May 24, Goa - The Portuguese Caribbean

We land in Goa, and before baggage claim realize we forgot our phone on the plane. We rush to tell a guard who takes Divya to the runway after we explained what happened. A messenger is sent to tell an operator who transfers it via phone to an airport crew on the plane, then to their flight crew who share it with each other. Of the message, I hope at least the seat # goes through.

I couldn't make out if so many people were involved because of security, delegation, or diffussion of responsibility.

Even in Goa, the smallest state in India, every service is overstaffed, as is possible in a country with so many people.

While we wait for someone to take charge & bring us the cell phone, I talked to the guard. She is laid back and in a good mood, as is the standard in this caribbeanesque paradise. She tells me this tiny airport, the only one in the state, is of the Indian Navy Defense, but she is part of the National Guard. All photography is strictly prohibited.



That afternoon we sit for dinner with our host, commander Hooda of the Indian Navy. He is retired and at peace, now a service entrepreneur. He started a shipping management & training company and has invested in real estate throughout the region. Today he is a true businessman.

"The U.S. has lost all momentum," he was referring to economic power. "In India, the state and the people have money to spend. Countries are putting money into this country, and to China. And the people are spending all of it in India."

Last year, he told us, there was a project for constructing a Sky Bus, similar to a sky monorail, in a nearby town called Madgao, a massive undertaking by the Goan government. The first day it ran, however, there was an accident where 3 people died, and the service was immediately stopped. The entire infrastructure and the busses are still sitting there, intact and unused. "We can afford these kind of investments now, as the U.S. could in the past," he told us.

Commander Hooda told us that, in 2006, the goernment increased everyone's salaries, and this multiplied his own pension plan by almost 8x, monthly.

The standard of living is so much higher in the U.S. vs India, he argued, and should remain like that for a long time. A salary in India, though much lower than in many other countries, can buy more in India than a U.S. salary can buy in the U.S.

"Everyone has 2 cell phones, and nice ones," the Commander laughed, calling his helper Balaji who boasted a large color screen on his tiny model, the latest in the market.

Several times during our stay in Goa we had no electricity, at times for several hours. The commander explained this is due to the intense heat, and everyone wanting to use their AC full blast. The issue is Indian power producers cannot meet this demand.

"India's power problem will be fixed in 5 years," he predicted. "Today they are signing deals with several countries: Russia, U.S., France, and so on, to build power plants. Nuclear, hydro-electric. All to meet this demand."

"India has become a spending counry," he concluded proudly. "We are looking to a strong future."