A really great day. Got up at 8.00 so as to have as much time as possible.
After breakfast we walked a short distance from the hotel and hired a moped for Rs.150. It was quite an interesting arrangement: We were instructed to tell any curious policemen that we borrowed the bike from a friend. After putting Rs.48 worth of petrol in, we started our journey to Old Goa. I took control for the outward journey, which was a bit nerve-wracking for Olly because it took me a few minutes to familiarise myself with the machine. However, I soon got the hang of it, and the route to Old Goa was very attractive. The road took us along the Mandovi River and through tiny settlements.
Today was the day of the festival of Holi, so we were splattered with a number of powder dyes en route.
In Old Goa itself, we observed a motorbike accident. Two locals zoomed past us on their bike and couldn't safely manoeuvre around a ricksha that had pulled out into the middle of the road to turn into a junction. Instead, the unfortunate pair continued their path straight into a market stall. Fortunately nobody was hurt, but the market stall was a complete write-off.
Old Goa is really beautiful, the main attraction being several Catholic churches built by the Portuguese.
Sé Cathedral of Santa Catarina, Old Goa.
The Basilica do Bom Jesus looked interesting so we walked inside to take a look. Before we could take a photograph, some guy approached us and asked us to leave, due to our immodest attire. We thought that sandals, shorts, and a T-shirt vest was the most appropriate attire for visiting churches when the temperature is 35° in the shade. Despite our passionate arguments, the official wouldn't compromise so we had to leave. The incident really epitomised Christian religion. It's a load of bollocks: People seem to follow stupid guidelines for the sake of it—fucking women you aren't married to is immoral et cetera. Anyway, we checked out all the other monuments and had no more trouble from anybody.
Due to our early breakfast, we had plenty of time on our hands so we decided to spend the afternoon on the beach. We had heard that Calangute was quite good, so, after checking the route back in Panaji, we set off for some sunbathing.
Riding through the city centre was a little bit stressful, but, as soon as we got off the ferry on the other side of the river, everything was fine. The scenery was spectacular. Sometimes the road took us onto high ground and we had views of palm-tree valleys dotted with pure-white Portuguese churches.
As we had been told, the beach at Calangute was very attractive. After a disappointing meal at a beach-side restaurant, we found a nice spot and collapsed on our mats.
Baga Beach (connected to Calangute Beach).
The sea looked very inviting. It was a purer blue than at Anjuna, and we knew it would be warm. We had excellent fun body-surfing on the largest of the breakers. After a bit of practice, we became quite adept, and scraped our chests on the sand several times.
At around 4.00 we had a tea and rode back to Panaji. I was tired from the body-surfing, so I lounged around while Olly fixed his day-sack. As usual, we ate dinner at our hotel.
After breakfast we walked a short distance from the hotel and hired a moped for Rs.150. It was quite an interesting arrangement: We were instructed to tell any curious policemen that we borrowed the bike from a friend. After putting Rs.48 worth of petrol in, we started our journey to Old Goa. I took control for the outward journey, which was a bit nerve-wracking for Olly because it took me a few minutes to familiarise myself with the machine. However, I soon got the hang of it, and the route to Old Goa was very attractive. The road took us along the Mandovi River and through tiny settlements.
Today was the day of the festival of Holi, so we were splattered with a number of powder dyes en route.
In Old Goa itself, we observed a motorbike accident. Two locals zoomed past us on their bike and couldn't safely manoeuvre around a ricksha that had pulled out into the middle of the road to turn into a junction. Instead, the unfortunate pair continued their path straight into a market stall. Fortunately nobody was hurt, but the market stall was a complete write-off.
Old Goa is really beautiful, the main attraction being several Catholic churches built by the Portuguese.
Sé Cathedral of Santa Catarina, Old Goa.The Basilica do Bom Jesus looked interesting so we walked inside to take a look. Before we could take a photograph, some guy approached us and asked us to leave, due to our immodest attire. We thought that sandals, shorts, and a T-shirt vest was the most appropriate attire for visiting churches when the temperature is 35° in the shade. Despite our passionate arguments, the official wouldn't compromise so we had to leave. The incident really epitomised Christian religion. It's a load of bollocks: People seem to follow stupid guidelines for the sake of it—fucking women you aren't married to is immoral et cetera. Anyway, we checked out all the other monuments and had no more trouble from anybody.
Due to our early breakfast, we had plenty of time on our hands so we decided to spend the afternoon on the beach. We had heard that Calangute was quite good, so, after checking the route back in Panaji, we set off for some sunbathing.
Riding through the city centre was a little bit stressful, but, as soon as we got off the ferry on the other side of the river, everything was fine. The scenery was spectacular. Sometimes the road took us onto high ground and we had views of palm-tree valleys dotted with pure-white Portuguese churches.
As we had been told, the beach at Calangute was very attractive. After a disappointing meal at a beach-side restaurant, we found a nice spot and collapsed on our mats.
Baga Beach (connected to Calangute Beach).The sea looked very inviting. It was a purer blue than at Anjuna, and we knew it would be warm. We had excellent fun body-surfing on the largest of the breakers. After a bit of practice, we became quite adept, and scraped our chests on the sand several times.
At around 4.00 we had a tea and rode back to Panaji. I was tired from the body-surfing, so I lounged around while Olly fixed his day-sack. As usual, we ate dinner at our hotel.
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