Mumbai -Goa - Karnataka - Kerala - Tamil Nadu Tour By Train

Arrive at Mumbai Airport and you shall be transferred to your hotel for overnight stay. Made up of seven islands on the eastern periphery of the Arabian Sea, Mumbai attracts people from all over the country to its prosperous streets. Mumbai is also the abode of ‘Bollywood’, an industry that creates more films per year than any other city in the world. 

Leaving the city timely this morning we travel by train to Goa, following the Konkan Railway to the station at Thivim. Travelling along this line offers us an occasion to rightly realize some of the most stunning scenery tendered by any of the Indian rail networks as we surpass through the amazing scenery of the Western Ghats.  The palmfringed shores of Goa were colonised by the Portuguese in the 16th century, who seized the original Arab trade settlement and began building a city on the Arabian Sea sprinkled with houses, gardens monasteries and churches, lots of which unluckily no longer remain.  Goa ultimately became the commercial centre for East and West, where traders could purchase pearls, coral, rubies, golden jewellery, silks, China porcelain, lacquered furniture, ambergris and exotic spices. The Portuguese influence is still very much apparent – the main religion is still Roman Catholic and siestas are still widely applied in the hot afternoons. Like most parts in India, Goa also has its own food specialities, the most well-liked is pork vindaloo! You may also want to sample the locally prepared spirit feni – a spine-tingling drink made from coconut or cashew apples.

We have a comfortable start to the day with the morning free before we meet in the afternoon and take a walk around the city of Panjim. While Goa is mainly known for the beaches that lure tourists during the year, the wide streets of Panjim are worth discovering. The buildings are noticeably European in style with shutters, balconies and red tiled roofs though they are assorted with more traditional temples to form a rather unusual style. If you wish to spend some time on the beach it is just a short taxi ride away.