I didn’t wake up until 9am today which is late for me, despite this I’m feeling pretty tired. We stayed out last night until about 11.30 and made some calls to home. Mum was telling me about our little niece Hope, who is apparently growing fast. Maybe my only regret about the timing of this trip is that we won’t be around for her first year and I have asked my brother to email us some photos of her.
I then spoke to Dad and Pauline they are following our journey closely and enviously by the sounds of things! It was great to talk to them and again I am reminded of the powers of the lovely internet. As Pauline says, we sound as if we are around the corner and could almost just drop in for a mince pie and a drop of sherry – That does sound quite tempting!

The Skype connection was excellent and our total bill at the end of the night for over two hours of calls to the UK, two hours of internet for the kids, one beer, 2 cokes and 2 litres of water is about 4 pounds 30, what a bonus.

Simon manages to get the hotel owner to agree to a late check-out on one of the rooms at no extra cost. This is good as it means, if and when the power comes back on in the daytime we can charge our various gadgets that will help the bus journey to go quicker.

I was a real baby earlier and started crying at the thought of the bus. I read the information in The Lonely Planet and have discovered that bedding is not provided and long journeys can be very uncomfortable, couple this with the thought of no food for hours and no toilets and to say I am shitting myself would be something of an understatement. There is however, no alternative other than to fly straight to Goa and then we would miss Mumbai altogether. I am trying to stay calm and compare it to all those vile night shifts that I used to hate so much. At the end of the day I guess I did get through them and they, like this bus journey were a means to an end.

Simon is spending some time teaching the kids maths this morning. I have never understood even the most basic mathematical concepts and I get very frustrated about this as I am unable to help them at all. I’ve decided when we get to Goa that I am going to spend some time looking at the kids work and try and learn some simple maths myself.

It’s now 5.30 and we have been on the bus for 2 hours, when we arrived at the bus station I had to go and pee through nerves and made Maisie come with me. The toilets were quite horrible, we have adjusted to the Indian toilets well and I actually quite like them as at least no part of your body touches anything.
But these were something else entirely; no hole just a gently sloping tile back to a gully of unmentionables and no water to rinse the thing down with. I never realised I had such a talent for holding my breath.

The bus on the other hand is ok so far, it is a private sleeper bus and the sleeping compartments I suppose are something like the overhead storage lockers on planes but a lot bigger. Although there aren’t any sheets its hot at the moment so that’s not a problem, Maisie and I are in one compartment and Simon and Ali in another and although we have several bags and a guitar in with us we aren’t particularly cramped and there is room to sit up and lie completely flat.
It is very noisy though, our main travelling companions seem to be women with children although they are mostly in single berth compartments with at least 2 children each in with them. The lady opposite gave Maisie some sweets and I watched her little son while she nipped out to get some chai.

5 am and I have had 2 hours sleep max. Maisie and Ali have slept on and off all night and this amazes me as Indian pop music has been blasting through the crackly speakers since we started our journey.
As we left Udaipur we stopped for half an hour whilst the roof of the bus was loaded up with tin buckets and its now unloading time. Then noise of men scrabbling around on the roof and the clanking of the buckets is slightly nerve jangling especially as I have spent the last hour or so alternately smacking my head against the window as we bounce over yet another bump and trying to stop my teeth from being rattled out of my mouth by clenching them together. It has been a very long night.

We have arrived in Mumbai and found it easy enough when we got off at Central Station. We jumped straight into a taxi and asked the fella to take us the Colaba area where we are staying. This area is very popular with travellers as its central and we did have some trouble finding somewhere to stay but have made a reservation with The Volga 2 Hotel.

When we arrive there it is 7.30 in the morning and eventually the miserable night porter lets us in. He tells us our room is not available until 12 so we leave our rucksacks and head off to find some breakfast. Downstairs is a very popular restaurant called Leopolds and I’m pleased to see bottles of Corona lined up on the bar- hurray!!

