Thread: Goa, going..

Russian women!

You might get a reward if you find this old hippy..believed to be Lord Lucan...

Goa is a long stretch of beaches, Anjuna is the main hippy hangout- but the beach further south is better and attracts a less aromatic breed of tourist. I stayed in Cavelossim, laid back and a beautiful beach. Wednesday's flea market at Anjuna is worth a visit, otherwise I found it a scruffy, bustly kind of place and less laid back than the beaches further south. If you're travelling solo you might find Cavelossim a bit too laid back though- depends what you like.

Pro's- great beaches, good & cheap seafood, and I enjoyed the food in general (& didn't get Delhi belly!). The locals are mostly pretty laid back. Excellent fishing, if you want to hire a boat with a local fisherman.

Cons- I met the wife there, so it turned out a very expensive holiday.

Originally Posted by Neo

..but not quite gone.. yet. Anyone been..? pros and cons please
hotel or resort recommendations

1 hour to Muscat, 1 hour stopover, 3 hours to Goa.. £350 rtn

Prices to get anywhere else out of the sandpit at this time of year are extortionate, and as it's still monsoon, or tail end of, in the SW of the subcontinent prices are low... I hate backpacking hippie cunts, but hear there's something for everyone in Goa... know what I mean

Good thread, Neo.

No, I haven't been there yet, but will be going there and to Rhajastan, Goa, Kerala and other areas within 2 years on a big trip (unless something happens to postpone the trip.

Lots of info on Goa out there.

Have a good trip.

@neo - I hope you go to Goa! I haven't been to the subcontinent, so will be eager to see your pics. It's good that pics can't convey aromas. Lol. And if you see a Shah Ruk Khan lookalike, don't forget to take photos for Patsy & me!

Stayed around Colva beach back in 76.

Heard they're cleaning the place up. Looking for the up market tourist.

A dog used to hang around about 3 or 4 metres behind anybody and just follow them wherever they went. They usually ended up getting fed.
Smart dogs.

Goa?

It's great being 18 and getting out into the World for the first time.

There is a lot more to Goa than you know, Loogy. For a start it only became part of India in 1960, and is a mainly Catholic place (which makes it unique in India). Oh, do try their pork vindaloo (which comes from Goa)- excellent. The Goan people are quite different than other parts of that massive subcontinent. The seafood is cheap, excellent, and bountiful. It is a string of beaches, not just one particular place. Like Bali, and other tourist places, it attracts a lot of interlopers from elsewhere- be careful of them.

When were you last there?

Originally Posted by Cold Pizza

No, I haven't been there yet, but will be going there and to Rhajastan, Goa, Kerala and other areas within 2 years on a big trip (unless something happens to postpone the trip.

Originally Posted by sabang

do try their pork vindaloo

you can't be serious.

^A Goan specialty and excellent!

Very serious. I had some beachboys organise us a kid goat too- half done vindaloo, half done tandoori style. Well excellent, and cheap. honestly, Goan vindaloo knocks your pommy shite out of the water. After all, that is where it comes from. Something to do with the palm vinegar, I believe. If you wanna balti, go to brumagem.

But you are a Pom, Sabang and a fukkin Brummie one at that

When was the last time you went to Goa? I heard its turned into a right shithole now

Originally Posted by Neo

. I hate backpacking hippie cunts

3 days in Goa and you will get sick of it. Of the cow poo, of staring men, of families taking photos and of trashy trancy and trashier wannabe-hippies running around like stone-heads. Sometime the truth just has to be there: Goa is simply not a paradise anymore and I do not know whether it has ever been one or whether the people describing it as one were simply high. The ocean is not shining, the palmtrees seem sad and the hostels are far away from being nice. Make some efforts and you will certainly have some fun, such as while riding along the streets or endulging in good Goa food. Still, the hippie life that (maybe) once has been there, is gone. Sorry, Goa, but we will never see each other again.

Holy Cow Poo! Or: 3 days in Goa - annewhere.annewhere.

