Theft Drugs and Rock & Roll
14-12-2009
Caf managed to find a great apartment, overlooking the sea and above a bakery so we always have fresh warm bread in the morning to go with our full milk coffee. It’s somewhat too large for us, sleeping up six people but has a massive balcony with electric fans overhead so when the temperature gets unbearable in the afternoon we can sit outside, people-watching in complete comfort.
With it’s own kitchen it was easy to see how we could claw back some of the expense of having such luxury, so far we have cooked nothing more than some egg toast for breakfast and warmed up samosa’s purchased from downstairs at eight Rupees a pop, (£0.11) We did a food shop once in the local store and it worked out more expensive than eating out, so dining on the beach has become routine and with the apartment costing a grand total of sixteen quid a day we don't really need to claw much back 
.
Claw back is something I’ve had to do after our apartment was serviced, money and our iPod went missing, some of the guidebooks like to call this sort of behaviour “scams” but my term is theft. When the accused was taken to our balcony and threatened with a flying lesson it wasn’t that strange I suppose that our possessions were returned back to us an hour later! Trev had his phone stolen, again told the guy in no uncertain terms to hand it back, he did, Ollie and Jenny’s camera went but didn’t return and the petrol from my motorcycle didn’t either. 
With it’s own kitchen it was easy to see how we could claw back some of the expense of having such luxury, so far we have cooked nothing more than some egg toast for breakfast and warmed up samosa’s purchased from downstairs at eight Rupees a pop, (£0.11) We did a food shop once in the local store and it worked out more expensive than eating out, so dining on the beach has become routine and with the apartment costing a grand total of sixteen quid a day we don't really need to claw much back . Claw back is something I’ve had to do after our apartment was serviced, money and our iPod went missing, some of the guidebooks like to call this sort of behaviour “scams” but my term is theft. When the accused was taken to our balcony and threatened with a flying lesson it wasn’t that strange I suppose that our possessions were returned back to us an hour later! Trev had his phone stolen, again told the guy in no uncertain terms to hand it back, he did, Ollie and Jenny’s camera went but didn’t return and the petrol from my motorcycle didn’t either. This is the way India is and it’s take it or leave it. Overcharging in restaurants and cafes is commonplace and you are generally seen as a cash cow and these people will take your last Rupee given the chance so you must be on you toes all of the times, but we are older and wiser now, check, lock and count everything, and now all is going fairly smoothly.
One of the very few things that has to be done during our time in Arambol is getting the plaster removed from Caf’s arm and now that five weeks have passed it has come to that point, getting booked into a hospital for x-rays and fingers crossed, removal of the cast that has been Caf’s bug bear for what seems like a much longer period of time, so a phone call was made to the local hospital and we were told just to turn up anytime after nine that Friday. The taxi pulled up at the hospital entrance at 8.30, we jumped out and made our way to reception thinking we would be quite near the front of the queue, not overly surprised when were told by the receptionist the orthopaedic surgeon wasn’t due until 1 o’clock that afternoon but at present was at another hospital, thirty five kilometres down the road from ten until midday, back in the taxi and within a manic hour we were in the reception of our second hospital of the day. An hour sat in the waiting area passed in ten minutes due to the kaleidoscope of personalities waiting with us, A nod is as good as a wink and a half hearted summons was thrown in Caf’s direction and we were sat in the consultants office, with her offering up a roughly plastered arm for inspection. With an opening gambit of “where did this happen”, Caf explained that it
was north east Pakistan, the next wise words that came from this obviously educated man where “they should spend less on terrorism and more on health care”, “No wonder this planet is in the state it is” were my first words, under my breath to keep the status quo! After the plaster was removed and a few x-rays completed we were back with the xenophobic but very professional medical man, to be told everything was good to go.
Yippee, time for a swim.
After a few weeks of eating, drinking and chin-wagging, quite a lot of it with Ollie and Jenny, we were sad to see them go, in the short period of time that we had spent together we forged a strong bond, it’s great to be able to shoot the breeze with likeminded people that have spent months on the road, covering thousands of kilometres to get to the same point on a map as us, even if one of them is from Cornwall. A week or so after they have left I still find myself looking across the road to see if they are on the balcony across the “street” ready for a team lunch on the beach and the view out to sea doesn’t seem quite the same without the green and white Cornish flag flying from the rusty old steels that prop up the corner of said property. I wholeheartedly wish them well and mine and Caf’s memories will always be better for meeting them.
Days seem to slip by without you noticing here, no rush to do anything and nothing to rush about for so we sit, drink tea, spend two hours walking up the beach and back every morning looking out for one of the many stray dogs to coax into following us, have a coffee and juice in the café occasionally, and then discuss where we are going to have lunch and dinner, sometimes interrupted by a few cold beers. There isn’t much to write about other than lazy days spent on our balcony doing nothing at all. This is how our life has been for a month and will continue for yet another before we head off south to Kerala. With Caf’s arm all sorted my attentions could now be focused on retrieving her motorcycle from the depot near Panjim where it has been shipped to. Again phone calls were made and a date booked, but it was never going to be that easy, five days and counting! One thing that does enter my mind as I sit here typing this is that there has been a marked increase in the number of tourists turning up for the Christmas period, the bars are staying open later and the whole party atmosphere has started to erupt so there may be more to write about than I think, especially since Trev’s two mates have just turned up from the UK looking for five days of mayhem before they jump back on a plane for their Turkey with all the trimmings!
The route we took in Iran caused us to come across a great deal of building works and the remains of a distinct lack of it. The war between Iran and Iraq had certainly left it's mark along the Persian Gulf, but the people we met seem to be moving on and taking advantage of the economic success the country is experiencing at present (in some cities by charging us rates we would have expected in a reasonable hotel in central London.)
Bit of a disappointment really, UNESCO had got their hands on it 
These images are better than reality 
but we had a good picnic 
with a nice view
Landslip on the Black Sea Coastal Highway 
Feels like we're on a 2 week holiday still