3rd - 11th November 2012
After travelling on four buses over four hours, I eventually arrived at a hostel in Vagator, north Goa. Instantly, I thought the hostel was great. Called Asterix Hostel, it was clean, had wi-fi, fun staff and a melting pot of different nationalities. But one of the things I liked the most was the communal beer fridge managed by an honour system of paying, whereby you write down in a small book the number of beers you've taken. It's something I believe the world needs more of. If it can help bring together a random bunch of international backpackers, it should help the UN General Assembly get along.

There was really only one thing that had brought me to north Goa. The notorious party scene. In the hostel, a big group formed quickly and on the day of my arrival, I went to a beach club with extremely heavy nineties trance music blaring all night. Whilst the music was not to anyone's liking, it was a fair introduction of what was to follow.

One highlight of Goa was hiring a scooter. Cruising along the sun-kist coast, feeling the wind in your hair, hopping from beach to beach and exploring sights off the beaten track. Unbeatable.

Apart from the occasional day trip exploring the coast on scooters and visiting old colonial forts, it was sleep all day and party all night in Goa. With a cohort from the hostel, we went to Russian clubs in town, remote open bars in the country side, and psychedelic trance parties on the beach with excessive amounts of UV paint. You'd be right in thinking that there are no cultural experiences to be had in Goa. But that's okay. With beautiful beaches and well established resorts, it's easy to see why the place is popular with Russians, Israelis, wealthy Indian tourists and Brits.

One thing that surprised me was the extent of the Russian presence in Goa. In the towns of Calungute and Baga, many restaurant names were in Russian. If you sat down for a drink or meal, you would be given a Russian menu first. You have to ask for an English menu.

The day before I left Goa was special. After rounding up a group at the hostel, I arranged a day trip to the Dudhsagar waterfall, the second highest in India. To get there we had to travel two hours by car, and one hour by jeep, crossing rivers and rough forest terrain. It was worth it. We all swam in the cool, turquoise pool under the waterfall with troops of both monkeys and Russian tourists grooming each other on the rocks by the pool. The day was perfect for detoxing eight nights of Goan nightlife.