I consider having one but decide it can wait until later and have scrambled eggs and coffee instead.
We then walk to The Gateway of India which is 2 minutes away. This huge archway is Mumbai’s icon and a symbol of colonialism. But only 24 years after it was built in 1924 the last British soldiers symbolically marched through it as India gained independence and the British left.
Its good to see the sea and after nearly a month of eating vegetarian food supplemented only by a bit of chicken and occasional goat I am looking forward to eating some fish here.

We decide as we have a few hours to kill to blag it and walk into the lovely Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel this gorgeous old hotel is in itself an institution and we do look out of place but we just act like we are staying there and make our way to their dining room where we order some coffee.
I want to use the toilets to freshen up but when Maisie and I go in there the toilet attendant is too posh for words and I just don’t have the bottle to get my toothbrush and wet wipes out so I leave it.

We make our way back to The Volga 2 and are informed that there is only one room available. It is no bigger than 13ft by 8ft and like a cell without a bathroom. We tell the fella that we reserved 2 rooms and want a private bathroom but we are wasting our breath and he just shrugs his shoulders. As we are so tired agree to take it anyway , I’m not sure how we are all supposed to fit on 2 single beds, especially as it is over 30 degrees here but I’m sure we will manage. The cheeky sod then tries to charge us an extra 150 rupees for the “privilege” of all being in the room together but Simon’s having none of it and tells him where to get off !

Its now 4.30 in the afternoon and we have just come back to our prison cell after having lunch at Tendulkars. I’ve never heard of Sachin Tendulkar but Simon tells me he is a famous Indian cricketer and it’s a bit like The Hard Rock Cafe with balls on the wall instead of guitars. We had some great food there, I had seafood risotto and creme brulee and I’m now lying on my bunk next to my cellie Maisie planning to diet tomorrow.

Mumbai is India’s most cosmopolitan city and I can’t wait to get out of here and explore it. From what I have seen so far it reminds me a bit of London, there are lots of signs of British colonial rule here and the architecture looks very familiar. Many of the landmarks such as Victoria Station now have Indian names which were changed when the city of Bombay was renamed in 1996.

We have a busy few days planned and are planning to visit the Colaba market, Mani Bhavan (Mahatma Gandhi’s old home) and Chowpatty Beach tomorrow. Simon and Ali have gone out to buy some sunglasses and for now I intend to lie here peacefully and soak up all the atmosphere that The Volga 2 has to offer.

Happily this morning is the last time I will wake up in this dump. Simon went and got us some coffees and I had a look at Ali who is covered in a rash that I think may be bed bug bites.
Simon realises that he can’t find his sunglasses and I feel sorry for him as he’s so pissed off about it. They were expensive and we bought them especially for the trip but still we can’t do anything about it and put it down to bad luck (eventually)

We have our breakfast, I’m getting braver now and have a fruit salad, although eating fruit in India isn’t recommended unless you peel it yourself, I can not face another egg and decide to take my chances.
Today we are going to walk to The Gateway to India and catch a boat to Elephanta Island. These group of caves are Mumbai’s top tourist attraction and very little is known about the origin of them except they were probably carved around 750 AD. Inside the caves are large panel sculptures all relating to the Hindu god Shiva.

We get the deluxe boat which costs us 120 rupees each and the boat journey takes an hour, as usual we are among a handful of western tourists and attract a bit of attention. This has been much less though in Mumbai than in other areas of India where the kids said they felt like part of a freak show at times!

As it is so hot we jump on the miniature train when we get off at the pier, which takes us up to the steps at the caves entrance. We are by this point completely melting in the sun and decide to stop for lunch before we tackle the steps and the stall holders who are all clamouring for our attention.

Simon and the kids have a snack and I make do with a lime soda and we’re ready for the climb. There is the option of travelling in a palanquin but I would just feel too guilty for the poor fellas who have to lift you in this heat so we give that a miss.

20 minutes later and we reach the cave entrance. It’s quite expensive to go in, the sign says the equivalent of 5 US dollars for foreigners and it turns out to be a bit of a disappointment. The museum is very small and although the sculptures are good, only 3 of the panels are worth photographing and we don’t visit the other caves as the information provided says they are of very little importance.

The highlight of the afternoon was in fact watching a monkey and a goat fighting over the contents of a bin.

We call off at a magic shop on the way back and the kids buy some cards and the information to do some tricks. This keeps them entertained for the majority of the boat trip back and we have a laugh when Maisie and I stand up on the bow of the boat with our eyes shut and our arms outstretched and pretend to be Rose from Titanic. Ali gets embarrassed and tells us we are sad.
Simon takes Ali off for a haircut when we get back to the hotel. I am a bit nervous that he will come back with a big wedge cut in the back of his hair so he takes a photo of Daniel Craig with him. This has to be one of the cheapest haircuts ever at 30 rupees, roughly 37 pence and Ali makes a passable Bond when he’s done.

We are going out for dinner now and catch the train from Victoria Station to Goa at 11pm tonight. We’re all excited about this as we feel we are going on holiday. It will be great to stay in an apartment and have a bit more space and I am looking forward to having a massage and doing very little for the next few weeks.

Its 9pm just got back from dinner, we went to The Darba Delhi restaurant and had some great food. The evening was quite strained though as we found ourselves sat next to 6 of the most cakey people I have ever met. When they arrived they spent the first 20 minutes or so singing to each other and we spent most of the evening glaring at the kids who were doing their best not to laugh!

Mumbai is India’s most cosmopolitan city and in some ways I’m sorry to be leaving. Originally we had planned to stay for longer and I don’t feel we have scratched the surface of what there is to offer here. The contrasts of India are more apparent here than anywhere else we have seen, with designer shops selling westernised clothes next to a sign advertising Slum Tours 40 rupees.
Tomorrow we will be in Goa – India’s smallest state. Its 10 days until Christmas – not feeling the cold yet.

We had a horrible experience last night that I never want to repeat.

We arrived at the train station around 10pm and found our platform, someone told us the train was an hour late but we took that bit of information with a pinch of salt and the time flew by as we got talking to a family from Leicester. At 10.50 the train arrived and we battled our way through and found our carriage. As our tickets were 3rd class sleeper this means we have to share our compartment with two people and when 2 scruffy old hippies get on I’m a bit nervous. They seem friendly enough though and we help them decide which station to get off at in Goa.

Ali is tired so he gets in the top bunk and settles down and I start to get Maisie sorted out. The conductor then appears and asked to see our tickets and imagine our horror to realise we have in fact got tickets for the 16th which is tonight. We offer to pay extra for any available tickets but he insists the train is completely full and boots us off at the next station. The feeling of being stood in a train station in Mumbai past midnight with no accommodation and no train ticket and two brave looking children was awful and I had to bite my lip not to cry.

Lots of people seemed to want to help us but no one from the train station was interested and trying to think clearly and make a decision about where to go was really hard. The conductor told us there was another train to Goa in an hour but the taxi drivers seemed to be saying that the chances of us getting a ticket were nil.

Eventually we got in a taxi, as most hotels close their doors at 11pm we had to ask the driver to take us to a hotel he recommended and we were both painfully aware that this would put us at risk of paying well over the odds and we could end up somewhere really dodgy. The drive to Victoria seemed to take ages and neither of us could recognise any landmarks to get our bearings. I had to fight to stay calm and not panic.

Eventually we pulled into a side street and outside a hotel, Simon ran in while I stayed in the car and came out giving it the thumbs up. I ignored the monster rat sat watching us on the steps and we finally made it into our room at gone 1am, exhausted and furious with ourselves for not checking the tickets properly.
This has been a lesson to us both; we have tried to be so careful and mindful of the fact that we have precious Ali and Maisie with us and I guess until something like this happens its difficult to foresee every possible eventuality.

We are now a bit lighter in our wallet, but this hotel is fine and a vast improvement on the last place. In the cold light of day it’s easier to stay more objective and actually everyone last night was really kind. From the old hippie on the train who gave us a hotel number and carried my rucksack off the train, to the taxi driver who, seeing me clutching the kids hands tightly kept saying” Don’t worry, I’m a family man, Bombay is very safe at night and everything will be ok”

I was just asking Simon what to call this document and his suggestion was “Simons fuck up” I know he feels bad about it but I don’t blame him, I didn’t check the ticket either and all we can do is learn from it to ensure nothing like this happens again.

