hey, really like it here, hot but breezy, and the sea makes u feel less clastaphobic as in the cities and trains.

i did like mumbai, very colourful, felt abit unsafe in the boxy prison we we stayin in on th first 2 nights. overall indias not as bad as i thought it would be- referring to the poverty and smellyness! the only down point i can think of is the constant staring from everyone.

were heading back up to mumbai tonight to see flo off, it’ll be strange her not being here. then i think were going to try and do the golden triangle up north. would have liked to stay longer here because u meet so many cool people and the locals are so much friendlier. maybe we’ll come back before SE Asia.

the foods lush, and already i want to buy so much stuff in the bazaars and little street stalls but dont think my bag could carry much more.

chow x

It’s so hot and sweaty here there seems little point in taking a shower because the small effort required to dry the body afterwards is enough to bring on a fresh rush of pore opening and perspiration sluicing that leaves in its wake a sense of futility. This is particularly the case in the late evening, when what is sought beyond all else is restful comfort, of bodily ease, in a full length, generously wide bed, with the promise of a gloriously deep sleep, rather than a tangled tossing and turning in an oily pit of goat odour.

I’m reading Shantaram, and according to the author, the Indian head waggle – the sort of side to side movement done in a rolling figure of eight fashion – isn’t simply their way of saying yes or no or they don’t know, but a universal gesture of welcome and conciliation. He found that his relationships with Indians became transformed once he learned how to copy the gesture.

Down at the local ’boutique Malbar’, which is run by an Indian family, I asked for some onions and was told they were out of stock. I wasn’t surprised, since the onion boat is long overdue. His words were accompanied by the inevitable head waggle. I did a shadow waggle in response, and was then offered a couple of onions from their own kitchen.

Those mosquito bands work a dream, but the flimsy plastic catches are about as crap a contrivance as a human mind could devise. I’ve sewn mine together, as shown in the photo. When they run out of steam, I plan to impregnate them with pure citronella oil.

The swimming is great here, as is the fish eating.

Outdoor kitchen

Mossie bands

Hail,

good to see you managed to pick up the luu jul! looks nice on palolem – have you swum out to geoff’s rock yet? have you seen the bats at night? it looks ike flois sitting on the rocks around where the bats are, an they charge around at night. are you going to hampi? it’s a good place to go to get a bit of temple in free of charge – nice little hamplet too – don’t forget to visit the mango tree eatery – westernised but worth a visit non the less. Have you been booking the top bunks like i mentioned?

We are in wales at the moment for the gibbs famill xmas reunion – uch food and merriment!!! complete with goeff’s special father christmas house choc cake and huge tree sitting on a huge pile of pressies!!!! Geoff has become a little jaded with the whole pressie thing – even though his whole contribution to the present buying was to forget to get his brothers dvd – and has decided to broach the subject of either no pressies next yearof of doing secret santa ike we have, therefor only having to get one pressie. We’ll, the vast veriety of foodstuff for luncheon awaits! Geoff has just got back from visiting a van shop to check out the different types of camper van for our trip round europe next year (providing he can persuade work to give him an extended holiday!)

well, hope all’s well in the seychelles dod – hail to mama and mamie – rio is fine and being fawned over by all and sundry – i barely have to hold him at all except for food and sleep!!

Luu-  you look a little porky on the photos (not that i’m the slimest!!!) maybe lay of the starchy food’s in india!!! having said that, i am off to stuff cheeseand choch cake!!!!

have fun annd keep blogginng

Hail Jul

Have you encountered drive mode? It seems to do exactly the same as Softick Card Export II, but without a fee of $15.

Actually, on closer inspection is seems that they didn’t include it on the TX, but it seems are though if you can find the files, you can transfer them over to the TX and it should work. I’ll have a look tonight and see if I can email you the files.

so, we are on the way back to goa. a mere ten hours seems like a walk in the park in comparison to our last journey. twenty six hours from kochi to mumbai, not to bad i think to myself, reasoning that i would be asleep most of the time nestled in the complimentary blanket and pillow that came with our seats on the previous train journey. but no. leaping onto the train we discover no blankets, just the bare seat to huddle on. as it was around afternoon, i assumed that they would supply the blankets later. food was plentifull and meals supplied on order. these proved to be fairly turgid watery slurry with rice. the somosas and bajis sold by the shrieking train minions were much nicer. in a pinch im sure one could survive on chai alone what with it being mainly comprised of suger. night arrived and the blankets didn’t. a blasted cold gripped us and we lay shivering most of the night. i managed to work work how to switch of the fans that were coursing the wind chill factor, but some cretins on a nearby bunk couldn’t work out the simple mechanism of closing the windows so we pretty much froze huddling under out thin sheets. in the many hours we had to kill, flo read an intire book and i drained the battery on my gameboy playing for 8 hours strait. after a scinterlating 26 hours or so, i asked a train minion when we would be arriving. “five!” he gestured wildly and cackled at some private joke. as it was around 4.00pm i was pleaseantly surprised, only an hour late was good time on an indian train. come six i asked a different person. “five o’clock” he said. “umm?” i said, looking at my watch. “in the morning” he added as an afterthought. and so the long day wore on. after forty hours on the train it felt like our limbs had atrophied to the point that we had trouble walking. pretty grim all in all.

after that, me finding a hotel that was assentually a collectioin of airless little boxes was a poor tactical decision, and led to flo and i contracting cabin fever.

 we collected lucy and are heading down to goa as i type. it isn’t the first time and i doubt it will be our last. as we have vague plans of comiing here for christmas.

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in palolam again. just as nice as last time but a bit cooler. really like it here. nothing quite like waking up and leaping into the cooling waters.

liv can you send me a card exporter for the palm? the trail i have has nearly run out and i think i need it to put a new one one the palm as nothing has bluetooth here.

well thats a much better time!

 the reason i got it wrong was when i checked the email you sent me when you bought your ticket lu, it had 00.40 enscribed in it.

anyhoo, no worries ill see you at the airport. after you have picked up your baggage just walk strait out. ill meet you where the taxi’s are.

 my mobile is working now that i am in mumbai, so text any queries.

see you anon.