Our train arrived really early in Goa on Thursday 18 October. All the auto's outside the station tried to rip us off >-/ so we set off on foot, up the steep hill and towards the town. Fortunately for us a driver eventually followed us and offered the fair rate, as it turned out to be quite the drive to the nearest bus stop! We crammed onto the next local bus to pass by and stood uncomfortably with our packs on for the 30 minute jouney to the old town. We eventually managed to find our way to a hostel that we had read about, only to discover that it was not open yet :-/ So we hit the local chai shop down the road for some coffee and a rest, before eventually finding a place nearby to stay. The room was still being cleaned so to kill time we took a walk through the town, past the old church, through the market (which was just getting going) and back along the river to our room. After a glorious hot shower (first one in over a week!) we went out to find some food. We found a little bakery nearby offering some delicious freshly baked breads and cakes which was pretty cool :-) We just chilled in the room during the heat of the afternoon and then, after doing some admin in the evening, ended up having dinner at a restaurant overlooking the river where we were able to catch up a bit on the Champions League T20 cricket, before heading off to bed.

Friday we spent the morning wandering around town admiring the old Portuguese-style architecture. We stopped by the main market to get some passport photos taken (they roll pretty heavy with the Photoshop - had me spruced up and in a suit in under 10 seconds) before heading back to have lunch and chill out a bit on the hostel roof. Later, we relaxed in our room and then in the evening had toasted sandwitches for supper at a place round the corner and then ice-creams for the walk bck to the internet kiosk accross the river. After a bit of admin time we headed back to our room to pack.

Saturday we were up early again and waiting outside on the street in the dark for our auto to arrive to take us to the train station. Of course he was late :-/ (even though the guy in the hostel assured us he wouldn't be) so we ended up arriving at train station after our train had already left :-( Fortunately, the train was also late (had a feeling it would be - this is India after all) so in the end we were ok. While waiting, we stocked up on some weird samoosa/pastry looking things and some Tiger Cruch (these awesome choc-chip biscuits - 5 rupees a pack!) and then, when the train finally arrived, climbed aboard for our last long-distance train ride in India - 12 hours up to Mumbai where it all began 8 weeks ago!