Jan. 5 : Panaji, India - Goa at last!

Thursday, January 5 :: Panaji (Goa), India :: 63km today / 1765km total

An early morning, I was quite excited, for today would be an easy ride to... Goa! Goa is one of India's smallest, richest States... a former Portuguese colony that is known for it's beaches. It stretches for 100km along the Arabian Sea, and its all sand. If you've ever seen pictures of beaches in India, or package beach trips to India, very likely they were of/to Goa (other than the tsunami footage, which was of the East coast). I have spent quite a bit of time reviewing the beach options, but really there's only one place for me to head to, the backpacker's mecca of Palolem (and neighbouring Patnem, which is rumoured to have the closest thing to surf in India). All the backpackers I've met have talked longingly of Palolem, eyes glazing over in rememberance, so although I had decided to check out the other beaches, I wouldn't likely linger elsewhere. Palolem is at the very South end of Goa, so I wouldn't make it there today, but that's ok.

Well, for 63km the ride was much hillier than expected, but nothing like the past 2 days, and climbs that before would have seemed "large" were easily shrugged off. I started giggling (literally) when I saw a white person, the first I'd seen in 5 days. Also funny was the way the foreigners drove around on motorbikes... I'm very accustomed to the Indian-style agile, fast, crazy motorbike driving... the foreigners cautiously corner, pass, stop and start, while the Indians (and me!) fly by them. Loads of entertainment.

I traipsed slowly down the coast, past the more famous of Goa's beaches; Anjuna, Vagator, Baga, etc. Tacky, overpriced, package-tourist central, nice to ride through, grab a drink, but not my cup of chai. All is tropical, palm trees everywhere, close your eyes and think of beach paradise, I can expect this, more or less, for the next 1000km Southbound to the tip of India.

I pulled into Panaji, Goa's capital, for a half-day rest and meander through this old Portuguese town. Goa's wealth is readily apparent here, this is one of the first places I've seen in India where the poverty is not in-your-face. I did the obligatory walking tour, buildings, temples, churches, yawn. I found a great little restaurant that was overflowing with local customers... Graham's Travel Tip #53: Eat Where The Locals Eat. It was so busy that you grabbed any available seat at any table. Being an anomaly I was quickly seated, I'm sure I must've skipped the line, but the Indians like having unusual company. For $4CDN I had a fantastic meal of prawn, mussels, and a 650ml Kingfisher (beer). I love India.

Palolem is only 75km away... and I'm pretty banged up from a very tough 6 days; perfect time and place for a multi-day stop.