Ive just got back from a 2 week stay at the Horizon Hotel in Calangute and it just wasnt long enough! The hotel was excellent for being basic, i have stayed in worse in Europe! I loved every minute of Goa well apart from a little food poisioning when i got there and sickness for the last 2 days which still has not left me so off to the dr this morning for some tablets!
Alan (my boyo) tried different foods but i was cautious and stuck with what i new! We loved Casandre and the oceanic on the high street of Calangute really nice food, however the Capricorn situated on the left towards the beach is where i got ill, only to find out the next day another lady had been ill after eating there and another lady was so ill she ended up in hospital for 4 days!!!!! I wouldnt care but it was clearly the busiest restuart i saw on the high street!
They do have a Dominos Pizza and Subway for any of you that fancy a bit of home! There is also an excellent Pizzera in Baga called Scirocco i think it is on the left about a mile down the road, very tasty!
Dont take loads of clothes you wont need them, dont take a change for everyday either! We came back with a full suitcase full of clothes that we never wore which didnt help when we bought so much out there and were 17 kilos over coming back which we only needed to pay £40 for.
It is very casual, most i saw were in pants and t-shirts or shorts and t-shirts.
It is red hot, we used the sea pearl beach cafe which is left when you come on to the beach, they were excellent in there and kept the locals or the Indian tourists at bay from taking photographs and bothering you. Excellent food to.
Dont worry about your mozzie stuff, get it there, i could believe i paid over £5 at boots for a plug in and when i got there they were only 60p!!!
Took a tuk tuk everywhere and loved it!
Did one trip with the tour rep and that was the jungle book where you stayed over night in a mud hut, well worth the experience but dont expect to get much sleep. The elephants were amazing though and if you go to Shanti nature park then you will get to meet Dumbo who is the baby, not even two yet and he is a proper toddler and is into everything!
There are alot of beggers around most of which are children and it is hard to say no, i did give one some rupees and within 5 minutes i had around 10 children asking so instead i went to the super market and bough 30 bars of chocolate which they were so happy about!
Did meet Rob and Shermina from Children Walking Tall and wow what a fantastic job you guys are doing! The children were fantastic and it really was an eye opener for us, i think it took around 3 days to let it all sink in! They also have some fantastic volunteers out there!
We spent around £450 on spending money and just as much on prezzies and stuff for our new house including two tables!
The flights were okay, we flew with MyTravel only 1 hour delayed getting to Goa but early coming home. If you can upgrade then do it, you need the extra room for comfort alone! Bit crazy mind as there is a Monarch flight which leaves around 15 minutes earlier than MyTravel to the same place!
Wish i was still there, now i would be sun bathing at the shack.... you lot are so lucky

Ally x