After a month of being on the move in India we were ready for a little break. So, from Mumbai we took an overnight train south to the state of Goa, and headed to Palolem. Far from the trance music party scene that made Goa legendary, Palolem is a quiet, laid-back beach and was just what we wanted. The beach itself is wide and lined with bungalows and restaurants tucked in among the palm trees. We spent our time here relaxing on the beach or in the hammock on the porch of our bungalow, taking morning yoga classes, and eating delicious fresh fish on the beach for dinner. After so much time in big Indian cities, it felt like paradise, and we wished we had more time to explore some of the Goa’s other beaches. From Goa we traveled by another overnight train into the southernmost part of the state of Kerala.
We took a lot of trains in India. The train system there is extensive (Indian Railways is the 8th largest employer in the world) and cheap, but the trains are crowded, slow, usually dirty, and often delayed (they carry more than 30 million people per day). Additionally, the trains are almost always sold out well in advance, meaning we had to wait in line for the few allotted “tourist tickets” or come to the train station at 6 a.m. the day before the departure for the release of the “tatkal” tickets (a few tickets set aside for last minute travelers). We almost always took overnight sleeper trains, where we slept in beds stacked three high and shared a compartment with four other passengers (with two more stacked across the very narrow aisle). Needless to say, it was not usually a good night’s sleep, compounded by the fact that the train stops aren’t announced (and sometimes there aren’t even signs at the station) and the trains run so wildly off schedule that you have to wake up to check if you are at your destination (the ticket checker, if you could find him, wasn’t really too worried about making sure you didn’t miss your stop). For the ride south to Kerala, however, only first class seats were available. While considerably more expensive, the ride was so much more comfortable and stylish! Our window seats faced each other during the daytime and were converted to beds at night. When we boarded a waiter brought us a little snack tray, followed by tea and snacks several hours later, and finally dinner. It was an unexpectedly fun 15 hour journey down the coast!
Click on the photo below for our Palolem Beach photo album.
We took a lot of trains in India. The train system there is extensive (Indian Railways is the 8th largest employer in the world) and cheap, but the trains are crowded, slow, usually dirty, and often delayed (they carry more than 30 million people per day). Additionally, the trains are almost always sold out well in advance, meaning we had to wait in line for the few allotted “tourist tickets” or come to the train station at 6 a.m. the day before the departure for the release of the “tatkal” tickets (a few tickets set aside for last minute travelers). We almost always took overnight sleeper trains, where we slept in beds stacked three high and shared a compartment with four other passengers (with two more stacked across the very narrow aisle). Needless to say, it was not usually a good night’s sleep, compounded by the fact that the train stops aren’t announced (and sometimes there aren’t even signs at the station) and the trains run so wildly off schedule that you have to wake up to check if you are at your destination (the ticket checker, if you could find him, wasn’t really too worried about making sure you didn’t miss your stop). For the ride south to Kerala, however, only first class seats were available. While considerably more expensive, the ride was so much more comfortable and stylish! Our window seats faced each other during the daytime and were converted to beds at night. When we boarded a waiter brought us a little snack tray, followed by tea and snacks several hours later, and finally dinner. It was an unexpectedly fun 15 hour journey down the coast!
Click on the photo below for our Palolem Beach photo album.
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