Well we're back in the U.K. again after another fantastic time in Goa.

Did nothing that I had planned to do but plenty that I hadn't.

We flew Monarch this time (it's the second time we've flown Monarch to Goa) and once again the flight was absolutely dreadful. We took the upgrade much against my better judgement, but the wife insisted.

The cabin crew were rude, obnoxious and totally unhelpful. The Pursers intransigent attitide was highly offensive. We couldn't get a blanket, they had none. The headsets didn't work properly so we watched the inflight films with only one earpiece working. We couldn't get a drink served to us, the crew were too busy (too busy sitting behind the curtain ignoring the passengers), although when we paid for our drinks, there suddenly seemed to be plenty of time to serve us. Now don't get me wrong here, there were 10 of us travelling together and we weren't sitting in silence but neither were we jumping up and down shouting and screaming. We were talking amongst ourselves and fellow passengers. At no point did we offend or disturb anyone in the aircraft, in fact several fellow passengers have written statements confirming this. The more we complained about the service the worse it got and eventually the Purser refused to serve us at all stating that we were all drunk. Well I know altitude and alcohol can be a bad mix but I defy anyone to get drunk on a glass of champagne and half a can of warm fosters and this is all we'd had for 3 hours.

When we checked in for our return flight we were made to sign a Condition of Passage form that basically said we were not allowed to drink or carry any alcohol on the return trip. It went on to say that basically we had no right of complaint on the flight. Our bags were searched when we were actually on the aircraft, in front of all the other passengers, as were we, and our passports confiscated, presumably in case we decided to jump of the plane somewhere on route.

All of this because the Purser made a bad decision and was then too stubborn to admit that she had got it wrong. This particular person refused to give us her name and also removed her name badge.

That's enough detail for now because I will pursue this with Monarch and can see it going legal very quickly.

Goa itself was fantastic as usual, we used Bob Marley and String Fellows on Candolim Beach, but also spent a lot of time on Vagator Beach at Sunset Beach Shack (try the King Prawns here) and on Mandrem Beach. All of these were first class for quality and service and largely kept the sellers away from us.

We stayed at the Prazeres in Candolim (room 106), which was great. Ground floor with a terrace leading straight out to the poolside. We didn't have any noise problems at all but I could believe that the rooms immediately over the bar area would be a problem for some. The hotel staff were great as usual.

I bought a suit from the Tailors opposite the hotel, which is very well made, I'm very very pleased with it and it cost £ 55.

We arrived just at the end of Holi, which is the most fun I have ever had in Goa. Lots of smiling faces, lots of paint, lots of fun. If you ever get a chance to be there for this festival I would highly recommend it.

We headed down South to Palolem for a few days, which was great fun. Palolem was much busier than I expected, it is very similar to Anjuna really but restricted to the beach front only. We stayed at Laguna Vista Beach Huts on the island. Bobby the owner was a huge help when we had a puncture in the jeep. He took care of all the repairs for us and was most offended when we tried to pay him for this help.

A word of warning here, I stood on a fish hook at Palolem (my own) and had to have it cut out of my foot, which wasn't the best of experiences so be very careful when fishing at night especially after a Kings or two.

Lots of Isrealies at Palolem, who were very noisey and occasionally quite violent towards each other although they didn't really cause us that much of a problem.

Back to Candolim and a night at Stringfellow's with a fire eater et al. My thanks go to Denis for making this truly special night. We had two Birthdays to celebrate, a 40th and a 19th and this night will always be remembered.

Another word of caution though, when we left the shack we found that the jeep was stuck in the sand. 3 indian boys helped us push it out which was nice until they grabbed a purse from a bag and ran. They were not Goans and lived in the forest up by Fort Aguada, where apparently many migrant workers live. Generally I would trust anyone I met from Goa but the migrants, you do need to keep an eye on. So then we were 7000 rupees and 3 credit cards down, not to mention the family photos that were also lost.

Went to Arambol a couple of times. This place has really changed over the last few years. Still a great beach but there are so many stalls there now and more and more sellers by the day. It really isn't a place to relax anymore. I found Vagator much quieter.

Spent many evenings in Ice & Spice and as usual the food and Company were first class. We played the Ice Boys at football, which was great fun but unfortunately we lost 4 -3 on penalties. Still there's always next year!!

Ate at Floyds opposite Ice & Spice and wasn't very impressed. My meal was fine but probably 1/3 of us couldn't eat their meal it was that bad.

Fishing with Blackie off of Coco Beach was good, my friend caught a nice Rock Salmon, which looked great and tasted even better.

We also fished a couple of nights down at the light house below Fort Reiss but caught mainly Catfish and Flat fish although some of them got quite big. The rocks were a real problem though and fish certainly new what to do when they were hooked. Still it was all good fun.

Looked at a piece of land in Coco Beach, which I'll make a decision on in the next week or so.

Ate at the Delhi Durba in Panjim or whatever it's called. It was nice but not that impressive. You can eat just as well in many of the local restaurants in Candolim and they are much cheaper.

We didn't get any major hassle off of the Taxi drivers or sellers but then we are quite well known in the area so maybe that is why.

Our Indian friend Ravi was indispensable as usual. Our very own "Sat Rav", so we never got lost and always had a tip off on prices. Talking of prices I did notice that they are steadily creeping upwards. Things still aren't expensive but neither are they quite as good value as in previous years.

This is the latest I have ever been to Goa and it was very hot and humid, even the locals were struggling to handle it. Got a nice tan though.

If you ever go to Vagator Beach you'll meet a beach seller named Nikita. Be sure to watch out for her she could sell anything to anyone, no matter how much you really don't want to buy it. She's a great laugh and we spent lots of time just chatting to her and her co-workers.

Baga was mad hectic as usual but at least I got a few new tricks from the Magic Man.

Tracked down a lot of old friends and generally had a fantastic time although there were some set backs as well.

Oh, we went to a place called Sweet Chilli or something like that, down near Fort Aguada. Great entertainment and food. You should try it if you get the chance.

There's a post on here about rubbish - yes it did seem particularly bad this time but fior the firsdt time I noticed people cleaning the beaches (all the beaches, not just th emain tourtist beaches)