31st March - Ellora caves

Today was a full day and a very good day. These photos do not do it justice...

I was up early as I wanted to have a good amount of time in Ellora. I had an awesome breakfast at the hotel in my room - I love Upam. I then took a Ricksaw to the train station. I was worried that my train ticket to Palampur has not been confirmed and I am really high up on the waiting list so I wanted to buy another ticket to ensure I would get a seat. I thought that this might take ages and be really hard with the language issue and the general amount of queuing necessary in India to get any thing done. However, in fact I was only waiting 5 minutes before getting to see a man who spoke fanatistic English and was really helpful. He tired several options and eventually got me an emergency ticket which starts from a different station (as the quota was full from the station I wanted to leave from). I had to pay slightly more but I now have a confirmed ticket and I can stop worrying about it.

It was about 9.30 by the time I had returned from the station put on my biking clothes and packed up. I took one last look out of my veranda and saw an old man bent double hobbling on crutches. I find it very difficult to see such things. For all the wastage that we have with social security in the UK, I am much happier to deal with the inefficiencies than to have no social security to look after unfortunately people in this situation. I saw the same man only 100m down the street when I passed him on my bike and stopped to give him 500RS (same amount as I paid to stay in the hotel last night). I know I am an idiot and this will probably be stolen from him and go to the wrong people but I could not help myself this time. I am so fortunate to be able to bike round the world and not work for a year. This man must have such a miserable existence. India is an amazing country with so much going for it but it as a long way to go in terms of education and support for the less fortunate.

I am getting used to Indian traffic now and it was no big deal to bike out of town. I would have liked to spend a little longer there buying some Western things I need which are not available in the rural towns I have been passing through and using the internet but I needed to push on to the caves.

I did take my time this morning and enjoy the scenery and took some photos etc. The road was in good condition and there was not much traffic. It is much flatter on these plains than when I was biking up the coast and so I made good time. I stopped off at a sugar cane juice place to have a drink mainly because I wanted to take a photo of the traditional way that they were making the juice: a cow and some coggs.... Cool.

I arrived at the town of Khuldabad, 4 km South of Ellora, at about 12 and had a look around for a cheap lodge (I had been told that the ones right next to the caves are very expensive). The town itself is a Muslim town with lovely little lanes and old architecture. I image that it has not changed very much in the last 500 years. The town is a tourist attraction in itself with the tome of Aurangazeb's Tomb, a fort, a dam and a huge Mosque in the middle. I did get more stares than usual as I biked through town. There were no lodges in the town and so I went back to the highway and checked in a great place with a huge room. They were kind enough to give me a discount of 200RS and I got the room for 300RS. I left all of my bags there and changed into trousers and a top and cycled to the caves. It was downhill all the way. I really enjoyed biking without all of my bags and helmet etc. It was so light and I got up one hell of a speed going down the hill. Such a big kid.....

I had a light lunch of daal fry at one of the restaurants outside of the caves and a fresh orange juice and then tied up my bike and went to the caves.

They really where very impressive - well worth its status as a Uneso World Heritage Site. It was well worth my detour to go and see them. There are 34 caves all along one stretch of cliff. They cover and area of 18km apparently...... It is only about 4km from one end to the other though. There are 3 sections of caves: Buddhist, Jain and Bramhan. Wikipeadia can describe it better than I can:

Ellora (Marathi: वेरूळ) is an archaeological site, 30 km (19 mi) from the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra built by the Rashtrakuta (Kannada: ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಕೂಟ) rulers. Well-known for its monumental caves, Ellora is a World Heritage Site.^[1] Ellora represents the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture. The 34 "caves" – actually structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills – being Buddhist, Hindu and Jain rock-cut temples and monasteries, were built between the 5th century and 10th century. The 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves, built in proximity, demonstrate the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history.


The most impressive is cave 16 - right in the middle by the main entrance. This is less of a cave and more of a huge sculpture. It is insane - it took about 100 years to carve. It is difficult to describe..... I spent ages walking round this.

This is the description from Wikipedia:

Cave 16, also known as the Kailasa or the Kailasanatha, is the unrivaled centerpiece of Ellora. This is designed to recall Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva – looks like a freestanding, multi-storeyed temple complex, but it was carved out of one single rock, and covers an area double the size of Parthenon in Athens. Initially the temple was covereed with white plaster thus even more increasing the similarity to snow covered Mount Kailash.

