Blogs from Goa, India, Asia - page 10

So.... we've finally got round to booking our train ticket to Kerala! Or more specifically Cochin/Kochi.... so yes we leave on Thursday evening at 11pm and get into Kochi at around 3pm on Friday afternoon. Looking forward to experiencing an Indian train journey, although we've somewhat spoilt ourselves by deciding to go for a 2 tier AC carriage which should be bearable hopefully! Anyway we've stayed in 2 hostels since my last post, but owned by the same guy - one with a prison theme in Anjuna and one with a jungle theme in Vagator (quite literally) with all sorts of bugs and amphibians crawling all over..!! And that is the place we're at now. We've been exploring the coast - Arambol, Baga, Anjuna and Vagator on a scooter that the prison hostel rented out to ... read more

So, the plane touched down into Goa and we were looking forward to 6 days of rest and relaxation and flopping on the beach to sun ourselves, gorging on seafood and having a slight culture detox... but we were met with teaming rain and sweltering heat. Comfortable! Goa is stunning. Once the rain cleared and the sun came out, it truly is a tropical paradise with crystal blue seas, palm trees and white sands. Thanks to is history though, Goa is kind of like a tropical Portugal with curry- a lot of the 'indian' tradition and culture has been lost here- the temples have been replaced with Portuguese style churches and the general architecture is different. Dont get me wrong, it is still incredible but it isn't India India- that said, what is India India? I ... read more

In order to leave Hampi, we got ourselves an early morning rickshaw to Hospet where we would pick up our first day train since arriving in India. The 8 hour journey would bring us to our next destination….Goa. When deciding where to stay in Goa, we agreed upon a fairly unusual spot being Panaji, the Goan capital. There is nothing in itself strange about Panaji, however when Goa is mentioned, the first thing people tend to think of is….the Beach. Being fans of the sun and the beach, this would seem like the perfect spot for us for a week or two, so why not head to the beach? Well, we would love to say it was because culture comes before laziness on our top things to do, and this is why we shunned the beautiful ... read more

Arriving in Goa was like arriving in a different Country altogether, beautiful Portuguese churches, beaches and swaying palm trees. I think I'm going to like it here. The dusty streets and honking horns seemed a million miles away. We all headed straight for the beach from our hotel to the nearest beach not exactly paradise, a crapper version of bridlington beach with palm trees and teeming with Indians on their summer holiday, which is fine but when you're there to relax you don't want to bombarded by one bloody photo(what do they do with these pictures anyway?!) A few of the other beaches in the North Morjim and Anjuna were much nicer. A few of us decided to head further South to Palolem beach and it was worth the trip, lined with fishing boats and beach ... read more

My last night in Kochi was spent having dinner with some of my room mates: Miriam from Canada, and Sophie and George from London. After wandering around dark streets looking (unsuccessfully) for a Lonely Planet recommended restaurant that Miriam wanted to try, we settled upon a small restaurant that I can't remember the name of. When we arrived, the electricity was down, but the woman serving us was so polite, friendly and welcoming that we were happy to wait. It was worth it. They were out of palak paneer, so I opted for an alternative. I can't remember the name of it, but it ended in 'paneer' and contained mushrooms. In any case, it was lovely, as was my company. We exchanged travel stories and the London girls made me glad that I decided not to ... read more