Panaji and Old Goa

Oh hi! While in Goa we made the short trip North to the town of Panaji, to see the Portuguese quarter and the various temples in near-by Old Goa. We were pleasantly surprised by how many of the old buildings that had not only survived, but had also been restored.

The Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, was consecrated in 1541 and is the central point of the town and looked gorgeous at night when it was delicately illuminated.


Looking into the centre of Panaji. The traffic looks positively calm here... how deceptive! It was, of course, everyone for themselves.


We naturally got on it immediately and did a 'Wiji walking tour', checking out some of the random concrete monuments and eating the trad Goan dish 'xacuti', (a spicy curry with coconut milk) along the way at Viva Panjim. The waiters grinned at us sooo much it nearly made me hysterical... they were just eager to please.

The climax of the walking tour was the Maruti Temple dedicated to the monkey God Hanuman.



The hillside setting provided great views over Panaji and the Mandovi river. During our stay we returned here many times to appreciate the views and the tranquillity...




Hotel Venite and its tiny balconies was the perfect place to watch the world go by, day and night.


The Portuguese arrived in Goa in 1510 and took control of the Eastern spice route. The Portuguese occupation finally came to an end as late as 1961, when the Indian army marched into Goa. We read in the local news paper that Hotel Venite was part of the heritage trail that locals are keen to preserve.


On our second and third days in Panaji we hired a scooter from a guy called Luximan, outside the post office. This inadvertently coincided with a 2 day public holiday and some very busy roads. We set off for Old Goa and a bit of sightseeing with everyone and their granny it seemed. That said it was a very exciting and breezy way to to experience India, if a bit hair raising at times...

Here he is outside our lovely guesthouse! Wiji managed to come up with all sorts of reasons for us to be going out on the scooter...Again! Again!


Old Goa was rammed with Indian tourists, who demonstrated zero common sense or good manners when they shoved each other about to get through a very small turnstile. It was fun to watch mind.


On sale in the mid day sun...cast wax limbs, heads, bodies and candles. This box of delights was carefully sprinkled with water by the old man selling them.


The Basilica of Bom Jesus was first up for a look see. Construction began in 1594 and was completed in 1605, most likely by Indian workers. Inside was the tomb of St Francis Xavier who, in 1541 was given the task of spreading Christianity among the Portuguese colonies. Inside it was packed and someone was shouting into a microphone 'No photos of the people, SILENCE!' Over the din of all the Indian tourists with their camera phones...




We particularly liked this pulpit covered in morbid looking cherubs.


Across the road was the Convent and Church of St Francis Assisi...


Inside the floor was paved with old carved grave stones complete with family coats of arms from the 16th century.




And a few fresco's still remained.


Jesus Christo with Wiji legs and beardo, according to the Wiji.


Outside, a man painting into the carved lettering, with his friend holding the paper he was copying from.


We motored on, Old Goa seemed to be a town made entirely of huge, imposing churches, we had a few to get around...

The chapel of St Anthony...


Church of St Augustine, or what is left of it, was constructed by Augustine Friars in 1602. The Portuguese governments repressive policies resulted in the eviction of many religious orders in Goa and the churches were left to waste. The ruined 46m tower was quite a sight. When we arrived several organised groups of Indian women were putting down gravel paths and beds of plants in the blistering heat. The broken architectural remains were arranged into groups.


Wiji felt this scene was very Portuguese.


Back at The chapel of St Anthony...'Hairy Biker Bake Off', LOL!


The Church of St Cajetan.


On the way back from The Chapel of St Anthony we passed a massive boat builders yard...


And a very busy rubbish dump, with the now familiar sight of cow's chomping through cardboard. Here there was also some dainty white egrets and massive crows...


And a whole family of dogs.


Later we whizzed off up the hillside near the monkey temple to explore the winding back roads. There was some pretty swanky housing...


Looking back across Panaji from behind the monkey temple...


Concrete modern Panaji...


'Errr maybe we could go....out on the scooter?!'


Hotel Venite's impressive doorway.


Two of our fave houses on the hill... The man who lived behind these came over especially to tell us that none of the historical buildings could be knocked down...and to be really careful on the scooter, ahhh thanks!


My personal fave ruin on the hill. All the derelict historical buildings had there own security guard. Just as well, as I was sure that my 9ft table would fit into a room here. There were several old frangipani trees in the garden too...perfect.





Just as we were admiring the house above, a young man crossed the road to come and get a better look at us. I didn't see him at first, but got a real fright when I turned around and he was right next to me grinning. Wiji's beardo was a source of fascination as much as anything, lol.


Another Sunday and everything was closed 'hey lucky we have the scooter, love!' Wiji drove and I played I spy, and found a brilliant Veggie restaurant. It had so many fans blowing the air about it was a bit like being in a Maria Carey video.


There were lots of shrines all over Panaji, this wasn't the most aesthetically impressive, but it had blackened the house nicely.


After Panaji we then went on to Anjuna for a few days. Later we returned to Panaji to sort out a train to Hampi. On our last day in Panaji we spotted this construction with men hanging off the lashed bamboo scaffolding.


In the bus terminal there were lots of flower sellers. Marigold flowers are used as offerings at the temples...


And strung with chrysanthemums. I will never look at these 'old people flowers' in the same way again! Begonias...I still hate them.


Getting train tickets (at the bus station) involved purchasing a numbered ticket for the queue for 10 rupees. The man who sold Wiji the ticket grumpily assured him there were no places on the train we were after, but we knew the routine, and he was just being unhelpful. For 10 rupees we then waited in a very small, but thankfully aircon'd room with a lot of men and not enough seating. We were initially behind 74 other people in the number queue, but got a bunk up from a French couple who gave us their ticket after they had waited for an hour. That meant that we had only 11 people in front of us and 15 minutes before the office closed for lunch, Lol. Luckily most people had gone the way of the French and given up...Oh but not us! We actually got in there and left with a ticket for the train. Lucky!

Many layers.


And on the last night a massive precession took place, passing under our window, we watched the trays of offerings (fruit and flowers) being laid on one side and emptied off the other side into baskets. It was all accompanied with a band and PA system. I was in quarantine with a massive trout pout allergic reaction to summat though, so had to watch it from the window for fear of scaring everyone. Wiji had managed to time the emergency visit to the pharmacy with a Doctor being there and came back with some pokey antihistamines that meant I was smacked off my tits in no time and out like a light. Goodnight Panaji....