Its 5pm now and we have had a very quiet day, I rang home this morning and had a chat to mum who was surprised to hear we were still in Mumbai. The area we have found ourselves in is not touristy at all and when we went to a cafe across the road the menu wasn’t that appetising with a choice of brain plain fry, brain butter fry or brain masala fry.
We settled on some fried rice and pepsi.

We spoke to a friendly Muslim family from New Zealand who were on their way to Mecca for their sons pilgrimage and they told us we are in fact not far from Victoria Station and weren’t skinned too much last night by our taxi driver. In some ways I guess we were lucky but this does remind me that although I often worry about stuff and am quite wary of people on the whole most people are good hearted and kind and will help you out in a crisis.

We are going to check our emails now and then plan to go out for dinner, if everything goes to plan we should catch the train to Goa tonight at 11pm. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Second time lucky I suppose.

Its 9.30pm on Sunday evening. We caught the train to Goa as planned last night and fortunately it all went smoothly with no hitches. We travelled through the state of Maharashtra and when I woke up at 8.30 this morning the landscape passing by is very different to anything else we have seen with lots of trees, flat green fields and rivers.

We pulled into Karnali Sation at 10.30 and immediately the place seemed familiar although we didn’t travel to this part of Goa when we came on holiday a few years ago.
There are signs everywhere for The Rotary and Lions International Clubs and the Goan people are very friendly. Although most educated Indians speak English many of the Goans speak almost perfect English and I can remember being surprised about this before.

We got in a taxi and 20 minutes later arrived at Casa Kailash in Dona Paula. We had arranged to meet Aruna who owns the apartment and she seems very nice and showed us around. It is complete bliss to have a bit of space after our stay in Mumbai. The apartment is quite big with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a kitchen and living room. Each room also has a balcony off it and it seems very spacious and luxurious to us.

We then walk up the road to Aruna’s apartment, this is only 2 minutes away and she tells us we are very welcome to use the pool and gym facilities which will be great. The beach is 5 minutes away and apparently one of the best beaches in Goa for swimming, this is good as the sea is extremely dangerous here due to a strong undercurrent and swimming isn’t advised on some of the beaches.

We spend a few hours lazing around by the pool and all have a swim. Ali and Maisie have a great time splashing around and Maisie who has been a bit off colour with a sore throat for the last few days looks better already. The sun is really fierce and although I plaster the kids in factor 20 I am worried about them burning, I saw on the Mumbai news before we left that it is 33 degrees here.

I walked back to the apartment around 3pm and lay on the bed and went out like a light for a few hours. I am feeling quite knackered after all the moving around and just want to rest for a few days and do nothing. We have planned to get back into a bit more of a routine with our bedtimes and diet from tomorrow. I spent a couple of hours learning about the digestive system with the kids yesterday and we want them to do some more regular schooling.

We went out for dinner around 7.30 and had some butter fried prawns and pomfret fish, the food in Goa is simple and tasty and we all remember having some fantastic meals here previously. We sit and watch a small firework display and decide to walk back to the apartment, its uphill all the way but I want to walk our dinner off a bit before crashing out and it’s not too far.

I’m lying on the bed now, listening to the fan whirring away, we’ve got The Killers on in the background and have just realised our bed which is a big old wooden art deco style thing has a light up headboard. Wicked! What more could you want than that.

Today we have had a quiet and relaxing day. Simon went out early to get some water, fruit and breakfast cereal and we eventually wandered up to Aruna’s apartment around 11am. I lay in the sun for a few hours and listened to my MP3 player while the kids had a good swim. I did make it into the gym, but decided that 81 calories burned on the treadmill was more than enough energy expenditure for one day and gave up on that quite quickly.

Goa is India’s smallest state and has a completely different feel to it from the rest of India. The Portuguese colonised Goa in 1510 and didn’t leave until 1961 and this is reflected in the character of Goa. Catholicism is a major religion here and huge catholic churches sit besides tiny Hindu shrines. There are also lots of derelict Portuguese villas and some beautiful architecture.

