22/1/10 Mumbai to Goa

We woke up hearing the alarm at 4.30 after a whole two hours sleep feeling pretty rubbish. Liz had a shower but as it was cold Phil didn't again...stinky. We got a taxi to the station this time as we had a load of luggage and as we pulled into the station it was busy with queues of taxis all hooting but none of them moving. We walked through the exit doors avoiding the unmanned security screening and onto the platform where our train was. We had booked first class seats for the journey as they were the only ones without huge waiting lists but we couldn't see the carriage. We walked the entire length of the train which had about twenty carriages and then had to walk back along again to look some more. When we arrived back to the beggining of the train we saw the carriage, our names were written on the printed sheet glued to the carriage so we climbed on board. We weren' expecting anything too plush but the first class was pretty dire. It was the same as the other classes but with slightly nicer fabric on the seats. They had tried to create flock wallpaper with a paint effect that had failed dismally. We did have a small sink and the worlds most tiny wardrobe to use though and we'd only paid about 25 pounds each for a twelve hour journey so can't complain. The good thing was we were in a small berth just for two so we could spread out and have a bit of privacy. The steward in our carriage was a bit of a jobs worth and kept all the doors shut even thiough we wanted to look out of the other window too. Phil went to the train door to take some video and got a real ear bashing from him sayiong he was in first class !! Its much more chilled in the chicken classes. We ordered chicken biryani for lunch , had some tea and settled in for the long haul. The train journey ids one of Indias most scenic as it passes between the Western Ghats (mountain range) and the coast. Although you cannot see the coast there were lovley views all the way of the cultivated fields and the hills beyond. We spent an awful lot of time in dark tunnels however not seeing any views. The journey seemed to pass pretty quickly and we were really comfy all the way stretching out on our beds/seats. We pulled into Pernum station where we were getting off. It is the nearest to Arambol, the small beach town we were headed to after advice from Tom who we met in Laos. It was about 15kms to Arambol so we got into a taxi for the short drive. The whole place was so relaxed as we drove through we were so happy. The sun was shining and there was a good feeling in the air. We passed through Pernum which was a small town with not too many people there and we knew Goa was going to be more our cup of tea. We pulled into the main village road of Arambol and drive towards the beach, past stacks of shops selling all sorts of clothing, food and crafts as well as quite a few restaurants. It was like we'd come on holiday from our travels and we were both grinning to each other . We stopped at a hotel near the beach to see if we could get a room but it was full. Liz stayed with the bags and Phil went off to sort a room for us. He returned having found a nice one that wasn't too much after seeing a couple of basic huts which weren't too good. We went to the room in Chillies guesthouse and on the way passed by a jewellery shop in the ground floor. The owner invited us for a cup of Chai so we dropped the bags and went down. Salim the owner of the shop and his Finnish girlfriend Christina made us a cup of Chai and we chatted with them for a while as they were about to go to Thailand soon and asked advice. We were there for about an hour and not once did Salim mention the jewellery, it is really chilled and relaxed here, nothing like elsewhere we've been. Salim spends six months in Goa and then he goes to North India to a small village in the Himalayas...wow. We went into the street tpo find somewhere to eat and found Double Trouble, another of Toms recommendations. We had a lovely meal there, Phil had a steak despite the staff being muslim, his first beef in weeks and it looked and tasted fab. We walked up into the town and saw lots of nice things in the shops. We called into a Nepalese shop and chatted to the staff there from Kathmandu. There were some real new age people floating about all bangles and dreadlocks...we really fit in. We have resisted the traveller look and neither of us have any tattoos, baggy loose clothes or spliffed looking expressions !! Well actually thats Phils normal look. We found a bakery called Double Dutch which we planned to eat at while in Arambol, then walked back to the room feeling pretty knackered.

