Elsien's Traveblogue

How was your Christmas? Hope it was a good one. I spent it on the island of Diu, as I wrote before. I really liked this little place, even if the Portuguese failed to leave proper coffee and delicious pastries behind. They did leave the grubby, dilapidated grandeur of their architecture and Port 99, a quite drinkable and extremely cheap Goan port wine. Diu does look like a tropical Portuguese small town and I loved its slightly squalid charm. It's a bit like one of the little islands off Macao, but more Portuguese and more off it - and full of Indians rather than Chinese, of course. The beaches weren't superb, no Ko Samui, but they were nice, and quiet.The guesthouse wasn't anything to write home about - see previous e-mail - but it was conveniently situated less than 50 metres from a little beach and within a few minutes from the little town.On Christmas Eve all the stars in heaven were out in force. I went to Midnight Mass, in English, but packed with Indians and the service reminded me why I never go to church, but I guess the Portuguese didn't leave behind a very Protestant-friendly form of Catholicism, or if they did, it's gone like the coffee and the pastries. I listened to the Messiah instead under the stars which made me feel pretty Christmassy.I had Christmas luch with some other travellers, a huge plate of vegetable pakora and a couple of beers, finished on the beach. We were joined by two nuns all in white when the sun went down - I had them listen to the Hallelujah Chorus, one ear each and they agreed it was 'very nice'.Christmas Dinner was a barbecue on the roof of one of the white churches, under the stars again: barbecued fish, caught that morning, salad, rice, a bottle of red wine (Indian, 2005 vintage), then back to the beach with a pistacchio icecream and a bottle of aforementioned Port 99.Modest, no doubt, compared to yours?On the road again, place called Bhavnagar, climbing up to a temple on a mountain