All the carvings are done in more than one level. A two-storeyed gateway resembling a South Indian gopuram opens to reveal a U-shaped courtyard. The courtyard is edged by columned galleries three storeys high. The galleries are punctuated by huge sculpted panels, and alcoves containing enormous sculptures of a variety of deities. Originally flying bridges of stone connected these galleries to central temple structures, but these have fallen.

There were big groups of Japanese tourists - all with umbrellas and covered up. Unfortunately they were very rude and wondered round like they owned the place.

I also noticed in the old monuments that plug sockets had been built into the walls and there was wiring in various places... It did effect the appreciation of the ancient structures.

It was funny as there was a huge Indian family wondering round the caves that I met towards the beginning of the day. They did not speak much English but one of the older women came up to me and asked me to take a photo of her and 2 other older female members of the family. I did as requested but each time I took a shot more people entered the photo and asked me to take a new photo. In the end I took a photo with the whole group of about 40. They then took a photo with me as well. As I wondered round different caves we kept on bumping in to each other and so each time when they were posing for a family photo I came along and took one too. I have loads of photos of the same group. It ended up being one big joke with me and them in fits of giggles. I love the way that childish humor can pass the language barrier.

There was another guy that I met in many different caves as I wondered round; a Danish Tour Guide who is currently traveling round India taking photos professionally and exploring so that he can plan group tours later on. We had a good natter and he gave me some advise on my camera. As a tripod is not allowed in the caves (I think the owners want the rights on the professional photographs) he carries around with him a bag of coriander seeds. It is light and can be used easily to position the camera. Good idea. I had a play around with it.

There were also a couple of Spanish guys that I bumped into several times. At about 5ish when most of the tourist had left, I found them having a siesta in cave 34 (the cave furthest away from the entrance). It was very atmospheric in there because music was carrying from the temple not very far away and there was a lovely cool breeze in the caves and the light was beautiful. Very serene. I just sat for a while and enjoyed the moment.

There were 4 huge bee hives right next to one of the caves. I have never seen anything like it..... Cool!

I left the caves at 6 with enough time to get back to my lodge before dark. It was an easy 4km climb back up to the lodge as I had no luggage.... I went for a very early Chinese for dinner at a restaurant just down the road from the lodge. Chinese in India is very different to Chinese in England (or Chinese in China for that matter). I can't really even describe it. What I had was fake noodles and a very sweet sauce... not one of the best meals I have ever had.

I did some faffing with my photos when I got back, washed my clothes (I'm so feed up with this now), read some of my book and had an early night :-)

30th March - Bhor to Aurangabad

Bitten alive.....

Tried (and failed) to sleep in as I did not get much sleep last night. I was bitten badly up the mountain last night and my arm was itching like hell during the night. Eventually gave up on getting back to sleep about 11 and packed up and showered etc.

After brunch and chatting with the restaurant and hotel owners (they had really looked after me and been very friendly last night) for ages I headed off. The first part of the journey was not much fun as it was just on a busy highway going towards Pune. The closer I got the more traffic there was. I was planning on staying in Sasvad last night but as the Ricksaw guys had bought me 7km out of town in the oppsite direction to the way I was planning on going I thought I would take the short cut on the highway to Pune and then turn off on to some back roads again. Fortunately I did not have to go all the way into town as it was a very busy highway.

As I went along I noticed loads if groups of Indian men huddled round tiny tv sets watching the India-Pakistan cricket match. It is very important to most Indians to win this.

I turned off after Pune and then traveled along some lovely little lanes again. As often happens in India the road just turns into a dirt track every now and again and then become tarmaced once more. This makes for very slow going - although my legs are feeling much stronger than yesterday :) I saw some people working on the road where it had turned into a dirt track. There are always about 50% women doing this back braking work. The women are dressed differently to the women that I normally see in towns. They where separate 3/4 length skirts - more in a gypsy style. They put rocks in bowls and walk with these on their heads to where the rocks need to go and then twist the bowls off their heads in order to land the rocks on the floor. I stopped to take some pictures and pissed off the supervisor as the work of the whole team ceased as they all clamored to be in the picture. I love taking photos and Indians love to have their photos taken - perfect combination!

After a couple of hours my route took me to a very busy highway. On my India road atlas this road is the same size as a single track road I was on 2 days ago! It us impossible to know and it makes route funding hard.

It was too busy on the 2 lane highway and I was not enjoying it. I saw an air conditioned coach going in the right direction and stopped at the side of the road so stopped to ask. It turned out perfectly! It went to exactly the place I wanted to go and I met some lovely people on the journey :)

I read for the first couple of hours of the journey but when the bus stopped at a restaurant for a dinner and toilet break 3 Indians came to sit with me and make conversation. Non of them knew each other but we all got on very well. They had all gone to Pune to visit friends and family and were all on their way back home. ? is a cardiac surgeon. ? is an arts student and ? is a software engineer. They all have boy friends/girl friends and do not want arranged marriages. It was interesting to hear their take on India and other Indians. They do not have very much respect for the level of education of the rural Indians. They all really wanted me to change my plans to end my journey at Aurangabad and instead come and stay with them in ???????. If I was not meeting Alan in Palunpur in a few days I would have done so. They were very lovely friendly people and it made the time pass very quickly.

As soon as I visit high end restaurants, stay in posh hotels or travel in air conditioned buses I met a different kind of Indian. There is such a huge difference between educated middle class Indians and the rest of the majority of the population. Most well educated people live in the big cities and are very Westernised.

The bus journey was really lucky. I did not have to wait at any station, book a ticket or faff around. The first bus that I asked was going to the perfect place, was very comfy and I met some really nice people.... Sometimes these things just work out :-) The route was a busy 2 lane highway all the way through very flat boring countryside and so I really did not miss much by not biking this section.

When I arrived in Aurangabad about 10pm the streets were quiet as everyone was watching the India-Pakistan cricket match. It was funny to see about 200 Indian men standing outside the Sony shop watching the match on the tvs inside the store!

I had to bike round town in the middle of the night for about 1h to find a hotel that was not ridiculously expensive and accepted foreigners and was not full (due to cricket match). Fortunately an lovely rickshaw driver helped me out. I felt very safe in his company and he did not try to rip me off and so I gave him a large tip.

I was very glad to find a place 5mins before the end of the match as all hell broke lose afterward. I had not realised how quiet the streets were until the end of the match. Everyone took to the streets shouting "India India", horns were beeping and hundreds of fireworks let off. I did not venture out to take photos as it was 11 by this time and I still had to shower and wash my clothes etc for the next day. I also did not think it was particularly safe as there were sooo many drunk Indian men! I noticed no women watching the cricket.....

To bed at 12.30 by the time I had done everything but over tired and need more sleep....

29th March - Bhor to Sasvad

I will add more details later. Chilled day and only 54km. Legs shot! Went to huge temple and up a mountain to see the fort.

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28th March - Palanpur to Bhor

More Photos to follow

One of the best days biking I have done yet!

I woke up at 6.30 and sent emails and text messages to 2 of my closest friends: Emma and Jacob. They share the same birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACOB AND EMMA!

I knew that I had a tough day ahead of me to climb on to the Western Ghats Plateau and so I got ready reasonably quickly. I had the best breakfast in India yet. The staff at the Golden Place were really lovely to me and looked after me. They cooked me an omelet and Upma both flavored perfectly. They even sat and chatted while I had breakfast. One of the guys would love to immigrate to the UK to work. I explained about working visa etc and said they would need to do paper work but even then access was unlikely.... Not want they wanted to hear. It really was a perfect stay at the hotel though.

I set off in a really good mood. The light was great first thing in the morning and so I took loads of photos. The first 20-25km was flat to Mahad. I then turned East along the state highway signposted to Pune. As this is a state highway to a major city I was expecting it to be reasonably busy. How wrong could I be? It is a single track tarmaced road which climbs over a pass gaining a height of 800m! It was a tough climb but totally worth it.

The first 20km climbs up with views back to the valley that I had cycled though in the morning. I was stopped several times by people in the villages I passed though. They wanted to talk. I am so fortunate that so many people speak English! I am so bad at earning languages that it would be a real problem to travel otherwise...

