Anjuna and Arambol, India

Well, apparently those bed bugs from a couple days ago had more of a feast during that one hour nap in Panjim than I first thought. I guess it takes a day or two for the bites to become inflamed, and oh it is not lovely. I had bed bugs once before in Costa Rica, so I remember the bites- they are tiny red bumps, way too many to even count so it looks more like a rash and the itch is sooooo unbelievably awful I can't even explain. No luck finding hydrocortisone yesterday either. The bites run on the backside of my arms all the way from my shoulders to my wrists and then a huge patch of itchies on my stomach and hip. So basically, I have a dog bite, holey pants, bed bug rashes, and a big bruise on my arm...(from the 2nd rabies shot the other day cause I forgot to have him inject the other arm, and I SWEAR that needle is 6 inches long) I'm lookin' real good. real good. But at least I am having an amazing time so far and that is all that matters. From Candolim, I took a local bus (they run all the time and you just wave it down) up the beach road to Calangute where I then haggled for a few minutes for a rickshaw and took that the rest of the way to Anjuna. I really liked Anjuna, I probably could have stayed there for a week rather than just a night, but I had to move on and see what else was up the road. It was just quiet and kind of spread out, so there was the main paved road lined with hawkers selling their bags and skirts and jewelry and then that road dead ended at the sea, which was a rocky cliff lined with cool open-air eateries and more handicraft shops. Anjuna had thicker vegetation, more of a palm tree forest, than just sporadic stands of palms, so it was nice and shady. I had dinner at a table under a thatched roof restaurant right on the edge of the cliff and watched the sun go down from there. When it is dark you can see all of the lights from the cargo ships, tankers and fishing boats on the horizon. Dinner was prawns curry with rice and it was oh so delicious. You want to know something funny? I have started sweating spices!!! I was smelling my shirts the other day to see if they needed washing and they smelled like Indian food. No, it wasn't because I spilled my meal on my clothes like I do almost every time I eat, it seriously smelled like spices in the armpits of the shirts. hahahahah. I find that very amusing. Spicy sweat. Anyway, I bought a book the other day in Candolim to give me something to do (A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini)and I already finished it! That was a good read. I already exchanged it and now have the Time Traveler's Wife to keep me occupied since I will be beachin' it up for a couple more days. I went to bed early last night since the electricity kept cutting out...there just wasn't a whole lot to do once I was back at the guesthouse and sitting in the dark. This morning I gathered my gear and caught the local bus to Arambol, which would have been a 20 minute trip directly in a cab for 300 rupees. But we all know how thrifty I am- only TEN rupees on the bus. And 2 whole hours of frequent stopping and people watching and wondering when I should get off the bus- way more fun than a stupid cab. Plus, when I actually do figure out where to get off the bus without anyone telling me, I feel very proud of myself. And then I cuss 'cause it means I have to start hoofin' it with my bags. After the bus ride, I walked in a group of several school children toward Arambol, about 20 minutes down a paved road. The girls wear blue gingham dresses for school and the boys wear blue gingham shirts and navy blue slacks. Arambol is a little busier than Anjuna and apparently the meeting place for Russian and German tourists and hippies from around the world. Everyone is wearing those bright poofy linen pants- maybe you have no idea what kind of pants I'm talking about, but I got used to seeing them in Thailand last year. I mean I am seriously the only one without orange parachute pants, dreadlocks and some kind of beaded bag or scarf wrapped around my head. I'm such an outcast. There is a main paved path here with lots of fun shops and eateries and then branching off of that path are tons of little dirt trails leading to the beach or more shops and coffee huts or yoga studios. I found a nice little thatched hut right on the beach- beach shacks are popular here- so for the next couple nights I will have a sunset view right from my room. Need to rest up now, because I think the next stop is Mumbai...population 16.5 MILLION.