Sunday
7 of us set off to the airport about 10am and arrived safely. A different terminal to last year and not as good.Staff were very helpfull and guided us through the automated check in. Cases were weighed and all were spot on the 20kg limit. Had breakfast in the departure lounge washed down with a reasonably priced bottle of red wine. Eventually boarded the plane (Thomsonfly) and were told by the captain there would be a half hour delay because if we set off on time, the airport in Goa would not be open!
Quite an unevenful 5 hours watching films and drinking (more) wine and then raised voices about 8 rows behind us. Turns out some chap had drunk a bottle of JD and started getting rowdy and violent. When we eventually arrived at our hotel, I spoke to a lady who was sat near him and she said he tried to put a plastic bag over her husbands head!! Fortunately, there were a couple of large passengers to hand who managed to hold him down until the restraints were found and used to great effect by the airline staff.
The downside to this in flight caberet was we had to divert to an arab country to unload the idiot and we were stuck on the tarmac for 2 and a half hours whilst they unloaded him and his luggage. So the first time we were able to get a non stop flight and it went pear shaped!!
Monday
Landed at Dabolim (Monday morning) without further incident and breezed through immigration. Baggage reclaim was the usual scrum with ever helpful? porters hiding the cases and demanding pound coins from the unsuspecting new arrivals. A 20 rupee tip from me got me some funny looks!!
Taxi to the MD in Arpora cost 800/- so no change in prices from last year. Checked in to the same rooms as last year and after a quick change into shorts and flip flops, headed to the beach. The box bridge over the Baga river is (still) in the process of being demolished so the taxi had to go the long way round and cost 150/-
Showed our faces at the Oceanic and said our hello's to the staff we knew there. Only Jai and Subbu left in the shack with the others working next door but one in St Anthonys.
I thought I saw a familiar face amonst the customers but wasn't sure so waited until I saw her again in St Anthonys before I asked her if she was Gemma from HT. Luckily it was and I didn't make a fool of myself with a complete stranger... Great to meet you and Mr Gemma!
Had lunch on the beach which consisted of vegetable jalfrezi and cheese nan washed down with a kingfisher or 6. The evening found us at the ever popular J and As on the Baga to Arpora road. Food was excellent as was the wine and both were very reasonably priced. Back to St Ants shack for a nightcap on the beach and time to catch up on the local gossip with the lads. Johnny and Deepu who were at the Oceanic last year told us the story of a fallout between the brothers who own the shacks so they decided to part company with one staying at the Oceanic and the other (Prashant) taking over St Ants and the Shangri la part of the business. 2.30 am so headed back to the hotel and some much needed sleep.
Bored yet? answers on the back of a £10 note etc.
More to follow
my god- passengers trying to suffocate each other?? That must have been a nightmare trip for those sitting next to that idiot.
No we are not bored- and looking forward to the many other posts to come
( I hope you don't think I was bullying yesterday re the report 
)
No we are not bored- and looking forward to the many other posts to come
( I hope you don't think I was bullying yesterday re the report )
Hi Ray,
Been looking forward to your report and enjoying it so far....keep it coming
.............whats all this nonsense about £10 notes.......would a ten rupee note do the trick
GFF xx
Been looking forward to your report and enjoying it so far....keep it coming
.............whats all this nonsense about £10 notes.......would a ten rupee note do the trick
GFF xx
Yes GFF youre right a ten rupee note is sufficient
Enjoying the report as well Dribyar. Was lovely to meet you and your family.
Enjoying the report as well Dribyar. Was lovely to meet you and your family.
Off for a liquid lunch now, will try to post more very soon x
Tuesday
Woke up early feeling refreshed and walked down to the beach for breakfast. Are there no bacon slicing machines in Goa? Looks like they all do the carving with a blunt axe. Still, tasted great! Lazed about on the beach all day before an appointment with builder to choose tile colours and fittings etc for new apartment.
