Leaving Panjim

I was awoken in Hotel Republica by the unfriendly owner watching the TV which was thoughtfully placed outside by bedroom door, funnily enough I was compelled to have a lie in however once I realised that the smell that was stinging my nostrils was that of the empty mattress next to me I got up. Panjim has surprisingly few sites for being the capital of Goa and having a fair amount of history behind it, I decided to visit the history museum, located at the opposite end of town, take a left over the bridge at the stagnant pond, round the construction site, behind the bus station and down a road parallel to the rubbish dump. On entrance I seemed to awaken the two sleepy guards who waved the entrance fee and pointed me in the direction of the first room. The museum 'tour' continued in this manner, as I was the only person there the guards would attentively escort me from one room to the next, sometimes pointing out things of interest, of which there were very few. Once I had visited all the rooms and their accompanying guards I was presented with the much prized guest book, I noticed I was the first to sign it since a Korean couple had visited a number of weeks ago who had commented the it was 'very well laid out', probably in absence of anything positive to say about the displays.



The other main sight seeing tick off on the to-do list was a river cruise which had promise of a sunset jaunt along the Mandovi River where you could sample local food and be treated to traditional Goan dances. In actual fact it was an hour long chug up the very smallest stretch of the river on a boat packed with Indian nationals who had seemed to have indulged in a little too much Kingfisher, as for the local dancing, I suppose it technically was although 75% of consisted of a group of rowdy locals jumping up and down on stage to various Indian dance remixes of western songs. The two or three dances performed by the 'professionals' consisted of a dance involving coconuts and a Goan
take on a Mexican Rumba. I can't say I was sad when                                                                             we reached port and were quickly off loaded to allow
the next group on for there hour of fun.

Another few nights at Hotel Republica and I was kind of getting used to the musty air and the itchy bed however I knew it was time to move on, as my friend was meeting me in a weeks time I decided to head not to far from the airport and although the beach immediately south was predominantly middle-aged long stayers I packed my bag, settled my bill at Republica (a grand total of 18 quid for the 4 nights) and headed of to the bus station to catch the bus to Margao.