At about 400m the road turns round a mountain and there are the most amazing views of the valley and the mountains on the other side. The mountains are layered and the sight reminded me of the Grand Cannon (although obviously not as amazing). A short distance after this view opens up there are several little huts tucked into the side of the cliff selling food and drinks to the tourists that travel along this great pass. I spent ages there chatting with the very friendly people, taking photos and playing with the very cheeky monkeys. People gave me food and drink with out any payment and everyone wanted to be in my photos. The monkeys kept on stealing food and then running away with it. Crisps were a particular favourite! Watching them open water and soft drink bottles was very funny.



I am spending about 150RS on water per day and another 100RS on other drinks - just to keep hydrated. It was really hot climbing today - about 45c.

I loved the colour of this ladies sari - really beautiful! The views were so amazing and the people there so much fun that I stayed far too long but I thought I only had another 40km to do (as that was the distance printed in my Indian Eicher Atlas - it lied). In fact it was 50km and a rough ride. The pass climbed to 850m. The landscape then changed to forests on the other side and then there was large area of reservoirs and lakes with desert around them. It was tough riding as it was still very hilly. There was practically nothing but scrub land and farms for 50km until Bhor. An amazing ride but my legs were struggling by the end.

I am enjoying listening to audio books as I bike along. Yesterday was The Prince of Zenda and today 10 Days in a Madhouse. :-)

Bhor itself was a very poor city with lots of shacks. I was very glad to find a lodge on the edge of town that was secure and reasonable inside. I would not have been happy else where in town. I arrived at Bhor at dusk and just in time to find a lodge in the daylight and I was checked in as it turned black. I was tired and did not really feel like leaving the lodge. I spent a bit of time playing with my GPS tracks on my laptop and writing emails and had an early-ish night. It had been a great day biking. I love mountains.

Not sure why I am carrying so much stuff though - it is hard work!

27th March - Udgi to Poladpur

Photos to follow

I have decided I am slightly mad.... I am running behind schedule to get to Ajanta caves and then on to catch a train North on the 3rd (as I had too much fun in Goa and other places) and so rather than thinking "I know I will catch a bus or Rickshaw to make up the distances", I have instead decided to use it as a challenge and been exhausting myself over the last 3 days. I did 143km today (again) in 45c temperatures and in the mountainous Western Gants. I ended up climbing over 1571M.

It is so easy to get dehydrated as I a sweating like mad. I drank at least 12 litres of water, 1 fresh orange juice, 2 fresh lemon juices, 1 fresh cane sugar juice and 1 bottle of mango juice to keep up the water and blood sugar levels.

I was awake at 6 and managed to drag myself out of bed at 6.15. Showered and packed up and was going to get on the road straight away but I was surprised to find that the restaurant beneath the lodge was actually open (most places don't seem to open for breakfast till about 8) and so I decided to go there. I had my normal coffee (made with the coffee power I am carrying and asking the people to fill with hot milk and water) and some very hot veg curry with bread. I find it strange that around here people do eat white bread rolls. I did not see these in places further South. In fact in Goa they had loads of freshly baked lovely bread. I just put that down to the Western demand.

I packed and was on my bike by 7.30. I was happy to leave that little town. The people were not very friendly and I had felt ripped off at the lodge. It was so bad but there was no other choice. The Rickshaw drivers had also tried to rip me off last night. I just did not get a good vib about the place. It was good to get on the road again.

One of the first things I saw this morning was this lorry on the side of the road. Obviously it had come off the road during the night. The guys were squatting there, bored to tears, waiting for some help to arrive.

The route today was on the highway again, but unlike yesterday there was quite a lot of traffic. It was not particularly fun for most of the afternoon. The terrain was hilly and the countryside not particularly interesting. I did enjoy listening to the Price of Zenda on audio book though. The area is brown with all of the wheat that they grow. It was interesting to see the side of the hills all graded with steps to grow as many crops as possible.

The lorry driver that had been stalking me yesterday managed to find me again today. Arrggg. When I stopped he came up to me and gave me a note saying his name, his phone number and telling me that he loved me. Aren't I the lucky girl!? I said I was not interested and that I have a boy friend. I texted his licence plate and his phone number to one of my Indian contacts for safety and carried on. I just ignored him and told him to go away for the rest of the day. Fortunately, it came to nothing and I managed to shake him off later on in the day.

