Diu

Diu is a small island off the coast of India, although a bridge now connects the island to the mainland. It has an interesting history – and at one point was occupied by the Portuguese (Note from Brock: Diu was very recently taken back in a violent battle with Portuguese soldiers in 1971). The influences are obvious – it does look and feel very much like Portugal.

The great thing is – it's really relaxed – with reasonable beaches, and plenty of things to see around the island...

...and coming here has been one of the highlights of my trip. We spent a total of 9 days here – and they've been some of the best in the last 10 months. Not just because of the place – but because of the people I've spent the time with...

It was quite late when we arrived, and it looked like everything was shut – but after having found a place to stay in the roof of an old church – we eventually found a little restaurant that was still open and had amazing food.

The inside of the church – the rooms we stayed in were in the roof of the building:



And me – on the roof top terrace outside our rooms:



Thanks to Jo for the pic...

The next day we hired scooters and set off to explore The Island. After taking a wrong turn, we ended up at a small Hindu temple built into the sea cliff, with amazing carvings and with water running in to wash over them:



Here's a video of us driving away from the temple – ending with the moment when I realized you can't brake, go round corners AND video at the same time (click to view - go on - do it - you know you want to :-):



The old prison:



Thanks to Brock for the pic...

View from the main fort:



Thanks to Brock for this pic...

Cruising the island:



Portuguese church:



At the other end of the island is a small village where the fishing boats all leave from. We ended up cruising out there three or four times while we were in Dui as there was always something different to see, and a really great beach with amazing waves to play in on the way there and back :-)

Fishing boat:



Men loading ice ready for the days catch:



Thanks to Brock for this pic...

Fishing boats:



...and on the way back to Diu town:



Most mornings we got up fairly early and cruised out on the bikes to one of the beaches 20 minutes away for a coffee and a walk on the beach. On one of our morning runs out on the bike, Christine and I decided to take a detour on a little interesting looking road I'd spotted, and we ended up climbing up a water tower. Here's Christine at the top:



And the view from the top – with Portuguese church in the distance:



One of the really amazing things about Diu is the food – especially the seafood. For 9 pounds you can get a huge seafood platter for two, including lobster, grilled king prawn's, Calamari, and salad. Add in a bottle of wine for just over six pounds and you can eat like royalty – and we did :-)

Jo and one of the amazing seafood platters:



There was also a major festival on while we were there – which included what can only be described as line dancing in a huge circle. We never did find out what the festival was about, but we did end up going a few times, and one night went and spent a few hours dancing with the locals.

Video of the dancing (click the picture to see the video):



And the rest of the time...well...it went something like this:

Swimming in the sea. Fish and chips on the beach. Motorbike riding. The best seafood in the world. Beer on the beach. We might have been slightly...crazy motorbike riding in the middle of the night. Almost driving off a one metre drop in the rush to buy munchies. Getting Jo's rucksack and a dog mixed up – and only realizing when I picked it up and it tried to bite me. Thanks Klaus for the sunnies. Wine on the beach. Swimming in the sea. Sari shopping. Motorbike riding. Missing the best sunset of the week because we were air guitaring – but not really caring either way. Walking on the beach. Barbara Walters (kill, kill). Three large packets of crisps, four chocolate bars, two packets of biscuits...and chocolate ice-cream. Salsa dancing on the roof. Riding Matt Damon...hard. Confronting 50 Indian men on the beach. Olives, cheese, bread, and wine at the beach. Swimming in the sea. Champagne on the beach. Motorbike riding. Would you rather...no, no, no...Cigar and beers at sunset. Swimming in the sea...

...you get the picture...fun times.

And some final pictures:

Disco dancing at the world's worst disco: Brock, Klaus, Me, and Christine:



Thanks to Jo for the pic...

Er...me:



Rockin' out on the rocks:



Thanks to Jo for the pic...

Cigars and beer at sunset: Klaus, Brock, Me, Christine, and Jo:



Thanks to Jo for the pic...

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This week's special guest editor: Brock Wilks...sponsored by Nutella...