Goa II: Anjuna: Boys, Beaches and Bed Bugs

We're hardly in Anjuna 2 minutes and I'm won over already. It's sunny, we have a super cheap place to stay and the beach is merely but a few minutes away. Bliss. It's off-season here too, so there's not so many tourists about, which means the beach is relatively quiet. And therefore I can brave the bikini for the first time.

After an afternoon nap, we decide to explore, and after dodging some particularly persistent market stall holders ("I give you good price; ASDA price. 2 for 1, cheaper than Primark" etc) we head to the beach. More specifically a beach bar. And unsurprisingly, that's us there for the night, drinking Kingfisher, watching the sunset and chatting with other travellers. I spend most of the evening talking to an ever-so-lovely Swiss guy (who shall remain nameless) and end up staying at the beach with him late in to he night talking (good looking and can hold an intelligent conversation! oh my!) having more drinks, and going a late-night paddle. I can't quite pinpoint what it is, but Swiss seems different to a lot of the guys I tend to meet; just different. I could go on, but I shall spare you the details.

Alas though, our fairy tale romance (!) never quite takes off as he has to leave the following day. So, as I bid farewell to my one-day boyfriend, I console myself by doing the one thing that always makes me feel better. Shopping. The flea-market at Anjuna is theee place to be on a Wednesday; teeming with market stalls selling anything and everything, and ladies trying to coax us over to their stalls with shouts of "hey Indian Barbie" and "White Chicken, come look on my shop!". Some are a bit more foreceful than other, and literally grab and pull at us until we agree to look. Needless to say, I leave the market happy with a substantial little bundle of stuff, from bangles to beads, all which cost mere pennies.

Back at our guest house, we are just settling down for the night when both of us are startled in to bolt-upright position by a little "thud" on the pillow between where are heads are laid. To our total surprise, a lizard has fallen off the ceiling and landed in between us. To be honest, I'm not sure who's actually more shocked; us of the lizard. And thats' only the start of it. Turns out, we are staying in a total rat -pit. The place is crawling. Ants, lizards, moths, crickets, spiders. David Attenborough's wet dream.

After a night of sleeping with one eye open, completely covered from head to toe, we resolve to find a new place to stay in the morning. Preferable one that's creepy-crawly free. And perhaps closer to the beach. I am determined to wake up early enough for a sunrise swim at least once....