We had a day off from the beach today because we had some shopping to do in Chaudhi and we knew by the time we got back from that we wouldn’t be able to face hauling our sweaty selves down to the beach. Luckily, we have an alternative.
Wandered down to the village at about 930 hoping to get breakfast in the Patnem Chai Shop, that Patnem centre point of deliciousness in surroundings that have all the charm of a rundown cowshed….. except that it’s just been done up and retiled and is looking a bit more spiffy than usual. It won’t last though. Anyway, we looked in the door and it was absolutely rammed so we gave that a miss. Wandered down the beach road and went into a place near the tuk stand. The breakfast was ok for £3.50 for two but not incredible.
Bob had an Indian breakfast of Puri Baji,pickles,curd and chai. Puri baji is a small pot of vegetable curry with e or 4 big pillows of fried bread. I had eggs on brown toast and a coffee.
We got a tuk into Chaudhi and had him drop us at the Canola Bank ATM. We needed money for our new glasses and also to carry us through the next couple of weeks. You can get 30,000inr out per day per card (about £300) but you can only take it in 10,000 transactions. So we had 3 cards and made 6 withdrawals of 10,000 each time. It worked very well but you can always sense people outside the booth cursing you for the length of time it is taking and also for the risk of you emptying the machine before they get a chance…..
Our glasses were ready for us and we are so pleased with them. 5 pairs of varifocals, 2 of which are sunglasses, 3 are reactilite. Mr Durga is always pleased to see us. We left saying “see you next year”. Bob probably won’t need new ones as now his eyes are fixed, his prescription shouldn’t change.
It was really hot. We wandered a bit further up the road to the Mattress Shop and bought 2 of their best pillows, big and plump. They were £4.95 for the two and I’m sure they will help my poor old neck and shoulders. Called into the chemist and picked up some supplies there.
The thing about Chaudi is that it’s a proper little Indian town, full of local shops, banks, a market, churches, all sorts. It’s not a tourist town like Palolem. Locals do all their shopping there. It has its charms but they are….. well hidden….. It’s a very useful place to have nearby but not one you want to particularly linger in. The pavements are very uneven and broken. The traffic is always manic. There might be the odd begger. There will definitely be cows and oxen. It’s very hot and dusty.
We intended to go into the supermarket there – it’s the biggest in the area – but it was a total madhouse and we couldn’t face it. Nothing we needed was exactly urgent, we can get it all in Patnem I think. Bob walked down to the cobbler near the church and put in two pairs of sandals that need minor repair. They’ll be ready tomorrow. I bought a hand of the tiny sweet/sour bananas.
We were going to buy a few other things but frankly it was sooooo hot and busy that we just got in a tuk and came back to the apartment. Well pleased with our morning’s work but glad to get back in the cool. After a bit of a de-stress we got our swimmies on and went down to the pool for the afternoon.
It was lovely and so peaceful. We had it all to ourselves, no one else around except the odd cleaner going to and fro. We read and dipped and sunned. Gave up about 3ish and came back for tea, toast and a kitkat.
Tonight we had a really fabulous birthday celebration at Casa Jaali for Heather’s birthday. Just the four of us and we had a ball. Casa Jaali is probably the most glamorous, most chi chi restaurant in Patnem, out on the little promontory, reached by a wooden walkway over the sea.
Dinner was absolutely delicious. I had chicken tagliatelle with spinach and tomato. Bob had a chicken caesar salad with a bowl of super chips. Chris had chicken schnitzel and Heather had a chicken curry with rice. They brought her a lovely birthday treat cheesecake dessert which we all tasted a bit of and a tray of different shots. There was live music and a very good ambience . We had such a lovely time Many thanks to them both for choosing to share it with us.
