"Going, Going, Goa!" Goa by Ramonq

click: Goan music

If luxuriant verdant landscape dotted with white-washed churches and colourful exotic temples, overlooking sandy beaches that face the blue Arabian sea, do not spark any interest, then Goa is not for you. This is a great place to lie on a beach and wind down, and at the same time experience an intriguing blend of two very different cultures. Those white-washed Catholic churches are living legacies left behind by the Portuguese colonisers; and those colourful temples are its homegrown Hindu variety. They're all sprinkled around amongst the lush palm trees in this Indian state of Goa. This state is the smallest in India but it is also one of the most popular places in the country to visit because of what it has to offer. I have seen many middle-class Indians who bussed into Goa for their vacation and were led around by tour guides to the unfamiliar Catholic temples; and to the beaches with bikini-clad European women. For many Hindu Indians, Goa is quite Western and exotic; and for the Western tourists, Goa is an affordable relaxing getaway which was once part of the drug-crazed hippie-trail back when hippies were trendy.

I stayed in Panaji, the capital city and the main port of Goa, a surprisingly pleasant place that has a large tropical country-town feel about it. Roaring motorbikes and rambling vehicles ply the main streets and there are many hotels around town that cater to the burgeoning tourist and convention trade which range from flea pits to luxury types. Panaji is Goa's commercial centre and this is the place to see travel agents before you venture out to the outlying beach resorts or tour the countryside. It's got some nightlife even Western-type bars and dance places that are popular with the hip Indian crowd. And of course, Panaji has a Mediterranean flavour with the presence of baroque churches and colonial homes. A few descendants of the Portuguese have remained making up the core of the unique Goan culture, now gradually eroding as more and more Hindus settle in the fertile land.

How did the Goans developed a unique culture compared to the rest of India? The tale of Goa is a bewitching tale of spices, seafarers, conquests and intrigues. Before the Portuguese came, Goa was part of the Mauryan Empire in the 3rd century BC. A series of regional Hindu feudal rulers ruled Goa until it fell to the Muslims in 1312, but the invaders were forced to evacuate it in 1370, by Harihara. Goa became an important landing places for ships carrying Arabian horses. A dynastic sultanate conquered Goa, who made Goa Velha as their second capital. The old secretarial building in Panaji, is the former palace of this dynatsy, but it was later taken over by the Portuguese, as their official residence. During the 15th century, sea faring Portuguese adventurers set out to conquer faraway lands, and some managed to find their way to this remote corner of the Indian subcontinent.

spices and Hindu temples

It was Vasco de Gama's fleet in 1488 who discovered a new route to India in order break the Turkish monopoly in the spice trade. The Cape Route then became a nautical superhighway between Europe and India. The Portuguese conquered Goa in 1510 after they tried to establish a base further south but faced stiff competition from the Ottoman Turks, who controlled the trade routes between the Middle East, India and Indonesia (the Spice Islands). When the Portuguese surmounted the Turk supremacy over the Indian Ocean, Goa's golden age dawned. Old Goa became the largest city in the East and became the viceregal seat of the Portuguese Empire of the East, which included Mozambique, East Timor and Macao.

The Portuguese were also evangelical and they sent Jesuit missionaries led by St. Francis Xavier to spread Christianity in 1542. At the height of Goan conversion, Old Goa boasted no less than 300 churches which can still be seen. Many surrounding areas were annexed by the Portuguese and these white-washed churches mushroomed in the countryside as well. The rise of the British and Dutch spice traders in the 17th Century saw start of the gradual decline of Goa. The Portuguese were ejected from Goa in 1961, led by the Indian Republic President, Jawaharla Nehru.

sunbathe with the cows

Although the Portuguese have left, The Indians have still retained most of the infrastructure that the Portuguese built. Many Goans still flock to the churches on Sunday and their meals have a Mediterranean flavour to it. The miraculous body of St Francis of Xavier, interred in the cathedral at Old Goa, is its most popular attraction and thousands of pilgrims pay respect to this venerable man. The hippies discovered Goa in the 1960's and the place developed a reputation for a cool place to smoke dope amongst the palm trees. Tourism is changing the conservative Goan lifestyle, but the citizens are trying to stem the tide of change. Crackdown on the unwashed stoned backpackers is being enforced and the Goan provincial government is focusing its resources more towards the affluent resort-type tourists. Domestic tourism is also on the rise as thousands of male Indians flock on the beaches to ogle at the strange Western women with skimpy clothes and have their photos snapped with them. Oh the joys of cultural interaction..

• Pros:Fascinating History
• Cons:Drugs and corrupt cops
• In a nutshell:A touch of Portugal in India