23/1/10 Arambol

We had a lazy but much needed lie in but were woken at about 8 by a loudly squealing pig outside. Phil said that it sounded like it was being slaughtered but it screamed for ages before it went quiet. We got up about 10.30 and we went out to find a laundry and there was one just a couple of doors away who said it would be ready same time the next day and was really cheap too. We saw a barber shop and so Phil got his hair shaved at last....he was starting to look like Don King!!! We joined the guys downstairs for another cup of Chai after an electric powered shower like in Bolivia but without the electric shocks. Phil went to find Derek the hotel owner to pay for the room and he had slaughtered the pig for a christian festival the next day and was chopping it up when Phil found him. By the way it had squealed he must have put up a good fight. The festival was to celebrate the anniversary of a nearby apparition of Mary after which the local Cathoilc church is named. There was to be nine days of celebration at the church starting on Sunday with a service followed by food and football. We went back to the hotel to have chai Salim and Christina told us there was a huge night market on from 6pm and there was dancing and music with loads of stalls and people so we decided to go and see it. We walked onto the beach for a late breakfast and ate at the Moonshack wher we had a "not spcy" spicy curry which was lovely. Suprisingly neither of us has been ill so far so Lizzies plan for dramatic weight loss is failing. All along the beach were a few people wandring along and a few local cows searching for morsels. One of the cows had a really badly broken leg which we thought was new but realised it had healed really badly so it could hardly walk. Poor thing would be put out of its misery in UK but they are holy here so noone owns them. We have seen quite a few injured stray animals about including a poor dog whos paw had such a deep ulcer we could see the bones in its foot. There is plenty of great people watching on the beach as all the new age hippies come out with their multiple layers, bindis, ankle bracelets, dreadlocks, tatoos and skirts for men !! Some people look rediculous dressed like the Indians but not pulling it off but then there are the really cool older people who never left after the 60s who are still looking good. After eating Phils cake-dar kicked in as we walked along the beach and found a German bakery to have cake. Phil had a lemon drizzle cake and icecream and we both had strawberry lassi ((Indian yoghurt drink with fresh fruit...yummy) . We sat reading the lonely planet to work out an itinerary as we had realised we needed to get planning as the transport from place to place was quite difficult to fathom. We didn't get too far with just the books as there wasn't all the info we needed so we decided to spend the next day on the internet to sort it all out. We sat and watched a beautiful sunset over the beach which wasn't too busy all day then went to the room to change ready to go to the market. We got a taxi the 20 kms to Arpura where the market was and go dropped off just outside the gates. It was obvious as we approached the gates that the market was a huge tourist attraction as the place was filled with foreigners. After going through the usual metal detector and bag checks we wandered about for a bit and realised it wasn't quite the local handicraft market we'd expected. Lots of the stall holders were ex pats from around the world selling on the market to earn money to stay in Goa . The range of stuff you could buy went from small trinkets up to some really wacky clothing sold by people looking equaliy as wacky. We'd been hoping for some traditional music and dancing but as it turns out all the music was trance dance stuff and the dancing was a bunch of stoned hippies. We had a real laugh watching it all and there was a great atmosphere despite it not being quite what we'd imagined. There were Indian tourists there too and you could see they couldn't believe what they were seeing. We had a beer in one of the bars and got chatting to an older English woman who had become a widow one year ago after losing her husband. She and her husband had holidayed in India fir nie years and she had bravely decided to come back by herself..how brave. She was lovely and had obviously found it all very difficult but was happy she had faced all their friends in Goa witohut him. She was visiting the market with another girl travelling alone ,a Doctor from Cheltenham and we chatted for a while as she has friends working at Worcester. We had a few nibbles from the huge number of food stalls selling everything from spit roast chicken to Mexican as well as Indian and Nepalese foods. We wandered around the stalls and bought a few bits after hard bargaining down to normal price frm tourist prices. Ther were a few stalls belonging to Goans and we bought a small pot from one of them. Phil asked to take a photo as the stall holders mum was dressed in traditional Gujarati clothes and looked great with nose and earings. The stall holder said "take a picture of my mum and all my crap!!!!" We'd been in the market since 8pm and at 11.45 we decided to go and find our taxi who had decided to wait for us. The market closes at 12 midnight and it must be mayhem when everyone is leaving with all the mopeds and cars. We missed that mad rush and got back to Arambol after a hair raising ride with another crazy drive. We read in the Indian Times that Indians now have to take a driving test in an official driving centre...didn't they have a test before, that explains alot. As we drove back through Arambol everything looked closed, all the shops were shut and there was nowhere open, it was only just after midnight. We went off to bed.

