Sea View Cottage Baga

... i must confess poor hannah got little say in the matter as i was desperate to go and without thinking about it too much we said yes<br>after a long trip we got out the taxi and met 3 men with powerful motorbikes, we paid them their money and jumped on the back of the bikes, what followed was the scariest 40 mins of mine and hannahs lives!!! <br>we started off on the road, which was bad enough as i have never been on the back of a bike before, then we veered off and ...

after 4 hours negotiating the inidan bus system (which i am very proud of doing!!!) we arrived in baga which is described as the indian 'spanish costas' in the bible (the rough guides guidebook i have permenantly fixed to my side)<br>its ok at the mo but i can imagine it is a nightmare in peak season<br>we got fed up of cockroaches and booked ourselve into a lovely resort with a swimming pool and ...

... to decide who was and wasn't a Russian hooker. Oh yeah, in case you are ever in Goa and you happen to rent a motorbike, make sure you ALWAYS have the headlight on during the day.... nothin freaks out Indians more than two white guys on a scooter with their lights on..... six people and a chicken...no problem but headlights on during the day.....mortal sin!

... to the beach for tea and ate kebabs at Janet and Johns. Sat in conv**sation, becky spotted a cat coming and said quickly 'kitten luke, don't let it make you jump'. The cat promptly ran und** his leg and flicked its tail around him, causing him to yelp like a big girl and nearly knock the table ov**. The old** couple next to us found it hilarious. Luke blames becky for not warning him soon enough. becky thinks luke is stupid. We w**en't sure wh**e to go at night but a guy at the hotel ...

... oar, the boatman took us in backwaters. Gradually the sea waves fainted. Silence took over. It was very relaxing. We got to see some of the very rare birds in backwaters. Devesh didn´t miss any in his lens. After spending a good one hour there, we were at the shore. Beautiful ride, scrumptious food, virgin beach, we had time of our life. On our way back to Benaulim, we met a sage. He was in his 70s. He was walking down to Panjim, which was about 50Kms ...

... hard hippies went to live after the 60s. I can only take so much of the dirty hippies so I didn't want to stay in their enclave. Baga is small but has a good mix of different people. There are definitely people in town (tourists, that is) but you can tell that the season is fast coming to an end. No endless throngs like would have been here a couple months ago since the monsoons are expected to start up ...

... by St. Francis Xaivier began to preach christianity, and most of the goans today are still christian. It was first in 1961 that the Indian goverment took control over Goa and thereby ending the portuguese rule here. In the 70'ies Goas beaches were discovered by hippies as a secluded spot untouched by tourism. Today the population of Goa is around 1,3 million, making it ...

... Enfeild Bullet and riding around the south. So what now. Im off to book a ticket for Taff, sleep on the beach for an hour then get ready for a monster of a night out at club Cubana. This split level open air club complate with swimming pool is apparently the most happening spot. It was good last time. You pay 900 r to get in about 12 quid ( a lot here) but then all you can drink is free!! I see a lot of laughing, I see a terrible headache, I see a week or two on the wagon!!

... so took us to this area of jungle that belongs to a friend, and so isnt regulated by the local government (which want him out of business - you'll find out why in a minute!) We trek for 3 hours through grasses and bushland while he tells us horror stories of his near misses, where Bull Elephants have nearly crushed him and the group he was leading, advising us to watch out closely for Cobras and Vipers in the grasses, and pointing out fresh ...

... t think of any others, and it feels great! I'm at Mabla's place, where I stayed last time I visited Gokarna. It's a relaxed, friendly place with several regulars who spend every season here. We spend our days between home and town, occasionally walking over to Kudle Beach to swim and suntan, or walking on Gokarna Beach at sunset. A few times, we've been down to the beach at midnight, when you can barely make out the shadows of the wooden fishing boats, to ...