Having rested a little, I went out to explore Panaji. Panaji is a gorgeous little town and the Goa Indians have the Portuguese to thank for that. The two days previous, which weren’t that great, just made Panaji even more beautiful. Since it’s not too big, it’s also a great place to explore on foot.
Churches, monasteries, old colonial European aroma buildings, and my favorite Panaji feature – the gorgeous stairs leading to some of the houses :
Around the after-noon I took a local bus to “Old Goa” which really took me by surprise. Huge old Cathedrals, and most are in remarkably good shape – too(Indian standards) .
In a walkable distance there are around 10 old World Heritage monuments that are a pleasure to visit. I started off from the Basilica of Born Jesus.
I continued to Church of St. Francis of Assissi, which also serves as the Archeological Museum of Portrait Gallery with the Se Cathedral :
and the Chapel of St. Catherine :
moving on to the Covent of St. Monica :
and Our Lady of Rosary with the stunning view of Old Goa from atop :
I came back through Church of St. John of God where the old Indian ladies with near-perfect British English staying there welcomed me inside and showed me around :
and paid a visit to the remains of the burned down Church of St. Augustine :
I had me some local bakery while watching stupid Indian Kong-fu imitation movies with some of the Old-Goans and headed back. A good exploration day, my first normal day touring India.
You forgot to mention when you were in Panji. I was there on 2~3 Feb. Who knows may be we might have crossed paths 😀 good to hear that you finally had better time spare the mumbai/pune exp 😛