Please leave the room.

Arrived in Margao at the unearthly hour of 7.30am. Our train was supposed to pull in at 5.40am, so we were up at 5.30am and spent the next two hours in a grumpy stupor. Not even the thought of Goa was enough to pull us out of it!

No trains to Palolem until 14.20pm, so we caught a rickshaw there for the "government-approved" price of 600Rs. Quite a lot of money, but our only choice.

Goa. How can I possibly convey how wonderful it is here...? It's not just the location, it's moreso we've spent 2 months on trains/buses/coaches/rickshaws/in cramped hotel rooms - we've been moving around on average every 2-3 days; unpacking, repacking, unpacking, repacking... To arrive here with the sun shining, a blue sky, an even bluer sea - to walk down the beach and see the place where you're staying and know that you're going to be here for over a week. That you can relax, your adventure is nearly over. It's the best feeling. We're starting to feel that it's time to come home and face the real world - and Goa is our treat before doing so!

We are staying at a place called Cozy Nook, about 25 wooden huts based at the start of a lagoon. They're fantastic - our hut is worth 1,500 Rs a day, but because it's low season, we're only paying 400 Rs per day. It's made up of four rooms, a bathroom decorated with coloured rocks that is massive, a bedroom (complete with mosquito net, a fan and storage for our clothes), a sort of reception type room with a table and chairs and a candle, and a little conservatory. The best part is the hut is literally right on the beach, you walk out and feel the sand in your toes, the salt on your lips. To the right of our hut is a huge mound of jet-black rocks marking the start of the forest. At sunset when the tide is out you can climb over the rocks to watch the sun go down and the sky change all manner of colours.

Life here is really slow - there isn't really all that much to tell to be honest! We've mostly been sunbaking, swimming in the sea and trying out all the restaurants in the area. There's one place called the Magic Italian, which claims to be the only genuine Italian place in the area. They ship all their olive oil and Parmesan cheese over from Italy! Stone baked pizzas and a beer, mmm... nothing better! Or so we thought...

Until last night.

We went to this little restaurant right on the waterfront where they cooked us garlic and lemon tiger prawns with chips (that tasted like they were from a British chippie) and salad. New Cafe, move over - never mind best prawns, it was probably the best meal I've ever eaten in my life! We had a few too many beers - and started the long trek back to our hut (right on the other end of the beach!)...

Palolem has a lot of dogs, and according to John (a guy we met in Mamallapuram, but that's another story) they can be quite annoying. I love dogs, so didn't think it would really be an issue. However, that same night when we got back to the hut one of the local dogs decided he wanted to come in our hut. We tried everything to get him out, push him, point at the door, tell him off and left the hut to try and make him follow. Everything failed. Then Lydia had the bright idea of getting a large pad of paper and writing "OUT" on it, and showing the dog. It didn't work. I suggested that perhaps he couldn't read English,... try Hindu. So Lydia found the word for "exit" in her Lonely Planet, copied it down and showed the dog. It didn't work. I don't think he spoke Hindu. Thankfully our friend, Dilip came by and got rid of it. Maybe not that funny to you, but to two tipsy girls,... I was killing myself laughing!

Yes. We're mad.

What else? Oh yes, Dilip. He's 26 years old and works at Cozy Nook. Not sure what exactly his job is, but he makes the best milk tea with cinnamon and ginger! He's also a fisherman, and has been telling us all about catching sharks, apparently the best time to fish is June-July and if we come back next year he's going to catch 1,000 prawns and a shark for us! He's a real sweetheart - reminds us very much of a deaf person - very gestural and extremely nosey! Yesterday we sat outside with him watching the sea, chatting and drinking some of his exceptional tea. We're easily sold, just make us some good tea and we're your friend for life!

Lydia lost her sunglasses in the sea yesterday! Watch out for them on a beach nearby you soon...

Oh, we've booked our transport to Mumbai - we're catching the night train on the 2nd September, arriving Mumbai at 6am the next day. We then have a day to explore, then fly to Delhi. Overnight stay in Delhi then fly home on the 4th September. It's going to be so weird going home...

I wonder what my 10 weeks in India will have taught me, and how it will change my life...