At about 4 I reached the top of a pass and had a break at a lovely little cafe on the top. It had great views over the river run to the sea in the distance. The lorry driver turned up again and I headed off. He is carrying a very heavy concrete load and so often goes slower than I do....
The last 20km was a bit of a killer. My legs were starting to get tired and there is a 7km climb up from sea level to 600m. The views were fab from the top though and there was then a 11km gradual decline into Poladpur which meant I could free wheel without breaking the whole way into town. It was a good end to the day.

I arrived about 6.15 with enough time in town to check out a couple of lodges. I was glad that I did as the first places I looked at were expensive for the quality of the room. I then found a really really lovely lodge called the Golden Palace. The staff were really friendly and the room fantastic for 400RS. It had hot water, a shower and a western toilet and was nicely decorated. Completely different to the room I stayed in yesterday for the same price. I had a great meal in the restaurant of Mutton Fry. Stayed up too long chatting on the phone and trying to catch up with blog. After showering, eating and organising at the end of the day there is not much time left for blog stuff right now!

26th March - Telere to Ugdi

I am trying to change my body clock so that I have more time on the bike in the day light and I am not so worried about making sure that I get somewhere at night before it gets dark. If I start earlier then I can finish earlier (or maybe just to more kms). I was up at 6.30 and on the road by about 7.30. No where was open in town to get a coffee or breakfast (breakfast I can cope without - coffee on the other hand is a must if I am up at 6.30).

After riding about 10km I saw a little place which does tea on the side of the road. I stopped off to get some hot milk and water for my coffee. There were about 20 lorry drivers there all squatting around the tea stand. I find it amazing that they are so comfortable squatting like they do for ages. I have decided that I must do more of this....

As I biked along today I noticed this Strange wooden structure with flag on the top in the distance. No idea what it was (photo to follow).

Today I also saw several banana trees which had their branches chopped off and had a red flag on the top. Again I have no idea why. Religious thing??

I passed through several small towns. The school had just let the children out for lunch as I was passing through this town. It was interesting to see the contrast between Indian and English school children. I have hardly ever seen school children of different sexes mixing. Friendships in India are usually only formed between members of the same sex. This could be seen very clearly as the children walked through the town. The boys walked on one side of the road, the girls on the other. There were only a few groups that did not walk on the same side as most of the other children of the same sex. The school uniforms In India are very cute. Often the girls all have the same hair as well. It is great when they have plats.

The countryside is very brown with all of the wheat that has been recently harvested. It is still very hilly and it was a tough day. As it is so hilly and a little boring on the highway (although the traffic is not too bad) I partly regretted not sticking to the coastal route on the small lanes as I had planned (but I changed my mind based on the advice from several Indians). The problem with that rural coastal route was that the road conditions were really bad and it was very hilly so I was not making very good progress to catch my train North. It is also rather more dangerous for a girl on her own as there are not very many people or towns about and I did not want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere in the dark with no idea where the next lodge was. However, Alan (cyclist that I am meeting in North India) said that the route he took from Mumbai to Goa was some of the best cycle touring he has ever done. I had been really enjoying the roads North of Goa before I turned off to the highway but I did not feel particularly safe. Several Indian men had suggested to me that I should not take the rural coastal route on my own.... I am not sure whether taking the highway was a good decision or not or how the countryside varied between the 2 routes. Oh well, just part of traveling....

The last section of today's ride was nice as I got off the highway and took a short cut on a little country road through some villages. There were sections where the road was really bad and it was extremely steep but I prefer this any day to biking on a highway. I should reiterate though that this section of the highway was not very busy - like a quiet A road in the UK. I had been on much busier sections of highway around Mangalore area and that I really did not enjoy.

I only managed to bike 110km today even though my aim was for 140km. It was just too hilly with a strong head wind and I ended up having to stop at 5.45 as there were no lodges for 32km north and I would not make that before it was dark. It took me a while to work this out by talking to several locals. They all said the same thing. The problem was that the lodge in town was really bad and they wanted to rip me off 500RS for a 200RS room. It was flithy. The Rickshaw drivers where also saying that it would be 800RS for them to drive me to the next town - again a rip off. I don't like it when people are blatantly trying to rip me off because I have no other choice. It gave me a bad feeling about the town and I did not particularly enjoy staying there.

