GOA BY NUMBERS

(Otherwise known as the 'lazyman's blog'....but in 42 degree heat, I believe that laziness is actually a necessary survival strategy.)

TWO hours flight from Delhi to Goa

SEVEN cocktails drunk. I decided to pass on the 'Osama Bin Laden' and 'Sad Old b******' varieties - quite risqué for an Indian menu though I thought!

THREE, we discovered, is the perfect number of people to fit in an auto-rickshaw (although most Indians will manage 5 or 6 plus baggage!).

ZERO hangovers - was this really a Doel-Esquilant holiday?!

THIRTY-FIVE degrees Celsius. It was baking and pretty humid too. Perfect weather for doing… absolutely nothing!

THREE mosquito bites sustained. So drenching yourself in 60% DEET really does work!

TEN games of Bananagram played

TWO games won by me and Em

EIGHT... won by Rich - much to his (quiet) jubilation

THREE HUNDRED AND FIFTY centimetres of monsoon rain will fall on Goa over the next couple of months

THREE swims in the sea - the water was just so warm that it wasn't actually all that refreshing

SIX dolphins sighted on our boat trip

FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY years - Goa was a Portuguese colony

FORTY-EIGHT years since it was finally annexed from Portugal and made a "Union Territory" (that's post- Independence, you'll note!) - and only…

TWENTY ONE years since Goa became an official Indian state

FOUR catholic churches visited - can really feel the Portuguese influence, especially in the state capital Panjim

A HELL OF A LOT of dogs that roam the beaches - pretty friendly by day, but their wild origins showed themselves at night when we were often woken by the racket of their howling, yelping and fighting

AT LEAST TWENTY EIGHT litre water bottle consumed and thrown away during the holiday (that's each)

THIRTY - factor of suntan lotion worn…managed not to burn anything other than my knees (when will I learn, boats = burn!

ZERO sunrises watched - despite best intentions to get up in time!

NINE stunning sunsets, often enjoyed whilst sipping one of approximately SEVEN G&Ts

UNCOUNTABLE - What an amazing time I had with Emma and Richard - thanks for a wonderful holiday you two!