Bagaland

Once upon a time, in a big town called Bom Baim, lived two women who heard of an enchanted kingdom called Bagaland. While they toiled away in their masters' castles in Bom Baim, they longed for a visit to this land of freedom and beer. After much patience and perseverance, their masters gave them a week off to explore this new, shiny place. And that week changed their lives forever! It made them aware of the powers they possessed; powers that only came to them when they were in Bagaland! Oh how wonderful it would be if their powers would work in Bom Baim too!

A year passed by and they never forgot Bagaland, their time spent there etched in their memory. We should go again! And  this time, we'll take our friends so they can discover their powers too! And that's how Babita, Dimple, Jennifer and Sameera took a bus from Bom Baim to Bagaland in the pleasant month of December 2010.

AND SO IT BEGINS...

They idea of going in a sleeper bus was Dimpi's. All apprehensions were cast away, though, once they got in. It was clean, smelled good and the beds were big enough for a comfortable night of sleep. "If only we were sharing our beds with someone special instead of each of us!!" they all screamed! "Shhh" said someone at the back of the bus. "Shhh shhhh shhhh shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" they shushed back.

"I want to pee real bad!" said Jenny suddenly, "I mean, I peed before I left, but I wanna pee again!"
"I wonder if the bus will stop anywhere. Maybe we should ask the bus guy." said Bobby.
"I'm not gonna ask the bus guy! You ask him!"
"Oh, you two! I'll ask the bus guy!" said the ever outspoken Dimpi. She tapped the bus guy. "Will you make a stop at a restroom?"
"No. Next stop is Vashi. There's no restroom at the stop though." he quipped back.
"Well, then stop at some restroom in between. She wants to pee!" Dimpi pointed at Jenny.
Jenny's face turned red as she exclaimed "Why are you pointing at me like that?!?!"
And they all burst out laughing! Bus guy included!
A lot of talking about men later, it was time to sleep. Bobby humped Dimpi in the romantic bus space with curtains to save their modesty. Jenny cried on the phone. Classic case of candy ya gum.

At 11 am the next day, they were at Mapusaland. A lot of bargaining with taxi guys ensued. When they finally got a taxi, they first went hunting for some beer. It was amazing how difficult it was for them to find beer. Like no water in an oasis! After two attempts, they finally managed to get themselves Kingfisher and Budweiser. Bobby's thirst for Kings would have to wait. The girls who went to get beers disappeared for 15 minutes and came back with hats. Much to the irritation of the cab driver who kept waiting for them to arrive! "I will charge you extra" he threatened. Being the women they were, not much heed was paid.
And that's when they had their first blonde moment.
"Who's the chief minister of Goa?" asked Dimpi.
"The same as Maharashtra's chief minister, no?" said Sam as we all looked at her for a few seconds and burst out laughing!
"Why would you say that, Sammy!?!" asked Jenny.
"I don't know! Because Maharashtra and Goa is the same region for Vodafone!"
And this line would be held against Sammy for the rest of her life!
A half an hour cab ride later, they reached the magical land of booze, parties, sand and sea.

They were staying at the fascinating Hotel Angelina. Rooms were not blocked for them on the same floor and in order to stay right next to each other, the hotel gave them cheaper rooms. 900 bucks a night for a double room. No TV and no AC. But none were needed. The rooms were perfect! ID proofs later, they went to their rooms to freshen up.

It was a Saturday and they had decided to go to the Saturday Night Bazaar. With no vehicle, they enquired and were told that it was a 10-15 minute walking distance and so they decided to walk. Ten minutes down the line and it seeming farther away, another inquiry told them that it was at least half an hour more if they went walking. Cabs were asking for 200 bucks and autos for 100. That's when they decided to check if the enchanted land still brought our their powers. In no time, they got an auto for 50 bucks, the driver specially asking them not to tell anyone that he gave them that rate!

And who might they meet at the Bazaar? Vicky Ladha, with his wife and cousins. It was weird coz while Bobby, Jenny, Dimpi and Sammy were dressed as skimpily as possible, there stood Vicky and his wife, not just fully clad but with extra jackets on.
Ooh, Vicky's wife won't think too highly of us, eh? were their echoing sentiments. Well, they were in Bagaland, and this was their birth right! Those guys should take some of their clothes off!

After a whole lot of shopping in the Bazaar, they sat down with some food and beer, and watched some performances. Bobby couldn't take her eyes off the African acrobats as they flexed their naturally muscular bodies. At the end of the performance, they asked for the audience to participate in a fire stunt and Sammy always being the most enthusiastic one, obliged. Needless to say, she chickened out and just ducked through the fire instead of bending her body backwards. However, for the sheer spirit of wanting to participate, the other girls gave her a huge round of applause while eating some yummy jacket potatoes with cheese!

After the bazaar, it was time to party. An auto ride back, they quickly hit the bars after keeping all their money at home. No money would be spent on drinks. And the power bearing had begun in full swing.

While all days passed in beach bumming and all nights passed with a lot of alcohol, some memories remained etched on their minds.

1. Sammy's friend with a tooth stud
2. Bobby and Dimpi making out at Cape Town Cafe
3. People telling Bobby to agree to raise kids with Dimpi (!!!)
4. All four women having cell phone issues
5. Jenny going "What! What?! Whaaatttt?????"
6. Sammy going "That's so tacky!"
7. Dimpi going "On what basis?!?!?!"
8. Remembering the Maharashtra and Goa joke and applying it to India and Sri Lanka
9. Making friends in the loo!
10. Bobby losing everyone with no phone in her hand
11. Bobby finding Jenny (who had Bobby's phone) at the bar doing Tequila shots with random people and confiscating her phone back!
12. Sunrise at the beach after realizing that the day is about to break...beer still in hand
13. Meeting irritating men and then being rescued by a random car
14. Meeting more irritating men on the beach while getting henna tattoos done
15. Coke
16. Free shots!
17. Jenny's blood on the bed! What? How?
18. Water sports
19. Bobby and Dimpi sharing a kiss while para-sailing!
20. Dimpi introspecting
21. Ab ba ba!
22. Every night is a free drinks night for ladies at Titos!
23. Jenny asking on the third day "So which beach is this?"
24. Using the balcony to get to the other room
25. Iranian men painting the ladies' portraits and caricatures
26. Meeting a Justin Beiber/ (one of the ) Jonas Brothers lookalike
27. Meeting his beautiful and funny girlfriend
28. Bobby and Dimpi meet the woman who made the jacket potatoes in a bar. And take her number!
29. Jenny and Bobby meeting a man who knew all the places the girls had been to the night before!

On the last day, Jenny had to leave at 5 am while the rest at 3 pm. At 4:45 am, Jenny said her goodbyes, left the bar, went to her room, packed as quick as she could and left just in time! Later that day, Sammy, Bobby and Dimpi left for the airport. While Bobby had a 5 pm flight, the other two said theirs was at 6, but would come along with Bobby. When they reached the airport at 3:30, they inquired at the check-in counter if they could take an earlier flight, only to be told that their flight was at 5 and not 6, and was the next flight out! And it wasn't that the timing had changed, they just assumed it was at 6 even when the ticket in their hands said 5! Blonde moments galore!

And with that, they were back to Bom Baim. Back to their masters, toiling away again. Hoping to visit the enchanted land once again, hopefully in another year!

Girls in Bagaland!