Goa, India – Day 10

Saturday 7^th October (Day 10)

Its been a bit hectic and I’ve not had a chance to write! We came to Goa (Agonda beach) on the 3^rd October and it took a 16 hour train journey

Nick was hyper AF after about 6 coffees and we somehow found an app that got food delivered to our seats on the train from one of the stations. Modern day travelling guys! We gorged on biscuits and felt like crap. Watched ‘Two broke girls’ and got to Goa shattered.

Our hotel was up a hill from the beach and was budget. Everything was still being prepared for their ‘busy season’ and therefore lots of noise and blue sheets covering everything.

For some reason, my anxiety kicked in here. I’ve no idea why and I’m fuming and sick of myself, but it did. I didn’t sleep the first night AT ALL and had a bit of a panic attack. This place didn’t have windows or mosquito screens and therefore I felt majorly unsafe and vulnerable to the wildlife. Snakes mainly. I couldn’t shake the thought of a python slithering in and having me for a midnight feast. I then thought I would research snakes in India and put my mind at ease…

Did you know that there are 27 types of snake in India ONLY?!

7 of those are venomous…

1 of those is a King Cobra…

A drunk man in Goa was also fully swallowed by a Python…

THIS DID NOT HELP! WTF WAS I THINKING?!

Safe to say, I got no sleep.

I was aggy the next day and fell asleep on the beach. Got a bit sunburnt. Me and Nick made a plan for night two that I would go to sleep first and listen to music to drown out the external noise. IT WORKED! I slept like a baby and the next day was incredible!

We hired a moped and went to Palolem beach and markets. We went to Agonda animal shelter which was incredible. They had hawks which humans had cut off their wings. Apparently they grow back in 6 months and will be released J They were aiding dogs back to health that had skin infections and lost limbs and one sad little dog laid still on the floor and we were told he was brought in paralysed. They still had hope for him though as he still felt pain in his back and legs. He just wanted cuddles. We donated money and left with a heavy heart.

We then went to ‘Cola beach’ which is down an insanely long and bumpy path which you would presume you were being taken to die.

We finally got to the top of a cliff and were told the beach was ‘that way’.>>

So we walked down a steep, stoney, not-for-children pathway for 5 minutes to a secluded bay where the sea met a beautiful river surrounded by huts. It looked like paradise and had around 10 people there. We swam and left after a few photos.

After my terrible night sleep, all jokes aside, I spoke to Nick about how I felt and the panic and stupidity I regularly feel. We decided to book a 4^th night in Goa in one of the ‘posh’ huts. £49 for one night and totally worth it. It was so clean and spacious and had HOT WATER! I don’t want to jinx it, but I think I’m going to sleep so well tonight!

We spent yesterday booking the next part of our journey. We leave midday tomorrow on an hour train to Madgaon. We stay there for one night and at 9am the next morning, we take a 6 hour train to Hubli and another 2 hour train to Hospet (The closest station to Hampi). It’s a bit of a trek and well out the way but we’ve only heard great things about the place and felt it was worth it.

We spoke to a couple of guys from New Delhi and Mumbai last night and they gave us a couple of tips. Udaipur is amazing. South Mumbai is good. North Mumbai is bad. South Mumbai has a midnight bicycle trip which shows you amazing sites late at night away from the traffic.

And finally… I now know how to write the Greek alpahabet and I’m learning to Greek vocabulary!