Beaches.Bikes.Beers
Our umpteenth over night train got us into Goa two hours later than scheduled. On leaving the train station we got a rickshaw to our prebooked hostel where we were greeted by many travellers our age, most of which were really friendly and chatty meaning we had a warm welcome to Goa! Unfortunately it was many of their last day so the friendliness was short lived. After check-in we headed straight to the nearby beach, which by nobodies stretch of the imagination was the most beautiful beach in the world, although me and Chris were both so happy to be by the seaside for the first time whilst travelling. We wandered around and got some food and drinks on the sand until the sunset. One thing that can be said about Goa is that is does offer an amazing sunset!
We decided for our first night to make use of the hostels kitchen as we both miss being able to make our own food. This proved harder than expected as there were no mini markets nearby so we had to rustle up what we could with egg, tomato and pepper- an omlette! We ate out for the rest of our time in Vagator. On the upside to this the beers are a lot cheaper here than anywhere else we have been at just 50p for a bottle of Kingfisher! On the second night, Chris decided that whilst in Goa he had to try a fish curry (when in Rome..) a few spoons in and he decided to try the green bean looking objects in his sauce. These were not green beans but whole chillies! Safe to say that meal was ruined, although the 50p beers helped the situation a little.
Two days in and we’d had our fill of Vagator beach so i gave into Chris’ urge to rent a motorbike for the third time since being away and we headed North to Morjim beach. You’ll see a theme developing that there is little to do in Goa apart from being on the beach. Morjim was a lot nicer and quieter, the sunloungers were cushioned too! We spent the day here and drove back at sunset. Day four, we had a motorbike trip to Old Goa where we found that there are lots of Churches to look at of world heritage status. If Churches and beaches are your thing, head to Goa and spoil yourself. We went to St Francis Xavier Basilica where the saints body is in a glass coffin and to the cathedral across the road with adjoining museum. Two churches down and we were churched out! Making the most of the bike we drove along the coast back up to Vagator stopping at all the beaches on the way. Settling at Anjuna for an hour or so as this was the quietest we found. That night was our last at the hostel, we headed to the common room for some beers where we got chatting to a group of Germans about SE Asia, life in Europe and stray dogs. Our chat was interupted by an American guy and a merry group of Swedish girls who were stereotypically dancing to Abba. Priceless entertainment.
We left the north of Goa and headed to the south to an area called Agonda. We opted for the bus to get us there and at two quid for the both of us we’d have been silly not to, although this journey involved five buses and about four hours. It was all worth it once we arrived at Agonda, we arrived as the sun was setting over the ocean producing our most beautiful sunset yet along with the best beach. We had arranged a place to stay on the beach and set off walking trying to spot which was ours in the row of beach side huts. We stopped at one to ask for directions and they told us that their guesthouse was the one we were looking for, showed us to a room and left us to it. After getting showered I realised this place didn’t look like the photos and that the staff were all acting really weird. We asked the manager and he told us we weren’t where we thought we were and his rooms were double what we’d planned to pay at the arranged place. So we left! Annoyingly the right guest house was next door, this place seemed a lot better and the staff didn’t lie to us. Our tea that night consisted of the most delicious fajitas at a beach side restaurant followed by a stroll down the beach where I saw a shooting star for the first time! I was so excited and that was my night made. The sky looked so close and the stars so big, Agonda is a beautiful place.
Guess what we did the next day? Yep, we chilled on the beach! I opted for a walk to either side where i saw locals out with fishing nets getting their catch of the day. Chris spent about two hours occupying himself in the sea. In the heat of the day we read in the shade and had a relax. That night the sun setting on the water gave the illusion that the water was metallic, the sunsets here don’t get old. For the next couple of days the weather was very warm and overcast so we had more days reading and relaxing which was very welcome. The nights were filled with heavy rain and lighting, an exciting change! Eight days in Goa and we didn’t need anymore relaxation or beaches, we’d loved our time in Goa but were ready to move on. So along came our first overnight bus which would take us to Hampi. It rolled up an hour late and the non A/C bus we had chosen was ‘cancelled’ so we got a seat on the freezing cold A/C bus instead. Me and Chris had to sleep on the worlds smallest bunker under the worlds coldest fan aboard a bus with a maniac driver, it wasn’t a good nights sleep but we arrived in Hampi safe and sound.
Boring updates- We’ve both managed to get locked out of our emails for those who contact us this way. We’re working on getting it fixed! For now skype message or on here is the best way of contact. Also all our flickr albums are up to date for those who want to see more photos head to the bottom of each blog post.
Photos here:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/127744759@N08/4TNKt5