I did not fancy venturing out in the evening after dark and so I just had 2 chapatis for diner and stayed in my room. By the time I had organised the room and bartered them down to 400RS, washed my clothes and had something to eat I was tired and had an early night. I did not have any energy left to do my diary or blog once again.

Frustrating day.

This is a photo of the electricity supply for the hotel.

Photos

25th March - Middle of Nowhere to Malvan and then Talere

I have always wanted a convertible... How about a convertible Rickshaw?

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I will fill in the details later:

Notes

On road early.

Took ages to get to Malvan even though only 30km - due to the hills and road conditions. Great riding though.

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Malvan is lovely little town on the coast with very narrow roads and loads of fishing boats. I would have liked to stay longer.

Had an apple juice at juice bar and was going to leave town but decided on an early lunch instead as they had a local dish advertised and I fancied trying it. Ended up talking for an hour or so to a lovely old man. A keen cyclist and maths teacher. He really wanted me to stay and meet his wife and have dinner with them tonight. I would have loved too but I was aware that I am running behind plan to catch my train north on the 3rd. He strongly suggested that I changed my plan regarding my route. I took his advice because of the road conditions and lack of lodges along the very rural coast line. He very kindly bought me lunch :-)

After meeting his son, daughter in-law and grandson, I headed inland to the highway. The road conditions were better but still not great and it was hilly and slow going but there was not very much traffic so I was happy :-)

Found an ok lodge in Telere just as the sun was going down.

24th March - Paradise Beach to Middle of Nowhere

I will fill in details later.

Notes:
Up at 8 and off for a long run along the length of the beach and back - exactly 10km. Great run. Very beautiful quiet beach.

Swam in the sea but did not cross the river to the abandoned fort (told about it last night) as I would have to have swam and I was worried about damaging my camera.

Had late breakfast with the Danish people I met yesterday and they asked me if I would like to join them for a visit to the fort accessed via the road. They were raving about it as they had visited 4 years ago. I thought it sounded fun so I followed them with them on a scooter and me on my bike. The road access is 10km as the road goes inland first - or a short swim from the beach across the river.... A lovely ride through little villages on single track lanes

The fort was incredible

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23rd March - Vagator to Paradise Beach

Having been up all-night and watched the sunrise (yesterday's entry) I went for an Indian breakfast with Raj and then went back to my hut for a sleep. It had been a very fun night and I had not done an all nighter like that in ages :)

I did not manage to get much sleep as the guys from the huts management woke me up to ask for a copy of my passport around 9 and then I got talking on the phone. After sleeping again till 11 I then had to get up, showered, packed and check out from my room unless I wanted to pay for another night. I decided to enjoy a last Western Style lunch before I headed back into "real" India and leave Goa. I had a lovely prawn salad and a proper coffee. It was lovely to sit and watch the sea while eating my lunch and read my book. It was about 1.30 by the time I changed into my biking clothes and got on the road. As I was leaving Vagalor I saw Jerry again and stopped to chat with him for ages. It was fun giggling about last night. We had coffee and cake. He wanted me to stay another night I would have loved to have a nap and then go out again tonight but I do really need to head north if I am going to get to Ajanta caves and catch my train from Jalgaon on the 3rd - I have about 1000km to do.

By the time I actually left Vagalor it was about 3.30-4. The ride North was lovely. I remembered the route as I had done it a couple of years earlier on an Indian bike that I had hired. There are lovely little lanes and it is much quieter than further South in Goa. I needed to catch a ferry to cross over into Karnatica. I had to wait about 30 mins for the ferry. Once over the other side I really needed to get a move on to get to a town with a lodge - I was aiming for Malvan.



On the way I saw loads of people working on the side of the road. Construction workers are everywhere in India but these ones in my photos were particularly friendly. They live by the side of the road in make shift plastic tents. There is no child care and the women work as well and so most of the time the children are either held on the backs or fronts of the mothers or if they are over 2ish then they are running around or more often actually working too. This young lad but have been about 4 or 5 and he was moving soil around and helping out. The clothes of these people are usually very different to other Indians. The women tend to wear long skirts rather than saris. I am guessing because it is easier to work in skirts. The fashion reminds me of Gypsies in Europe: very colourful and bright with loads of tangling jewelery.

