31.10.2007 Halloween Party:

Just experienced the weirdest Goan-western Halloween party at Bean me Up, a really popular hip vegetarian restaurant that has opened its season with the party. I had heard so much about this place, how great their food is and the atmosphere. Owned by an American couple who have lived in India for 20 years and adopted some of the Indian accent, specialise in tofu and great pizzas…What more could we ask for. We were greeted by a member of staff and given a button each, literally a button, which meant that we get afree drink (watered down watermelon juice or pineapple juice, or an alcoholic cocktail where perhaps there are 3 drops of spirit inside), then sat very near the stage at the front. Soon we realised that there was going to be a magic show by the look of colourful tacky gadgets. I cant believe that I left my camera at home, it was definitely an opportunity to catch some very funny shots of the magician, western kids dressed in costumes (some looking like hookers, and some very traditional witch outfits) and the owner who was dressed in some peculiar Cleopatra costume, looking rather scary! Maybe she could be the goddess of terror…The helped ourselves to a yummy buffet of mainly salads and numerous dishes made from tofu. I never ate so much tofu in different forms in my life. Tofu and cabbage salad, tofu and bean salad, tofu satay, tofu curry, Thai tofu, tofu rice, chocolate tofu cake…It was delicious but hard to make out what I was eating after a while because of such great choice. As we were tucking into our mountain of tofu the entertainment began. Magician Giligiligili, who always commented "I don't tell lies but I do cheats"… A local Indian magician, the most professional and kindest man in such a bizarre setting, who didn't allow the microphone system that kept failing get him down, annoying children who were on the stage trying to ruin his show get in the way, nor the audience who had no interest in watching a cheap magic show. I mean I guess we paid so much attention as our table was practically on the stage. Soon there were approximately 20 children who pulled chairs under them in front of the stage, looked amused by tricks like pouring water into a hat and then emptying out confetti, and completely drawn into the show that later on once they got up after the show most of them had peed themselves because they didn't want to go in the middle of the show.It was advertised that there would also be a costume competition and that the guests could dress up for the evening if they wished to do so. All the children were in costumes, but we couldn't quite work out whether there were some adults also in costumes, or that's how they dress normally anyway. There were parents in dreadlocks, fairy like clothes, covered in tattoos, and some dressed in rather revealing clothes. I still wish I had my camera with me….Sadly we didn't wait to see the results of the costume competition. Some parents were gathering in front of the stage, making sure they had front row seats to cheer their children on. I wondered whether the parents were taking this competition more serious than the children. I'm sure there will be many miserable looking children as well as angry parents leaving the place tonight because they didn't win the costume competition. It's been 2 weeks since I arrived in Goa and it is hard to decide whether I like Goa. It seems that the place is full of hippies and travellers who waste their time smoking, drinking or living in an illusive reality; and the locals who obviously use this market to their advantage and make money. I sometimes feel like I'm watching a TV programme, there doesn't seem to be any reality in my surroundings at all.