Go-aahhhh!

---

After the hustle and bustle of dusty Rajasthan and the chaos of Mumbai - Goa has been the calm that we needed to recharge ourselves in readiness for Nepal.

Our train disgorged us at Anjuna station in the early hours of the morning and we groggily climbed into an auto rickshaw for the journey to our hotel. Our hotel was very nice with an inviting pool and a great value breakfast of eggs, toast and tea for 50p!
Anjuna itself is very small and has just a handful shops and restaurants. The beach itself was gorgeous and deserted on most days. Best of all it was on our door step.

Our days have not been very hectic at all and have mostly consisted of sunbathing throughout the day then watching the amazing sunset in the evening with a fresh mango juice and a Kingfisher. The sun lethargically moves down towards the Indian Ocean throwing its brilliant orange rays towards us.

The food here is sublime with fresh fish varieties fused with traditional Indian masalas. Each night we eat in the same few restaurants with our favourites being the sumptuous kebabs, prawn urry and fresh roti cooked on the tandoor - all washed down with a beer.

The other highlight of Anjuna that we enjoyed is the famous flea market which is held every Wednesday. The whole market is full of stalls selling clothes, jewelry, music and souvenirs. After spending a couple of weeks in India already, our haggling skills were sufficiently sharp enough to pick up one of two bargains. For example Victoria's prized silk skirt for just 2.50! It was great fun to watch though and rifle through some of the little hand made trinkets on offer. This is all done on a backdrop of the Indian Ocean and on one occasion our browsing was followed by a stand off with one of the local cows. He won.

Our last few days in Goa, and India were spent in Panjim, the capital of Goa. The Portuguese influence in this small city is very evident. There are lots of milky white Christian churches scattered over the new and old city. A man by the name of Saint Francis Xavier is responsible for the theological influences in this region which is another example of India's colourful and varied history.

All of the buildings in Panjim are pastel colours and the city is relatively clean by Indian standards. Our hotel was a very old villa filled with dark wooden antique furniture with a few cockroaches scattered in the bathroom for that authentic 19th century feel.

The food here has also not disappointed and we have sampled the local fish curry which was fiery hot! As well as this we have tried the delicious dosas and sampled the local alcohol. This is called Fenny and it is incredibly potent! We drank it with a sprite and were thoroughly intoxicated after just one drink! Luckily our hotel was close by.

One month in India is never going to be enough to see it all - the country is just too vast. But we have seen an incredible cross-section of this amazingly colourful and historic place. It has been hard work, challenging and down right hassle on some occasions but ultimately rewarding. India is the country many love to hate but it has left its mark on us with its friendly people and fab food ensuring that one day we will be back to finish what we have started.

---