Spices and Other Exotic Things

So right now I'm having the vacation of a lifetime here in Anjuna. Yesterday we went to a Goan spice farm that was set in a 200 acre forest. The way in was over a small wooden footbridge that lead across a lake and into a thatched hut building. The entire place smelled of spices (though mostly from the buffet they were cooking) which was served on banana leaves. We ate the tasty meal of Chipatis, rice, Dal and some kind of coconut beans and picked fresh bananas off of some hanging banana stocks. We sampled the local firewater called "feni" served in coconut shells and which smells like sweet rubbing alcohol. It's made from fermented palm or coconut juice and is 40 percent proof and it'll put hair on your chest.
After lunch we got a 45 minute tour from a very amusing tour guide - he showed us how they grow pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, chiles, lemon grass and cardamon. We tastes samples of leaves, bark, etc., and Rohit was man enough to try the local equivalent of cigarettes (which no one smokes) because they prefer to a chew beetal nut mixture of cloves, cardamon, beetal nuts and lime powder. It's supposed to be highly addictive and turns your mouth red. He put it in his mouth and after a minute or two, threw it up in the bushes. Everyone laughed.
After the tour we watched a small man climb a coconut tree in about a minute and then swing from tree to tree. That was really cool. At the end of a tour, we were promised a little 'surprise'. As I was at the front of the line, I got to get my little 'surprise' first. I was told to turn around...and I have to admit, I had no idea what was coming. What I got was a very cold laddle of water down my back. You can see from my perfectly captured expression that I was shocked. Vidhu squeeked a little, she was so surprised by the cold.
After our tour we visited Panjim, the capital of Goa and walked around - we had the spiciest dinner yet in India, eating Goan Kingfish in curry sauce. By the end of the meal our eyes and noses were watering. Luckily we also had Kingfish beer to wash it down. The restaurant was called Viva Panjim and was tucked away in a side street, sandwiched between old Portuguese houses. Strings of christmas lights and cobbled stone lined the walkway where we sat. It was very picturesque. It took us forever to find the place, but once we did, it was well worth it.
The rest of Panjim was fun - mostly we walked around looking at jewelry stores. Some of the architecture was really beautiful, very reminiscent of Portugual or Spain, with a decidedly European flare. Like this building, which is a gigantic structure to remind people of the crushing power of the Catholic church.
That evening we returned to the hotel and crashed. Vidhu's been sick lately and had to fly back to Mumbai today to meet up with the producers. She's also going to tour a Bollywood studio, which should be fun. I opted to stay in Goa with Rohit to continue relaxing...and because I'm in love with the tiny reese monkey Chives who lives at the hotel. When I visit him he preens my hair for fleas, and afterwards shares his back with me so that I can preen his. He's obviously very smart as well, since the hotel owners tell me he has particular tastes regarding humans and doesn't like everyone.
Anyway, today Rohit rented a moped, which we are now driving around (we're absolutely crazy, because I read a statistic that said here in Goa an average of one person dies each day on the roads and many of them are tourists). I'm driving and as this was a British colony, I'm driving on the opposite side of the road, and it takes a little getting used to. But the advantage is getting to avoid the 200 rps charge for a taxi everytime we want to go somewhere (the rental fee is 300 a day). Anyway, Rohit and I are going to go get a massage and then head to a beach to parasail for the rest of the afternoon. Later, I've got a date with the hotel pool and a good book. Can't wait!!!