Shopping
For most tourists, shopping in Goa means heading off to the Anjuna flea market in North Goa, along south Anjuna beach, on a sweaty Wednesday morning to dig through bric-a-brac from around the subcontinent. Rajasthani textiles, Tibetan thangkas and ornate silver jewellery are in great demand, as are home-made Goa Trance CDs, the computer-generated electronic sounds that have gained a following around the world. If you are the adventurous sort, you can hop into one of the tattoo or body-piercing stalls at the market. Complete the hippie look by buying silver jewellery and trinkets, which are available in plenty.

The flea market in Mapusa

In Margao there's Johnny's Handi­crafts, near Holy Trinity Church, Benaulim, where you'll find typically Goan blue white tiles called azulejos, with Arab, Portuguese and Spanish motifs. At the Goa Handicrafts Emporium at the Tourist Hotel! Residency, Margao, you get terra cotta, cotton and shopping bags.
The best gifts to take from Goa are cashew nuts and cashew or palm feni, the divine local brew. Both are available from grocery and liquor stores around the state. You can also buy the masala pastes, the vindaloo, recheado masala and mixes for sorpotel and balchao.

But best, of course, are the gems of Goan cuisine: chicken cafreal ('cafre' or 'kaffir', referring to its African origins); sorpotel and vindaloo, both made with pork; and beef xacuti. Goan kitchens also offer an astounding variety of seafood, cooked in delectable ways. Fot afters, there's bebinca, a multi-layered delicacy, as well as creme caramel.
In Panaji, don't miss the masala pork chops at Venite, Rua 31 de Janeiro. Its owner, Luis, keeps the atmosphere bub­bling and runs a delicious kitchen. Viva Panaji, 178 Rua 31 de Janeiro, does a good job with the usual items while Horseshoe on Rua de Ourem also serves Portuguese­influenced Goan food. The riverside Star Restaurant, about 1 km towards Panaji, opposite Cozy Nook Bar, is run out of an old house. There's seating inside as well as in the open. Excellent seafood at very reasonable prices. Riorico, Mandovi Hotel, serves standard Goan fare. Try their cafreal or the sorpotel. 0 Coqueiro, near Defence Colony, Alto Porvorim, is where Charles Sobhraj was arrested. Mum's Kitchen near Miramar Beach is an excellent eatery. Try the mushroom foogath.

George Restaurant, which is outside the Church of Immaculate Conception, is famous for mackerel recheado, sausage pao and fish curry. The Sand and Sea Bar & Restaurant near Bambolim Beach Resort serves Goan food in a rustic ambience. For authentic Goan Hindu food, check out the Saraswat thali available at the Cidade de Goa, Dona Paula.
Carvella at the Taj's Fort Aguada Resort is overseen by the famed chef Urbano de Rego and is the gathering place for musicians on weekends. Souza Lobo on Calangute Beach opened in the 1930s and is beloved to generations of Goans. In Margao, Longuinho's on Luis Miranda Road offers a glimpse of old world Goa. They serve excellent Goan food while Martin's Corner, Betalbatim, is famous for its succulent seafood.