Unfortunately, the area had no mobile signal and so I could not use GPS and google maps for directions. I asked some locals on the way and they sent me in the wrong direction. The roads were really lovely and passed through little villages. I was back to "proper" India rather than Goa. However, it was hilly and as I had gone the wrong way I did not make very good time. It meant that it was about 6 by the time I arrived in Shiroda. I asked and several locals said that there was a lodge in town. I decided to finish early and not try to get to Malvan as I would be biking in the dark.

I followed the directions for the lodge in town but I must have missed it somewhere along the way as I did not see it by the time I had passed through town. I asked a lad on a motor bike and he indicated to follow him. There were loads of people around and so I did so. I started to get a little nervous when we went off down country roads but I asked other people on the way passed "lodge, lodge" and they pointed in the same direction the motor cyclist was sending me. Rather than taking me to the lodge in town (or to the resorts on the beach that I found out about later) he took me to some lovely little remote beach huts right on the edge of a beautiful sandy beach (Paradise Beach) set in coconut trees. There were many other westerners staying there and it was very cute. I arrived just as the sun was going down. The owner spoke very good English and charged me 200RS for the hut. It was very basic with a swat toilet but it had a shower and electricity. It is how I image parts of Goa would have been before it became so popular. I did not find this place on the net and apparently it is not in the Lonely Planet or other guide books. People just know about it from word of mouth. Perfect I thought.

I was really happy to have found it and just un-packing my stuff when someone knocked on my door. I thought it was the owner returning to ask for id etc but it turned out to be the Indian lad that had directed me to the beach huts. I had already given him a very generous tip for bringing me here (as I was so happy to have found such a fab spot) and so I wondered what he wanted. He indicated that he wanted a kiss and to come into my room. I told him "No!" and where to go at this point. He then decided to grope me and run off extremely quickly. I was not impressed. I had been wearing trousers around this area and had not given any indication what so ever that I was interested in him. It was probably the first time he had touched a woman in his life. The Indians are so sexually repressed as a nation. It is such a shame that the only out let is groping foreigners - the little shit! He was only about 5 foot tall and probably about 20.

In the hut next to me there was a Danish couple (Andras and Elise) and their daughter (Fryer). They were actually the only other white people on the same ferry that I took a few hours earlier. They were lovely and invited me into their hut to join them for dinner. We spent a lovely few hours nattering. I told them about the guy groping me and they said they would listen out for anything through the night - which put my mind at rest some what (I also told the owner of the huts and he said he had never seen the guy before and would certainly keep a look out for him). I had a earlyish night because had no sleep last night. Apart from the "incident" it was a lovely day. It did unsettle me and I did not sleep as well as normal. However, at least as I lay awake I could hear the waves crashing on the beach - very relaxing. :-)

22nd March - Patnam to North Goa

Up at 6.30 to make sure I got to Panaji for 1 (so that I could get a replacement screen for my laptop). I was on the road for 7.30. There was no where open to get breakfast and I felt groggy and slow for the first hour of the ride. After I managed to find a little place to get some fresh bread rolls and some Somozas and some hot milk and water to make my coffee, I felt much better and headed on.

I remembered from a couple of years ago that the road from the South to the middle of Goa went over the Western Gants and was very hilly but I had forgotten quite how lovely it is. The road goes through the jungle for about 30km. It reminded me of Tamil Nadu. I really enjoyed this part however, after about 50km the highway became very busy and the area quite industrial.

I saw this on one of the lanes of the major highway. It is obviously the best place to dry grain....

It took me about 1 hour to find Capricorn Logistics on the Verda Industrial Estate (20km South of Panaji) and I arrived there about 11. I picked up the parcel I had requested to be delivered from the UK with new cycling components. I now have 2 new sets of brake pads, 2 new Marathon Plus (the best tyres in the world!) Tyres, new gloves and I was supposed to also get a pair of cycling shorts but these where nowhere to be found (even though they were on the invoice). It was great that the delivery from the UK from Evans Cycles was free but I had to pay 3500RS in import tax!!! Arrggg - that's £50. Oh well, I could not get these things in India otherwise.

I then headed into Panaji and round the Samsung service center. The correct screen had arrived and it only took 1 hour to fit (while I went for lunch and to check my email at an internet cafe). I was really happy to have my laptop back and working again. They only charged me 3200RS - just under £50 for the new screen and the labour! I was really happy. Often in India this sort of thing can be very difficult to get and I have heard horror stories from various people about post arriving 3 month late etc.