The beaches here are supposed to be the best in India and there is a large expat community. The food is wonderful and there are lots of interesting markets and shops to see. When we visited Goa in 2002 we completely fell in love with it and I remember climbing up the aeroplane steps after a 2 week holiday here and swearing to myself that I would come back as soon as I could.

At 2.30 Aruna took us to Cidade de Goa which is 5 mins walk away. This hotel was Goa’s first 5 star hotel and we have decided that we will spend Christmas day there. The cost of the gala dinner is 5000 rupees per couple (57 pounds) but Xmas on the Beach sounds good and we sit and have a drink at the bar and check out the facilities. The hotel is fantastic and in a gorgeous location right on the beach. Simon is quite brazen and strolls into the healthclub and asks for some towels and although I am a bit worried as he signs for them and scribbles down some random room number nothing bad happens and we have a lovely afternoon chatting to Aruna.

She is quite an amazing and inspirational person and has travelled all over the world to 26 different countries mostly alone. She has me completely hooked listening to stories about South America, China and South Africa especially and I think to myself maybe sometime in the future we will travel to those places also.

We get back to our apartment around 6pm and have a quick shower. Tonight we are going to Candolim to a restaurant called After Eight that we visited a couple of times when we were here before. We met a weird but lovely Asian couple from South London when we were here on holiday and spent a lot with them and it will be strange going back to a familiar place.

10pm and we are back in Dona Paula, the restaurant we visited is now called After Seven and is of course bigger and smarter than we remembered. The areas of Calangute and Candolim are also much more developed, when we came the roads were little more than tracks in places but now are all tarmaced and there are loads more bars and restaurants.
We were pleased though that the food was just as good and had a fantastic meal.
Simon, Ali and I all had fillet steaks and the combination of good service and great food washed down with a couple of Corona’s definitely made a top night out that would be hard to beat.

We seem to have lots to do today and get up at 8.30. Ali goes up the road and gets the days supply of bread and milk. Yesterday we made sandwiches for lunch and all really enjoyed some homemade food so we will do that again today.

We have decided that we are going to leave Goa before New Year. Aruna has been doing her best to persuade us to stay and it is very tempting but if we don’t leave here until January we would be very pushed for time to make our way to Kerala and then across to Chennai ( Madras) where we catch our flight to Singapore on the 11th.

Subsequently we have to go to Panjim today and try to book our train tickets, because it is the holiday season we want to get them in advance and will also start looking for accommodation in Kerala. We figure that New Year will be celebrated everywhere and neither of us are too bothered about it anyway. Having a good Christmas day is much more important. We are going to try and get a Christmas tree and also want to buy the kids some presents and get some decorations for the apartment.

I could hear Bing Crosby’s White Christmas yesterday as I sat by the pool. This was fairly surreal, as the temperature monitor next to me said 34.4; I reckon the odds on a white Christmas here are about a billion to one. I haven’t spent Christmas day away from home before so it will be strange, but we did have Christmas day at mums the weekend before we came away. My brother Will, Tarl and Hope were there and as we had presents, Christmas dinner and went down the pub as usual I don’t feel like we are missing out.

Simon gets the kids going on some maths this morning, Maisie is doing long divisions which are a complete mystery to me and Ali is doing shapes and areas .They are both really bright and are thriving on one to one tuition. Ali is in the top sets at school but despite this they are lacking knowledge in some basic areas for example Ali didn’t know all the months of the year and Maisie struggles with telling the time.
We have been surprised that they have put up no resistance to schooling and in fact have asked to do extra which is nothing short of miraculous.

I also want to write some Christmas emails today. Christmas is always a massive stress for me as I can never think what to buy anyone. I don’t mind wrapping presents or writing cards but as I don’t like shopping much anyway I have got myself into a complete mess previously by putting it off and leaving all the shopping until Christmas Eve. I reckon I have got off scott free this year and I’m so pleased about this and feel very lucky.

