Sorry for the delay in updating on our trip to Goa – we have been far too busy doing nothing!
Just over a week ago we caught the Konkan Express sleeper train to Thivim in North Goa from Mumbai. What an experience! We chose to travel 2nd class sleeper, non A/C, for the bargain price of Rs560 for the 2 of us which is around 7 pounds – not bad for a 14 hour train journey.
The train was extremely basic, with simple fold down beds just wide enough to cram yourself and your rucksack on and a series of fans to keep the heat at bay…. slightly worrying that they sparked all night, but that’s India for you! The toilets were surprisingly nice & clean much to our relief after my horrendous experience just before boarding the train – I will tell you about that in a sec - but slightly un-nerving for a clumsy girl to see a large hole straight to the track. Explains the fruity air at the station platforms!
So, back to the toilet experience…..by far the worst to date! As we arrived late in the evening to catch our sleeper train I thought I would quickly use the station toilet before boarding. After paying the attendant Rs2 (approx 2 pence) I ventured in to the tiny cubicle, having to crouch to fit, locked the door to be faced with shit all over the walls, an overwhelming smell of urine, rats running around the back of the squatter and a ventilation grill at head height with rat tails handing out and the haunting squeak that I have only just recovered from! I have never peed so fast, nor have I ever been left shaking from the experience! Note to self – avoid station toilets at all costs!
The train was extremely well run and efficient with our names on the side of our carriage, a constant supply of food - dahl, chai, samosa, chai, cold drinks, chai, naan, chai, baji, chai, chai, CHAI – India runs on chai! I wouldn’t be surprised if the trains are fuelled by chai too - a gorgeous sweet milky ginger & cinnamon tea and we love it!
We both had the top tier bunks across from each other which was a complete winner as the two bunks below have to be folded away by 6am, and we could read & play cards whilst observing the chaos and sellers undisturbed from our elevated spot! Surprisingly I slept like a baby on the train but John didn’t – apparently there was a high pitched domestic between the Indian couple across from us in the middle of the night which I managed to miss! The women in India definitely seem to wear the trousers….or saris!
We arrived at Thivim at around 11am the next morning after spending some time freshening ourselves up by hanging out of the doors & watching the world go by – John’s favourite moment so far!
A short auto-rickshaw ride from the station brought us to our first stop in North Goa – Arambol. We picked a cheap & cheerful guesthouse called Ivon’s, a stone’s throw from the beach, perfect at Rs250 a night (just over 3GBP a night) – although in the heat the lack of water to cool down with a shower was tough!
The beach was lovely, a long sweeping crescent shaped bay with not too many buildings to spoil the setting. That said there was a lot of building work underway which we later found out is due to the main season not starting for another month (something our rough guide never mentioned – along with quite a few other errors. I am considering lonely planet for the first time!) and the Goan authorities making the locals take everything away at the end of every season, only to have to rebuild it all again after monsoon.
Our first stroll down to the beach was quite hilarious, as we started to walk down the dunes to the shore we were greeted by a local fisherman’s bare arse squatting in the surf taking his morning dump – lovely! We decided to leave the swim till a little later on! Four days relaxing in the sun, exploring the local area on our scooter (the popular Anjuna beach south of Arambol is definitely not worth a visit – seedy, with drugs an obvious issue!) and enjoying lots of lovely food & kingfisher beer past quickly in Arambol and we soon found ourselves on a local train heading to South Goa.
We caught the train from Pernem to Margoa at the ridiculous price of 35 pence each for over an hour before our first bus ride to Chaudi. What can I say about the bus other than…oh god please don’t let me die with this Indian man’s crotch in my face! The driving is insane and how they cram so many people in is an art form! We were relieved to finally arrive at our next stop, Agonda, in one sweaty piece!
Agonda was a bit of a ghost town with the season not quite kicked off and we quickly made our first error of the trip listening to a local man saying only one place was open with rooms. Heading there we were seduced by the beautiful setting, groomed gardens, good-looking beach huts and clean white linen sheets and agreed to stay for two nights at a budget busting Rs1600 (approx 20GBP), John wasn’t too pleased about this at first until he clocked the kayaks for guest use…..needless to say they were rarely out the water for the next 2 days! Surf kayaking is brilliant fun! Keen to find accommodation a lot cheaper we explored the back streets to find a pretty decent place for Rs250 (3GBP) called Cupids Cabin and an Indian Delboy called Lucky Singh who could get us anything we needed at anytime. Just don’t ask for an Enfield bike though! We stayed here for another couple of days just chilling and exploring on another scooter before moving on to Palolem where we are now.
It is so hot here, too hot to sunbath so John and I just been hanging out reading, planning & playing cards in the many bars and cafes and head to the beach at around 3pm to catch some sun and swim! The beach is gorgeous - the most picturesque yet and we can see why so many people mean to stay for a few days and are here months later!
There are some gorgeous restaurants too which are much more presentable than the average Indian eatery.........which gives you a bit more confidence! Talking of cool restaurants – John has sent me out to earn my keep!
We ate in this amazing restaurant called Cheeky Chapati's a few nights ago, a beautiful place with hundreds of fairy lights and candles. They mentioned they were short staffed and before I could stop myself I offered to help out! I thought it would be a great way to meet some locals and also meet some other travellers & expats who work there too. I had my first sweaty shift last night. The place is ridiculous busy! I swear I must have walked the equivalent of a half marathon last night ...all for Rs500 (just over 7quid). You get a meal too which saves us cash whilst the small wage tops up the daily budget of 20GBP! My first shift was great fun, a brilliant bunch of people and the mojitos through service helped! John was propping up the bar waiting to collect the wages at the end of the shift! Cheeky!
Tomorrow morning we are thinking of heading out with a local fisherman guy called Mr Max at 7am (forgotten what that time looks like as John & I never rise before 9:30 at least here!) to see some dolphins which are apparently really common off the coast of Palolem. Fingers crossed we will see some! Then after a few more days here ....and shifts...we are thinking of heading to Hampi which is in the next state called Konataka. Hampi is meant to be amazing - a ruined city with lots to explore and great places to stay and chill out! We will either get the sleeper bus there or see if we can get a Royal Enfield motorbike - proving to be quite elusive in South Goa!
Just over a week ago we caught the Konkan Express sleeper train to Thivim in North Goa from Mumbai. What an experience! We chose to travel 2nd class sleeper, non A/C, for the bargain price of Rs560 for the 2 of us which is around 7 pounds – not bad for a 14 hour train journey.
The train was extremely basic, with simple fold down beds just wide enough to cram yourself and your rucksack on and a series of fans to keep the heat at bay…. slightly worrying that they sparked all night, but that’s India for you! The toilets were surprisingly nice & clean much to our relief after my horrendous experience just before boarding the train – I will tell you about that in a sec - but slightly un-nerving for a clumsy girl to see a large hole straight to the track. Explains the fruity air at the station platforms!
So, back to the toilet experience…..by far the worst to date! As we arrived late in the evening to catch our sleeper train I thought I would quickly use the station toilet before boarding. After paying the attendant Rs2 (approx 2 pence) I ventured in to the tiny cubicle, having to crouch to fit, locked the door to be faced with shit all over the walls, an overwhelming smell of urine, rats running around the back of the squatter and a ventilation grill at head height with rat tails handing out and the haunting squeak that I have only just recovered from! I have never peed so fast, nor have I ever been left shaking from the experience! Note to self – avoid station toilets at all costs!
The train was extremely well run and efficient with our names on the side of our carriage, a constant supply of food - dahl, chai, samosa, chai, cold drinks, chai, naan, chai, baji, chai, chai, CHAI – India runs on chai! I wouldn’t be surprised if the trains are fuelled by chai too - a gorgeous sweet milky ginger & cinnamon tea and we love it!
We both had the top tier bunks across from each other which was a complete winner as the two bunks below have to be folded away by 6am, and we could read & play cards whilst observing the chaos and sellers undisturbed from our elevated spot! Surprisingly I slept like a baby on the train but John didn’t – apparently there was a high pitched domestic between the Indian couple across from us in the middle of the night which I managed to miss! The women in India definitely seem to wear the trousers….or saris!
We arrived at Thivim at around 11am the next morning after spending some time freshening ourselves up by hanging out of the doors & watching the world go by – John’s favourite moment so far!
A short auto-rickshaw ride from the station brought us to our first stop in North Goa – Arambol. We picked a cheap & cheerful guesthouse called Ivon’s, a stone’s throw from the beach, perfect at Rs250 a night (just over 3GBP a night) – although in the heat the lack of water to cool down with a shower was tough!
The beach was lovely, a long sweeping crescent shaped bay with not too many buildings to spoil the setting. That said there was a lot of building work underway which we later found out is due to the main season not starting for another month (something our rough guide never mentioned – along with quite a few other errors. I am considering lonely planet for the first time!) and the Goan authorities making the locals take everything away at the end of every season, only to have to rebuild it all again after monsoon.
Our first stroll down to the beach was quite hilarious, as we started to walk down the dunes to the shore we were greeted by a local fisherman’s bare arse squatting in the surf taking his morning dump – lovely! We decided to leave the swim till a little later on! Four days relaxing in the sun, exploring the local area on our scooter (the popular Anjuna beach south of Arambol is definitely not worth a visit – seedy, with drugs an obvious issue!) and enjoying lots of lovely food & kingfisher beer past quickly in Arambol and we soon found ourselves on a local train heading to South Goa.
We caught the train from Pernem to Margoa at the ridiculous price of 35 pence each for over an hour before our first bus ride to Chaudi. What can I say about the bus other than…oh god please don’t let me die with this Indian man’s crotch in my face! The driving is insane and how they cram so many people in is an art form! We were relieved to finally arrive at our next stop, Agonda, in one sweaty piece!
Agonda was a bit of a ghost town with the season not quite kicked off and we quickly made our first error of the trip listening to a local man saying only one place was open with rooms. Heading there we were seduced by the beautiful setting, groomed gardens, good-looking beach huts and clean white linen sheets and agreed to stay for two nights at a budget busting Rs1600 (approx 20GBP), John wasn’t too pleased about this at first until he clocked the kayaks for guest use…..needless to say they were rarely out the water for the next 2 days! Surf kayaking is brilliant fun! Keen to find accommodation a lot cheaper we explored the back streets to find a pretty decent place for Rs250 (3GBP) called Cupids Cabin and an Indian Delboy called Lucky Singh who could get us anything we needed at anytime. Just don’t ask for an Enfield bike though! We stayed here for another couple of days just chilling and exploring on another scooter before moving on to Palolem where we are now.
It is so hot here, too hot to sunbath so John and I just been hanging out reading, planning & playing cards in the many bars and cafes and head to the beach at around 3pm to catch some sun and swim! The beach is gorgeous - the most picturesque yet and we can see why so many people mean to stay for a few days and are here months later!
There are some gorgeous restaurants too which are much more presentable than the average Indian eatery.........which gives you a bit more confidence! Talking of cool restaurants – John has sent me out to earn my keep!
We ate in this amazing restaurant called Cheeky Chapati's a few nights ago, a beautiful place with hundreds of fairy lights and candles. They mentioned they were short staffed and before I could stop myself I offered to help out! I thought it would be a great way to meet some locals and also meet some other travellers & expats who work there too. I had my first sweaty shift last night. The place is ridiculous busy! I swear I must have walked the equivalent of a half marathon last night ...all for Rs500 (just over 7quid). You get a meal too which saves us cash whilst the small wage tops up the daily budget of 20GBP! My first shift was great fun, a brilliant bunch of people and the mojitos through service helped! John was propping up the bar waiting to collect the wages at the end of the shift! Cheeky!
Tomorrow morning we are thinking of heading out with a local fisherman guy called Mr Max at 7am (forgotten what that time looks like as John & I never rise before 9:30 at least here!) to see some dolphins which are apparently really common off the coast of Palolem. Fingers crossed we will see some! Then after a few more days here ....and shifts...we are thinking of heading to Hampi which is in the next state called Konataka. Hampi is meant to be amazing - a ruined city with lots to explore and great places to stay and chill out! We will either get the sleeper bus there or see if we can get a Royal Enfield motorbike - proving to be quite elusive in South Goa!