Was there 25 years ago and it was OK but nowt special. Booking ahead = 20,000 baht from the sandpit to swampy.

^^ They were saying the same thing back in 2002/3, when I last went there. In the case of Anjuna, it may well be true- but Pattaya, Brum, Angeles, and Tijuana are shitholes I've had lotsa fun in too. Not to mention Arenal, Llloret de Mar, and any number of other places around the Med. (Not so much fun though, 18-30's types)

Like I said, Goa is a string of beaches not just one place, quite distinct from the rest of India, and to my way of thinking well worth a visit. I well enjoyed it.

I lived in India for three years. I went to Goa once, simply because I'd never been there. Once was enough. With all that India has to offer, Goa simply isn't worth more than a two-day visit. It wasn't in the '80's, and is probably even less so now.

Yup quality of both sea and sand is mediocre and the general appearance is scruffy. People are nice enough, and a Kingfisher on the beach is OK of course.

If you don't go, you'll never know. But I wouldn't stay in in Anjuna or the other 'main' beach (?), any more than I would take a holiday in Lloret de Mar. Stay out a bit, and chill.

But for the true afficionado, Kerala is probably better.

^ Oh nonsense. The beach at Cavelossim was simply excellent. The nearby river mouth (it's basically a sand spit) was an excellent harbour to go fishing from too, and I've never caught more fish in a day in my life. Thinnk you lot stayed in the downmarket places.

Originally Posted by billy the kid

Stayed around Colva beach back in 76.

Yeh, that's it- the other 'main place'. I'd go further south. Better beach (it's a sand spit really), better fishing, estuary/ river mouth, more laid back. More expensive too.

Originally Posted by Neo

Prices to get anywhere else out of the sandpit at this time of year are extortionate, and as it's still monsoon, or tail end of, in the SW of the subcontinent prices are low

Torrential rain , mudslides, thunderstorms and loads of slimy cowshit.

Sounds great

Originally Posted by Dillinger

3 days in Goa and you will get sick of it. Of the cow poo, of staring men, of families taking photos and of trashy trancy and trashier wannabe-hippies running around like stone-heads. Sometime the truth just has to be there: Goa is simply not a paradise anymore and I do not know whether it has ever been one or whether the people describing it as one were simply high. The ocean is not shining, the palmtrees seem sad and the hostels are far away from being nice. Make some efforts and you will certainly have some fun, such as while riding along the streets or endulging in good Goa food. Still, the hippie life that (maybe) once has been there, is gone. Sorry, Goa, but we will never see each other again.

3 days..? jfc... you wouldn't want to spend 3 minutes with that miserable fucker.

Originally Posted by sabang

There is a lot more to Goa than you know, Loogy. For a start it only became part of India in 1960, and is a mainly Catholic place (which makes it unique in India). Oh, do try their pork vindaloo (which comes from Goa)- excellent. The Goan people are quite different than other parts of that massive subcontinent. The seafood is cheap, excellent, and bountiful. It is a string of beaches, not just one particular place. Like Bali, and other tourist places, it attracts a lot of interlopers from elsewhere- be careful of them.

When were you last there?

Two weeks ago, selling solar powered windfarm technology to the mining industry there.


The fish vindaloo are overrated. Plenty of loo, but not enough vinda in them.

The swimming and beaches are not brilliant there at all and the locals are parasitic and occasionally dangerous, as befitting any mass-market destination in a second rate, bogus paradise developed on a myth for those without the wallet to vacation in the Bahamas, Seychelles or Mauritius.

Personally, if one wants the Indian beach experience then go to Sri Lanka which has similar beaches but the food and climate are so much better and journeying into the hinterland and around Kandy is much more rewarding.

If one can ignore the fact that the Sinhalese quelled the Tamil LTTE rebellion with almost biblical ferocity and barbarity, then it could be a very pleasant interlude without encountering the bangled, tattooed, braided and bearded Western oiks that infest Goa.