24/1/10 Arambol

We were up and awake pretty early and went to collect our laundry. The little stall was closed and a man next door said they'd be back sometime later as they'd gone to church. We walked up through the village to try out Double Dutch for breakfast but it was shut too for the celebration. On the way we had seen a shop making embroidered bags with all kinds of funky designs which we couldn't resist...yes folks Phil is now the proud owner of a man bag, keep your sniggers to yourselves!! Up your's Lillibet you're just jealous because mines better than yours !!! We ordered the designs we wanted and also Phil saw the perfect T-shirt for him to wear when we get back and we ordered that too. We ate a really good breakfast/brunch in a place called Chinese Garden that wasn't chinese and hadn't got a garden. As we ate breakfast lots of the locals passed by on their way back from church. They were all dressed up in their Sunday best with the women and girls in beautiful saris and dresses and the men in smart suits..lovely, they were all really friendly and full of smiles. We went back thorugh the village and Liz bought a strip of curry spices from a lovely local girl who had two gorgeous children too. After dropping the things off at the room we went to the beach for a relaxing afternoon in the sun. After settling on the sunbeds and relaxing for the first five minutes we started to be hassled by a stream of Indians all selling jewellery, DVDs, musical instruments and other stuff. Phil got taken with a small drum which he really wanted but didn't want to pay the price. The negotiations went on for ages but eventually we all agreed a a price and got it. After the sale the man walked away and was immediatley accosted by another man who had a real go at him. Apparently he had worked on the other mans patch and there was a bitter rivalry between sales men. Liz bought a really cheap necklace and bracelet from one and then a few more came with more necklaces which they said we could have any of "her crap" for 50 rupees (70 pence). Liz chose one and the girl said she'd have to pay 100 rupees as it was only one being bought. Liz decided not to buy it as the orice had changed and the girl got really stroppy and threw the necklace at Phil saying "have it then 50 rupees !!!" We decided we'd had enough of being pestered and stuck to one no thankyou after that. As it was Sunday, which India still has as a day off, there were lots of Indian tourists on the beach. There were many young Indians in Western clothes drinking and smoking , very different to Indians we'd come across elsewhere. They all swam in their underpants if male and fully clothed if female though so not quite Western. There were many families there with young children running in and out of the water really having fun. There were Western tourists juggling and a few parasailors landing on the beach so there was lots to see. The sunset was lovely again and we went back to the room to get changed for the evening. We walked up through town as we'd decided to eat at the Chinese Garden again as it had been so nice in the morning. The meal was very good again but the service was really slow so we were there for ages then chatted to the Nepalese owner. Alot of Nepalese and Northern Himalayan Indians travel South to work for six months then return home when the weather is warmer there. After dinner we collected the bags and Phils new Tshirt after trying and failing to use a crashing internet. When we got nearer to our hotel we decided to go to the beach to see if we could find any night life as all the town seemed deserted but it was just as quiet on the beach. The locals say that tourism is really down here and they had stacks of tables out on the beach with noone on them. We found one with a few people in and stoipped froa quick drink there before heading back. Arambol is a really chilled lovely place with lots to see during the day but at night it is deserted and a bit flat. There are many people here to learn yoga and meditation though so I suppose drinking in a beach bar doesn't fit with that. Phil had a look thruogh a telescope that an old hippy had set up on the beach to look at the moon...cool man!! We'd had a really nice day and went off to bed.

25/1/10 Arambol

We woke up and went to the internet shop where we spent all day and most of the evening trying to research and sort a workable itinerary. We had a list of places where we wanted to go and see but when we tried to find how to get there it was really impossoble to find out. We had asked a few tour offices in the town but they were all really vague and not much help either. We worked out eventually that we needed several trains to get from A to B over the next few weeks but when Phil looked on the rail web site most of the trrains were fully booked. This means you go on a waiting list and find out if you have a seat the night before the train leaves...not any time to arrange an alternative plan if you don't get a seat. We looked at alternative dates and found some seats and booked those to ensure we definately had seats booked. For one journey we couldn't find a route out of one town to another and then discovered the train in to it had been cancelled due to a landslide. This information was found by chance on a forum not on any official train site anywhere which wasn't too helpful. We also wanted to go to one of Indias National Parks to see the tigers but we couldn't find any buses or trains into it and we don't have the budget for private cars all the time so we binned that idea in the end. After ten hours of frustratrion Phil had finally managed to book 7 trains!!!! Work suddenly feels not at all stressful. Liz had booked one hotel and written some blog though so her day was really productive. Sorry to winge we know we aren't at work everyone but it was a bad day. At 9pm we were tired and really hungry so went back to the Double Trouble for a lovely dinner. There was a nice bar near the beach that played films so we decided to go there for a drink as they were showing Bourne Ultimatum. After watching the film we were both much more relaxed and went off to bed.

