Back in Bombay

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I finally got the photos put into CD so can put some up to make you all hideously jealous.
We got the train back to bombay yesterday but this entry is to talk more about Palolim...

We spent just over a week there in the end, and while it was like a luxury holiday at a swanky resort rather than the cheap back-packing adventure we intended, it was so lovely and relaxing and we met lots of great people.
The only thing about Palolem which is not so great is the toilet and shower situation, though it is bearable, if you're ok with showering outside in the middle of the camp where everyone can see you, in just a trickle of icey water. I found it easier just to use an empty water bottle, fill it from the tap and wash my hair by tipping bottles over water over me until i felt clean. Also some people might not love the cockroaches... though we only saw a couple, we found one in our bed two nights before we left which was not so nice, but after that we kept the mosquito net all tucked in and the only other one we saw was one on the wall beside my bed and one that must have climbed onto my rucksack after i packed it cos bryony suddenly vicious attacked me (i thought) when we got outside on our way bacl to madgoan to get the train, but it turned out there was a cockroach on my neck! Good times. Suprisingly, although i think they're a bit disgusting, they don't really bother me. If it had a been a spider i'd propably still be passed out from the shock now.

Our last evening we finally went on a boat trip to see dolphins and go to "butterfly island" (so called because of its shape, not an abundance of butterflies sadly) nearby. I'm so glad we did because we went out at sunset in this beautiful old fishing boat converted to have a motor and saw the dolphins jumping in twos which was beautiful, and got to watch the sunset at sea, then ride back in the dusk. Most of the photos are from that dolphin trip, it really was beautiful, and so much fun to be out at sea, especially at the boat rocked up and down so much and sitting in the stern it was like being on a rollercoaster, though it did make me feel mildly sea sick.

We met lots of lovely people too, and my guide book told us to watch out for raucous crowds of "partying israelis" so we made it our ambition to meet some, and on our first day found that the two guys in the hut next to ours were infact israeli, fresh out of the army and having a happy partying time! They're called Damien and Yoav though before we met them officially i named Yoav Pedro and he will forever remain Pedro in my head. I nearly called him it to his face once by mistake! They were a bit moodly but sometimes when they felt friendly they'd come and sit on the beach with us and chat.

We met lovely people every night though really, we were befriended by all the waiters in our favourite beach-shack Cuba, which we went to nearly every night, and went out for drinks and chatted to two indian guys called Harsh and Apoorb (i think!) one night and then this guy called Ummar who owns a clothes shop were we went a BIT to much for chai and buying beautiful clothes. He loved Bryony a lot, and found us fascinating though i don't think he understood half of what we said (english people have enough trouble understanding the two of us let's face it), so we went and played pool with him and his friend Bilal who was very sweet but quite shy and a bit scared of us, a couple of times. Everybody we met was very nice and friendly and respectful and and we didn't have to tell them we were married or anything, so all in all we had a wonderful time, though i think rajasthan will feel more like an adventure. We're going to book out tickets to Delhi tomorrow so we should be heading off there in the next few days.

In the meantime we arrived to find that Khursheed has a new dog called Papalu (the mythical opposite to the mad and somewhat vicious Chickalu who passed away the week before we arrived (but got in one last bite!)) who is only two and was abandoned by her previous owners. She is so cool, really friendly and affectionate... it's so nice having a dog in the house that likes you and follows you around wanting to be stroked rather than wanting to bite your ankles!

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