We haven't been as busy as we were in the first two weeks although we still have alot to report! After letting all the trouble pass in Mumbai we got a sleeper coach from Udaipur to Mumbai. If you've never seen an Indian sleeper coach, think of it as row of chicken cages full of squashed people, but not laying eggs! We left Udaipur at 4pm expecting to arrive in Mumbai at 7am, with our train booked from Mumbai to Goa at 11:40am. But in India, time is irrelevent to everyone. Nothing runs on time and everyone just takes life as it comes. Which is great, if you don't have a train to catch!! So after stopping at every service station between Udaipur and Mumbai (all of which had no lights in the toilets) we arrived in Mumbai at 12 midday. However, whilst almost everything in India ignores the relevance of time, trains leave exactly when they're supposed to. So, our first dilemma in Mumbai, how to get train tickets in an Indian train station with no air con unveiled itself.

We spent a very long 4 hrs or so in Mumbai station before finally managing to get some reserved seats on a train later that day. The train was actually quite pleasant compared to the battery farm we had just been travelling in. As we had originally planned to get to goa that night, we had a hotel booked already, but by the time we got to goa it was nearly 4am, we were suffering from lack of sleep and starvation and just desperately wanted a bed lol! So, we got straight in a rickshaw from the station and said 'hotel saaj please', only to find that when we got there, it was closed. We coudln't even get in. Luckily the driver knew another place where we could rest our weary heads! We were now in the centre of a busy town in central goa called Madgaon.

Madgaon was a world away from the north of India, it seemed to be full of smiling faces and was much cleaner than everywhere we'd been so far. After catching up on sleep and doing some much needed washing, we thought we'd treat ourselves to a decent meal in an actual restaurant rather than a shack. Kav expressed that he thought it would be really cool if there was a storm and a blackout, so we would be stranded in the restaurant and forced to eat all the curries on the menu, untill the storm had passed. Famous last words!
No sooner than leaving the restaurant, the rain came with a vengence, and its not even supposed to be the monsoon season. It rained so hard and so fast that the roads turned into rivers, causing a massive blackout (which kav found very exciting- he even started taking pictures of the darkness). By the time we got back to the hotel, we were a see through pair of drowned rats, soaked to the skin. But the strangest thing was that we were laughing about it and really didn't care! We even had a litle dance in the middle of a road! Since we arrived in India we had constantly been rushing to get from one place to another and not really taking the time to just take it all in and have fun. So with all the bad things about the north of India put behind us, the south was very welcoming to a couple of weathered travellers!

After getting the journey out of our systems and feeling less like chickens, we headed to the north of Goa to see some of the beaches. We stopped in a place called Anjuna, which was a quiet beach resort, where the clear water was lined with Palm trees and candle lit beach huts that served local seafood. After noticing most of the people around us being extremely relaxed, we smelt something more than just fishy! We later found out that the beach was nicknamed "Hippies Paradise" for its easy access to drugs and glow in the dark pictures of Bob Marley!

Our next stop was one of the main beaches in Goa called Callangute. It was an Indian version of Blackpool. So we made a very swift exit south to Colva, near to Madgaon where we initially started. This was another very busy beach, so we begain trekking down the beach with our 15kg rucksacks on in a 38 degree heat looking for a quiet beach. 15 minutes and a bucket of perspiration later, we arrived at a small restaurant that had a few rooms going cheap, so we booked in for the 3 best nights of our lives... not! In short, we had severe food poisening that resulted in fluid loss in all directions and we only left our room to get more loo roll and water! All we kept saying was "I want my mummy's stew and dumplings!" or "I want my mummy's home-made leek and potato soup!".

Which brings us to today! After almost a full recovery, were going to have some fun in the sun with the abundance of cool sea creatures! There's starfish and hermit crabs everywhere, woop woop!

We'll try and put some pics on later today after we've been to the beach. Well even put one up of Kermit the Hermit, our new travel buddy!

So for now, its goodbye from your brave travellers, we'll be in touch sooner rather than later :-)
xxx

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written by  Kav & Sara on December 6, 2008 from Goa, India
from the travel blog: Round the world trip!!
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Hello my lil chickens. Papaginski here.

Perhaps you should set up a beach bar for foreign travellers selling Leek and Potato Soup in the basket. Sorry to hear about your tummy turmoil. Let's hope you have left it behind you (no pun intended). If you try to avoid meat for a bit you might find things will harden up a bit in the stool department. Famouth Latht Wordth.

You know how I've always loved dressing up in women's clothes. Well. I finally fulfilled my ambition last Saturday and me and Mark came on stage wearing tutus. Mummy choreographed a ballet routine which we perfomed faultlessly. I will try and post a pic.

Arch Stanton did a 20 min slot which seemed to go down really well. He brought his entire family so we had a Meet the Fokkers weekend except we had to rush off on Sunday for Baby B's christening.

We have exchanged contracts on St Brannocks and are due to complete on the 19th Dec.

This, I think, brings you up to date on the exciting life of a middle aged cross dressing rock star. I look forward to the next blog and remember. If it has fur or a beak don't eat it! I will try and put a pic on the blog but otherwise I will email it.

Love you massive

Theebs xxx

written by  Roger Shoesmith on December 11, 2008

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hiya!

so glad to hear the pair of u are feeling better :D fingers crossed your not ill again.

your blogs always make me chuckle, u seem to be having lots of fun and seeing some interesting things!

not much new here, still working away but i have an interview coming up soon for a different band 5 physio post at cherry tree hospital, so we'll see (its only temp though).

family send their love to you and of course i do too!

can't wait for your next blog, I'm always checking- yes i realise i am very sad!!! lol

lots of love and hugs xxx

written by  mandy smith on December 11, 2008

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p.s. the photos look great!

written by  mandy smith on December 11, 2008

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good evening,

we need more blogs and photos. cant believe its going to be the first christmas apart which is well weird.

hate to be the bringer of bad news but things have gotten so bad in Thailand they've appointed a geordie as Prime Minister. This is actually true and not one of my usual punchless jokes.

so here's a few new phrases that wont be in your travel guide -

yoo tee nai muppitt wid a mullet (Where is keegan?)

yoo tee nai can tekka leak marra (Where is toillet?)

nak-tu-ra-kit downa pit (i work as a miner)

ya get the jist boyo,

stay safe and remember if you get Split up all you got to do say 'well ai man wor lass is purely belta an a loost ha in de toon, she's way high man, propper beaut, ana rekkon she be lewkin for me too, d ya know where da bobby shop is?' and if that doesnt work tell them the stadium of light is the home of legends and peter reid is a god.

stay safe and have a good christmas.
ben n tash

written by  benjamin 'eight2eight and fully licensed and ready to go' Azadi on December 16, 2008

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