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Pictures from India New Year 2004 - 2005
This is Arambol beach in Goa. Sveta and I spent two weeks there
after we arrived in India. We had been trying to get to the Andaman Islands
and were a bit depressed when we couldn't get tickets. An acquaintaince who
worked in a travel agents said that for a little baksheesh, he could get air
tickets to Goa for first thing in the morning. As promised, we left the next
day at nine in the morning and by five o'clock in the evening we were strolling
on the beach. We were still there when the Tsunami hit the Bay of Bengal. Nothing
physically serious happened in Arambol as it's on the west coast. The boat you
can see on the left was lifted a few metres up the beach but that was about
it. The panic in the aftermath of the disaster reached right across the subcontinent
however and we were just two of the hundreds of people in Arambol who were desperately
trying to track relatives and friends. Our daughter and her husband had already
booked tickets for the Andaman Islands but thankfully they returned them when
they discovered that we couldn't go. They were at home in their little sea-side
house in Chennai however, when the big wave struck. They heard the distant rumble
of the aproaching wave and managed to reach the safety of a neighbouring three-storey
house where they ran to the roof. They were lucky, but so many others weren't.
The
afternoon before we left Delhi for Goa, we visited Haus Khaz village. It is
actually within the city limits but it is a quiet place surrounded by parkland
and there's an old reservoir which once supplied the city with water. Now it's
muddy and overgrown with trees and reeds. There are usually lots of birds around.
There are many old buildings near the reservoir, some of which you can see in
the photos to the right and left. Some of the ruins are part of what was one
of India's earliest muslim universities and there's also the tomb of Firoz Shah.
It's the first time we have visited the village and I would recommend it to
anyone looking for a few hours peace and quiet away from the hustle and bustle
of central Delhi.
Here on the left, are some interesting formations we saw exposed
at low tide on Arambol beach. I think they were made by some kind of molusc.
We spent a lot of time walking along the beach. Low tide was the best time as
the sand was cool and level underfoot. 
We
made a habit of walking every morning after breakfast and in the evening around
sunset, but even in the heat of the day it was easy to walk a few kilometres,
wading in the water whenever the heat became too much.
As you can see from the picture on the right, the beach is quite
developed, with many restaurants and shacks amongst the palms. There were a
lot of people but it never seemed to get too crowded or noisy. The main party
scene in Goa is further south in Vagator and Anjuna and I guess the guys who
prefer a bit of boom-boom and E go there once the sun goes down.
Arambol really is the perfect place to relax and even though
we were looking forward to travelling and exploring new places, when it was
time to continue our trip we were also sad to be leaving such a peaceful place.
I think we'll go back again.
© Ashy Macbean 2005. All rights reserved.
This is Arambol beach in Goa. Sveta and I spent two weeks there
after we arrived in India. We had been trying to get to the Andaman Islands
and were a bit depressed when we couldn't get tickets. An acquaintaince who
worked in a travel agents said that for a little baksheesh, he could get air
tickets to Goa for first thing in the morning. As promised, we left the next
day at nine in the morning and by five o'clock in the evening we were strolling
on the beach. We were still there when the Tsunami hit the Bay of Bengal. Nothing
physically serious happened in Arambol as it's on the west coast. The boat you
can see on the left was lifted a few metres up the beach but that was about
it. The panic in the aftermath of the disaster reached right across the subcontinent
however and we were just two of the hundreds of people in Arambol who were desperately
trying to track relatives and friends. Our daughter and her husband had already
booked tickets for the Andaman Islands but thankfully they returned them when
they discovered that we couldn't go. They were at home in their little sea-side
house in Chennai however, when the big wave struck. They heard the distant rumble
of the aproaching wave and managed to reach the safety of a neighbouring three-storey
house where they ran to the roof. They were lucky, but so many others weren't.
