From Mumbai we traveled by train to Goa while Tim and Sura (our truck) left early for the long drive to meet us there. I am unclear whether the three train journeys included in the itinerary in India are a matter of giving Dragoman travelers an alternative transportation experience or a response to travelers complaining of very long days of slow going on some of India's most traffic-clogged roads.

Anyway, Goa is Portugal's old colony in India, which only became part of India in 1961, 14 years after independence, when the Indian army marched in and claimed it from the Portuguese . Goa has a historical center from the Portuguese, but nowadays it is best known as a tropical beach paradise, an Indian state with a beach resort for every taste from those desiring a tranquil paradise to those needing a nightly druggie trance party.

Vagator Beach, where we spent our first two nights in Goa, caters more toward those seeking tranquility in their beach holiday, with little to do but eat and drink at beach shacks, visit a few nice restaurants, get a massage, lounge by the pool, or explore the hilltop Portuguese era fortress. Vagator turned out to be a nice break from the stimulation of Mumbai and the month of serious sightseeing through northern India and Rajasthan that preceded it.