One of our party had booked last minute so couldn't get a room in our hotel and ended up staying at the Alor Grande in Candolim. We decided to eat at Cactus that evening but they didn't have room for the 8 of us so we booked for Friday and ended up at Inferno which was packed to the rafters. After a 20 minute wait with a couple of beers we got a table. Again, the food and drink were both excellent. Decided after the meal to have a drink on the beach but as we got there, all the shacks were closing up for the evening. We walked back down the road and sat outside a bar (cant remember the name). It was here I had my first taste of tempest cider! First taste was reminiscent of home brewed beer. Second mouthful was a bit better and after 6 bottles I was getting to like the stuff! 2.30 again before we got back to the hotel. So much beer, so little time!!
Wednesday
Went to Candolim beach this morning whilst the kids had a lie in at the hotel. Made camp at Bono's shack. They must have the best toilets in Goa and a shower too! The girls sunbathed whilst I went for a walk past the River Princess up to Fort Aguada. Quite a nice peaceful stretch of beach only marred by the stench of fuel from the numerous jet skis at the far end. Walked back to Bono's for lunch to find the children had surfaced and found us. They hated the quietness of the place and wanted to go back Baga beach to see there friends. It took them half an hour to fetch the bill and we headed back to (normality) Baga by tuk tuk. Three of us in the back hanging on for grim death!
Evening and I was desparate to go to lazydays but was out voted 12 to 1 as we had been invited to the BBQ at Oceanic. Big mistake. Nice to see the lads again but the food and atmosphere wasn't the same as previous visits. I also found the new staff to be a little pushy asking would I like another drink every minute or so. Finished the meal and went to St Ants for the last hour where I had to shout every time I needed a refill...
more soon
Woke up early feeling refreshed and walked down to the beach for breakfast. Are there no bacon slicing machines in Goa? Looks like they all do the carving with a blunt axe. Still, tasted great! Lazed about on the beach all day before an appointment with builder to choose tile colours and fittings etc for new apartment.
One of our party had booked last minute so couldn't get a room in our hotel and ended up staying at the Alor Grande in Candolim. We decided to eat at Cactus that evening but they didn't have room for the 8 of us so we booked for Friday and ended up at Inferno which was packed to the rafters. After a 20 minute wait with a couple of beers we got a table. Again, the food and drink were both excellent. Decided after the meal to have a drink on the beach but as we got there, all the shacks were closing up for the evening. We walked back down the road and sat outside a bar (cant remember the name). It was here I had my first taste of tempest cider! First taste was reminiscent of home brewed beer. Second mouthful was a bit better and after 6 bottles I was getting to like the stuff! 2.30 again before we got back to the hotel. So much beer, so little time!!
Wednesday
Went to Candolim beach this morning whilst the kids had a lie in at the hotel. Made camp at Bono's shack. They must have the best toilets in Goa and a shower too! The girls sunbathed whilst I went for a walk past the River Princess up to Fort Aguada. Quite a nice peaceful stretch of beach only marred by the stench of fuel from the numerous jet skis at the far end. Walked back to Bono's for lunch to find the children had surfaced and found us. They hated the quietness of the place and wanted to go back Baga beach to see there friends. It took them half an hour to fetch the bill and we headed back to (normality) Baga by tuk tuk. Three of us in the back hanging on for grim death!
Evening and I was desparate to go to lazydays but was out voted 12 to 1 as we had been invited to the BBQ at Oceanic. Big mistake. Nice to see the lads again but the food and atmosphere wasn't the same as previous visits. I also found the new staff to be a little pushy asking would I like another drink every minute or so. Finished the meal and went to St Ants for the last hour where I had to shout every time I needed a refill...
more soon
ACE report Dribyar you are right about candolim lovely beach but too quiet...when are we getting from wed...on ..........colleen
really enjoying your report Dribyar , I am finding this business with St Ants and Oceanic a bit confusing.
Can you tell me where Raj is now? also Sham who helps them with the sunbeds etc, I love the Oceanic , mainly for the staff so if they had moved to St Ants we would probably go there next time, thanks Dribyar, love shirleyV X
Can you tell me where Raj is now? also Sham who helps them with the sunbeds etc, I love the Oceanic , mainly for the staff so if they had moved to St Ants we would probably go there next time, thanks Dribyar, love shirleyV X
Great report. We loved Bono's- nice and quiet but will look up others in Nov as we will be staying in different place and will be an oap when I am there.
