Panjim & Old Goa

The events described in this post took place on or about Dec 25th-31st, 2010 in Goa, located on the NW side of the sub-continent of India.  For those of you viewing this through Facebook 'Notes', the original post is available on www.henrickatlarge.blogspot.com. It will enable you access to photo galleries and other multi-media material which don't transfer into 'Notes'

Although known for its famous beaches and bawdy night-life, there is another side to the Indian state of Goa that often goes unreported. Besides being a haven for various counterculters for the last 40+ years there is a a richer, less crazed side to Goa. This can be well seen in the states capitol city of Panjim. Featuring cafes restaurants, cathedrals and a beautiful scenic riverfront view, Panjim is a great place to go for the day.

Panjim is a bit of a hike from the beaches of Baga and Anjuna where we were. It wasn't even that it was terribly far. But, if you are familiar with how transportation can work in the 'developing world', even a short trip can be made much longer. In the end, we took two buses and a cab to arrive in the center of Panjim. We needed to switch at a major hub, which was the most difficult part of the trip. Getting directions in India can be tough. There's something in the culture that prevents people from telling you that they don't know something. It seems to be a shame or a weakness if you ask someone a question that they did not have the answer to. In this case, rather than telling you that they do not know, they will tell The highlights of Panjim are captured in the slide show above. We spent most of the time exploring the Catholic cathedrals and churches. Panjim even has its own saint, who is on display in a glass box (St. Francis Xavier)

The Riverfront view was also great there were some very interesting statues there. My favorite was some famous hypnotist.

So, if you are going to Goa, I highly recommend that you spend at least a day in Panjim and see the sights.

Enjoy!!!