Palolem

Palolem has to be one of the most idyllic places in the world. Deep in the south of Goa, the small fishing village has one of the most perfect beaches imaginable, a curve of white sand fringed with an unbroken row of coconut trees. Perhaps the best thing about it is the accommodation- wooden hutson the beach only ten meters away from the sea. I came here before with Iain and nothing much has changed! Its a very relaxed way of life- you can watch the fishing boats in the day, and then pick the fish you want in the evening to be barbecued.
We went on a dolphin spotting boat trip one morning- saw a few fins above the water but not much really, it was just nice to be out on the water. Apart from that we did very little! Alcohol (beer and cocktails) are available everywhere so we spent most days swimming and sunbathing and most nights drinking in one of the restaurants. Four years ago when we were here there were at least three parties a week but they seem to have died out now- it seems the Goan government is trying to phase out the hippy, backpacker tourism in favour of more upmarket resorts, citing drugs and noise pollution as the reason (spoilsports).
Anyway we had a very relaxing time, as evidenced by our massive bar tab at the end of the two weeks. (Our tab was Rs 4500 each. By contrast our bill for the room for two weeks was half that!) But nevermind, i think it was worth it. We managed to save some money by finding an off license that sold 200ml of rum for Rs 30 (less than 50p). Ellen's gin was more expensive, a costly Rs 35.

So we lounged around on the beach and in bars all week, made good friends and played a lot of cards with the staff of our collection of huts. After seeing our faces when we looked at the tab, the barman gave us our last meal for free- a whole kingfish tandoori style- and all our drinks. He's heading up to Himachel Pradesh to work the tourist season up there so hopefully we can meet up with him and get some cheap accommodation.