Panaji or Panjim and Old Goa

The guidebook says that most travellers give Panaji and Old Goa a miss but that it’s well worth a visit.

The official name is Panaji, which means ‘land that never floods’, but it is also called Panjim, Portuguese. It is the capital of Goa, the smallest of India’s many states.

We ended up in a fantastic hotel but it came with a price

The city lies along the left bank of the Mandovi River and a riverside promenade that is just right for an evening stroll. Above the tree-lined promenade are terraced hills covered in bleached clean churches, a jumble of concrete buildings and ramshackle houses with whimsical balconies and red-tiled roofs.

Because of a lack of accommodation options in Old Goa we stayed in Panaji. But I was more intrigued by Old Goa, the name conjuring up images of small white-washed churches, side by side with ancient Portuguese buildings.

It was hard to leave Palolem but I made the most of the day by having an early morning swim. My reward for this exercise was a croissant and ‘real’ coffee at the only restaurant that we’d found that serves such a thing.

It took just over three hours to reach the capital city. The final stretch of the road is lined with billboards advertising hotels, beer and new property developments.

Our first chores in Panaji were to draw money, which we hadn’t been able to do in Palolem – it shows you how small the place is. We also booked the overnight bus for our ongoing journey to Puné - a 12-hour sleeper.

Making our way across the river to the Fontainhas area, which is considered to be the Old Latin Quarter, we struggled to find accommodation because everywhere was fully booked. The only places left were very expensive cupboard-size rooms.

Eventually we booked into what looked like a good place from outside, but inside it was crap. And to add insult to this we paid more than our budget!

As we commiserated over the deal we had the last of my South African brandy, to make up for our room-hunting.

Of the two rooms I made the mistake of choosing the one on the ground floor - my hip was giving me problems and we thought about the stairs – but it turned out to be a bad move………..

Having settled in we walked along the Mandovi River, which eventually leads to the sea. We found a place that served beer, on the river, an unusual thing because the Indians don’t make the most of water frontage.

We ordered beer and chips and watched the busy river traffic, especially noisy casino boats. Nearby, was a ferry which went to the opposite side of the river but it looked like not much was happening there.

An unusual thing in Goa - 20% tax is added to the bill.

Goa doesn’t have an Indian feel. If you were to land here from space, not knowing where you are, the only clues would be the temperature (high) and the humidity (high).

Also, most of the women wear traditional western clothes, as opposed to saris. Goa is very Roman Catholic. The architecture is also very different, mainly Portuguese. Another thing is that we arrived on a Sunday were surprised to find that most of the shops and restaurants were closed, which is unusual in India.

We went in search of food and found a kind of fast food place, Sanyog Vegetarian Restaurant. Craig had his usual thali, what I call food for the really hungry because they keep filling the dishes until the customer is full. I don’t think they meet too many Craig’s.

Thali consists of three vegetable dishes - rice, dahl (soupy, orange lentils), curd (watery yoghurt), roti or puri, all this for only Rs35, R9.

I had paneer butter masala, a kind of cheese kurd dish in sauce - hot and spicy of course.

For desert Craig tried Kesar Faluda which looked beautiful but tasted dreadful, and that from two sweet-tooth’s, also at Rs35.

Next day we explored other accommodation options and ended up in paradise but with a price tag.

We’d tried the place the previous afternoon and put the proprietor’s bad mood down to it being the end of a busy day. But no, this is his normal demeanour, and we weren’t the only people to experience it. And…..the place is recommended in the Lonely Planet. But this is a normal occurrence with many hotels and restaurants that get into guidebooks. Once in many of them let the service and/or amenities slide.

“He probably learnt his skills from the Gestapo,” said my wonderful son Craig. His usual upbeat mood was still in tact, despite being ordered to come back with his extremely heavy backpack before we could see a room.

So, we lugged our backpacks and sure enough, it was worth it. Clean sheets and even towels with soap – what luxury. Most rooms only give a mattress with a blanket covering it.

And, as if this wasn’t enough, a TV. Ok, ok, shut up, when you travel rough like we do, TV ends up being a luxury, especially when there’s cable with movies and sit-coms. You try it and see……..

Having booked in, paid our bucks, we wanted to explore OLD GOA, only 8km away. We’d thought about cycling there but decided against it because of the heat.

Old Goa was the second capital of Bijapur under the rule of Adil Shah. It was surrounded by a moat and contained the Shah's palace, and his mosques and temples.

The bus ride alone made it worth it, passing alongside the river and through tiny villages.

I’d misread the map and we ended up at the wrong church – there are so many of them here – and ended up walking about 2km along the tar road.

Along the way we came across a garbage dump, a normal site in India. This one was being scavenged by the usual collection of animals – cows, pigs and dogs.

We knew when we had arrived at the touristy area because of the touts trying to sell us postcards and guidebooks. Do people still send postcards?

There were also carts selling kitsch jewellery and gadgets. Another stall was selling a drink that I’d tried on my last trip and I was partial to it, but Craig wasn’t. It is sugarcane pressed and re-pressed until all the juice has been extracted.

Moving on we stopped at the first of many churches to visit in Old Goa, the Basilica of Bom Jesus. It was started in 1594 and consecrated in 1605 and contains the body of Saint Francis Xavier.

It’s presently being renovated, making it a rather ugly picture from outside. And with crowds inside it also makes it a difficult place to capture.

We then made our way past what turned out to be the Se Cathedral but we thought it was part of the archaeological museum.

By this time Craig was getting hungry, but there aren’t many places to eat in Old Goa, which is basically made up of old churches.

