Tourism and Goa

 Goa occupies a unique spot in our psyche out here in India. Its tropical beaches stretch for miles, and give you an opportunity to swim or bathe in the sea almost any time of the year, except when it is raining heavily. Very few beaches in the world can compare. 

But more than this, it's an idea. Just the mention of Goa brings a smile to anyone's face. Stories of plans made to go there tumble out, many of which went unfinished. Some who actually made it want to do more of it. I have rarely met a person who does not wish to holiday in Goa, in all these years. It's almost a magical land.

Maybe, at a psychological level, it's a place where you can BE. Try and discover yourself, your limits. Not just the drinking limits, but in forgetting your routines, and immersing yourself-figuratively, in the sea. Enjoying the present, without a care of the past or the future.

Having been there about 8-10 times now, probably more, I can vouch for that feeling. You feel bad when you leave. Viva la Goa!

Trip to Pulicat Lake

I had visited the Chilika Lake around 1991 with my friend Ghani Zaman. Now, in 2019, I made it to the other big lake with brackish water. Some pics-

Taking off towards the sea.

 My co-fishermen, Jayasimha and Vijayakumar :)

Lady on the bridge..

Dutch cemetery above, and a live man, below.

Vietnam Ha Long Bay Part 1

This is the first post that describes a fantastic cruise in the Ha Long Bay at Vietnam a few days ago-there may be more.

 The deck and sea breeze. Below, another section of the boat, near the Captain's Wheel.

 The cruise boat from the outside (a smaller boat took us to this one) and below, the Spirit of the cruise in the cabin.

 Other boats in Paradise- what it felt like. Below, a view from the cabin.

Land's End

The end of civilization as we know it may occur when we have no land to live on. barring going back into the sea (assuming it's still there), or into the sky, we wouldn't have any options.

Therefore, my theory ( I still can propound a few) is that we, citizens of the world, must value what we have. All land records of the world must be made public, on Google or its equivalent, and we must all decide on what we should be doing with it. Housing of course is a primal need, and we could allocate large portions of land to this. Agriculture may be equally important, and that should take precedence over pointless uses.

After which, other land uses should be decided on by local communities. New communities can also be planned by citizen groups. What's new about this, you may ask. Two things. Transparency- the google part, and citizenry getting involved. Might actually solve a lot of the world's problems, methinks. Royalty cheques, anyone?