Sadly tomorrow we are leaving Goa as our visas run out on 26th Feb. We are travelling by train to Cochin (now known as Kochi) in Kerela for 3 nights, where we fly to Kuala Lumpar in Malaysia on 24th. It will be sad to say goodbye to friends and leave our wee house for the last time. The train journey is not as long as the journey was from Dheli to Goa - only 13 hours this time. We get the train at 10pm and arrive in Cochin at 11am so we will probably spend most of the time in our bed sleeping.
We have booked a place to stay in Cochin that looks really nice and gets great reviews on trip adviser. It is in a homestay. This is where you stay with a family in their home. It is very common in Kerrela. Unfortunately, now many homestays are more like a hotel but the one where we are staying is a traditional homestay with only a few rooms in the family's home.
Because of the new Indian visa rule, that once your visa runs out you have to stay out of the country for 2 months before you can apply for another visa, we will need to travel for 2 months. We plan to travel up from Malaysia to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. Not really too much of a hardship. Internet access might not be so easy but will still keep the blog going.
One last wee story about Agonda before I go. Colin's favourite restaurant in Agonda is a place called Bandekar as it serves great Goan food and the staff are really friendly. It is mainly locals that use it, very few tourists, and the tourists who do use it tend to be staying here for a long time. The surroundings would certainly look out of place in a posh eaterie! The other week we went in and the young Indian guy who normally serves us had shaved his head with just a little tuft of hair left at the back of his head. I started joking and laughing with him about this. He was just kind of looking at me as Colin was pulling me away, towards a table. When we sat down Colin explained to me that they cut their hair like that when a family member has died. I was mortified.
We have booked a place to stay in Cochin that looks really nice and gets great reviews on trip adviser. It is in a homestay. This is where you stay with a family in their home. It is very common in Kerrela. Unfortunately, now many homestays are more like a hotel but the one where we are staying is a traditional homestay with only a few rooms in the family's home.
Because of the new Indian visa rule, that once your visa runs out you have to stay out of the country for 2 months before you can apply for another visa, we will need to travel for 2 months. We plan to travel up from Malaysia to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. Not really too much of a hardship. Internet access might not be so easy but will still keep the blog going.
One last wee story about Agonda before I go. Colin's favourite restaurant in Agonda is a place called Bandekar as it serves great Goan food and the staff are really friendly. It is mainly locals that use it, very few tourists, and the tourists who do use it tend to be staying here for a long time. The surroundings would certainly look out of place in a posh eaterie! The other week we went in and the young Indian guy who normally serves us had shaved his head with just a little tuft of hair left at the back of his head. I started joking and laughing with him about this. He was just kind of looking at me as Colin was pulling me away, towards a table. When we sat down Colin explained to me that they cut their hair like that when a family member has died. I was mortified.
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