endless goan diversity...

i've been in goa about a week and i've done a whole slew of cool things including: visited a bustling market in an inland town with few foreigners around; explored the relatively fast paced capital - ripe with 17th century churches and a strong portuguese influence; cruised the beaches, some of which filled with overweight middle aged british people; met some amazing new international people; ventured inland from the main road where almost instantly it turns back to the india you've read about; and then there was sunday. wow, hows that for a long sentence? i thought at the onset, sunday would be a relaxing day. i pretty much walked myself to fatigue around the capital of panaji the day before, and just wanted to hang on the beach. checked in on the email in the afternoon and got a message from my friend meredith from portland. she spends 6 months of the year in india annually, and is staying a couple towns north of me. she told me about a psytrance dance party in vagator, a town 10 miles north of where i'm staying. goa trance is a long standing tradition here, that i was aware of, but seeing first hand is understanding. although trance is not my favorite type of music, i hired a tuk tuk, and set off for the party. as i like to say..."when in rome..."

the scene inside was a bit surreal. like i had stepped into a burning man theme camp. an oasis of dayglo painted palm trees, psychedelic tapestries, booming sound system, and a good number of international hippies. some young indian men were on hand, and on the sidelines indian women made chai and served up snacks. after a few minutes of feeling it out, i jumped right in and GTFD (got the f#$@ down!). it was really fun, and reminiscent of a full moon party in ko pha gnan, thailand that i was at years ago.

i was also excited to see that cheb i sabbah, one of my favorite international music producers would be in the 'hood the week after next. have to keep my dancin' feet warmed up for the big show when i return.

i learned my first konkani word the other day from a new indian friend - cheecheery, its what you say when you're walking down the road and almost get clipped by a tuk tuk driver yapping on his cell phone. i'll leave the actual definition to your imagination ; )

a couple more things before i caption some pix. it looks like there is some international visitors to the blog - would love to know who's reading - send a comment please. and to my american friends - drop me a message and let me know whats going on in your world. would love to hear about events back home...

namaste,
max

panaji - the capital of goa:
hard times:
hanuman temple, with a new addition being constructed.
inside this orange structure is a place for ritual bathing before entering the temple

jesus is almost as big as the beatles in goa
two very different worlds, christianity in the foreground, hinduism in the background...
the yoga shala i practice at:
the clifford ball? or the remnants of a festival in mapusa...
rules like this are strictly adhered to in india
two sweet kids near the hanuman temple in mapusa
scenes from the market in mapusa: