Alor Holiday Resort Calangute

Duncan - We headed to this old Portuguese Colony with little knowledge other than it is 'a good place to relax'. Our train had been a nightmare with overbooking and our four man berth turned into a 6 man berth with no chance to sleep. This was compounded by a huge man who swanned in from one of the stops and immediately fell asleep on his solo bunk! An enjoyable 13 hours that was.

The drive from the train station immediately told us that it is a typical tourist ...

... vendors. And I had just been to the bank. I really overdid the shopping but I really liked the stuff they had. I fnally found some ceramic door knobs and they even had another of those pad locks with a figure on the front--in this case Siva. Also I bought a wooden carving of a hand and some tye dyed silk and some cloth lampshades--the kind that hang sort of like Chinese lanterns. I never saw Jeff but I did run into ...

... of Goa. One person showing us apartments told us he had as much as 70% of his winter business cancelled already and has had to make dramatic cuts in the pricing of his rooms. Therefore we are finding some places that are offering incredible deals given we may stay here for 2 months. So we will keep you posted on our search and hope the next entry will have some good news and photos to show.

... dieser Dinge gibt es in Mumbai allerdings auch nicht zu knapp, ganz im Gegenteil. Die Kluft zwischen arm und reich ist hier so grosz, wie kaum an einem anderen Ort und allgegenwaertig. Die Vermoegenden verdraengen noch aktiver die Armut aus ihrem Kopf , als es die meisten Menschen bei uns tun : Schlieszlich fahren sie ja fast taeglich durch die Slums. Ist es nicht schoen, wenn man von all dem nie etwas sieht (oder dann eben schnell das Progamm im TV wechselt) und einfach ...

... but I look admiringly at his collection and his stones. Besides, we are all friends here and this guy doesn't seem like a pushy salesman type. One minute, small talk. Then it begins. "The reason I brought you down here is that I have some work for you to do," he says. I look around the shop, thinking I don't think I'd be much of a catch for jewelry sales with my weak bargaining tactics. "Really...?" I ask. "Yes, we need your help. We need for you to make ...

... I was laughing the whole time, when really I should have been screaming. Luckily Fernando had the sense not to trust me and clung onto the handle bars and controlled the breaks. I was pretty good with the accelerator though! I have spent 4 days in Morjim and from the moment I arrived here I loved it. But I'm ready to see something new and I've got a new travel buddy (Sean), so it's time to hit the road again...back into India.

... apparently people coming in from Mumbai for the holidays. Up to now the traffic has actually been free flowing here - not like other parts of India that we have been to. Eventually get to the main square in Panjim decide to try a place that was recommended to us but it was closed so back to the old faithful - I promise way we were looking at other places on the way. Veg Biryani for dinner. DK ordered some chips ...

What can we say??? We have been named 'beach backpackers' for our love of Goa but it was oh so glorious. Apart from the endless dogs and cows theyre everywhere! We ended up spending over 5 weeks here, but before you think LAZY *******S we are proud to have covered pretty much the entire Goan coast......heres how! (again this is the past tense, apologies!) So, we got the train from Bombay to Goa, on ...

... We got along as though we had known each other for lifetimes and she continued with her idea that I should join the convent because she thought I was sweet and nice. I continued to wonder if maybe I was meant for the convent life... seemed alright minus the fact that I really wanted to get married some day... She asked how old I was and I said 32... She was startled and exclaimed she thought I was in my early 20's and, sadly ...

After another nightmare 12 hour bus journey, i arrived in the town of Margao, Goa. The bus dropped me outside the cricket ground (by chance) and I went in search fo tickets. After finding out that all tickets had been sold and asking countless people, i decided to leave for town..only for a guy on a moped to sort me right out! To cut a long story short, Benni ended up putting me up in the family home, got me a free VIP ticket for the cricket ...