Goa   DISCOVER INDIA     India's smallest state in area, set on the west coast to the south of Mumbai, is quite unlike any other corner of the country. Prime attraction, of course, are its 60 miles of palm-edged tropical beaches - unmistakably tropical and blissfully relaxing. But Goa is today very much an international holiday destination with an almost Western flavour by both day and night - where night-owls can party into the early hours in the buzzing beach bars of Vagator and Anjuna. Shopaholics will relish the colourful bargain-filled retail therapy on offer in North Goa, where there's a lively mix of markets and bazaars. In the South life is slower, with quiet fishing villages nestling on the coast and paddy fields with natural wildlife inland. But Goa has another special European connection. For 450 years it was a Portuguese colony. In Old Goa town you'll discover Portuguese-style houses that could almost be in Lisbon. The Goans themselves have inherited a Portuguese love of music - while the local cuisine is a tempting blend of Portuguese flavours and Indian spices. Another unique legacy is Goa's astonishing collection of wonderfully preserved colonial churches - the finest are in Old Goa, while the beautiful Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception remains a major landmark of the capital, Panaji.   Leela Palace Hotel