Just got back from Panjim, we can’t get the train to Kerala as the tickets are already sold so are going to catch the sleeper bus to Mangalore on the 29th.
We bought some Christmas deckies and managed to get a tree, baubles and lights for under a tenner, a bit of a change from last year when I spent nearly 50 quid on a tree alone.
We went and checked our emails, Shirley’s made me laugh, she was complaining that I hadn’t written anything for a few days but internet access isn’t always easily available to upload it. She tells me that I should think of all the poor bastards left behind who are hanging onto my words- somehow I doubt that!! But we will try and update it as regularly as possible. If I was at home or stuck at work I probably would be glued to a site like ours. So I do see her point!!

We got back to the apartment and made mulled wine, we bought red wine, brandy, oranges, cinnamon sticks and apple juice. Traditionally I always decorate the tree and we get pissed on mulled wine whilst listening to my cheesy Christmas album that I have had since about 1997 and this year is no exception. Actually the only difference is that I have my bikini on, I’ve just had a mango ice lolly and am about to light the mosquito coils.

My favourite Fairy Tale of New York has just been on; I’ll probably be blubbing by the end of the evening!! Feeling surprisingly Christmassy now, every one has their deckies up around here. I’m getting really excited, don’t know why, we won’t be having any pressies but I’m a sucker for Christmas and I can’t wait!

Just got in, we have been for a Chinese and I telephoned home. Simon and Ali have gone to find internet access and Maisie and I have come back to the apartment. I am feeling tired and the mulled wine has kicked in so I’m off to bed. We have planned to spend the day at the beach tomorrow so I need a bit of sleep as we will be getting up early. Oh the hardship of lying around all day on a sun lounger – how jammy are we!

Woke up at 7.30, hardly surprising, the combination of red wine and Chinese food isn’t good and I never sleep properly after eating Chinese. We put the Christmas CD on and try and rouse the kids who aren’t too impressed with The Little Drummer Boy so early. Still they wanted to be woken up early as we are planning to go up to Cidade de Goa and spend the day there using the pool and lazing on the beach.

By the time we actually get sorted out and ready to go its 9 o’clock but it is slightly overcast at the moment so I don’t think there will be a huge scramble for sunbeds.
We walk up to the hotel and as we know where we are going we probably look like we are in fact staying there. Simon gets us some towels and we’re sorted.

We have bagged some loungers in a prime spot on a wooden veranda, facing out to sea.
Lying there listening to the waves, I am sheltered from the sun by a coconut tree and I notice on the temperature monitor it’s a bit cooler today- 32 degrees.
I have only stayed in a hotel like this a few times and its lovely here, especially as it is fairly quiet around the pool. Simon and Ali walk down to the beach and play cricket with an Indian family, Maisie jumps in the water and I daydream about people at home.

I have always felt I wouldn’t enjoy staying somewhere like this for more than a week at the most. We have enjoyed more independent travelling over the past few years and feel that in order to experience the culture of somewhere like India it is better to stay in smaller places. Looking around today, I think that if someone told me I was in Malaysia, The Maldives or The Seychelles I wouldn’t be able to see much around me to enable me to dispute that. There is also of course the cost factor and I’m too tight to pay well over 2 grand each for a 2 week holiday!

All that said I wouldn’t swap being here for anywhere else today. It’s perfect and we have a lovely lazy day, so much so that I don’t even make it to the beach and only venture in the pool a few times to cool down. I do however manage to drag my bum to the boutique and have a look at the jewellery and eventually buy a book (Memoirs of a Geisha) to read when I get fed up of doing nothing.

We spend an hour doing literacy with the kids. They read stories and then answer questions and Maisie does quite well and is able to tell me a lot about The Blue Whale. Alister is tired though and can’t be bothered to put in too much effort. We talk about this and decide it is expecting too much of them to start school work so late in the afternoon and will do some science tomorrow morning before we go anywhere.

Back at the apartment now, its 6.30 and we are going to a restaurant called Sea Pebble for dinner. Aruna recommended it so we thought we would give it a try. We walk there which is about a mile and we’re not disappointed when we arrive. Its on the beach and the waves come right up to the tables, its very dark lit only by the stars, candles and fairy lights wrapped around the trunks of the palm trees.
We ask the waiter for a mixed fish platter and get huge tiger prawns, kingfish, red snapper, dressed crab and mussels. The kids have mocktails, we share a couple of beers and round it off with caramel custard and ice cream – Yum!

