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Goa [1] is a former Portuguese colony, currently a state in India's West region. It is 3700 square kilometres in size and has a human population of approximately 1.4 million. Its east-west mix, beaches and syncretic culture is what attracts an officially-estimated two million visitors each year. Bulk of the visitors are from the rest of India, but the quarter-million from abroad have an influential role to play because of their spending capacity. Among the foreign visitors, and increasingly among a section of young visitors from India, Goa is currently renowned for its electronic music parties and its beaches. From 1510 until 1961 Goa was a Portuguese colony and many aspects of Portuguese culture and architecture can still be found.
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Goa is world famous for its beaches, its ancient temples and churches, and its Goan carnival.
If naval aviation interests you, you might want to stop by the Naval Air Museum. This is behind the Dabolim Airport, and you will need to loop around the airport perimeter across the Dabolim Railway station to get there. There are seven outdoor exhibits and other memorabilia and models in a two story building.
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Since Goa has a large Catholic minority, it has many Catholic holidays besides the Indian national holidays.
One of them, the Carnival though often mistaken for a 'Catholic holiday' is largely a Government sponsered affair of Floats and festivities.
There is a lot to do - for those who like their fun a little laid back
- Relax at the Beaches. Goa has an almost unbroken 100 km coastline of beaches
- Visit the venerable Cathedrals of a bygone era at Old Goa, which are still in remarkable good condition where the relic of St. Francis Xavier is.
- Enjoy the cuisine at a range of restaurants that cater to just about every palate.
- Check out the several Discos and Pubs that have sprung up around Goa.
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The Goan staple diet consists of rice and fish curry along with pickles and fried fish. This can be found on many of the beach shacks. The Goan cuisine is a blend of Portuguese and local flavours. Many dishes such as prawn balchao and Kingfish in Garlic have distinct Portuguese flavour.
Dishes such as Vindaloo and Xacuti (pronounced Cha'cuti) will be familiar from Indian restaurant menus, and are originally Goan dishes.
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