then there were 6... relaxing in Goa

The next day in Mumbai we went to a retro cafe for lunch then caught the boat over to Elephanta island- and I didn't even feel ill! There was a HUGE rush to get on which was abit dodgy with so many trying to do the boat hop to the right boat. There were some cool caves on the island. Managed to conquer the train station on our own :O AND the security guard at the hotel stole someone elses tip- rude!

Reached Benaulim after a train and taxis ride and relaxed on the beach- Kirsty got wax in her salad (didn't go there again) then in the evening we played drinking games- 21 involved lots of running and squaking chickens etc... much to the entertainment of the waiters! Also played the name game- but realised I really need to learn the names of more celebs (thankfully allowed cartoons!)

Had a lush lie-in then it was back to the beach for reading, jenga, swimming and sandcastle building. Went back to the same restaurant as the night before and all the waiters were disappointed that we werent playing drinking games again- one of the waiters (later found out his name was Biren) came over to tell me I was beautiful... tad embarrassing

Got up earlyish and I went with Ian and Kirsty to Anjuna flea market and brought quite abit... it was Rachels last night so we headed to the same restaurant again (at her request) and played drinking games- I learnt a new game called bunnies and payed 21s again, which involved quite abit of embarassment- loud elephant noises, "do the fandango" etc... Biren and Bicas came over at the end of their shift and came out with us- we ended up at a bar with a wedding party and, altho the party had gone abit dead, we soon livened it up again! Had a live band which were pretty good. Lots of dancing on the sand followed including the maccarena- some sleezy guy kept following me round trying to dance with me- he only succeeded once and I soon broke free! Tried a random goan spirit- all I can say about it was that it was very potent...

Lazed on the beach then went to the Drs and got prescribed aload of strange pills- who knows what they were! It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be- even if he watched the TV for half the appointment- he put me on a strange diet of just pomegranate, apple, dry toast and cream crackers- I survived 2 days...

Then it was time for Grant and Sarah to leave... now there were 3... got battered by the sea- have messed up knee to prove it(!), hounded by sellers, and met a guy called Dan from Oz (he was insane as he'd chosen to travel to India even tho he hadn't ever been outside Perth) Sat in bar to watch the sunset with Dan before meeting the others for dinner. Chatted and drunk for ages, getting into bed rather late after being chased by some mangy dogs... Also forgot to mention Bicas (who made me his honourary sister?!) and Biren caught me on the beach as I wandered past the restaurant - said that Biren wanted to talk to me later for an hour- he came to find me on his lunchbreak dressed up in a posh shirt reeking of aftershave- never got to find out what he came to "talk" about (probs a good thing) as I continued my convo with Sarah after saying Hi and he walked off...

Relaxed on beach and got my hair cut for the equivalent of 80p- was a unique experience- her thinning technique was def interesting- but you can't really complain for that price! Wandered down the beach to Colva with Dan, checked out his place and taught him the skills of bartering... had some LUSH potato wedges for dinner

Then we had to leave Goa- went to the beach in the morn, played some connect 4, said goodbye to Dan and got the overnight train- there were no seats in aircon left so we were in with the locals- thankfully it wasn't as bad as Ian had built it up to be so it was a pleasant surprise- it was cool with the windows open and we met an American guy.

Left our bags at the train station- was an effort as we had to lock it, have it scanned, fill in forms etc- so SLOW- but thats India for you! Went back to the retro cafe again and wandered round a market (one stall was selling a extreme amount of garlic). Got our bags back without too much hassle and caught a local train to my hotel- was an interesting experience a) because of the view of the slums etc by the track b) because we had to swap trains 3 times as people kept giving us conflicting advice to what train we should be catching and c) because we realised we needed to get off at a station just as the train started moving and I got onto the platform only to have a guy grab me (looking for a sneaky grope said Ian) and I fell flat on my back- was really quite funny and the bag softened my fall so it was all good.

Am sad to be leaving India- is such a quirky country and I've had a brilliant time here- wandered round the neighbourhood after Ian and Kirsty left for the airport- won't be sad to leave the staring, winking etc behind, it's even worse here as I don't think they see many foreigners- didn't see another one my whole walk!
Going to London tomorrow and then going to Paris- am looking forward to seeing my family again- has been 6 months!