Late 2001 and a planned trip to the USA is canned (11/9, and all that), so my holiday has to be planned for elsewhere. I eventually decided to spend a week in Goa, India just before Xmas. In those days there was only really one way of getting there, and that was a package tour, and only really one company doing the package; also, only one flight a week, so the holiday was either 7-days or 14-days.
Come the day of the start of the trip, a taxi to Heathrow for the Green-Line coach to Gatport Airwick. At Gatwick, check-in for the flight to Goa, and I recognise somebody queuing in front of me ... a bloke that was on the coach from Heathrow. The check-in desk is processing passengers for several flights, so maybe he's going somewhere else?
On the flight, I see him wandering around the cabin a few times!
We arrive in Goa, and eventually claim our bags. As you exit the terminal you are greeted by the tour-rep who directs you to a particular coach. Suitcase-wallah grabs bag, charges me £1 for the privilege, and leads the way to the coach. As I sit on the coach waiting, the bloke from the flight (and the check-in, and the coach!) gets on and is seated a few rows in front of me.
Once the coach is full we set-off to the various hotels and resorts. Matey-boy gets off the coach at the first hotel; he's staying in a hotel about 1 mile away.
6 days later, the coach picks-up at my hotel to go back to the airport, but this time it's doing the journey in reverse order. Oddly enough, matey-boy doesn't get on the coach. At the airport we're all checked-in and waiting to board when I notice that he's already here.
The next time that I see him is at the baggage carousel at Gatwick, and then 20 minutes later we're boarding the same Green-Line coach back to Heathrow.
Step forward 4 years ... I'm in the local building society. The bloke in front of me finishes his business and stands aside, and I walk up to the counter. As I'm sorting out my money, I'm aware that the bloke hasn't moved away and is staring patiently. As I finish and turn to walk away, he says to me "did I see you on a holiday in Goa about 4 years ago"?