26/1/10 Arambol :Indian Republic Day (national holiday)

We woke up feeling a bit more positive as we'd got most of the rest of India sorted so there wasn't much else to sort. We went to have breakfast down on the beach and as it was early it was pretty deserted. There were a few locals picking up the litter to clean up the sand and another group setting out afive a sdie football pitch. They had several ropes to measure the correct sizes and were really accurate laying it all out. They had made goalposts out of scaffold poles and had ful sized nets tied to them. We assumed there must be a game on as it was Republic Day Holidays but we didn't know itf it was an official thing or just mates. We said in the UK you'd jump through loads of hoops to be allowed to set up a game on the beach like that as there'd have to be all sorts of safety regs met.. We said it would be a few jumpers for goals at home but this was something very well done. Lots of Indian tourists arrved on the beach with their young children and packages of food dor the day. We had decided to walk around the headland to a more deserted beach called Querim Beach for the day as it would be quieter there. We walked the length of Arambol beach which has a few beach bars and shops along it but is pretty unspoilt. We joined a path that took us around the cliffs (actually only about ten foot above the beach) and walked up and over the first headland scrambling along a pretty rough rocky path. Once over that we could see Arambols second bay with a freshwater Sweet Water Lake sitting inland from the beach but backing onto the sand. We walked along that beach to the other side after walking along the lake edge where people were bathing and swimming. There were very few bars there and only a few beach huts where people were staying. Near to the end of the beach where the path was starting there were a few older people who we quickly realised were naturists with it all hanging out and it really wasn't a pretty sight. We had a scramble over another pretty rough path and then somehow managed to lose the path and ended up sliding down the last bit on our bums into the beach rubbish pile..lovely. Querim beach was palm fringed and very quiet compared to the others with a scattering of Indian and Western tourists there under palm leaf shelters. Ae stopped in a little beach bar for a drink then decided to walk the length of the beach to see the Terekhol River at the end which marks the most Northerly point of Goa. Overlooking the river is Terekhol fort which was a Portugese Fort but is now a luxury hotel. We were pretty clueless about the Portugese occupation of Goa until we got here and learned that the Portugese only left India in 1961 after almost 450 years!! On the walk along the beach we realised there were loads of little crabs running off as we go close. We stopped and watched them scurrying about in the surf and into their holes on the beach. They moved at lightening speed and looked very funny. We looked at the river which was quiet except for a few fishing boats then walked back towards the first bar. We walked at the back of the beach this time where there were a few tents where locals must live just behind the beach in pretty poor conditions. There were a few children playing about and we took some photos of them much to their pleasure. They had makeshift swings made of old rice sacks tied between two trees and were having great fun. Liz started to push them on the swings and they thought that was really good fun. We walked back to the first bar and ate a bit of lunch there then got two sunbeds and both fell asleep in the warm afternoon sun. Phil went for a swim and body surfed for a little while then we started to walk back after watching a few parasails above the beach. At about 5.30pm we started back to Arambol but took the right path this time which was alot easier than the way we'd gone. At Arambols second bay we manged to lose the path again but it wasn't too much of a struggle to get down this time and we landed on the beach safely .We took a stroll to the other end where a few parasails came into land and then walked back to Arambols main beach. The beach seemed really busy compared to the other two and there was lots of Indians around all enjoying the beach. We passed a group of people collecting small shell fish and others enjoying the sea. We walked to where the football pitch was and the whole area was transformed into a professional looknig pitch with floodlights on tall posts all the way round. We sat in one of the bars as the 5 a side tournament was starting in ten minutes and we thought we'd watch a game or two. We had a beer watching the sunset but the competition hadn't started by the time we left at 7.30pm. A few foriegn teams and local teams were signed up to compete apparently but we decided to give it a miss and go and watch another film in the bar we'd been to the night before as they did foods too. We watched The Beach and Seven Years In Tibet which were both really good. We had visited the beach where The Beach was made while we were in Thailand so it was good to look back and see it again, Hollywood style. We had a beer and a great curry, Liz had to swap with Phils as his was so spicy. After the films it was quite late so we went off to sleep. The football was still going on at that time and we'd heard lots of cheering from the beach so it must have been a good competition.