Goa

I left Aurangabad and the magnificent caves and temples of Ajanta and Ellora behind and spent the night on the sleeper bus to Mumbai (Rs 450).

I arrived at Mumbai airport in the early hours of 25 March 2007, a Sunday. I had a few hours to kill before I could board my flight to Goa, so I took the train to downtown Mumbai. One of the highlights of my short visit to Mumbai was visiting Mani Bhavan. This building acted as the focal point of Mahathma Gandhi's political activities in Mumbai between 1917 and 1934. Today, his former home houses an interesting exhibition on his life and his achievements for India.

Back at the airport I boarded the spicejet flight 259 to Goa (Rs 2,200) where I landed just one hour later. It was only on the plane that I could found time to plan where I was going to stay that night. I went for Colva, a small town on the beach of the Arabian Sea a few kilometres south of Panaji, the administrative capital of Goa. I took a taxi to get there (Rs 300) and decided to stay in one of the hotels (Rs 1,000) just a short walk away from the beach. Once I had checked in, I walked to the beach where a few shacks were lined up. Although pretty basic they offered delicious Goa cuisine. I had some ridiculously cheap grilled fish, prawns and octopus whilst looking at the sea and enjoying the sunset.

The next morning, I took a taxi to Old Goa and Panaji. Old Goa was founded in the 15th century and under Portuguese rule from 1510 to 1961 when it was incorporated in the Republic of India. Whilst more than 200,000 people lived here in the 15th century the city has been largely abandoned by the 17th century. Today, the population is just around 5,000 people. Old Goa contains a number of churches including the Se Cathedral, the Church of St Francis of Assisi, and the Basilica of Bom Jesus .

Once I had visited the churches my taxi driver took me to nearby Panaji, populated by some 65,000 mostly laid back people. The heart of the city is the Church Square with the Portuguese Baroque Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church, originally built in 1541. I decided to explore the back streets and went for a walk, following a route recommended in the Lonely Planet guidebook. I was led to some real hidden treasures in Mala, the Portuguese quarter of Panaji. The colourful house façades were well worth visiting as was the Maruti temple on top of a hill, offering some nice views.

The whole trip took half a day and set me back Rs 900 for the taxi. I was back in Colva in time for another magnificent seafood dinner on the beach.

The next morning I chilled out on the beach before heading back to the airport for my flight to Kochi, which I was planning to use as a hub to visit the famous Kerala Backwaters.

---

Videos from "Goa":

---

---