Goa, India
Goa is a state in the south-western part of India. It seems to attract a lot of tourists heading for the beach, similar to Ko Samui in Thailand. I didn't go to the beach, and I didn't have much time here at all, but I did spend some time in the main city, Panaji. I spent most of my time sightseeing and eating, rather than partying.
Our ship was at anchor, so we had to suffer a 30 minute boat ride past the port, and then onto a bus for a 45 minute ride into the city. Most of the resorts that people were staying at were another 15 minutes further on.
This crazy statue is of a hypnotist, of all things. He sort of looks like he's going to strangle her, or something.
There were a couple small parks in Panaji. The streets tended to be small and crowded, and the parks didn't look like much, but at least they looked like they were being maintained.
I'm not sure if this is a real police car or not.
Since I had a craving for Mexican food, I stopped by this place thinking they might have Tex-Mex or at least some chili.
Alas, I was disappointed, and despite the fact that the waiters were dressed like cowboys, the food was strictly Indian/Chinese. It was delicious though, and pretty cheap. The Foster's beer (60 rupees) in the family-sized bottle was delicious.
One thing that I noticed in every Indian restaurant that I went to was instead of mints at the end of your meal, you would get anis seeds to freshen your breath.
There are many churches in Goa, this one being conveniently located at the end of the main street. Someone tried to convince me that this was actually City Hall, but I trust my guidebook.
... the view from the church.
Many of the buildings had fresh paint on them, but a quick look at the back convinced me that this was a facade, perhaps to impress tourists without spending too much money on the part that the tourists never see.
This was a backpacker hotel that I was thinking about eating at. I changed my mind, since it looked deserted, but I did get my hair cut downstairs (50 rupees).
The East end of the city had many narrow streets, and was generally less busy than the central part of town.
There's a hill in the city with some old churches and walls that were being restored.
This is a small ferry that would take people across the river. People weren't at all patient, and would try to board the ferry before it was able to disembark it's passengers.
Joe eats Indian food. The food was delicious, and I didn't have a single bad meal.
A few miles away from Panaji is Old Goa which contains many churches built back when Goa was a Portuguese colony.
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This church had been destroyed sometime after the Portuguese left, but it is still interesting to visit. Most of the churches in Old Goa were easily accessible on foot.
