Sorry i havent got any faith in the emerency services here, ive seen the way the police deal with road accident victims, just throwing them in the back of the police jeep and had first hand experience of the way they deal with accidents in general.
I would not want to put myself or my family in any danger, we went to the beach last NYE and it was not a pleasant experience with fireworks being discharged anywhere and thousands of people, not my idea of fun and the police cannot control the crowds normally let alone if there was an incident same applys to anjuna and all the other markets.
Dont get me wrong I love a good party but with the situation as it stands at the moment we will party on at home this year.

No way would I be going to any large gatherings at present. I too, have no faith in either the police or the non existant emergency services. I too had aquaintances of ours who collapsed in Goa, both were rushed to Hospial in tourist taxis, neither survived. The mantra of all emergency services is the Golden Hour, the first hour after collapse, or sustaining trauma, it's the time a patient must be stabilised before transfer to hospital to give them the best chance. It does'nt happen in Goa at present, imagine the result of a terrorist incident in the markets, or the beach at the new year. Since the Mumbai incident we've avoided large gatherings, or crowded cafes etc. The local press give out mixed messages all the time, the first minister says no specific threat, today it's the supposed leak from the interregation of the surviving terrorist that 500 are trained and ready for an attack on Goa and Pune. Onother minister says the five star hotels in S Goa will be guarded by armed police and army, no mention of course of us budget toutists in the north. All going well I'll be back next Nov. but we really wont be sorry when our Emirates flight takes off from Mumbai next Tuesday Alan

sorry for being a cynic but i do not beleive for one minute that the anjuna market does in any way meet with the required security measures imposed by the government, there is to much open space for any body to have erected fences, cctv cameras etc, feel that big backshee must have exchanged hands to have allowed this market to open today or any day.

i wasnt keen on anjuna(maybe cos i wasnt feeling well) so i dont think i would go again,
hope there all on in jan though

but we really wont be sorry when our Emirates flight takes off from Mumbai next Tuesday

This was how I felt 10 days ago. I just don't trust any Goa security measures, for the first time in Goa I felt distinctly unsafe and at unease. I'll be back but only when I feel that something is being done to protect foreign tourists.

Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub......thats what springs to mind when I think of the "Emergency Services" in Goa. The Fire Stn and it's unsophisticated equipment is located in Panjim, not exactly "on hand" should anything kick off in Anjuna, there are very few ambulances around and yes as previously stated the police do chuck accident victims into the back of jeeps (seen it myself). The hospitals, although decent enough for a delhi belly consultation would not in my opinion, cope with a full scale incident.
GFF xx

I went to Anjuna market three weeks ago and I certainly won't go back. Nothing to do with terrorism... hey if your numbers up, it's up ( the odds are heavily stacked in your favour though)
No, the thing that got me going was that it seemed every other person I walked passed tapped me on the shoulder and indicated my ears needed attention. Really got fed up fending them off and ended up having a complex I must look like Dumbo.
Anyway, must fly.

Big Neil wrote:

but we really wont be sorry when our Emirates flight takes off from Mumbai next Tuesday

This was how I felt 10 days ago. I just don't trust any Goa security measures, for the first time in Goa I felt distinctly unsafe and at unease. I'll be back but only when I feel that something is being done to protect foreign tourists.

This is why we have now decided to change our holiday. We were absolutely gutted, as this would of been our 6th time, and we love the place, the people, the food, even the hawkers and the camaradery (spelling!!) on the beach. But we want to go away and relax and enjoy our holiday which we have slogged away all year to pay for. Not worry about what might happen. and have to avoid certain places that we usually love to go as they are deemed to be not that safe. It would also not be fair on all the family left here for 2 weeks fretting and worrying about us while we're away.

I know when your times up it is up, and that we shouldn't let these idiots rule what we do. I worked in London while the threats of attacks were going on just after 9/11, and I felt quite uneasy and must admit I started to walk from Waterloo instead of gettin on the tube, but the way I see it, is I had to carry on with going to work in London, I had bills to pay, didn;t really have a choice, but with this we do have a choice .

Hopefully things will be more settled next year, and we can return and see all all our friends.

To close it one week, and then open it again seven days later, just shows how much the Goverment thinks about protecting holidaymakers from any terrorist threat. In seven days you'd be lucky if they could even put up a metal detector, never mind the security fence that was proposed. Meanwhile the boats continue to arrive on the beach and disenbark passengers without any checks. Obviously large sums of Rps. have changed hands somewhere. At present, visiting there, is just one risk I would'nt be prepared to take. Alan

gramps wrote:

To close it one week, and then open it again seven days later, just shows how much the Goverment thinks about protecting holidaymakers from any terrorist threat. In seven days you'd be lucky if they could even put up a metal detector, never mind the security fence that was proposed. Meanwhile the boats continue to arrive on the beach and disenbark passengers without any checks. Obviously large sums of Rps. have changed hands somewhere. At present, visiting there, is just one risk I would'nt be prepared to take. Alan

does seam strange to close for 1 week, as i said befor i dont think i would visit again..

generally speaking, "they" won't be stopping us from having our 8th holiday in Goa. we will however take some precations. mostly that will be not going to very crowded places. it seems to be the places these degenerates like to attack.
also just keep an eye open for anything that seems unusual just like you would at home. fortunately the beaches in goa are not crowded like, say, the spanish ones. so not so much of a risk for us.
be vigulent, be safe, BOB

fortunately the beaches in goa are not crowded like, say, the spanish ones

Baga beach at the weekend? Even mid Nov' this was heaving on Sat and Sunday, it's now the place to be for daytrippers (Indian tourists).

I thought far less foreign tourists than usual on both Baga and Calangute beaches. Nearly everyone was Indian but although we only walked along the beach twice it seemed pretty well empty .
Interesting you mention the wekends Neil, we were amused when a succession of Indians on motorbikes stopped to ask us , obvious tourists, for directions to Baga beach on Friday night.

Anjuna market is a no go area for me anyway, been twice and that was enough. Mapusa market however is great but I avoided going in November when the problems kicked off in Mumbai - I do think that Mapusa could be a target should something happen over there, Mapusa market being so busy, it would be mass slaughter, mass impact, mass media coverage And I certainly don't have any faith in "Dad's Army" in Goa. I will still go in March though but use common sense about where I visit, so I won't be panicking Mr. Mainwaring - well not quite yet anyway.

fIZZY 2.
yep you pretty much mirror my views, exept i only went to anjuna market once, that was enough.
mapusa market is fantastic, love it to bits.
have you been to margao market? takes about an hour or so from the calangute area, but the indoor market there is really worth a visit. loads of shops around the market too. we never miss going there. amazing the things you can buy there, including spare parts for flip-flops, tobbaco leaves, and, well you name it, you can buy it!!!
give it a try, BOB

BTB - Like the sound of Margao Market although we have not been as only passed through Margao on the way to southern beaches - spare parts for flip flops I would NEVER have thought of that one in a month of Sundays - those Goan chaps think of everything (well everything that will make money that is)

Next time we go South I think we will have to stop and take a look, thanks for the tip BTB