'Buddha comes to us in many guises'. The guide drones a catalogue of deities 'Vishnu, Shiva, Parvati, Murugan, Ayyappan, Laksmi and Ganesh'.I have never been able to remember them all. These names are too outlandish. But I do remember one: Ganesh, chubby elephant-headed Ganesh.Why an elephant head?The Goddess Parvati was bathing and didn't want to be disturbed, not even by her own consort the God Shiva. Ganesh refused Shiva entrance to Parvati's quarters. Shiva became so furious that he chopped off Ganesh's head. When he realized what he had done he ordered his servants to bring back the head of the first creature they encountered: an elephant.Practicalities: Ponda is the major town of East Goa. The area around Ponda is worth a visit as quite a few Hindu temples are scattered among the surrounding hills. Don’t expect to see architecural wonders. Most temples were built or rebuilt by the Portuguese. You remember: Vasco da Gama, he set foot in Goa in 1498, so these temples are fairly recent.
We were staying in Calangute and had found out that is was not too difficult to get to Ponda. First you take a bus to the bus station in Panjim and from there 30 km by bus to Ponda. The only problem is that these temples are not within walking distance and there is no public transport. It’s possible to hire a taxi in Ponda, but it's much easier to hire one in Calangute. They are waiting in front of the hotels and set us back US$20.
We visited Old Goa in the morning, then went to Ponda and the spice garden in the afternoon: a day well-spent.