It doesn't hurt to use the same taxi driver every year but remember they are giving you a service and you are paying for it. There is no need to tip they have had 2 weeks guaranteed work, which with all the taxis in Goa must be rare.

At home you may use the same taxi firm and same local to drink in, however you don't feel the need to tip at every opportunity.

My point is taxi drivers, shack owners, barstaff, restaurants are all making a much better living than they previously had due to tourism. However some are gettign greedy, and in danger of shooting the hen that laid the golden egg for all. They fail to understand that some visitors work very long hours adn save for 50 weeks of the year to spend 2 weeks in Goa, and in the UK very few of us can afford to work for a season and live the remainder of the year on what we make.

taffy you are so right in your last comment that none of us in uk can work for 6 months and be able to afford to not work for the other 6 months, it brings it home how not poor they try to make us believe they are.

Lots of comments in the posts are valid. Basically a bit of common sense is all it requires.
There are many, many poor people in Goa, and all over India, make no mistake about it. You just need to visit the slums and sadly it all becomes very evident.

Last year we were asked by one of the beach girls for 2 school bags and some pens as her kids were starting school, I have known the girl for 8 years now and that was the only time she ever asked anything from me. She is from Karnataka and will go back down there to pick rice once the season is over as she has done for the past 15 years, now people like this are an exception and I don`t mind `helping out` as she puts it, I even slipped her a tenner the day I was going home as she is a really honest hard working Girl who only wants what is best for her kids.
However there were a couple of the newer ones trying the old best mate routine and asked me for phones (latest ones) mp3 players and portable dvd players when I come back next year........ of course I will, any particular colour you want ? I can`t wait to see the look of dissapointment on their faces next year

Hi Bob, your right, a lot do "prime you" over the years, but as gemma said, common sense is vital to weed out the scroungers! No doubt the more times you go to Goa, the more your'll be able to suse it out!

Picking up on Sammy's point, there isnt work available all year round so they need to earn enough to see them through off season. I don't like greed, but no-one is forcing us tourists to give tips etc. Personally if someone badgered me for money they wouldnt see me for dust.
However when you look at how hard they work, taxis on the go from early morning until early hours next morning, waiters much the same, beach sellers slogging up and down the beach day after day and then working the night markets. Its hardly suprising they are looking for an occasional hand out.
I can only speak from personal experience, I only know of one person in 14 years who 'ripped me off' it was only a few pounds but it made me mad and they never got anything again.
The rest of my friends, none went to school they worked the beach during the day, they can't read or write - some now have kids of their own. They all say the same thing, they don't want the same life they had for their children .They are putting them through school not sending them begging on the beach as they had to do. They should be commended for that.

Great posting Roxey and agree with everything 100%. As you say some only work 6/7 months of the year but they work very long hours. eg. some of the shack boys work from before 9am and dont finish til 1am (sometimes later). Considering in the UK we usually work a 7 hour day all year round, and they work a 16 hour day for 7 months, it all adds up to pretty much the same.
I will continue to take small gifts. The look of gratification on their faces makes it all worthwhile.

I don't know where Gemma gets the idea that in the UK we usually work 7 hours a day.
I can assure her that from the age of 18 I have worked an average of 60 hours a week as a HGV driver untill 10 years ago when I reduced to around 50, and even now as I reach the later part of my working life I am contracted to 44 hours a week minimum and this is only because as a mobile worker I am subject to the "working time directive" rules, which limit my maximum to 48 hrs a week averaged over a 26 week period.
Given the opportunity I would love to work maximum hours for 7 months and then have the remaining 5 months off.

Office workers may only do around 35 hours a week but I can assure anyone reading this that the average working week for a manual worker is far above that.
del

Oh deary deary me. Its only a generalisation thats all. Most people probably work in a 9-5 job and of course there will always be exceptions to the rule, and manual workers sometimes work longer hours.
It wasnt the point I was trying to get across, although you have chosen to mis-interpret it that way, but thats your choice. Least said the better I guess.

i agree with gemmas comment. well said they work long hours and go out of their way for you. its your own choice what you give them and there are lots of kind genuine people in goa!

