Go Goa!

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  Dona Paula, Goa, India
Saturday, February 4, 2006

Go Goa! That was the tagline of the omnipresent tv ad we saw over and over in hotel rooms all over Asia (along with Incredible India! and Malaysia: Truly Asia!). We sat in our Hotel rooms and thought, "Hey, we're going there. Hope it doesn't suck." (Longterm traveling turns you a bit cynical from time to time) But luckily, it doesn't suck at all. It is actually quite charming.

We arrived, along with Matt's sister Lauren and her boyfriend Matt, on a flight down from Delhi on a nameless budget Indian airline. The flight was fine except for halfway through when Kristy looked to the window next to her and saw a good size bug crawling up it (on the inside not the outside). Not really what you want to see on a plane. It gets you thinking about other issues like if they can't pest-proof the plane can you trust them to make sure the landing gear is working? We brushed the bug away and crossed our fingers until we returned to terra firma.

Goa is hot and dry but a constant breeze keeps it cool so long as you stay out of the sun. The earth is a red dusty color very similar to some parts of Vietnam and Cambodia. The small roads twist and turn and are lined with brightly colored houses. Not too many cows around and much cleaner than Delhi. People are more propserous, darker and typically wear Western clothes. We like to call it -- "India Light". It really looks and feels like a whole load of Indian people were dropped onto a Carribean Island.

We stayed at a beach hotel called Praina (http://prainha.com) in a small, quiet village called Dona Paula, in the center of the state of Goa.

01 Boat

It's a nice beach-side hotel with a pleasant pool surrounded by extremely tall coconut palms. A sign warns you not too sit too close to the palms, because of the risk of falling coconuts. We risked it because otherwise you would have to sit right in the sun. There were also lots of other warning signs around: not to run around the pool, there's no lifeguard, etc. The fear of litigation in this part of India feels almost American. Though there was a beach on the property, we never went into the water or lay on the beach. One, because it was sort of muddy and two, because Mr. Want-to-buy-a-pashmina shawl? was always on hand with his goods. He was the one reminder that you were still in India. He sometimes wouldn't even wait for you to go the the beach, he would call to you as you were eating breakfast through the holes of the beach wall, "Hello, hello! You want Pashmina? Scarf? Very cheap!"

A good part of our time was spent reading books around the pool, and then getting up and deciding where to eat. Kristy was very ambitious and took five sessions of yoga with a 70-year old Indian yoga instructor who looked about 50. You know she doesn't like to brag, but the instructor said he'd never taught anyone who caught on to Eastern Yoga so fast. The classes began around 6:30 or 7:00 am each morning. The rest of the crew would join her for breakfast around 8:30 am or 9:00 am. The restaurant at the hotel was only so-so, though their Chinese food wasn't bad. We were surprised to discover that Chinese food in India is really good, much better than the Chinese we had in Singapore or Hong Kong.

02 Lauren's Catch

Despite all the great fresh fish, we thought the Goan food was a bit lackluster in the flavor department. We discovered a great dosa restaurant called Nautica near the pier in Dona Paula, however. Delicious dosa meals for 25 rupees (approx. .60 US), can't beat that!

One day we all signed up, somewhat half-heartedly, for a day long boat trip which advertised fishing, snorkeling and dolphin sighting. We (Kristy and Matt) have pretty poor luck with wildlife trips (remember Vancouver - no bears/no killer whales, remember Maine - four hours for the back of one whale), but this time we got a great show. The first dolphin we saw launched itself completely out of the water as if it was the star attraction at Sea World. Then a few others appeared and before long the boat had dolphins on all sides. Next stop was fishing. We were all handed handlines and almost as soon as they went in the water, people started hauling them in. Okay, so it was probably the same little blue fish that went from hook to hook, stealing the bait and then being thrown back, but we had fun. Then a nice meal (with free beer!) on a beach where we could have snorkeled, but the water wasn't really that clear. We played in the waves instead and watched as big airlines flew right above us to land at the nearby Airport. Everyone on the trip (including the 12 crazy British retirees we shared our boat with) agreed that it was a thumbs up experience thanks in large part to our captain - Joseph. If you're at Prainha and Joseph approaches you about a trip -- it's definitely worth the money.

Goa only joined India as a state in the sixties, and was a colony of Portugal before that so much of the population is Catholic and churches are more prevalent than Hindu temples or mosques. However the Catholicism has a strong sense of Hinduism in it. For example, the Goans have shrines of Mary and Jesus outside of their houses where they can place offerings, etc... as if they were Hindu gods. The shrines are garlanded with the same flowers that adorned Ganesh or Visnhu up north. One day we visited Old Goa, the first capital settled by the Portuguese, which grew to the size of Lisbon before being abandoned after struck by the plague and a nasty inquisition. Still there are three big cathedrals, each established by a different group of holy men - the Jesuits, the Franciscans, and the Dominicans. One of the churches (The Basilica of Bom Jesus) holds the earthly remains of Saint Francis Xavier, the Jesuit who spread the faith to the area. Supposedly, after he died his body did not rot for some 200 years, until the head office in Rome started dividing it up to provide other churches with saintly relics. What was left over was enshrined in an elaborate tomb in the center of the basilica.

Matt S. and Lauren have just left for the airport and we're writing this entry a few hours before we leave on an overnight train to Bangalore. We can't wait to see more of this fascinating country.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

03 Matt's Catch	04 Bus Shrine	05 Eggplant	06 Rue Natal
07 Cathedral	08 Inside Church	09 Confessional	10 St. Francis Xavier

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