Goa

Another Indian train, another delay. The overnight Konkan express from Mumbai CST station departed about an hour and a half late. It arrived two and a half hours late, but I slept through much of that, rocking gently in the first class sleeper carriage.

There were two other Britons in the sleeper compartment. They'd flown to Mumbai about 24 hours before and planned to go to three places in Goa. Apparently they're hoping to see some of the real India ! The food they've had in Mumbai will not have been typical, and I don't think they'll get a true impression of the country by confining themselves to Goa.

With the Portugese influence, Goa is cleaner, the roads are good, people dress differently. Now I'm staying in a resort for a bit of ease and luxury. It was the idea of my travelling companion in India, Shane from Wellington, who had already had a week in the country before I arrived. He is certainly in need of a rest, and the price was good. All inclusive (meals and train/airport transfers) for $87 (NZ) per person, per night in a two bed, two bathroom suite. We're not on the beach, but will take a shuttle to the sister resort, which is.

I'm almost three quarters of the way through my journey. I have five weeks or so to go in South East Asia, where I'll be joined by another friend from NZ. Are you packed and ready David ??

Remarkably, no mosquito bites so far. If it stays this way, I won't bother with the four extra weeks of mossie pills once I've left this zone. In Cambodia and Vietnam I'll be on different pills anyhow, because of the drug resistant strains of mosquitos there. What I do have is some bed bug bites. It took me a while to realise what they were, but some online research has confirmed it in my mind. I presume I got them in Agra. An annoyance, but at least I won't get any illness from them.