Mark's World Tour 2007-08

Tuesday 18th December

Having spent the morning struggling to send a few emails – due to power cuts and problems with the internet connection that are frustratingly regular occurrences in Goa – I set off for the beach to have a swim and try and work on my tan. The sun can be very strong, even at this time of the year, so I try and make sure I am well protected with sunscreen at all times. I have learned my lesson from previous bad experiences of over-exposure to the sun. This means that progress on the old tan is quite slow, but better that than getting a burning. Plus I have plenty of time and opportunity ahead of me to get rid of my dazzling whiteness.

Later in the day I went to my first yoga class in India. I had been several times in London, but hadn’t done any extensive yoga courses in my time. The tutor was an English woman called Vera. It’s not the type of name you would think a yoga instructor would have, but she was a very nice woman and I enjoyed the class. It concentrated more on relaxation and meditation, as opposed to the purely physical yoga I had tried in London. It started off with us having to do a little chant, and I’m not really into that kind of thing, but thankfully it didn’t continue like that. It was relaxing, as I almost fell asleep as we lay on the ground, concentrating on our breathing. It’s not for everyone, and you sometimes require an open-mind to these things, but it has very obvious benefits.

I finished the evening hanging out with some of the guys, including a French guys I had met on the train from Udaipur to Ahmedabad. In fact, I have seen quite a few familiar faces in Goa, as the route I took to get here is a well-trodden one. Yet more people were due to leave the next day, as I would shortly