge white pillars. The lighting was dim whitish blue and the DJ was mixing it up well. There were chairs to recline along the wall on one of the sides. The bar came after the dance floor. There was a lounge opposite to the bar where people were relaxing over a drink.

The dance floor was almost empty when we entered. We realized we had come in too early for the party – it was 9 30 PM. So we wandered about, filling ourselves up with some snack…. It was not long before the crowd started coming in… Surprise, surprise – the place was getting filled with firangi chicks! The reason is this – the entry is free for girls! And so are the drinks! Now tell me, why would the women not come in? The chicks that came in were…. HOT!!! There was a post on a corner on which one of the girls climbed up and performed a pole dance! WOW!!! We were on!!! We went to the bar, got ourselves a shot of vodka, pledging ourselves to do better than the previous night! And with this, we all entered the dance floor. We were dancing amidst the firangi chicks but none of us could hit on a woman there – We had no clue how to even initiate a dialog with them. Akshay was the first to try, and came back disappointed. The chicks that he spoke to did not speak English. They were Russian. This saddened Akshay immensely and so he shot himself a few more of vodkas and flattened out. Aswin followed suit, and in no time, we were 2 down. Adi was desperately hitting on a Danish chick who had accompanied his friend (the guy who suggested us the place) but it wasn’t working either. He came up and explained me that firangis only like firangis. As we were talking, an Indian guy, roughly about our age, after getting snubbed by most chicks there, managed to hook on to a firangi hottie and took her with him off the bar. What an inspiring persistence I say!

Aji, me and Hari were taking some random drinks now and then, and dancing around here and there randomly. There were some really hot ones – the one with a micro mini tight trouser and a big boot, for example. Or the one who did spanish belly dance. Or the one who did techtonic. Or the black and white (B&W henceforth) – wow, what a girl she was! B&W was another Russian chick jiving in the middle of the dance floor. She got the name from the cute tops and 3/4ths she was wearing. She had the style, looks and the attitude and was easily the best pick of the day. After dancing in her vicinity for a while, I went to the bar again to see what I could drink. I was already on a vodka and a beer and I did not know mixing up your drinks will hit you high. As I was wondering what drink to go for, there was this tall chick next to me asking for “rum n cola”. It sounded good to me – So Rum n cola it was. And the next thing I knew was I could not walk in a straight line. I still came back to the dance floor, and danced like a goof ball – I didn’t care anymore. Dancing is fun, no matter you dance with someone or dance alone. So there I was, trying to imitate the firangi chicks’ movements so that I get familiar with party dancing. As I and Hari were experimenting with new groovy moves, John Davis (We call him JD) enters. And the dance floor is never the same again.

Rewind 9 years – Its high school time. JD, Aji and Arun are attending a party thrown by PJ (their school mate). There were some chicks dancing around. JD calls PJ – “Dude, introduce me to the women in the house man!”. PJ introduces JD to 2 girls dancing in a corner. So JD starts grooving with the women. He turns around to Aji with a big grin – “Come on Guys, Come on join us!!” and turns with the same grin. Bingo! The girls had disappeared!

Back to present – I did not know JD’s reputation. JD was down with flu the previous night, so he had missed the Nepali bash too. I should have known when JD told me he was a champion guitarist, cricketer, football player and badminton player. He told me he was now after B&W. Having been in Australia for about 3 years now, JD should have it easy, I thought. I was also looking forward to learn some moves from him. Then JD bends a bit on his front, puts his feet away but draws his knees closer, and starts fervently pulling something from his sides, all the time looking down. Very soon, the realization struck me – JD was actually…. DANCING!!!!! As I was trying to recover from the shock, he was moving towards B&W, repeating his pulls and drags – as if he were a drunk puppet master pulling strings clumsily, except that he was also the puppet. As he approached B&W, the strings got entangled and he fell right beside her with a thud! For a second everyone looked on, including B&W. Then B&W threw a silly smile and moved a bit away and continued her dancing – I will never forget that smile I was rolling on the floor laughing – JD, you made my day

We danced for some more time pointlessly, and then sat out in the balcony where another chick gave us company. She was an English teacher and a mother of two. I dont remember which country she was from. But she did not look like a mother of two After hopping around with us for a while, she went back n joined the Russian Mafia. It was very late by then, (4 AM) and the couples inside were getting hotter… There were public displays of affection in plenty After watching around for a while, we decided to head back. Adi was the same zombie he was the previous night, except that he was now walking with eyes open. It was not until the next morning did Aswin realize he had lost his cell phone. We all had crashed as soon as we hit home, after having been to one of our best ever party nights.

