Panaji and Old Goa

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We had to make a stop in Mumbai on our way south to Goa. We just spent one night here before heading off as we fly home from Mumbai so will be returning to do some sightseeing. We had some problems finding affordable accomodation, one place we looked had about 30 beds crammed into a dark grubby room with half naked, sweaty Indian men lying on them. No thanks! We did eventually find somewhere that was acceptable. The area we were staying in reminded us a lot of London. Many of the bulidings here were built by the British during their rule and the wonderful architecture of the old train station, the busiest in Asia, particularly reminded us of home. We spent our day just wandering around and we found a Macdonalds which we just couldn't resist. Funny that the worlds biggest beef burger chain has a market in a country where cows are sacred and most people dont eat meat. The menu was mainly vegetarian and chicken burgers. It tasted pretty good.

We took a bus down to Goa as all the trains were full due to it being Indian holidays. It is low season for foreign tourists in the south but with one billion inhabitants and many of these embarking on there summer jollies the transport was booked up with domestic tourists.

When we awoke from our overnight bus the sun was rising and the landscape outside the window was starting to reveal itself. It was like we had arrived in a new country. Instead of the air being dry and the landscape arid it was humid and lush. Green, tropical plants covered the countryside and the air was thick with moisture. We'd arrived in Goa, first stop Punaji.

After catching up on some sleep we went out to explore Punaji, Goa's capital. It is a very quaint and quiet town, certainly in comparison to the mad cities in the north. As we were wandering around it felt even more like we had arrived in a new country, particularly the area away from the centre, around its old quarters. The town used to be ruled by the portuguese and they left behind a legacy of colonial european architecture and the town didn't feel very indian at all. The peaceful, shady streets were lined with colourful cottages and narrow cobbled lanes branched off with pretty blossming trees growing alongside them. It felt like more like a nice European hamlet. The Portuguese also bought Christianity with them and the main religious building wasn't a temple but instead was a large white church sat atop a hill looking over the centre of the town. Most people in the area still follow christianity. The people looked different too. The old ladies didn't have shaved heads and nose piercings like the devout hindus in the north but instead had short grey hair and wore skirts like back home. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the old parts of the town. The heat and humitidy was intense and when we stumbled across a beautifully and faithfully restored hotel/bar, the kind of place you can imagine sailors and merchants would have drunk the night away after weeks at sea, we stopped for a much needed cold bottle of Kingfisher beer. Goa is the only state in India that doesn't have ridiculously high taxes on alcohol so booze was within our budget and back on the menu.

The next day we decided to take the local bus an hour down the road to a town called Old Goa, the former capital of the state and once a rival to Lisbon in size and beauty. Old Goa isn't much of a town these days but it still home to many of Indias largest and most important Cathedrals and other christian buildings which makes it an intersting and atmospheric place to visit for the day. It was a Sunday when we were there so it was extemely busy not only with Indian tourists but with locals attending mass. It was a strange sight to see an Indian vicar preaching to his Indian congregation. It was also amusing to see all the Indian tourists taking pictures of the priests but I guess to them it is something different, similar to us taking pictures of their Hindu holymen. The first Cathedral we went into was very beautiful but was way too busy. It housed the remains of St Francis whos body has apparantley never decomposed, it is thought to be some sort of miracle and everybody wanted a picture of his coffin. Every ten years they open his tomb to have a look at him which i'm sure is a wonderful thing to see! We did manage to escape the crowds and find a lovely, empty Cathedral tucked away from the main street. It's design was based on the original design for St Peters in Rome and it was our favourite.

We headed back to Panaji and decided to spend the afernoon drinking some nice cold beers in a trendy diner/bar. The centre of Punaji is more modern and western than you'd guess from exploring the colonial delights of its old quarters and there are definate signs of 'New India' here. The bar/diner was pretty slick and had the feel of a western style chain. It was full of young, trendy Indians. Some young girls were parading around in tiny hotpants and boob tubes which is a rare sight indeed as Indian culture normally requires women to be covered. I was also approached by a young gay man in the toilet who told me I was cute and asked if he could have his picture taken with me to which I obliged, it's always nice to meet a fan. It really was a different world compared to the north.

Western culture definately seems to be making an impact here and unfortunately it seems to be the worst aspects that are becoming popular. This is certainly true when it comes to pop culture, inparticularly music. It seems to me that the worst crimes of western pop music are the ones that travel and are the songs we keep hearing in far flung corners of the world. For instance, we went out for a meal that that evening after sinking a few beers and STEPS were on in the backround. There is never an acceptable occasion for this music to be playing. Another criminal of the music world whos disgraceful songs have managed to become popular within different cultures is AKON, we hear this idiot everywhere. I just hope that the people dont asume that is what all western music is like...they seem to love it though.

There are some pockets of resistence to this influx of trendiness in central Punaji. There are a handful of dark, seedy bars, no bigger than broom-cuboards dotted around catering for the more 'rough around the edges' locals. We went for one last drink after dinner at one of these establishments. It seemed like a naughty place to be, we had to go behind a curtain and drink in the dark. It felt an elicit drug den or something when really we were just enjoying some of the locally brewed liquor which is all perfectly legal.

The next day we decided to go and spend some time on the beach further south.

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