Raj is still at the Oceanic although he wasn't there when we went. Sham is also there and getting taller by the minute. We took him to Sendra one night and fed him which he enjoyed but I think Rovin was a bit surprised!! (in a pleasant way). I think the only people you would know at St Ants are Deepu and Johnny.
Interesting Thursday to follow soon (been at work all day
)
Ray x
Interesting Thursday to follow soon (been at work all day
)Ray x
Yes Dribyar is correct its only Johnny and Deepo from the Oceanic who now work at St Anthonys.
Raju should be back the Oceanic anytime now he has been at home for a while unwell.
Raju should be back the Oceanic anytime now he has been at home for a while unwell.
Gemma, are we talking about Raj (about 20) or little Raju? If its Raju, then he was at St Ants the 2 weeks we were there.
Yes the older one. He works the beach with Sikander. Lots of folk call him Raj but his hame is Raju as well.
Thursday (not so interesting)
After acclimatising to the roads and traffic, I hired a bike for 10 days @ 150/- per day. The taxis were 150/- each way so saved a bit of money. My lad used it every lunch time to go to Subway and back for his daily fix. Spent the day on the beach again eating, drinking and getting red.
Went to see Rovin at Sendra in the evening, good food and there was a band on (every Tuesday) which I didn't spot at first, I thought it was a CD playing until everyone started clapping... Rovin spent the night running round trying to do 10 jobs and seemed to manage it ok but he really needs to get staff he can trust and do a bit more front of house entertaining.
Another nightcap on the beach and yet another late night. Not sure if I will be able to stand the pace all holiday!
Friday
Up early again, wish I could sleep! Still, time for that at home...
Leela's for breakfast today after all the recommendations on the forum. What, no toast! What, no beans! Settled for a bagette and poached eggs. Bit disappointed after the hype but couldn't fault the food I had.
Went to the beach to have a relaxing day.. or so I thought! My lad (16) and neice (17) were playing in the sea near a group of Indian tourists. When the breakers came in, the Indians started trying to pull shorts and bikini bottoms off the two of them. They got out and told me what had happened. Fortunately (or not) Deepu and Johnny were with me at the time! They confronted the group and a bit of a fight took place. One of them took a truncheon from a (useless) security guard who seemed only to be there to extort money from the hawkers, and the other, a metal sunbed pole. The group were chased off the beach and judging by the broken truncheon and the bent metal pole, are not likely to return in a hurry. I must add that the kids were not unduly upset by what happened in the sea, just a bit gobsmacked that they tried what they did. Later on in the week, another group were blatently filming my neice whilst she was asleep on the sunbed. Again the lads came to the rescue and after threatening to shove his camera somewhere unpleasant they pursuaded the group to leave the beach. I need a drink!!
Cactus in the evening for a splendid meal, great service and company. I had a lovely steak whilst the kids had the shepherds pie which was given a big thumbs up. Had a few to drink at this point but ended up at St Ants again for a nightcap. Johnny took the kids to kamakie for a while (5.30) and I went back for a well earned sleep about 3 am.
More soon...
After acclimatising to the roads and traffic, I hired a bike for 10 days @ 150/- per day. The taxis were 150/- each way so saved a bit of money. My lad used it every lunch time to go to Subway and back for his daily fix. Spent the day on the beach again eating, drinking and getting red.
Went to see Rovin at Sendra in the evening, good food and there was a band on (every Tuesday) which I didn't spot at first, I thought it was a CD playing until everyone started clapping... Rovin spent the night running round trying to do 10 jobs and seemed to manage it ok but he really needs to get staff he can trust and do a bit more front of house entertaining.
Another nightcap on the beach and yet another late night. Not sure if I will be able to stand the pace all holiday!
Friday
Up early again, wish I could sleep! Still, time for that at home...
Leela's for breakfast today after all the recommendations on the forum. What, no toast! What, no beans! Settled for a bagette and poached eggs. Bit disappointed after the hype but couldn't fault the food I had.