My next job of the day was to post some important paper work back to the UK. You would have thought that this would be an easy thing.... but no... this is India. At the main post office (of the capital of the state of Goa) there were 20 desks with people sitting at them but only 1 desk open to serve people and a queue of about 50 people waiting. It took 2 hours to post a letter home!

I left Panaji and biked on the back roads along the coast and to Baga and Calangute. I did not really enjoy it around the Baga and Calangute area. There was far too much traffic and so many obnoxious westerners! They were rude on the roads. Goa is totally different to the rest of India.

As I was biking through I did stop off at a lovely Coffee Day. I had not had a good coffee since leaving Johnie's house. It was sooooo lovely to have a treat of coffee and cake. I got chatting to a English couple that have an apartment in Goa and live here for about 6 months per year.

Coffee Day Treat!

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I arrived in Vagator just as it was starting to get dark. I remembered part of it from a couple of years before but got confused between Arombol, Ajanta and Vagator. I had wanted to stay on the beach with the huts but Vagator is on the cliffs. Oh well. I watched the sun set over the cliffs with a load of other people and then headed back into town. I was standing in the middle of a cross roads between 2 very small lanes wondering which way to go to find somewhere to stay when I got chatting to an English carpenter called Jerry. He seemed to think it was funny that I had stopped in the middle of the road. He seemed like a nice guy and he invited me to.join him and his friends for dinner at the Moon Dance Restaurant and bar.

I thought it sounded fun but I needed to find a place to stay and shower etc first. I found a lovely hut over looking the sea. I was feeling decadent and paid slightly more for the sea view (a whole £1.50). It took me about a hour to get organised and walk to Moon dance and I thought that Jerry might have moved on but fortunately his friends were no shows and he was thinking of ordering some food. We had a few drinks and chatted and ordered a feast. His friend Nicole then joined us. She is a complete butter. She was drunk and high on something and talked shit the whole time but was funny with it. She is a nurse back in the UK.

She desperately wanted to get into Jerry's pants but he was having none of it! Jerry has a lovely saying of "No negativity at the dinner table" which.he used through the evening when anyone started to be bitchy.

He introduced me to Honey Bee brandy which was very drinkable. Somewhere along the way we started drinking shots of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce as joke shots.... and then ended up mixing it with the brandy.... bad idea. By the end of the evening the idea of any more sauce made me feel sick.....

Another friend arrived after Nicole had left to get high. He is another Brit in Goa for 6 months. He was off his trolley. His nickname is sausage said as "sausarge". We all went on to Shir and met a load of other people and chatted till late. It was a fun evening.

It was not until we then stopped off at another bar and picked up some more people and then went back to Jerry's that the evening really started though. We got chatting with a friend of Jerry's, an Indian guy called Raj in the bar and Jerry invited him back for a few drinks. When we got back to Jerry's I then met the 2 crazy Russian chicks that Jerry lives with - and I do mean crazy! One of them was dressed as a dominatrix and the other one a rich tramp. They were both extremely rude and obnoxious. It was actually very funny quiet how rude they were and me, Jerry and Raj just kept on laughing at them and they did not get why it was so funny.

The dominatrix girl is really into fire dancing and got out her stick thing and started doing some (its 3am at this point) and Raj joined in. It was very cool to watch.... I did not try it.

It turns out that Raj used to be employed by Loreal as one of their trainers and was a top class hairdresser. He offer to cut my hair and of course I thought that as it really needed cutting that it was a fab idea to let a drunken Indian man cut my hair at 4am. Actually it was the right call and he did an awesome job and I was really grateful to him for offering. One of the Russian girls then demanded that he did her's. She did it in such a rude way that Raj did not exactly do his best job at her cut.....

Raj gave me a lift back to my hut on the cliff top (it took a while as I could not work out how to get back there as I had gone to 3 different new places through the evening and I lost track of the way back) but by the time we got there it was about 5.30a, and we decided to walk up to the top of the cliffs and watch the sunrise. It was a really lovely thing todo. The first all nighter I have done for ages. I went with Raj for an Indian breakfast and coffee. By 8 we were feeling really tired and he dropped me back off at my room and I went to sleep....