Goa

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It's been a few days since my last post. Mainly because since Hampi I have been in Goa and haven't done many Indian-type things. Goa is a beautiful state and away from all the package-holiday resorts is a great place to chill out. My train from Hampi to Vasco da Gama in Goa arrived 2 hours late (8.30am instead of 6.30am) which was annoying but the journey was fun as I spent it chatting and getting drunk with Poles. From Vasco, I took a bus down to Palolem, chose a beach hut and chilled out for a few days.



Palolem was busier than I imagined; tourism has obviously increased in recent years even in the quieter places. Each morning I would wake early to the sound of the sea and either go for a swim or a run along the beach before breakfast. I met an Australian guy there called James and started to hang around with him over the Easter weekend.



After the weekend we decided we needed a change, so James and I got a bus up to Panaji and next day looked round the town of Old Goa. The whole state is a former Portuguese colony so is very Christian and has many old churches, very different to the rest of India.



Next stop was Anjuna, the site of all the parties back in the 80s but now a very quiet area, surprisingly much quieter than Palolem. The journey from Panaji to Anjuna was not the most fun, as at last my belly gave me the trouble I was expecting. I struggled with the bus-bus-autorickshaw journey and was glad to arrive in Anjuna and was thankful I felt better by the next day. (I blame the thali lunch the previous day!)



On Wednesday we checked out the "famous" Anjuna flea market and in a cafe there met some old British guys. They were funny, cool and nearly 70! We ended up going out with them that evening to celebrate their daughter's friend's birthday at Cubana, an open-air club at the top of a hill in Arpora. The girls, Sally and Kate, were really friendly and had a spare bed, so we moved in with them and took advantage of their pool, A/C and hot water :-) At weekend James moved on Mumbai and I went to the Big Chill Goa festival with my new British friends and with Lucia and Priyam from Bangalore.



Tomrrow I fly to Mumbai with Lucia and we will travel for the next week together in Rajasthan. But right now, after my "Goa experience", India seems a very long way away...

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Comments

[Steve]

Big Chill refund
Looks like you're having loads of fun. See if you can get mine and Bill's refund while you're there. We're still owed about 75 quid each from when Big Chill went bust a few years back. If you get it, feel free to spend it on your travels and bring us something nice back!!!

[girl from the train ;)]

hi there!
looks you're enjoying your Goa :) So I did mine, but now I'm already back in Poland.. Journey back home was awful, 3 flights and hours and hours of waiting at the airports.. I will be watching your trip :) and hope to stay in touch to get some good advices before my next India trip (this time by myself, not with the whole group) have fun in Rajasthan, I think north of india is more interesting than south :>

[Radka]

hi there!
Hi there Paul! Aap kaise hain? This is nice blog and the pictures are great illustration (just missing more cats:-). How do you manage the Hindi language, or you get by with English easily? Have a great time fullfilling your dream and I am looking forward to more stories!! R.