An Evening at the Beach (Tuesday, 10/14)

Tuesday started with another trip to the hospital because Grace has had a headache since the day after surgery. After returning to the hotel, I decide to wonder the streets and take pictures while I still have light. After getting harrased for money from some drunk guys outside a wine shop, I continue down the street to take some more pictures. A few minutes later and I get a call from Anthony’s friend saying that he is coming to pick me up and he will be at the hotel in five minutes. Keep in mind that I never asked to be picked up today, and no one ever mentioned this to me before now. It seems pointless trying to dispute this over the phone since neither of us can understand one another, so I head back to the hotel and wait. After a few minutes he shows up and asks me where I am going. I tell him that I am just taking pictures today, and that I don’t really need to go anywhere. He stresses that he wants to take me somewhere, and appears as though he is not going to take no for an answer. I have wanted to get out to the broken bridge in the evening for the dramatic lighting, so I tell him he can take me there. I reluctantly hop on the back of his motorcycle without a helmet, and off we go.

The tide is up, and now water from the ocean is pouring INTO the river that I had previously thought never reached the ocean. This time I brought my big lens, so I am able to get some good shots of some sand crabs as well as birds and some people who don’t know I am taking their picture. There are some fishermen there at the beach using their nets to try and get some fish traveling through the tide-dependent waterway and I get some good shots of them. It’s scary to think that they actually eat fish out of the river (the one that looks more like a sewage dump), and I just hope that none of the fish I ate during my time in India came from the river. No more fish for me while I am in India.

At this point we can see a big monsoon coming inland, and my ride is urging me to leave, so I agree. We jump on the bike and he says we should go to a wine shop. I tell him that I don’t want to go to a wine shop, it is getting ready to rain, and I would like to head back to the hotel. He of course ignores my request and drives over to a wine shop, telling me that it will only be a minute. Fine. We go into the wine shop, he orders a small bottle of brandy (the brandy in India is more akin to spiced rubbing alcohol), and asks me if I want a beer. I tell him that I don’t want any beer… several times in fact, and he eventually gives up. He then asks me for 120 rupees for the brandy... which I almost expect at this point. He did drive me to the beach (albeit unsanctioned), so I consent and hand him the money. About this time it starts to rain… and when I say rain, I mean monsoon. Great. Also about this time, a really drunk guy in the wine shop starts asking me for money, to which I tell him no and start ignoring him. He continues asking me for money, and when he does not get my attention, he grabs my arm with both hands. I immediately twist my arm out of his grasp, and with the same motion push the guy away from me. He clearly does not comprehend this, and does the same thing again, to which he gets the same response. He does it yet a third time, to which he gets the same response in addition to a big foreigner in his face telling him to back off. Apparently this has little effect because he grabs my arm yet again. Evidently nothing is going to deter this guy from asking for money, short of kicking his ass, so after shoving the guy off, I decide to leave. The rain has let up a little, at least to a reasonable level, so I tell the guy I am with that I want to go. He tries to point out that it is raining (because clearly this is beyond my comprehension), but I ignore him, walk out to the bike, and wait. He seems upset that I am standing in the rain, and runs out to where I am standing. He again tells me that it is raining (again, beyond my comprehension), and asks me to come back under the roof. I tell him that I don’t care and that I want to go back to the hotel. He grabs some newspaper, wipes off the seat, and then we hop on. He drives across the street and stops under a tree, which at this point is doing little more than condensing the water droplets. Brilliant! He then tells me to stand in the entranceway of another building across the street.

After standing in the doorway for about half an hour, the rain lets up for the most part, we hop back on the bike, and away we go. At one point we drive past a puddle at the same time as another car, and suddenly my entire right side is soaking wet. Splendid! Fortunately my camera is nestled within my man-purse, and as such still nice and dry. He offers to pull over, to which I insistently tell him to keep going. A few minutes later and he pulls over to a little road-side food stand, proclaiming that we are here. He proceeds to tell me that we can now get some dinner and drink the liquor. Judging from previous experiences, I decide to go along with it, and tell him to drive up the beach so I can get some sugarcane juice to mix with the brandy. Twelve rupees later and I have two cups brimming full with freshly squeezed sugarcane juice. We drive back down to the food stand, and I am told to have a seat on one of the plastic stools in the sand. A few minutes later and we are presented with a bowl of “chili-beef.” The plastic fork I am giving is completely inept at any task but looking like a fork, so I pull out the Thai-spoon I always carry in my man-purse. My host/kidnaper is amazed that I would carry such a thing, and a conversation ensues.

After talking for a while, ordering some more food, and drinking some booze, he steers the conversation to education and how important it is. This seems a little off topic considering we were just talking about food, but whatever. He starts talking about the importance of computers in this day and age, and then asks if I will buy him a laptop. Seriously?!!! Suddenly everything makes sense, and I realize that driving me to the beach was somehow supposed to convince me that I should buy him a laptop… you know, because I’m completely loaded. I explain to him that I don’t have that kind of money. He says that is OK, and that I can just pay for part of is… WTF. Is this guy for real? I explain that I am not rich, and that I am simply not going to buy him a laptop or give him any money. He seems disappointed and the conversation essentially stops. After paying for the food, he says that he needs to go to the bathroom, so he hops on his bike and drives off.

At this point the night has cleared up, there is a warm breeze coming in from the ocean, and there is a full moon lighting the beach. I decide that I am pretty much done with this guy, and start walking across the sand, towards the ocean. I get a call from my host/kidnaper asking where I am. I tell him that I am on the beach, to which he asks me to come back, to which I tell him to go home. He calls me several more times, and eventually he gets the point and stops calling. I continue my walk, making sure to let the waves wash over my feet. In the moonlight I can see hundreds of crabs scurrying around me. The beach is covered with couples enjoying the romantic evening, against a backdrop of carnival-like lighting near the road. I decide to try for some night shots, so I set my camera on one of the nearby fishing boats. After getting a couple good pictures, I decide that it is time for bed, so I walk back to the road and catch a rickshaw back to the hotel. A lovely end to a most peculiar evening.