Goa - A senses overload! (Goa)

Member Name: brudenes

Product:	Goa
Date:	10/01/09 (88 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hot, friendly, fantastic food, incredibly interesting

Disadvantages: Very dusty

I visited North Goa a year ago and found it an exhilarating feast for the senses.

When you arrive at the airport it can be a bit overwhelming - men will try and elicit a tip by holding or touching your case on the way to your coach - don't be fazed - find your tour company rep, get directions to your coach and just firmly tell anyone trying to "help" that you are fine and will find your own way and they'll soon leave you alone. If anyone puts a flower garland round your neck expect to be asked for money, so don't be afraid to say "no thank you".

We stayed in Arpora, a great, fairly quiet little spot with easy access to the more bustling resorts of Baga and Calangute.

We hired a moped (pretty dangerous!) which gave us the run of all the coastal resorts in the North and we ventured to the South for a couple of days, although found it extremely quiet there. The roads/driving are very hairy!

The people are lovely, and very friendly but you do get a bit of hassle from the stall owners and need to be firm but polite. Some of the beaches have a lot of hawkers (e.g. Baga) but others can be fine, with no-one approaching you.

We loved the food. "Prawns Massala" was practically our staple diet, and paneer (a cheese I'd compare slightly to mozzarella) curry was lovely too. We ate at Margao train station restaurant one day and had the best prawn curry, with poppadoms and lime pickle for £1.50. Eating in resorts is noticeably more expensive though. The samosas you can pick up at kiosks and little general shops are gorgeous. A lot of the restaurants and cafes look very rundown and a bit shocking when you first arrive, but in fact some of the worst looking ones, that if you saw in UK you'd not go within a mile, had the most fantastic food.

Travelling by train is a great experience but don't expect to get anywhere on time. We spent a whole day in train stations and on trains without actually ever getting where we wanted to, which was slightly frustrating but also really interesting.

Everywhere is incredibly dry and dusty, and no matter how much you shower you will permanently feel a bit grubby but you get used to it. Don't take any white clothes or anything very fine or expensive as it will never be the same again. Your feet will constantly be ingrained with reddish dust throughout your visit.

The markets are fun for a visit - Baga on Saturday night is good - but to be honest most of the stalls are all selling the same mass produced tourist fodder. The Wed. flea market at Anjuna we found a bit irritating in terms of hassle, even by normal Goa standards.

You'll see lots of egrets (crazy cranes as we called them), sacred cows roaming everywhere including on the beaches, elephants, wild boars, kingfishers and birds of prey and masses of dogs. The countryside is beautiful.

You will also see quite a lot of begging.

Main tips - negotiate trips with locals rather than booking extortionate tour company excursions, don't take your best clothes, expect hotels to be of a basic standard, don't be scared of the food (we didn't get any "hot" curries even though we tried), never accept the first or second price you are given for an item you might want to buy - always haggle hard and even walk away (9 times out of 10 they'll run after you and drop the price), expect to be stared at & don't be surprised if people ask if they can be photographed with you (some clearly found us fascinating). Do expect to have a fantastic holiday if you love experiencing different places and having adventures.

Summary: One of the most interesting holidays I've had and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone.