India Travel

Banks and ATMs in Goa

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Listings of Madhya Pradesh

Airlines Indian Airlines has an office in the Gangotri complex on Bhadbada Road. New Market (Mon-Sat 9am-5pm. Sun 9am-noon; 0755/550480), and a booking counter at the airport. Banks and exchange Apart from the top hotels, only the main New Market branches of some banks do foreign exchange. Banks such as IBIB bank in New Market have ATMs which accept Visa and Mastercard. The most efficient and convenient place is the State Bank of India (Mon-Fri 10.30am-2pm, Sat 10.30am-12.30pm), next to the GPO. Bookstores The two English-language bookstores at the top of Bhadbada Road in New Market stock a reasonable range of

Books in Goa

The bookshops in the Hotel Fidalgo and the Hotel Mandovi stock a range of English-language fiction in paperback, and special-interest titles and coffee-table tomes on Goa.

Banks and exchange in Hyderabad

Oddly for a state capital, most banks still don't do foreign exchange, two exceptions being the State Bank of Hyderabad, MG Road, and Federal Bank, 1st floor, Orient Estate. MG Road. Both are open Mon-Fri 10.30 am - 2.30 pm, the latter also Sat 10.30am-12.30pm. It's better to head for an agency such as Thomas Cook at Nasir Arcade, Secretariat Road; or L.K.P. Forex on Public Gardens Road, only ten minutes' walk north of Nampally station. Both are open Mon - Sat 9.30 am - 5.30 pm. In Secunderabad try the Allahabad Bank, next to Park Lane hotel.

Banks and currency in Calcutta

Banks and currency exchange Calcutta Airport has a 24hr branch of the State Bank of India, as well as Thomas Cook at the international terminal. Major banks, concentrated either in the vicinity of BBD Bagh or scattered around Cfiowringnee Road, include Bank of America, 8 India Exchange Place; Bank of Tokyo, 2 Brabourne Rd; Banque Nationale de Pans. 4a BBD Bagh East: Citibank. 43 Chowringhee Rd; Hong Kong & Shanghai. 8 Netaji Subhas Rd; Standard Chartered. 4 Netaji Subhas Rd; State Bank of India, Middleton Street and Calcutta airport: and Standard Chartered Grindlays, 41 Chowringhee Rd and 19 Netaji Subhas

Fontainhas and Sao Tome in Goa

Panjim's oldest and most interesting district. Fontainhas, lies immediately west of Pato. overlooking the banks of the oily green Ourem Creek. From the footbridge between the bus stand and town centre, a dozen or so blocks of Neoclassical houses rise in a tangle of terracotta rooftops up the sides of Altinho Hill. At siesta time. Vespas stand idle on deserted street corners, while women in Western clothes exchange pleasantries with their neighbours from open windows and leafy verandas. Many buildings have retained their traditional coat of ochre, pale yellow, green or blue - a legacy of the Portuguese insistence that

Church Square in Goa

The leafy rectangular park opposite the India Government tourist office, known as Church Square or the Municipal Garden, forms the heart of Panjim. Presiding over its east side is the town's most distinctive and photogenic landmark, the toothpaste-white Baroque facade of the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Flanked by rows of slender palm trees, at the head of a criss-crossing laterite walkway, the church was built in 1541 for the benefit of sailors arriving here from Lisbon. The weary mariners would stagger up from the quay to give thanks for their safe passage before proceeding to the

Moving on from Goa

Wherever possible, try and book plane tickets directly through the airline as private agents charge the dollar fare at poor rates of exchange; addresses of airline offices in Panjim are listed on p.867. Seats on ail Konkan Railway services can be booked at the KRC reservation office on the first floor of Panjim's Kadamba bus stand (Mon-Sat 8am-8pm, Sun 8am-2pm), or at KRC's main reservation hail in Margao station (Mon-Sat 8arrM.30pm, Sun 8am-2pm 0834/712780). Make your bookings as far in advance as possible, and try to get to the offices soon after opening time - the queues can be horrendous.

Some history of Goa

The sheer inaccessibility of Goa by land has always kept it out of the mainstream of Indian history; on the other hand, its control of the seas and the lucrative spice trade made it a much-coveted prize for rival colonial powers. Until a century before the arrival of the Portuguese adventurer Vasco da Gama, who landed near Kozhikode in Kerala in 1498, Goa had belonged for over a thousand years to the kingdom of Kadamba. In the interim it had been successfully conquered by the KarnatakanVijayanagars, the Muslim Bahmanis, andYusuf Adil Shah ofBijapur.but the capture of the fort at Panjim

Details of North Goa

Beyond the mouth of the Mandovi estuary, the Goan coast sweeps north in a near-continuous string of beaches, broken only by the odd saltwater creek, rocky headland, and three tidal rivers - two of which, the Chapora and Arondem, have to be crossed by ferry. The most developed resorts, Calangute and Baga, occupy the middle and northern part of the seven-kilometre strip of pearl-white sand that stretches from the Aguada peninsula in the south to a sheer laterite promontory in the north. Formerly, the infamous colonies of Goa hippies gathered in these two villages during their annual winter migration; now

Listings Amitsar in Haryana and Punjab

Airlines the main Indian Airlines office is on Court Road 0183/213392; Air India (j 0183/546122) js located at the Amritsar International Hotel complex near the bus stand. Ambulance 0183/220900 or 501702. Banks and exchange Several banks offer foreign exchange facilities including the State Bank of India, halfway between the bus stand and the Golden Temple, the Bank of Punjab, near the temple, and the Chartered Bank and ANZ Grindlays, both at Hall Bazaar. Authorized agencies such as Narang Travels at the Amritsar International Hotel arcade, near the bus stand, also change money. Hospitals Kakkar Hospital Green Avenue (0183/506015); Sri Guru

