Goa

Ah, Goa. So different to Mumbai, it's hard to comprehend the relative close proximity of the two.

Not the worst view in the world huh?

How different exactly? I'm currently sat in one of the most peaceful places I've ever been, Agonda beach. Aside from the chorus of dog barks early in the morning causing a synchronous cloud of howling over the entire area, an event that takes an incredible amount of effort to sleep through, all there is to hear is the crashing of waves and the clink of cocktail glasses being discarded (I may have mentioned last year, but two cocktails for the equivalent of £2 is nothing to be sniffed at).

Not a backpacker friendly entrance to the beach...!

We arrived here early on Sunday, Diana feeling particularly rough with a cold and no sleep on our luxurious overnight train, that instead of roughing it on a local bus we took a prepaid taxi straight here. Upon arriving, we asked the first place we saw for a room and were informed they had none, but next door did. They advised they had rooms for 1200 rupees (circa £12), which although cheap, just isn't good enough. Diana snuck in a 'we were looking for around 800' expecting to be told no, but low and behold, a structure with a door, bed, mosquito net and basic bathroom was available at this price. The speed in which he agreed the room was available had me wondering if the price was still higher than he was after.

What do you reckon Miss Crook? The toilet seat is removable (Not by design so much as lack of maintenance...)

The room sufficed anyway, we went to a place a couple of beach restaurants down where they had sun beds available and had brunch. Prices of food are considerably more than Mumbai here, average meal costing £2-3 instead of £0.50 - 1, but still not exactly expensive for a meal on a seafront with WiFi and did I mention, £2 for two cocktails?

Diana wasn't feeling very good at this point and returned to the room, I continued reading my magazine for a while. Not long after, an American couple ask for a room at the bar, to be told they are 1200 rs. The couple were just as unhappy to pay this mediocre sum as we were (some huts have tv and ac and all sorts for a whopping 5000 rs, 1200 rs honestly isn't that bad but it seems we all have a taste for a deal, and when you see the pictures you may wonder whether they are actually worth this much). The barman then asked the price they were willing to pay. A heavy American accented male voice stated 'we know what we want to pay and you ain't got it). Quick as a flash, the guy said they had rooms for 600, where both mine and this couples ears pricked up. We'd definitely over bid on our place, but only committed to one night. They all leave and I finish up reading half of my magazine and return to our room to find an unconscious Diana, who unfortunately I had to wake as the door only opened from the inside.

Armed with my new knowledge, we later head out for dinner with the aim of enquiring on prices of nearby other huts, with a goal to shave pounds, perhaps as much as 3 pounds, off our accommodation for the next night's. Tried a couple of places and got told they were worth their weight in gold bullion, so returned to the place I heard the previous conversation.

"Do you have any cheap rooms available?"
"What sort of price, sir?"
"We were thinking around 500" (Ballsy, I know. That's just a shade over 5 British pounds for the views you saw above).
*some deliberation ensues between staff*
"Yes we have accommodation we can show you in the morning."

Jackpot. £12, down to £8, down to £5. We're rolling in reddies. With hindsight, I imagine we could have dropped another 1 or 2 hundred rs, but we're not outright bandits (perhaps by the end of our travels when money's incredibly tight and I've had more practice and a more solid poker face). For now, we're living on peanuts. And this room had towels and a toilet seat attached to the toilet (just).

Toilet seat attached but won't stay up. A marked improvement.

Nout to complain about here for a fiver!

The area is predominantly tourists (thick British and American accents replace the previously manic sounding Hindi counterparts. In fact, Hindi is a rarity to hear, I've heard more German...). Very few people selling tat, although somehow I always attract a bongo salesman, and only a few beggars, it's obvious why so many tourists are here escaping the negative temperatures at home.

This is not exactly what were traveling for, but has given us a chance to catch up with plans (WiFi is common here) and unwind a little before all the stress kicks in again. More train journeys to follow, the last ones were incredibly stressful but now we know what to do and expect.

Give or take a day or twos accommodation, we now have until the 8th of March planned, with us staying at a reforestation project in Pondicherry for approx £8 a day for the month of February (and involving the luxury of an 18 hour coach journey to get there, assuming we manage to find it), where we will experience delights of 6 am manual labour, vegan diets fully catered for, and toilet waste being separated and used as fertiliser. And a few hours a day of charging devices from solar power, plus use of their internet connection. Should be interesting...?

We should also be experiencing the Hindi festival of Holi, the festival of colours, in Jaipur. Apparently they usually have an elephant festival on holi eve, however this may be cancelled due to animal rights, so it's likely the elephants aren't treated well and hopefully it's being replaced by a different, animal friendly event if this is the case. After March 8th though, we have nothing yet worked out.

Tomorrow we are leaving to Gokarna, neither of us quite know what to expect but we're using the trains again, so it can only be a fun experience and gives us a chance to fulfil our lifelong dreams of enjoying the life of a sardine confined to a tin once more.

All the best to everyone at home, we're thinking of you in our 33 degree sunshine...

A horizon so straight you could use it as a ruler

And of course, two for £2 cocktails... Best of luck all, huddle up nice and warm!

Jonno