Since Pakistan is on the "Asian sub-continent", we decided to make our first trip to India.
This is what Jim did a lot of during the vacation. Lying by the pool and relaxing. Alonda was in the next chair doing the same thing.
We stayed at an actual Holiday Inn. It was at Cavelossim Beach along the western edge of India. We didn't recognize any of the names of the entire area except for Bombay where we changed planes. They are also a little unclear on the name "Bombay" since the name was officially changed to "Mombai" but everyone talks about "Bombay". Do not ever, under any circumstances whatever, go through this airport if you can help it. It was frankly horrible.
This is the "Wedding Pavillion" at the Holiday Inn. An Indian wedding is a huge, multi-day affair. Some people will rent the entire hotel for a week.
This is the beach about 200 meters from our room. Very clean with nice water. Like a warm version of Ocean Shores (Washington).
People do different things at the beach. We shared the beach with some random cows.
Other people enjoyed more "touristy" pursuits. This is NOT us! Jim broke a leg a loooong time ago parachuting and refuses to risk it.
We went out and did a tour of the region. This is the Manguesh Temple. It is the oldest Hindu temple in Goa and is in the middle of a renovation. They do that every hundred years or so.
This is the tourist shopping as you approach the temple. A lot of ladies sell flowers to people going in and other people sell T-shirts to people coming out. Alonda bought flowers on the way out. They were jasmine and smelled quite nice.
We have never been in one of these three-wheeled taxis, but they are common in India and Pakistan. The roofs on the little taxis in India are much more substantial than the ones in Karachi. We think it rains a lot more in India.
This is one of the old cathedrals put up 400-500 years ago when the Portuguese were ruling this region. This one is in the city of Old Goa. The oldest one in the state is across the street, but it wasn't very photogenic.
We went on a harbor cruise in Panaji. It was all delightfully hokey! Cost of the ticket was about $3 US and we were out for over an hour. A beer was $1 US and not many takers. It was very much a family cruise. They did some folk dances from the time of the Portuguese and did the usual dance contests.
As it got dark, the harbor got better looking. There were actually a lot of river cruisers and the city was quite busy. The river is the Mandovi. There were no mosquitoes during the entire trip.
This is the standard roadside scenery in Goa. Lots of farming and animals among the palm trees.
Like a lot of tropical areas, Goa has a lot of Art Deco colored houses. They look good in the tropics.
Here is our traditional sunset on the beach! We had a very relaxing time in Goa and would recommend it if you want to relax.
