For those who wanna know. Goa was a Portuguese colonized territory in India only gaining it's independence in 1960 something twenty years after the British left India. The state is known for the highest percentage of Catholics in India and is home to the Bom Jesu Basillica in which the body of St. Francis Xavier is buried which is exposed every some number of years in a very religious process (exposition) that brings in Catholics from all over India and the rest of the world.

Goans are known to be fun loving people who are laid back, chill and get drunk a lot. A lot of early Bollywood representation of Goans stereotyped them as Catholic, alcoholic, little loose and wanton in their ways. I find it hilarious as an Indian Catholic (who is half Goan) that Catholics in India are the liberal loose people compared to the conservative Hindus and the Muslims in the country. It was only since I've been in the US have I become more aware of how conservative Christianity is considered here and it definitely is an interesting paradigm.

Goa is a wonderful place to visit ESPECIALLY during the New Year's. The feast of St. Francis Xavier is on December 3rd and all the way through to Christmas and New Years its celebrations and tourist season as the weather is cool. Goa also still celebrates Carnival on Pancake Tuesday with a King Momo and everything.

Only warning though would be that the city is EXTREMELY RELAXED. So if you need something urgently, the locals (who most definitely WILL speak english) will tell you not to worry and do things verrrrrrry slowly - Not really a problem when your on vacation though :D