Goa, Anjuna Beach and the triple check in

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The train from Kochi to Goa was another great experience. On this route I didn't even have to get out of the train to get food and chai. A company called 'Meals on wheels' walked through the aisles offering meals and drinks all throughout the journey. I got the top bunk along the aisle, so I spend the vast majority of the 17-hour train ride up there. At the hostel I had found a little book on my new hobby: Yoga. So I spend some time reading that, took a nap, read the eBook on my phone and ate some food before it was time to go to sleep. 😊

When we got to the train station I asked someone if he knew how to get to Anjuna. He didn't know, but he had met a couple that would drop him off at a big bus terminal. So I could get a ride as well 😊 At the terminal I found a girl that was gonna get on the same bus as me and when I was walking towards the hostel I met an American woman that walked with me , cause she was going the same way. Traveling is so much fun!

When I got to the hostel, called Roadhouse, the manager wasn't there yet. So I left my backpack in the living room and went to the German Bakery next door for some breakfast. It was a really nice restaurant with a big terrace that was overgrown with vines. There were little booths where you could sit on some pillows at low tables and there were strings with flowers, scented candles and those Nepalese flags all over the place. Super cute!

After checking in I met two Germans, a Dutch and an Indian guy who were gonna go to the beach. Madhur, the Indian guy, had rented a jeep so I could easily join. We drove up to Arambol where the beach was gorgeous. The water was super clear and there were loads of starfish on the beach. We got some sunbeds in the shade and spend the rest of the day swimming, eating and drinking beer 😊

At night we had a big shared dinner at the German Bakery. We tried six different dishes and they were all amazing. After dinner we hung out on the front porch of the hostel and later on we walked down to the beach and drank some beers there. I went home quite early, cause it had been a pretty busy day. Especially after that 17-hour train ride!

The next morning I got up at 9:30 and did some yoga in the backyard. After that we walked over to the weekly fleamarket, which was just down the road. The fleamarket was pretty big and they sold everything you can think of, and more. Scarves, jewelry, clothes, art, bags, musical instruments. So we walked around for a while and bargained our way through the stalls. I got a scarf, a ring and a henna tattoo , which cost me less than €10 combined 😊

After that we walked along the beach for a while before settling at Curlies, which is the beach restaurant closest to our hostel. After some swimming we walked to the main road to have lunch at a local restaurant. My dish was great! It included two types of curry, two types of bread/flour tortilla and some rice for about €2.

After lunch we hung out at the hostel and got to know the people that had just arrived. After dinner me and three others went for a quick swim before getting ready to go out. Around 23:00 we packed the jeep and a couple of scooters and took off to Club Cubana. This club is on top of a hill, had a big outside hang out and an air conditioned dance floor. And the best thing was: Girls get in for free and it was open bar! So we had a really good time and went home around 4am.

The next day we had a bit of a slow start. I had a really great coconut shake at this place called Mango Shade and then we just hung out at the beach. After lunch we decided to cruise around a nice Portugese neighborhood nearby on a couple of scooters. We had a local beer called King's and then went back to the hostel. In the morning i had checked out, cause Fred was gonna come to Goa and we were gonna meet up. But it turned out the place he stayed was more than two hours away. So I just checked back in at Roadhouse 😊

At night there was a party in the backyard, to celebrate the hostels two year anniversary and one of owners' birthday. We had lots of fun drinking beer and eating some food made by the guys from the hostel. After that we went to a beach party. But most of us didn't really like the music, so we just went back to the hostel and spend the rest of the night there.

The next morning I was gonna catch a train to Mumbai. I thought it would leave around two, but when I checked my ticket it turned out it had left at eleven and I was already too late. So I spend some time trying to figure out what to do next, with the help of one of the owners and Akki from Mumbai. We spend some time googling all kinds of options and came up with a great plan. Sabrina from Canada would be taking a bus to Hampi that night. So I would join her, then take a train to Bangalore a couple of days later. From there I could fly to Jaipur and I'd be back on track!

So after sorting all this out, we went to Anjuna beach for the last time and had some falafel and a watermelon juice at Mango Shade. Then we packed our last things and walked to the local bus, that would take us to the big bus terminal. Unfortunately, the bus we wanted to take to Hampi was fully booked... The couple that had gotten the last tickets for it, had bought them at 14:00. So there was no way we could have gotten on this bus. So we booked a ticket for tomorrows bus and went back to the hostel. Luckily, a girl had decided last minute to check out, so there were exactly two beds available.

After a couple of beers we got ready to go out again. This time we packed two taxis and went to Baga Beach. Here, we went to a Bollywood party, which was amazing. Most of the music were songs from Bollywood movies and apparently every Indian knows the dances to go along with them. Indian dancing is so much fun, everyone just goes all out no matter how funny or stupid you look. 😊

After that we stayed up and went for a sunrise swim. A couple of hours later it was time for my third and final check out of Roadhouse. One more last swim and one more lunch at Mango Shade later it was time to go the bus stop again. Goa had truly been amazing and I can totally see why all these old hippies choose this place to settle. And our Roadhouse crew made the time I spend there unforgettable 😊

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