Southern Maharashtra

Most tourists heading south from Mumbai skip southern Maharashtra, but if you have a little time you can break up the journey and ease the burden of covering vast distances. Pune retains its Maratha character, in the old quarter at least, and also boasts a unique museum; some may also be attracted by its much-dended Osho Commune. Hill stations such as Matheran provide coolness, wooded walks and fine views, while the Konkan coast has little-visited beaches and forts that make a pleasant journey down to Goa. From Lonavala, you can get to see the earliest Buddhist rock-cut art in the

Ponda and around in Goa

Characterless, chaotic PONDA, 28km southeast of Panjim and 17km northeast of Margao, is Ponda taluka's administrative headquarters and main market town, but not somewhere you're likely to want to stay. Straddling the busy Panjim-Bangalore highway (NH-4), the town's ugly concrete centre is permanently choked with traffic, and guaranteed to make you wonder why you ever left the coast. Of the few visitors who stop here.1, most do so en route to the nearby Hindu temples or wildlife reserves further east, or to take a look at Goa's best-preserved sixteenth-century Muslim monument, the Safa Masjid, 2km west on the Panjim road.

Accommodation and eating in Goa

Nearly as long-distance buses pull in to Mapusa in the morning, leaving plenty of time to find accommodation in the coastal resorts nearby. If you have to spend the night here, though, there are plenty of places within easy walking distance of the Kadamba bus stand. The best budget deal is GTDC's Tourist Hotel (0832/262794 or 262694), on the roundabout below the square, which has spacious and clean rooms, a Goa tourist information counter and a small Damania Shipping office. The Vilena, across town near the Municipality Building on Mapusa Road (0832/263115), also offers good-value economy rooms (with or without

Dudhsagar waterfalls in Goa

Measuring a mighty 600m from head to foot, the famous waterfalls at DUDHSAGAR, on the Goa Karnataka border, are some of the highest in India, and a spectacular enough sight to entice a steady stream of visitors from the coast into the rugged Western Ghats. After pouring across the Deccan plateau, the headwaters of the Mandovi River form a foaming torrent that fans into three streams, then cascades down a near-vertical cliff face into a deep green pool. The Konkani name for the falls, which literally translated means "sea of milk", derives from clouds of foam kicked up at the

Terekol in Goa

North of Arambol, the sinuous coast road climbs to the top of a rocky, undulating plateau, then winds down through a swathe of thick woodland to join the River Arondem, which it then follows for 4km through a landscape of vivid paddy fields, coconut plantations and temple towers protruding from scruffy red-brick villages. The tiny enclave of TEREKOL, the northernmost tip of Goa. is reached via a clapped-out car ferry (every 30nnn: 5min) from the hamlet of Querim, 42km from Panjim. After the long and scenic drive, the old fort that dominates the estuary from the north is a bit of

Traveling from Goa To Gokarna, Mangalore and southern Karnataka

From Goa, the fastest and most convenient way to travel down the coast to Gokarn is via the Konkan Railway. At 2.10pm, train #KR001 leaves Margao, passing through Chaudi at 3pm en route to Gokarn Road, the town's railhead, where it arrives at around 4.20pm. The station lies 9km east of Gokarn itself, but buses and rickshaws are on hand to shuttle passengers the rest of the way. As this is classed as a passenger service, you don't have to buy tickets in advance; just turn up at the station 30-45min before the departure time and pay at the regular

Practicalities in Goa

Ponda is served by regular buses from Panjim (via Old Goa) and Margao, and lies on the main route east to Karnataka. The Kadamba bus stand is on the main square, next to the auto-rickshaw rank. There are plenty of places to stay if you get stuck here. Best of the budget lodges is the Padmavi at the top of the square. For more comfort, try the President, a short rickshaw ride up the Belgaum road, which has large, clean en-suite rooms, some with air conditioning. More up market is the three-star Atash, 4km northwest on the NH-4 at Farmagudi, whose

River cruises in Goa

GTDC runs two return trips from Santa Monica jetty, directly beneath the Mandovi Road bridge (daily: 6pm & 7.15pm; Rs90). Aim for the earlier one, as it usually catches the last of the sunset. Snacks and drinks are available, and the price includes a display of Konkani and Portuguese dance accompanied by folk singers in traditional Goan costume, and sometimes a live Hindi cover band. Two-hour "Full Moon" cruises also leave daily at 8.30pm, regardless of the lunar phase. Operating in direct competition to GTDC are Emerald Waters' cruises from the quay outside the Mandovi Hotel. In addition to evening

Practicalities in Goa

Other than to shop, you may want to visit Mapusa to arrange onward transport. All buses between Goa and Maharashtra pass through, so you don't need Co travel to Panjim to book a ticket to Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore or Mangalore. Reservations for private buses can be made at the numerous agents' stalls at the bottom of the square, next to where the buses pull in; the Kadamba terminal - the departure point for long-distance state buses and local services to Calangute, Baga, Anjuna,Vagator, Chapora, and Arambol - is five minutes' walk down the main road, on the southwest edge of

Packages and organized tours

A large number of operators run package holidays to India, covering such activities as trekking and safaris as well as sightseeing and sunbathing. Specialist minority-interest tours range from steam locomotives and war history to religion and food. Even if you book a general sightseeing tour, most firms have a good range of options, usually including the "Golden Triangle" of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur; a tour of Rajasthan; or a southern tour taking in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi. Some also offer wildlife tours; the Palace on Wheels train journey; take in Nepal or Bhutan; or have various combinations of all