The alarm at 4.15am felt like splinters in the mind, but we knew we had to respond, so up we got and trudged along the path in the dark, bags in tow, to the breakfast area. We seemed to be up before most of the staff, but a stern word from the manager got them going and before we knew it tea, toast, honey and bananas were laid out in front of us. We loaded the luggage into the car and got going to Hospet station for our journey to Goa. Our driver seemed to hit every bump on the way and incessantly asked questions about England, so sleep was out of the question! We arrived at the station at 5.30am, in plenty of time for the 6.30am train. Well, 6.30am as scheduled. It actually turned up an hour late and as a different train number. The Indian train debacle goes on! However, after the two hours of sitting on a platform covered in sleeping bodies, clouds of mosquitoes, mangy dogs, a lot of spitting and vomiting people, and moaning beggars we were just glad to get on…horrible!
We weren’t scheduled to sit together, but with some sharp wheeling and dealing from Gaz with the conductor we managed to get two seats of a four birth. The two Indian guys sleeping on the top deck left after a couple of hours, so for the majority of the journey we had the place to ourselves. Other than occasional glimpses of rushing waterfalls from jungle-clad hilltops, the journey was, however, incredibly long and boring. The eight and a half hours rolled by at a snail’s pace, not helped by the driving rain, numerous station stops that took seemingly endless minutes, and the fat Indian guy sitting in our carriage who insisted upon playing music through his mobile phone speakers. With no food other than a couple of bananas and some emergency cakes, we were also starving, but sometime during mid afternoon we, at long last, pulled into Madgoan station and exited the train.
We caught a taxi over to our accommodation (once the guy had spent fifteen minutes circling it without success); which was a delightful, if slightly mouldy from the monsoon, old heritage building filled with books and comfy chairs. We were staying in the ‘Ooty’ room, a whitewashed bedroom-cum-bathroom effort that at first glance seemed a bit underwhelming, but soon grew on us. We were starving, so tucked straight into some vegetarian noodles from the kitchen. Delicious! Sated and with bags unpacked, we felt ready to do a little exploring. 
We took our macs and umbrellas as the monsoon rain has finally caught up with us, and took a walk to the nearby beach. A wrong turning saw us walk a little further than anticipated and we ended up on a beach to the north. Still, it resulted in a nice walk along the infamous Goan sandy expanses. We were surprised how much litter there was around, and the reports we had read on these areas were proved correct. Still, the swaying palm trees and the roaring sea made for a refreshing change to the city and the train. We got back and got our glad rags on for a bit of luxury on the food and drink front. The Raj Garden was the location for our Epicuran night out, and in an area seemingly devoid of life due to the off season, it was, incredibly, totally buzzing. The atmosphere was definitely helped by Queen playing on the stereo. We got straight down to some cocktails and whiskey, polished off a couple of tasty veggie meals, then downed some local brandy and coconut ‘fenni’. Needless to say, the walk home was more like a stagger…
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