Went to the beach to have a relaxing day.. or so I thought! My lad (16) and neice (17) were playing in the sea near a group of Indian tourists. When the breakers came in, the Indians started trying to pull shorts and bikini bottoms off the two of them. They got out and told me what had happened. Fortunately (or not) Deepu and Johnny were with me at the time! They confronted the group and a bit of a fight took place. One of them took a truncheon from a (useless) security guard who seemed only to be there to extort money from the hawkers, and the other, a metal sunbed pole. The group were chased off the beach and judging by the broken truncheon and the bent metal pole, are not likely to return in a hurry. I must add that the kids were not unduly upset by what happened in the sea, just a bit gobsmacked that they tried what they did. Later on in the week, another group were blatently filming my neice whilst she was asleep on the sunbed. Again the lads came to the rescue and after threatening to shove his camera somewhere unpleasant they pursuaded the group to leave the beach. I need a drink!!
Cactus in the evening for a splendid meal, great service and company. I had a lovely steak whilst the kids had the shepherds pie which was given a big thumbs up. Had a few to drink at this point but ended up at St Ants again for a nightcap. Johnny took the kids to kamakie for a while (5.30) and I went back for a well earned sleep about 3 am.
More soon...
Do you prefer St Anthonys to the Oceanic now? It was such a shame the two shacks split and the staff along with it.
I read in your report about the staff at the Oceanic asking you constantly if you wanted drinks etc, we honestly didnt have that problem tho.
Loving your report. I think I am back at Baga Beach reading it!
I read in your report about the staff at the Oceanic asking you constantly if you wanted drinks etc, we honestly didnt have that problem tho.
Loving your report. I think I am back at Baga Beach reading it!
Great read 
Saturday
Need money so me and neice set off on the bike to find an ATM. Not having used one in Goa before, I had no idea where they were located. Drove from MD in Arpora towards Calangute looking for one that was open. It was freezing on the bike at that early hour but not much on the roads apart from the odd obligatory cow and elephant (lots of elephants with Sadhus about this year!!). After a while we past the Alor Grande and neice pointed out her dad was staying there so we must be in Candolim! Turned the bike round and headed back. Turned left at the Calangute roundabout and immediately found three ATM's. (neice not impressed). Breakfast at St Ants, had to wait a while because they were all just getting up (wish I could sleep as well as them), anyway, the bacon lumps poached eggs beans and toast were well worth waiting for! Several cups of tea later and I crashed out on a sunbed for the day with the daily papers, mp3 player and a big brolly, does life get any better than this??
OH YES...
After the obligatory carpet burger and chips at MoJo's and 2 jugs of home made cider (tasted like apple juice until the third glass when I decided I'd better have something to eat), we went over the road to Mackies market to meet old friends and buy some rubbish. Daughter spotted a bedspread in her favourite colour and asked the price. Rs1700 was the reply. No thank you said she and walked away to look at the rest of the market. Long story short, the chap with the bedspread kept appearing all over the market chasing daughter, lowering the price every time we saw him. Bought the thing eventually for Rs550 on the way out!! I bought a couple (more) t shirts before deciding I needed a sit down and a (medicinal) drink so we all headed to St Ants to gloat over our purchases.
Now, Karaoke is not my favourite pastime so, when we arrived on the beach to find it in full swing, I shook my head and ordered a large one! No I didn't have a go but brother in law did and I was really impressed by his rendition of Mac the Knife which is one of my faves. It must be about 11.30 by now and I'm feeling a bit tired after the early money hunt, so when Deepu asked me if I wanted to go to the banana festival for a while, I was a little reluctant to say the least. My son had gone last year without me and said it was ok. Needless to say, I was talked into it and two taxis and two bikes found 10 of us in a traffic jam trying to get down the road to the festival..Got out and walked the rest of the way, met up with the rest of the party and followed Deepu through the masses of people to a small bar where we got a drink and some chicken lollypops.
