Colonial Cochin Appam and stew with a cup of ginger chai for breakfast. What a great way to start the day. I could have been at home in Mum's kitchen this morning! Chris ate his idlis and sambar with just as much enthusiasm. We left Goa a couple of nights ago and caught the overnight train from Canacona to Kochi in Kerala. The 14 ½ hour journey on the Netravati Express in sleeper class (the cheapest available) was significantly less comfortable than the journey...

I have finally found the perfect opportunity to write this next entry on Goa. Flavia Paradise where I am staying on Palolem beach has become a death trap. All morning I watched men scale huge palm trees in the distance and knock the dry coconuts off the trees. Chris pointed out that this was dangerous and I laughed, saying that obviously the people in the huts below would be told to make themselves scarce. Surely there must be a big sign board saying "Danger...

We arrived safely in Mumbai on Tuesday morning. Kingfisher airlines was a pleasant surprise. It seemed to live up to its online reviews as a 5-star airline despite no one having heard of it before. We took a taxi to Hotel New Bengal in Fort. The traffic was absolute chaos and we could barely hear ourselves think with all the horns blaring and general commotion on the roads. After being thrown around in the back of the taxi for half an hour, I became increasingly ...