.......And so on to Goa The 'luxury executive' night bus from Mumbai to Goa would, we were assured take 9-10 hours. Predictably, this was not the case & we arrived in the Goan capital of Panjim after 13 hours of the most spiralling roads we have ever seen. For our enjoyment during the trip we were 'treated' to our first Bollywood blockbuster, the name of the film escapes us but it became increasingly difficult not to laugh out loud at the most dramatic parts. If you get the chance, go & see one. PANJIM If ever there was a perfect antidote to the madness of Mumbai, this is it. Gone is the hassle, noise, fumes, chaos & humidity to be replaced by a sleepy town with something that we had not seen in India since our arrival - a breeze. Dan is now only sweating 3 pints a day as apposed to seven! You could honestly believe that you had landed in a different country. We found a place to stay straight away, costing next to nothing, en suite with a roof terrace for great views of the town. Goa is a former Portugese colony & the mediteranean influence is very evident here, you could almost be in southern Spain (just like 'our kids place, Dad). After a cracking lunch at the best restaurant in the town (according to the rough guide) we decided to stroll around the town to take in the chilled out vibe before a trip to the coast that evening. The evening was set aside for the purpose of 2 activities - 1, watch the FA Cup final 2, catch the late night Saturday Bazaar on one of the beaches. We took a rickshaw down to the coast & found ourselves drinking Kingfisher beer in a bar on the beach watching the sun go down. No-where in the town was showing the football & to be honest, once we started on the beer, the Bazaar was never gonna happen! We have since found out that we missed one of the greatest cup finals in recent memory, never mind, the evening was perfect. The next day, bright & early we headed to the former state capital of Old Goa, a really old town full of churches & stuff (we're big on religion as you can see). Although, even if your not religious, it's difficult not to be impressed by the buildings & the history they contain. After a couple of hours we head back to our base in Panjim to relax & head out for dinner. Dinner that evening gave us our first experience of a street food stall, we quite litterally stuffed our faces for about 25p each, stunning. With bellies full of food & a couple more Kingfishers inside us, we have an earlyish night to prepare to move down the coast to the picture postcard perfect paradise of Palolem (no sightings yet of Peter Popple, Simon). PALOLEM Oh my god, this place really does do exactly what it says on the tin. It is said to be the best beach in Goa & it doesn't dissapoint. The beach is fringed with huge coconut palms & arcs around a natural bay, absolutely beautiful. We will send photo's as soon as possible to give you a small taste, although please note that there will be no pictures of LJ & dan until our skin tone has changed significantly! After finding a room we headed straight for the beach to relax & take a long awaited dip in the sea. We planned to spend around 4-5 days here, although on finding a bar with ESPN (which sometimes shows Sky Sports) we may have to stay until after the playoff final on Sunday - it's a hard life! It's about 7.30pm (we're 4 and a half hours ahead of UK) now & we are sitting in an internet cafe on the beach watching the sun set into the Arabian sea, what more could you possibly need. We'll be in touch again soon, stay classy LJ & Dan xx