Being the old and decrepid individuals we are these days we decided to pass up on the 'Benidorm-style' parties and tourist havens of Calangute and Baga and changed our plan to head to Old Goa.

Old Goa is a former capital of the Goan state and was a Portugese settlement up until 1961 so theres a very different feel compared to the rest of the country. We spent the first night having a little potter and a beautiful meal in the hotel restaraunt. The next morning we headed to see the local sights that included beautiful gardens containing the Bom Jesus (*insert inappropriate jokes here*) Basilica that contains the burial sight of one of the patron saints of the Catholic church as well as the archeaological museum and the ruins of an old cathedral. We've got some really good pics and stuff for anyone who likes that kind of thing.

Despite everything we have seen and done I fear the most interesting sight we have come across occurred on the walk back from the ruins. We stopped by the roadside (after being chased by cattle) to stare at a butterfly (I like butterflies. In much the same way I hasten to add that Tom has developed a deep affection for wells. That isn't a joke, he keeps finding, reading about and photographing wells. As in the big holes with water at the bottom. Ludicrous). Anyway, as were watching the butterfly we notice an ant attacking a spider, great entertainment, Then suddenly, we look down and I'm not kidding, about 3 or 4 thousand millipede things have sprouted from a lair right between our feet and start migrating towards us. I didn't even know they hung out in gangs! Naturally, being the testosterone fueled, diet coke pinups that we are....we ran and screamed like girls. We tentatively returned to see them attacking a slug so after getting a (very long) stick we saved the slug, regained some karma and left with some haste. After a hard day of being top tourists we stopped for a meal and decided to get the bus over to the state capital Panjim.

Panjim's nice enough, fairly quiet and very very wet. Found a nice little guest house for a couple of quid for the night and once again wandered the streets, this time with the purpose of finding a new pair of flip flops as the number of times I'd almost broke an ankle was well into double figures. After sorting this we took the snap decision to book a bus to Hampi the next morning. Unfortunately, we didnt read the ticket properly so we ended up booking it for 6.30pm as opposed to 6.30am meaning we had another day to kill in Panjim. To soften the blow we tried to find the one and only proper 'pub' in the city. After walking past it several times through a monsoon we decided to pop into a locals bar instead. This was......erm, interesting. Like many bars in India it was basically someones garage. Not a garage that you'd put a car in, more one that could hold a scooter and a few tins of Dulux at a push. Nevertheless, the locals are always friendly enough and keen to talk to us. When asking where the toilets were however, the bartender/homeowner simply pointed towards the street. Awesome.

So next day was spent largely seeing the one and only sight of Panjim that was certainly not worth the climb in the intense heat and humidity for an abandoned church and a dull view although at the bottom we did find a wonderful small restaurant that served some of the best food we've had here. Anywho, 11 hour bus and next stop Hampi!