Our train arrived at Karmali station at 6.30am. We had been keeping vigil out of the dark train window, sweet milky coffees in hand, since about 5.30am and were astonished that the train arrived exactly at the scheduled time. An autorickshaw took us into Fountainhas - the older, more quaint part of Panjiim in Goa - which was all quite closed up at that time in the morning. A lot of Goa has a heavy Portugese influence and Fountainhas could easily have passed for a Mediterranean village with its narrow streets, white church and coloured buildings. It turned out, however, that you had to pay to stay in the picturesque, so we threw our rucksacks back on and trudged over to the cheaper, busier side of town.
After lots of walking around we found a room that wasn't too expensive in a hotel. The room appeared to be an afterthought - somewhere in the middle of the ground and first floor, with our heads nearly touching the ceiling - but it was at least clean and central. We didn't get up to a great deal for the two days we stayed in Panjiim. We caught the local bus to Old Goa, the once capital of the state. This was a pleasant way to spend a few hours, wandering around the big white Portugese cathedrals and churches in well-kept green surroundings.
The buses are funny as they never actually stop to let new passengers on. men shout and whistle out of the windows and as they approach, waving frantically as you make a run for the open door. At one point the bus took off with an elderly gentleman half-hanging out the door, but he seemed to find it as amusing as the guys that work on the bus!
We had a few nice meals and wandered around Panjiim a bit but, if I'm really honest, I was probably most excited by the English language channels on the telly in the hotel room...
