After Cochin we took a 24 hour train ride to Goa, the trains are such a welcome change from buses, they go in straight lines and only gently rock and brake as opposed to sharp U turns and sudden braking that shoots you out of your seat just as you finally drift off to sleep! They aren't luxury but its nice to be able to get up and walk around during the day and people called wallahs come on selling everything from chai, coffee and samosas. Its fun trying to work out what they are selling as most of them sound a bit like an Indian gangsta rapper....... "chchchai,chai,chai, chchchchaaaaaiiiii!" We arrived in Madgaon and got straight out, heading for a sleepy village in south Goa called Colva. Colva is a fishermans village, clearly evident as we stepped out of our hostel and onto the beach, we were down wind to experience the full disgusting stench of drying fish that oozed everywhere. Walking in to town we found a great English Bar called Tate, finally a good cuppa. We were having a drink one afternoon in Tate when a man walked up to us and said hello. His name I have forgotten but he looked like a wild tramp with ripped clothes, messy hair and yellow teeth. He asked "Which city in England do you come from?" We replied "Bristol". "Ahh Clifton BS8? Redland BS6, St George, Bedminster, Knowle, I have friends in all these places" I was speechless, thinking, I'm in India listening to a homeless man recite the areas and postcodes of Bristol, a city, thanks to our lack of premiership exposure, most people have never heard of. "Do you want to buy a book?" he said. "With a memory like that, I think I will" At sunset we headed down to the beach to catch the last few rays and stumbled upon about three hundred Indians all dancing and standing over a statue of Ganesh, the Hindu God that is half man and half elephant. They were celebrating Ganesh's birthday, singing, dancing, playing huge drums and jumping around wearing orange headbands and colourful clothes. We watched as about twenty men decided Ganesh should go swimming and they carried the small statue into the sea over their heads whilst sprinkling bright pink powder everywhere and shouting at the top of their voices! They left Ganesh to float away and then came back to the beach to eat some food that resembled rice krispies from huge steel pans. We stood looking on and were offered some fresh warm rice krispies, one little tiny boy gave us his handful....nice gesture but I slid behind a boat to chuck it away, not too sure when he last washed his hands and all too sure of where his hands had been! As we stood watching the celebrations a few locals timidly approached us and asked to have their photos taken with us, feeling a little odd we agreed and posed for our photo shoot. Its so true that whilst travelling in India you are the spectator but also a spectacle. Cooper Out Love Dan & Kat