Having lived in possibly the most conservative place in the entire world, where even at school, boys and girls are kept separated and even speaking to a member of the opposite sex can result in a 10,000 rupee fine, you kind of get used to the fact that you can never shake hands with, or pat on the back a member of the opposite sex. The thought of any kind of body contact is unheard of, and if it does actually happen it results in 1000 apologies as if they’ve just informed you that they’ve run over your pet cat that you’ve had for 10 years.

So, you come to Goa and it’s the complete opposite. As you walk down the beach, navigating between the hawkers, the girls and ladies come up to you with confidence, reach out to shake you by the hand and will even put their arm around you as they try to get you to buy their cheap necklaces. In England, this kind of behaviour wouldn’t raise any eyebrows, body contact betweem friends is acceptable, but when you’ve been in Chennai for 7 months, it’s a bit unusual and to be honest, a little bit disturbing!

Whereas Chennai is way too conservative, I think Goa is too liberal the other way, and there is a need to find some middle ground where they get it just right.

So far, everyone has been so incredibly friendly, the English is extremely good, and everyone is so curious to know about you. We’re told that this is the quiet season and that we should come in full season, but as we sit by our deserted pool, where there are more friendly, helpful staff than guests, having personal one on one service at the bars and restaurants I can’t imagine why anyone would come at a different time! Tell me where else in the world you can get your own waiter, your own barman, your own chef and your own tourguide for less than $10!