Bang, crack, smack, kapow is absolutely the only way to describe our arrival in Goa last night. As soon as the terminal doors opened in Dabolim, whoah Goa, what a firecracker you are! We knew we were in for something pretty special when from the baggage claim we spotted the heaving crowd gathered layers deep around the entrance – a mob to rival any of the best moshpits – all shouting and waving signs, desperate to connect with someone. Thankfully Jit spotted our guy in the mix pretty quick, holding a little white sign emblazoned with ‘Welcome to Goa Mel Hart”. He led us away from the hurly burly and then we were off.

Admittedly after two days travel to reach our destination (including an overnight stay in the most beautiful Singaporean sanctuary – lush grounds with wandering peacocks and the best seafood laksa you could ever imagine existed) we were ready to just drop our bags and collapse.

But we just had a little further to go and instead we stared in awe as this new dusty completely different world sped by the car window, just on dusk on any given regular Tuesday. Traffic was more than chaotic with a mish mash of motorbikes, cars and trucks all volleying for pole position, next to no road rules, incessant horn beeping ‘watch out I’m right behind you’ ‘watch out I’m going to overtake you now’ – we’d of course anticipated this part of India’s rich fabric being such a big part of it’s charm. And it was charming! Rows of some beautiful quite clearly Portuguese-influenced homes with lots of ornate masonry but simple designs. Through open front doorways living room lights showed plenty of midweek life too – families sitting round tables, maybe a little shop out the front with mum still selling her wares, plenty of milling about, including lots of packs of dogs (I think I saw one that had been hit by a car which wasn’t good for my heart – maybe he was just sleeping though).

An hour and a half later we arrived at the most special, magical place. At the end of many narrow dusty lanes, is a 17th century heritage hotel in Siolim Village in the Northern part of Goa. We were greeted by Lynsay, had a few minutes to freshen up, then were ushered to our garden table which was set next to a gorgeous deep green pool, where we ate an exquisite Goan thali of fresh kingfish curry, sweet rice and roti. We just can’t believe how special this place is that we’ve found ourselves in.

In the bathroom this morning a little lizard sizzled round the wall, and as I tap away here on the laptop perched at an antique desk in the most beautiful suite on the first floor of the most beautiful heritage house in Bardez, there’s a little bird with a black comb on his head and a bright red chest cheerily chirping away in a giant palm outside the window.

Today, it’s all on.