As soon as Simon and I stepped off the plane to 31 degree heat at 7.00pm in the evening, we knew we’d landed in the right place. Palolem Beach in South Goa was a last minute decision, a opposite-like antidote to the complete uneasiness we’d felt about being in Rishikesh over the festive period, but one that I’m SO glad we made.

I don’t know whether its the fact that I can order practically any type of sea food fresh at any time of day or even get my hands on steak if I want to, or that I can get beer or wine at thirty rupees a pop (thirty four pence at time of writing), or that  the beach is literally a two minute walk out of our door and one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever set foot on,  or its the fact I can wear whatever I want and not have to worry about culturally offending or drawing attention to myself, or that the entire south indian culture seems so laid back after the hectic atmosphere of Delhi and Rajasthan, but I’m pretty sure both Simon and I won’t feel like leaving any time soon. Despite South Goa being a sleepy sister in comparison to its party-centric North, bars line the long beach with accompanying beach huts, there’s silent discos on the beach here every night to make up for the music curfew after 11pm and during the day you can go kayaking or grab a boat over to the secluded beach on the island across, trying to catch some dolphins if you can, so I don’t feel like Palolem is lacking in activity. It’s a great break from travelling and if like me you’re feeling a bit exhausted from sickness (my stomach having been pretty off since Jaipur, no idea why) lying on the sand and catching some rays is a great bit of medicine. The colourful beach shack accomodation is awesome too, with the norm seeming to be that you just rock up and try and find some rooms literally on the beach. That means guys, that even in High Season, there’s no excuse not to visit (you can haggle for rates) and there’s always plenty of people asking if you want a room. You definitely want a room right? 😉

Beach cows.

STEAK!

Plenty of beach huts all along the coast.

Coconuts galore.

Dinner at Ciarans.

Dusk on the beach.

Still not sure on the old NYE plans yet, but practically every restaurant is advertising something or other, with bonfires on the beach and fireworks planned. Exciting stuff…

Over and out Amigos,

Liv x