Yesterday's News

Yesterday we traveled across Goa and stopped in Panjim, Goa's capital, for the afternoon.

As the Portuguese did not leave here until the 1970's the city still has a look and feel that is anything but Indian. The main square, Municipal Gardens, with its 'Church of Our Lady' on its south side could be the postcard image of most large colonial towns in the Caribbean.
While in Panjim we had dinner at Viva Panjim, one of the local restaurants recommended by the Rough Guide.

The setting was lovely. An open space outside that reminded me of eating al fresco in the South of Spain. The lady that runs the restaurant comes out to check that everyone is enjoying the food, and to explain how she prepares the dishes. The fish was good, but my dessert, a variation on creme caramel, was out of this world. So light and delicious.

We had to take three buses and one tuk tuk to eventually get to the train station that would finally take us out of Goa. We could've done this in one cab, but then we wouldn't have stopped in Panjim, we would've produced more pollution, and we would have wrecked my budget.

This way, it cost us just over £3. A cab would have been £32.

Once at the station we realised that we had booked the wrong onward ticket. Our 00.10 train was no longer on the 4th, but on the 5th. Our names were not on the seating chart. Luckily the conductor took pity on us, and only made us buy a very cheap ticket. Actually he went and bought for us at the next station.

I get the impression that India has got a very reputable and serious press. It's broadsheets, such as the Times Of India or The Indian Express, seem to have content comparable to its British counterparts. But I have also noticed the quality of its op-ed and the contributions from external sources. For example this week, the vice-president of the World Bank wrote an article on infrastructure projects and growth in these times of crisis.

But being India, everything had to have a twist. The Times of India subtitles its International section as 'Love all nations alike'. I cant really see that tagline under the Guardian's header.

However, even more amusing was today's headline: 'Simon Cowell Laughs Off Rumours That He Is Gay'...

'Hello is that Yesterday's News? Well I'm moving my subscription to Behind The Times."

Sorry, couldn't help myself with that really cheap joke, it was too easy.

Hopefully tomorrow we will get to Mysore without any more incidents.