Sumptuous food, Sunbathing and another big Thank You!



T those from B.C. ...This is the beach shack where
Mr Ballard spends his winters!



Tiruvannamalai, and its spiritual tourism could not have provided a starker contract with Calangute (North Goa) and its package tourism.  Moving from one to the next in one short hop turned up another of India’s great contrasts.  I came to Goa to meet up with Dick, a friend from Bishop’s Castle who is in his second season of escaping the Great British winter.  At the sight of the Calangute-Baga main road, I couldn’t believe that my friend could spend the same amount of time in India as had and stay just here, HOWEVER, (there is always one of those in India …are you noticing that?) off that brute of a road are quiet, modestly touristy lanes and off those lanes are footpaths.  Off one of those paths, across the sand and resting amongst the huts of the few remaining villagers, is the amazing little house which Dick found for me to rent as the base for what has been a lovely little beach holiday that I think I was more ready for than I knew (Thank You Dick!).

Dick has a group of long-termer friends here who have been wonderfully welcoming and we have had some really good nights out in superb restaurants with extra delights like Gin and Tonic!  I have kept up the exercise, largely thanks to Glenis my power-walking-at-dawn-chum who even shouted me a Yoga class yesterday too which my body was long in need of (thank you!).  Most of all this break has reminded me that I am a westerner and that within that I am going to have to find ways of applying my spiritual learning in that context.  I have used this opportunity to start to experiment with that, largely at this stage by maintaining my meditation and exerting my will over my ego.  I will be giving much more thought (and no doubt blog time) to this topic between now and going home and will have a major opportunity to practice integrating what I have learned when my number one man arrives in Hyderabad tomorrow ahead of our journey through the state of Karnataka!