4/4/2011 Booked a bus for the night to Hampi to save on accommodation and couldn't haggle a price we wanted for scooters to drive around so ended up spending a long day walking from Gokarna to all the nearby beaches over a 16-kilometre radius. Bumped into French girl and spoke to some Germans before trekking over headlands, along sandstone at the top of hills, clambering over rocks, balancing on cliff-edges, rustling through palm trees and jungle and settling on...

3/4/2011 Didn't get home 'til some mental hour and woke up Chris so we could walk three kilometres to get some cash out! Was a hot and hanging walk where an ice-lolly salesman on his bicycle stopped for us to buy a couple of bargains. Caught a couple of buses to leave the state of Goa and to enter Karnataka via the beautiful countryside on some terribly bumpy roads and a pain-in-the-proverbial bus conductor whistling all the time to signal to the driver to leav...

2/4/2011 Chris and I took a walk down the long beach and ended up going over some bridge and wading through a lagoon to reach some cool bar at the end of a headland. Shame we weren't in the mood for a drink though but it was about time we did some activity! Chilled in the sun most of the day and swam across the bay to get from my hotel to Cafe Del Mar where we watched the Cricket World Cup final and had a chicken makhanwala! Perfect way to spend the day! The p...

1/4/2011 Got up around midday after not hitting the hay 'til 7am and went out to barter for some more flags and had my second haircut on the road with a beard trim for well under two pounds! Didn't do a bad job either! Then I met the lust of my life, the Chicken Makhanwala. The best curry in the world. At Cafe Del Mar, Palolem, Goa. Go and get yourself one. It's like a korma with a touch of cheese and not spicy. It would probably taste even more amazing with a ...

31/3/2011 Checked out after the dodgy noises last night and found a cheaper place! 1.50 each for a better hut with a mosquito net but without the hammock and half a sea view! Went shopping for embroided country flags and managed to get 24 from the 50rupee asking price down to 20 each. Enquired about scuba diving and golf which were no-goes before having a drink down the beach with the girls. Had a super pizza for two quid, chilled on the beach and then bought ...