Goa (31st Jan)

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To our amazement and relief, our train left Mumbai on time (yey!) 6.55am and was only an hour late arriving in Magagoan, about 7pm. We caught a cab to Colva, which was only about 10mins away, where we checked into a pretty average beachside hotel, the Colmar Beach Resort. While ok at first, it actually turned out to be a bit of a nightmare, largely due to the extremely noisy neighbors and the rather large and fast moving bugs that emerged from the drain!

After a quick shower, we headed out for a bite to eat at the Sea Pearl Hotel. The food here was a mix of Indian and Continental, with plenty of sea food, so Dan was pleased, and all at a very reasonable price. After dinner (and a few beers!) we took a stroll through Colva and somehow found ourselves in a Barbers, where Dan had a rather dramatic hair cut!

Colva is quite a strange place: a weird mix of Indian and European tourists in a Mediterranean-style cheap package-holiday destination. There are lots of bars, restaurants and neon lights sitting alongside your typical Indian stalls and shops. We were quite pleased with the Western influence at first; however 12 hours later we’ve already sought accommodation further down the coast in Benaulim, which is much quieter and really quite pleasant. The beaches are pretty empty and clean and the sea is a stunning blue (and more importantly, nice and warm!). We checked into the Futardo Hotel and hope to stay here for a few days before moving onto Palolem, about an hour further South.

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Comments

[Belinda, Mark, Felicity and Lucie]

mmmmm milkshakes
When you get to Palolem make sure you go to the Casa Fiesta to have the best chocolate milkshake of your life. The food is also great. We took a dolphin trip and found it more than worthwhile. We found 5.00pm a great time as you come back when the sun is setting. Lucie says be prepared to get wet. Lucie also thinks your haircut was a mistake and hopes it wasn't too expensive!! Hope you enjoy Goa. Felicity