Those are long hours Del, but they are not the norm for manual workers, 40 hours is an average working week in the UK.
The point that was being made was that the work is seasonal, they have no choice but to work all hours god sends and make as much money as they can for the few short holiday months. Who can blame them, imagine what their lives would be like without tourists.
OK some take advantage, its life - No-one is forcing anyone to give anything.
I personally get pleasure from giving presents but that's me, if it doesnt sit right with you just say no and relax and enjoy your holiday

The work isn't as seasonal as it once was, there are lots of western tourists who stay on during monsoon and it's a favourite time for Indian tourists too. The whole place doesn't close down, obviously the locals stll have to get around (many by taxi) and shops and restuarants are still open. I would say most of the beach shacks close but the workforce go off to work in their home states etc, during the monsoon lots of goans work their fields so there is always something to do. If people are surviving on 30,000 Rs a year (£352 - not related to Tourism) then I'm sure the ones who are related to tourism get more than that in a month, let alone 6 months...

I understand what you are saying Rob but I can't imagine every taxi driver, waiter etc. is employed fully through monsoon months. OK people there can survive on £300 odd per year, but what kind of life do they have.
Take one example, beach seller, when I first met her she was newly married selling jewellery on the beach. Lived in a plastic and palm shack. Over the years she managed to get a pitch for a 'shop', her husband and brother manning it whilst she works on the beach during the day and then takes over at sundown in the shop. Three years ago she was able to buy her own little house, its not much just three rooms but it means the world to her. Her children all go to school, they are immaculate, she looks after her Mum and Aunt who also live with them. She has been able to achieve this through the help of us tourists. There are many like her striving to better themselves, working hard, long hours so her children won't have to do the same. I don't mind giving her a few extra pounds at the end of the holiday

I was referring more so with the Goans, especially Taxi Drivers.. :D, a close friend always said he worked in the fields (during the monsoon), but he played cricket and football pretty much the whole monsoon, even not wanting to do taxi rides as cricket was higher up his list, so I really don't think money is a huge problem during the monsoon because anyone related to tourism does so much better in 6 months than the 'normal' workers do in a year... (that's my point).

Hi Rob I guess when you think of Goa and it's "tourist season", it must be the taxi drivers who come out on top of the earners? As you say more tourists as well as Indians seem to be spending time in Goa during the monsoon, which I admit I'd like to do one day just to see the lightening and rain like I've never seen it before! Nice to hear of the work your doing in Goa from members on HT, you should be very proud of yourselves, as I know people on this site are proud of your work Tony.

Having used the same shack for the past few years we have got to talk to some of the staff at various times.
One who has been working in the same shack for 3 years comes from Mumbai for the season, he goes back and works in hotels and restaurants during the monsoon.
He thinks he will only do it for 1 more season as he has managed to save 300,000 rps in the bank and hopes to setup his own restaurant in 18 months time.
You never see him playing cards for money but he appears to have a goal in mind and is working to ensure he can achieve it. Good luck to him.

As far as taxis are concerned we tend to use the same driver, we know what he charges, how he drives and he never asks for a tip and has never asked for loans. We get christmas cards and phone calls at various times. As Rob says if a driver gets repeat business then it is a bonus for them and they will be happy to keep last years prices for customers they know.

It gives me great pleasure to give them something nice - why not!!!. They ring regularly - yes they have mobile phones when in Goa I am invited to their homes, which arent much more than shacks but they are proud of them. I am invited to their homes in Karnatika. I will be a guest at one of their weddings in June.

Roxey
Have you ever wondered what Goans think of the help you give to these itinerent workers from Karnataka?

If the word gets back to Karnatika about how rich the pickings are on the beaches in Goa - then the country is going to be flooded with scroungers from out of state.
But then that's exactly what's happening - isn't it?

I dont know, I guess from you reply they dont like it. These out of state workers are part and parcel of Goa. I havent got any answers, but I dont mind helping if I can, its my choice

It's really interesting reading everybod's views on this. I don't think there are any rights and wrongs and I think most of us are generous to those people we like and who go the extra mile for us.

But we're all different - I don't want to get involved with people and meet the family and go to weddings etc. Just don't want to do it. However, I know people who have made very real friends and get very close and personal with them. They feel comfortable that they are not being taken advantage of and feel they have a genuine and rewarding friendship. So long as they are happy with the relationship, that's great. Roxey clearly gets a lot of pleasure from her friendships.

The thing that does annoy me is when you can see people being taken for a ride. On our last visit we saw about 8 beach lads (and a girl) being taken for dinner by a couple, who were obviously going home the following day. They ate like horses, drank like fishes and when the meal was over they just wandered off. There was no warmth in the goodbyes to the host couple and it was obvious to a nosey old skinflint like me that the lads had just had a blowout at somebody else's expense.

You can't have a "policy" on friendship. Human emotions and interaction are too fickle and unpredictable for that. Hopefully we can tell when somebody isn't genuine but in Goa, it's not always easy!