In our search for food, Craig made friends with a litter of puppies, something we saw many times on this trip – so sad!

Passing the Viceroy Gate which leads to the jetty to cross the Mendozi River, we visited St Cajetan Church.

Finally, we returned to the Se Cathedral which is supposed to be the main drawcard here but we found it to be an anti-climax.

In retrospect, Old Goa seems to be all churches and little else. We were told this the previous evening as we munched on chips and drank beer at the riverside in Panjim but we came to see for ourselves.

On a more positive note, the grounds surrounding the churches are well kept and there is not as much litter as elsewhere. Also, there appears to be a lot of restoration work.

The highlight for us was the ruins of the tower of the Church of St Augustine. Having eaten lunch and with incredible heat we reluctantly and sweatily made our way uphill to the Rosary Church, convent and St Augustine ruins.

Here we were surprised to see two labourers working on the tower with no safety rope. They were walking around the tower on a narrow ledge, removing vegetation and goodness knows what else. My palms were sweating as I watched.

The tower is 46m, or four-storey, facing east and with an arched belfry tower built of lacerate that once formed part of the façade of the Church of St Augustine. The bell is now in the Lady of Immaculate Church in Panaji.

It was built in 1602 by Augustinian friars and abandoned in 1835 due to expulsion of religious orders from Goa.

The Portuguese government ordered its demolition but it was declared a Unesco world heritage site in 1986.

Inside are the remains of eight chapels, four alters and an extensive convent with numerous cells.

The ruins of the St Augustine complex came under international focus when a letter was found written by the catholic patriarch of Georgia to the then ambassador of India in the Ukraine. The letter was dated October 26, 1098, and she was seeking permission to search for relics of Queen Keteran, the patron saint of Goa in Goa.

Because of this chance discovery, the site has been under renovation since 1988 under Queen Keteran’s sponsorship.

We spent quite some time taking pictures and exploring the ruins before making our way back to Panaji.

We then once again walked along the riverfront in search of the Arabian Sea and beer.

On the way I tried street food of Shevpuri – an indescribable concoction and for only Rs10 (don’t even work it out).

While drinking beer, and little known to us, being munched on by mossi’s, we met British rigger Peter Walker and his delightful girlfriend Riana.

While Craig talked to a smoking, drinking, Peter, I learnt that Riana met Peter through an advert in the newspaper.

In order to stay in India it seems that Peter needed to marry a local. He’d tried this once, with devastating consequences, something about family taking advantage, and now he was about to embark on a marriage with Riana.

From my discussion with her, it seemed that life wasn’t easy. Peter had got very drunk over New Year and she ended up taking him to hospital.

She had made a stipulation when she accepted his marriage proposal, that he give up drinking and stop smoking, but from what we could see, this wouldn’t happen.

We went home wondering what fate held in store for them. I was fascinated that Craig can hold a conversation, and enjoy it, with someone much older than himself. But he has this way about him; he enjoys people, although he loses his rag when they keep asking the two questions: “Where might you be from,” and “What is your good name”.

It was Monday morning and we could have breakfast, a proper English-style breakfast, in Venite Restaurant. This amazing restaurant serves almost everything the backpacker could want, and what’s more, in beautiful surroundings.

Established in 1955 as an inn, Venite has a bar and restaurant, all designed to optimum effect. The restaurant is housed in a building over 2 000 years-old and through the years it has returned to its ambience of a bygone era.

The restaurant boasts cosy balconies, although for the very slim, floors made from wood salvaged from Portuguese shipwrecks, decorated shells and earthenware.

Venite serves traditional breakfasts, seasonal seafood and traditional Goan cuisine.

The bar area is decorated with traveller graffiti, a place where people can relax with a beer or appreciate the seafood dish of the day.

Next day, after a late night of watching cable movies, we went on the LP subscribed historical walk through Panaji.

Our route started from what is the old part of town, where restoration is taking place. Walking along narrow, cobbled streets we passed a small very white chapel of St Sebastian, built in the 1880s, the site where some religious festival recently took place.

Apparently Panaji was the first port of call for sailors from Lisbon, so Portuguese sailors would visit this strikingly white-washed church to give thanks for a safe crossing before continuing to Old Goa.

After passing numerous beautiful old buildings we ascended to the Jama Mashid Mosque, dedicated to the monkey god Hanumen.

The walk, recommended by the guidebook, was disappointing and we soon found ourselves back in Panaji centre and the Lady of Immaculate Church, Panaji’s main church, built in 1541 in Baroque style and with tall twin towers. The bell fitted at the church is the second largest in Goa, which was brought from its original site Augustinian monastery in Old Goa.

Having overcome our disappointment with ‘real’ coffee at a restaurant in the centre, we decided to move on.

Having been to Panaji and Old Goa, we found them to be disappointing and would not recommend going there unless you are interested in religious sites.

However, we’re glad to have seen them and Venite was by far the nicest restaurant we encountered on our trip. The food is wonderful and varied, even to European taste, but it’s the atmosphere and unusual décor that really makes the place.

* Sanyog Vegetarian Restaurant, Nizari Bhavan on Dr Pissurlekar Road, call (0832) 243 2120.

GETTING THERE: Panaji is 30km from Vasco da Gama, Dabolim airport. It can be accessed via railway, the nearest station along the Konkan Railway is Karmali, about 10 km to its east, while the rail-line linking Goa with Bangalore brings you in via either Margao or Vasco da Gama, between 25-33 km from Panjim. Buses connect Panjim with many nearby cities, most of them are overnight.