It’s not a motorcycle baby….it’s a chopper

No other way to see southern India than on a Hog. Scooters are for tourists. Only for about $7.50  a day…of course no official paperwork involved. I did a back alley deal with a couple Hindi speaking lads of questionable business ethics to rent a chopper for a week and to see Goa at high speed. Only over here can you get away with such shenanigans, I negotiated them down from $10 a day because the brakes were so bad and it’s muffler was shot.

Alas the open road, on the wrong side of course. Dodging cows goats, overloaded lorries and crazy drivers. I didn’t see any accidents amazingly. Despite my dubious track record with the Santa Monica Riding Club, I can proudly say I was not involved in any accidents either.  Which is surprising because it is pretty damn crazy here on the roads. On the way back from down south I drove through a Monsoon, very white knuckle event. I even got the shakedown from the cops (no intl license) and was able to bribe my way out for $5, we started negotiating at $25. God bless those corrupt Indian traffic cops. I really had to make a scene to get a receipt for said bribe so I would not get subsequently shaken down 5miles down the road which did happen.

On the way down to Palolem, I met the two bravest guys in India.

While I was pulled over buying some water and checking the map these two daredevils hit me up for a ride to football practice. So when in India….

50km with three on the chopper, with me driving on the wrong side of the road among the craziest third world drivers I’ve ever seen. Like I said the bravest two kids in India. You should have seen their faces when I hit them for 20 rupees for gas when they got off….just kidding fellas. Not used to sahib asking for gas money I guess.

So Palolem was the only beach I would really recommend in Goa. There are three main beaches here. Of everything I visited this one has the best vibe. The most young fit tops-optional European sunbathers and a pretty fun vibe at night. My entourage included a Punjabi bridal salon owner, three British grade school teachers, a few Swedes, a couple of Irish and assorted other mutts. The Punjabis apparently pride themselves on drinking ability among Westerners…this guy was pulling out all the stops to out do a pretty mellow crowd. Plus he got a new tattoo earlier in the day.  I called it quits at about 2am, and the crowd was up till 7am. This is standard.

More on Goa soon. Delhi not as bad the 2nd time around it is 44 C though.