P.S: In case you are wondering what this Russian Mafia is all about, we decoded an international conspiracy the next day, thanks to Akshay. We could not hit on any chick, because the chicks are part of a Russian mafia that does drug trafficking to and from Goa – is what Akshay thinks. Yes Akshay, I agree. If not for the mafia, the night would have been different

Goan nights – 1

// December 5th, 2009 // Comments // Random, Travelogues

I should first tell you, I did not know there could be a place like this in India. I am talking about Goa. It did not feel like India. Or at least, the India that I knew. Music, dance and parties everywhere, with thousands of people doing nothing but chilling out! The streets are filled with restaurants and pubs. And some resorts. Add some DVD shops, and bike rentals. Although I stayed only at Calangute beach during my 3 day stay, it was a good sample of what life is like in this small coastal state. Thanks to the wedding of Aswin and Arti, my close buddies for years, a gang of 7 of us packed off to Goa on a tempo traveler (or Swaraj Mazda… whatever you call it). Now, am not going to get into each and every detail of what all we did in the trip – I might be assassinated by the Russian Mafia (Sorry Akshay ) but I do want to share with you guys about my party experiences there. So, fast forward, second night in Goa:

Nepali dhamaka:

Nights in Goa is all about party, as we had heard. So we were checking out the places where we could go partying. Then this friend of ours told us about a place where Nepalese girls dance with you. After a bit of inquiries here and there, we finally set off to this place. The entry fee was 500 bucks for which you get some beer or vodka. We got in straight to the bartender girls – 4 of them, all Nepalese – and got ourselves a shot of vodka t(y)elling ourselves the night belonged to us. And bang we entered.

I could see a big circle of girls slowly dancing to the beats (Oh, don’t ask about the music. Its some shady desi mix which I do not remember, not do I want to) and there were chairs all along the walls where a few middle aged men sat with a drink in their hands ogling at the women. I had no idea whether to get into the circle and dance or to go and sit in one of those seats and join the ogling. Anyway, we guys moved to a corner and slowly started dancing ourselves. As I was slowly moving with the music, a girl with a black jacket and shorts came closer and started dancing. At first, I pretended not to notice and continued dancing. Then I realized she was too close to my side that it almost seemed intentional. And it was. She brushed her arms against mine while she danced and If I did not pick up the cue now, I should be a real dumb-wit. So, I started playing along and slowly danced with her. I asked for her name (which I dont remember, of course) and where she was from as I danced. But she was not too keen on a conversation. She just grabbed my hands and started dancing. I had no clue how to hold a girl and dance, so I kinda broke into a smile and tried telling her I was not too good at this. The reply I got was “Will you buy me a drink?”. I did not know what to say. I simply said, “Why don’t we go after a while?”. She seemed not to have heard me, and she repeated the question again. I thought it would be mean for me to deny her a drink, so I obliged. As we walked towards the bar, she happily pulled me close to her. Although, I did not understand her sudden attention, I simply played along without thinking too much – Who would want to get into deep thinking when a girl pulls him with her? As we got to the bar, she asked for one drink, then another. Bomb. 500 more bucks vanished. And we happily walked back. All of a sudden, a realization struck me – I had spent 1000 bucks that night and not an hour had passed by.

Then I looked around to see if I was the only one doing this – I almost broke out laughing. My friend Adith, was taking two girls one on each side to the bar. I knew he’d be broke in no time. And Ajith followed suit. Damn, now I get the rules of the game. Men come in, dance with the girls employed by the club, and the girls take them to buy drinks. The more drinks the men buy, the more commission the girls get. Its that simple. And it cost us a few thousands to realize that. (Adith realized it the next day). Once I knew this, I stopped getting close to any of the girls out there and preferred to sit back and relax with a beer. Very soon, each of the guys was scurrying along looking for cash as they’d burned out all of theirs. And thank God, the club did not accept credit cards! Akshay was a smart ass though, as he preferred to pay through his “glowing horns” that he had purchased outside the club. Whichever girl asks for a drink, they’d get the horn on their heads which would make them laugh. If they continue dancing, good, but if they insist on a drink, the horn goes to the next girl. Pretty smart, huh? And oh, amidst all this moolah, Aji was trying to bond with a burmese chick (of course, after spending some drinks on her) – so much for the romance, huh? And the chick with black jacket, who started her day’s revenue with me, had apparently managed to extract considerably from each member of our gang. Good job.

And did I tell you we were the only guys of our age there? The men out there were typically in their late 30’s to early 40’s and had come there to dance with the girls who could easily be their daughters’ age. Poor guys, Wonder what kind of lives they lead… Watching them was both sorry and annoying. But thats the way it is.

Since it got really late (around 3 AM) and Adith was literally switched off (Yes, he was walking with eyes closed) we decided to leave home. And we had to literally pull our casanova Aji who was still not done bonding with the burmese chick. And thus ended the first party night…..