Goa

After Chrissie's few days of sickness and the accompanying requirement to stay in the hotel room, it felt fantastic to get to Goa, with its beaches and wide open spaces. We spent 8 days in Goa, but for 6 of these we, to all intents and purposes, did exactly the same thing - relaxed at the beach. India is so hot, busy and hectic, that it was wonderful to get to a couple of beach resorts and just kick back for a while.

We visited two villages, called Anjuna and Arambol, the former for 2 days and the latter for 4. During the 60's and 70's both thrived as favourite hangouts for hippies and there is still evidence today. They are, of course, much more modernised and commercial nowadays, but the relaxing and carefree vibe still exists. At Arambol we stayed in a very basic, but stunningly based shack that sat on the cliffs overlooking the sea and the sunset. Our days existed of little more than mealtimes and relaxing on the beach with a book (under an umbrella and covered in factor 30 of course!). Pretty idyllic stuff really and it recharged our batteries excellently.

The general election is currently underway in India and due to the size of the country they split it state by state and it's held over a series of Thursdays. It seems that it is following us from state to state at the moment and unfortunately alcohol is banned for the 3 days leading upto and including the election day. As we were having our relaxed days in Goa this was a shame, but we found the locals pretty resourceful. The quieter cliff bars would sneak you a beer, or if not serve cocktails that looked like they were only fruit juice. The fact that we didn't see a single policeman in Goa aside, it all felt quite naughty and illicit!

For the other two days in Goa we headed away from the beach to see the state capital - a little inland, called Panaji. We were lucky to grab the last room available in a sweet old portuguese colonial house converted to a hotel - the owner seeming more excited for us than we were for ourselves! The town itself is fairly relaxed, but missing the sea breezes, is also intensely hot. We slowly wandered around the sights the first day (a temple and a big church) and on the second day headed to Old Goa. This is the former Portugese colonial capital, which was once more powerful than Lisbon, but all that remains nowadays is a scattering of churches. The state of Goa is about 15% Christian, an anomally within India and churches are present across it, but nowhere more so than in Old Goa, where they are beautifully preserved and of an impressive size. It felt quite nice to see something other than temples for a change aswell!

If anyone is ever thinking of coming to Goa for a short holiday, it is a beautiful place and escaping the package holiday resorts there's some lovely quiet beaches and a few bits to see. Overall though it feels rather more European than Indian at times and for me it seems like an awfully long flight to get something that feels quite mediterranean. That said, for us passing by, it was perfectly timed and a smashing week.

With one last sunset and a sigh we left Goa and headed further south and inland to the state of Karnataka (taking the general election with us of course!) fully refreshed and ready for anything.

See you there.

Matt and Chrissie
x x x

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