Weekend in Goa

I hopped an overnight train to Goa for a weekend trip on Friday night. Sleeper on the train very relaxing and comfortable. Would have had a great sleep if not for the guy snoring his head off above me. Jumped on the back of a little motorbike driven by a guy called Anthony for the 70k trip to beach side Baga. Lots of people of Portuguese descent with names like Frank and Anthony which I don't quite get, but must be some reason for it.. Bought Anthony some lunch when we arrived which he bagged to take back to his family.

Goa was great. Not peak season so not too busy, but very much the tourists playground. Lots of beachside restaurants and bars, about 90% indian tourists and most of the rest Russian which surprised me. They travel on charter flights from Moscow and mostly look like bronzed beach gods, except they cant swim. Quite nice surf but no board hire and I was the only one bodysurfing on the beach. There is a busy industry on the beach of bracelet sales, jet boat hire, para gliding etc. I found a relatively quite spot of beach to swim, read and chat with a group of young fellas hiring the beach beds. They were all from different parts of India, slept in the kitchen of the bosses beachside restraunt shack which they were in the process of reconstructng for the coming busy season. All alongh the beach there were new bamboo and thach bars and sleeping shacks being constructed and the place will apparently be bedlam in a month. The young men were really nice and I felt quite safe leaving them to look after my wallet and things while I swam, which turned out to be the right hunch as they looked after me, and they want me to come back to stay when there restraunt is up and running(which I may try to do).

Hired a motorbike for a day, which took a 1 minute transaction involving no forms, lisences deposits.. Just handed over $7 and see you tomorrow. It was great being free to ride along the coast, checked out some old portuguese forts and a few beaches. the roads are realitively good in Goa and the trafic reasonably light so pretty safe riding.

Met lots of nice people travelling for the weekend including a lovely young woman from Kyrgyzstan who has been doing voluntary work in nepal and wants me to see if she can volunteer in Gujarat school. Really not that keen heading back to the crowds of mumbai from tropical beachside semi paradise.. Still had to be done; comfortable but no sleep on the train and no snoring to blame. Arrived 6.00 am at Dadar station, humid and already teeming with crowds, walking over to the suburban line across crowded, smelly wet muck covered lane, pushing into a crowded train with bag on head so as to fit in.. Sort of feeling like an old hand, coming back into Mumbai, but then got off train at the wrong stop so stuffing around before getting to hotel and heading, a bit tired to work to give a sparkling presentation to the SNDT staff.