Power walk back to the apartment, it would be easy to put on loads of weight and sometimes eating healthily has been difficult as lots of food is deep fried here. We have also eaten lots of fattening curries and Maisie and I march everywhere chanting “hips thighs and bum” like a mantra to each other.

We are going to Calangute and Candolim tomorrow as the beaches are postcard gorgeous there. I’m sat on the balcony listening to Ali playing Oasis on his guitar now and looking at the lights on our Christmas tree, the best ending to a perfect day.

Ali woke me up at 5am asking me to look at a rash and I’m upset to see he is covered in bites. I spend ages looking for Piriton and by the time it’s found I’m wide awake and don’t manage to get back to sleep. I sit reading my book which is a fascinating story and get really absorbed in it and soon its 8.30 and I hear the alarm. We go and wake the kids and Maisie also has a similar rash. I’m sure it’s not an allergy and am convinced its bed bugs. The kids tell me it is really itchy and it looks very similar to the rash Ali had in Mumbai. That did clear up quickly so I hope this will too.

Simon goes to get the milk and again asks about our laundry. It was supposed to take a few hours but they have had it for 3 days and still no sign of it. I’m hoping they haven’t lost it and now especially want our sleep sheets.

We spend the morning doing some science the kids are really coming on now and I’m proud that they are coping with the high level of work I have set them. We finish the digestive system and start on the kidneys and they do really well.
I’m not giving them any break over Christmas as I don’t want to get behind our schedule and there seems to be so much to cover, I may let them off Christmas day!

Our laundry eventually turns up and we start to make plans for the day but the rashes they have now look awful and I am reluctant to let them go in the sun too much. They both shower and I apply some cream to their bites but we decide not to go to the beach after all.

Eventually we catch a bus to Panjim and from there get the bus to Candolim. The journey takes ages and the bus is packed. We all sit separately and it’s so hot, I feel really drowsy and nearly drift off to sleep whilst daydreaming. We arrive in Calangute and jump off and decide to head for a Chinese restaurant where we had some great food before. The service is excellent but the food isn’t very good and we are a bit disappointed.

We decide to walk to the beach and wander along the shoreline in bare feet for over a mile. The kids find Hermit crabs and as it’s a lovely walk we soon find ourselves in Candolim. I know we have arrived there as we reach The River Princess. This oil tanker broke free of its mooring out at sea around 10 years ago during the monsoon season and drifted inland until it eventually ran aground just off the beach. Apparently some efforts to refloat it were made but eventually everyone gave up and now it’s a part of the seascape.

We share a beer at one of the beach shacks and the kids play bat and ball with some little toddlers. It all makes for a laid back afternoon and we sit and watch the world go by. As the sun starts to set the stray dogs seem to take over and a large pack run around and play fight. I watch some paragliders gently drift down and I can hear a jet ski in the distance.

I love the beach at this time of day when it’s not scorching hot and it looks busier with people running and playing games. Some people of course just come to pose and we have a laugh at some fella marching along in his thong with that type of dark tan you can only get if you live here and spend all day lying in the sun.

For me though, wandering along the shoreline, carrying my sandals and admiring the sparkles that are caused by the low sun reflecting of the water is enough and I feel very happy and relaxed.

We decide to have dinner in a restaurant called The Bom Sucesso, we have been here before on Dad and Pauline’s recommendation and although it’s not the best food we have had in Goa it’s a really friendly place and the owner is nice. There is live music which is terrible and it makes us laugh listening to some well known songs being massacred.

Lastly we check our emails I have had an e card from one of my friends with a snowman on it and it reminds me that most people will break up from work tomorrow. I remember how pleased I was the last few years to have a week off, after working a crappy night shift on Christmas Eve for the past few just so I could be home on Christmas day exhausted having been up all night but at least there.

It makes me appreciate how lucky we are to be travelling this year and I’m definitely going to make the most of it.

Hi there all back at home

Please click the link to see our Christmas Greeting from Goa

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year
From
Simon, Charlotte, Ali and Maisie.