Palolem

Hopefully, this is the entry where finally, Rich pulls his finger out of his proverbial and gets the much awaited photographs from the first three weeks of Indian living online, and available for viewing by the masses!! If however, this does not materialse, as Indian computers appear to be as reliable as their buses, then fear not, Rich IS working hard at resolving the problem as you read. (Probably.....)
In addition to this, I (rich) appear to have sat myself next to possibly the most foul smelling little urchin yet to emerge from our travels. A heady mixture of sweat, booze and manky suncream, creating a noxious stench. So please bear this in mind if the entry abruptly ends - it's more than likely a result of falling, dazed and nauseated from my chair and landing in a semi-comatose state!

Anyway, to the matter in hand: -
Palolem is like nothing we've seen before. Granted, the crescent shaped beach, backed by numerous palm trees is exceptionally picturesque, but the atmosphere here is brilliant. There is a real mix of people, ranging from old time Goan ravers, to cockney wideboys, (of whom there are many), to the ubiquitous eternal traveller, (usually spotted sporting dreadlocks, fishermen trousers and a gormless, somewhat puzzled look on their faces) to groups of girls who look, to me at least, like they are on a two week package holiday. Indeed, I've heard now that Goa is attracting some of the Ibiza crowd, as flights are on a par in terms of cost nowadays apparently! This eclectic mix creates a really nice atmosphere, where everyone is exceptionally laid back. This is probably helped by the fact that just about everybody appears to be stoned!

Yesterday Shonah and I, and also our friends Jayne and James went on a dolphin spotting boat ride in a local style boat. Essentially these are made from mango tree, with a large stabilising hull on the right (or should that be starboard, side), essentially like a catamaran. We were on the boat with a really enthusiastic Indian character, who spoke limited english, but who's happiness at eventualy spotting dolphins was clearly evident, when he almost left his seat, jumping around in presumed ecstacy! In fairness, it was an excelent experience, made all the more special by this guys obvious passion for such creatures. Towards the end of the trip we stopped at a deserted beach, named Honeymoon Beach, for an hour. It was deserted for the majority of the time and was a welcome respite from the mainland!
In the evening, we ate at a seafront restaurant, feasting on Kingfish, Kalamari (Sp?) and kebabs straight from the beach side tandoor! Food was excellent, if a little lacking service, with plates arriving one at a time, with an average gap of 5-8 mins in between!! Ahh well, the views were excellent and the beer tasted even better!

The accommodation we have found is an absolute bargain, at 175 Rs a night (roughly equivalent to 2 pound ish a night). Its essentially a beach hut on stilts, located right on Palolem beach. However, at night it's incredibly quiet and we both fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing only metres away!

Today we have had a lazy day, moving only as my insatiable hunger pangs become too much to bare at around 2pm.

Anyways, to the all important pics. Please see below, to the right, to ther left, above, on another page (I've no idea where theyre going to be located). Here goes...............
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PS, Nan and Max - It's great to see you've managed to set up an account and can post replies to our diaries!! It means a lot when we can see that people are actually reading these things!! Hope all is well and max is still spritely!!
Take care of yourself,