If you have not been to the banana festival before then you should have it on your list of things to do before you pop your clogs! I found it to be one of the most interesting places I have ever been. Not quite sure where the bananas or festival came into it though! I will post a picture of it soon. The place was full of 'games of chance' I did really well, only managed to lose about 400/- Decided to try the bar next door and on the way out bumped into two guys from the UK coming in. What could I do but have a drink with them? One was from Leeds, the other from Wales. 'Never mind says I, at least you've got your health' Hit it off straight away and several beers later, HT cropped up and backpacker33 introduced himself. Talked for ages about Wales and sheep!! During the course of the night I saw lots of friends from Oceanic, St Ants, Rovin and staff from Sendra and the Cactus boys. What a party!
It started getting light so was poured into a cab and put to bed!!
Need money so me and neice set off on the bike to find an ATM. Not having used one in Goa before, I had no idea where they were located. Drove from MD in Arpora towards Calangute looking for one that was open. It was freezing on the bike at that early hour but not much on the roads apart from the odd obligatory cow and elephant (lots of elephants with Sadhus about this year!!). After a while we past the Alor Grande and neice pointed out her dad was staying there so we must be in Candolim! Turned the bike round and headed back. Turned left at the Calangute roundabout and immediately found three ATM's. (neice not impressed). Breakfast at St Ants, had to wait a while because they were all just getting up (wish I could sleep as well as them), anyway, the bacon lumps poached eggs beans and toast were well worth waiting for! Several cups of tea later and I crashed out on a sunbed for the day with the daily papers, mp3 player and a big brolly, does life get any better than this??
OH YES...
After the obligatory carpet burger and chips at MoJo's and 2 jugs of home made cider (tasted like apple juice until the third glass when I decided I'd better have something to eat), we went over the road to Mackies market to meet old friends and buy some rubbish. Daughter spotted a bedspread in her favourite colour and asked the price. Rs1700 was the reply. No thank you said she and walked away to look at the rest of the market. Long story short, the chap with the bedspread kept appearing all over the market chasing daughter, lowering the price every time we saw him. Bought the thing eventually for Rs550 on the way out!! I bought a couple (more) t shirts before deciding I needed a sit down and a (medicinal) drink so we all headed to St Ants to gloat over our purchases.
Now, Karaoke is not my favourite pastime so, when we arrived on the beach to find it in full swing, I shook my head and ordered a large one! No I didn't have a go but brother in law did and I was really impressed by his rendition of Mac the Knife which is one of my faves. It must be about 11.30 by now and I'm feeling a bit tired after the early money hunt, so when Deepu asked me if I wanted to go to the banana festival for a while, I was a little reluctant to say the least. My son had gone last year without me and said it was ok. Needless to say, I was talked into it and two taxis and two bikes found 10 of us in a traffic jam trying to get down the road to the festival..Got out and walked the rest of the way, met up with the rest of the party and followed Deepu through the masses of people to a small bar where we got a drink and some chicken lollypops.
If you have not been to the banana festival before then you should have it on your list of things to do before you pop your clogs! I found it to be one of the most interesting places I have ever been. Not quite sure where the bananas or festival came into it though! I will post a picture of it soon. The place was full of 'games of chance' I did really well, only managed to lose about 400/- Decided to try the bar next door and on the way out bumped into two guys from the UK coming in. What could I do but have a drink with them? One was from Leeds, the other from Wales. 'Never mind says I, at least you've got your health' Hit it off straight away and several beers later, HT cropped up and backpacker33 introduced himself. Talked for ages about Wales and sheep!! During the course of the night I saw lots of friends from Oceanic, St Ants, Rovin and staff from Sendra and the Cactus boys. What a party!
It started getting light so was poured into a cab and put to bed!!
Sunday - second week
Bit of a headache this morning, must have had a bad crisp or something last night... Lazed about on the beach all day today, not fit for much else, anyway it's Sunday! Daughter as usual was holding court with half a dozen Indian lads, stretched out on her sunbed and chatting all day. A lad wandered past selling some tat and says 'Do you want to buy anything Laura?' 'No' she says 'but how do you know my name?' 'Everyone knows you' says he 'You're famous here!' Hmmmm!!
Taxi into Calangute in the evening, need to go to the ATM again.. The girls found a great bag shop on the Baga road called Skin Touch. Highly recommended! Rip off designer bags but great quality and price (I'm told). Visited again before we came home and they bought loads of stuff. The shop owner even gave us 3 free purses. Well worth a visit. Walked down the road to Over the Flames for another good meal. (not had a bad one yet).One of the drawbacks with going in a big group is that the more popular places have trouble finding room for us but we managed to get a table and enjoyed the meal and wine! Walked back to the beach for a nightcap and finally got back to the hotel about 3ish!
Monday
Early mornings and late nights are starting to catch up with me now so did same as yesterday, Nothing! Plugged myself into an mp3 player and took myself back to the 70s. Had the odd kingfisher (5, 7, 9, all odd numbers) and watched the Queen of India holding court again! The girls had massages, pedicures and tatoos whilst I kept waking myself up snoring!
Went to Sublime in the evening, was advised to leave it till 8.30ish when the work to demolish the box bridge finished for the night. Had a stunning meal with plenty of wine. Presentation and portions were really good. Would have liked to go back again but there are so many other places to try! Walked down to the beach afterwards and wished I had remembered to bring a torch, pitch black down the dirt track at night! More Vin Ballet red, another late night before a taxi back to the hotel. I've mentioned before that because of the work on the bridge, the taxi's have to take the long way round to the beach, so instead of the usual 80/- we had to pay 150/-. This seemed to increase in the early hours to 200/-. Night rate the cabbies explained. Fair enough! By this stage of the holiday and with us knowing the majority of the taxi drivers in the area, we didn't bother asking for the price because it was always the same. Except tonight when we got in a cab back to the hotel and on arrival he said the fare was 450/-. We just laughed at him, gave him 200/- and got out. He never said a word!!
Bit of a headache this morning, must have had a bad crisp or something last night... Lazed about on the beach all day today, not fit for much else, anyway it's Sunday! Daughter as usual was holding court with half a dozen Indian lads, stretched out on her sunbed and chatting all day. A lad wandered past selling some tat and says 'Do you want to buy anything Laura?' 'No' she says 'but how do you know my name?' 'Everyone knows you' says he 'You're famous here!' Hmmmm!!
Taxi into Calangute in the evening, need to go to the ATM again.. The girls found a great bag shop on the Baga road called Skin Touch. Highly recommended! Rip off designer bags but great quality and price (I'm told). Visited again before we came home and they bought loads of stuff. The shop owner even gave us 3 free purses. Well worth a visit. Walked down the road to Over the Flames for another good meal. (not had a bad one yet).One of the drawbacks with going in a big group is that the more popular places have trouble finding room for us but we managed to get a table and enjoyed the meal and wine! Walked back to the beach for a nightcap and finally got back to the hotel about 3ish!
Monday
Early mornings and late nights are starting to catch up with me now so did same as yesterday, Nothing! Plugged myself into an mp3 player and took myself back to the 70s. Had the odd kingfisher (5, 7, 9, all odd numbers) and watched the Queen of India holding court again! The girls had massages, pedicures and tatoos whilst I kept waking myself up snoring!
Went to Sublime in the evening, was advised to leave it till 8.30ish when the work to demolish the box bridge finished for the night. Had a stunning meal with plenty of wine. Presentation and portions were really good. Would have liked to go back again but there are so many other places to try! Walked down to the beach afterwards and wished I had remembered to bring a torch, pitch black down the dirt track at night! More Vin Ballet red, another late night before a taxi back to the hotel. I've mentioned before that because of the work on the bridge, the taxi's have to take the long way round to the beach, so instead of the usual 80/- we had to pay 150/-. This seemed to increase in the early hours to 200/-. Night rate the cabbies explained. Fair enough! By this stage of the holiday and with us knowing the majority of the taxi drivers in the area, we didn't bother asking for the price because it was always the same. Except tonight when we got in a cab back to the hotel and on arrival he said the fare was 450/-. We just laughed at him, gave him 200/- and got out. He never said a word!!
450 rupees 
What a chancer eh
It was you who told us about Sublime when we met at the hotel, and we weren't disappointed either, the meal was gorgeous.
Your report is great!
What a chancer eh It was you who told us about Sublime when we met at the hotel, and we weren't disappointed either, the meal was gorgeous.
Your report is great!
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