hi a two ring camping stove is about £20 from the bombay bazaar calangute just after hari oms. hope this helps but unless you are taking your own bacon it is very expensive as we found out.jellytot

Hi ruprecht

Bacon can be bought from Lawandes supermarket on candolim main road just lower down than the football field for 85 rupees smoked or non smoked a bit fatty but tasted lovely.

jan x

As stated you can buy a table top two ring gas burner easily enough but getting the gas is a different matter, you need paperwork and a ration card before gas would be supplied.
GFF xx

Thanks all. It's looking expensive for a three-week stay - the gas cooker I mean, not the price of bacon. Shame we can't just burn wood like the locals do.

I'm not sure ftrom your post if you are still in the UK or not, but if you are can I suggest a petrol stove?? so long as it is cleaned of fuel for flying (washed out and no smell of petrol) then this is by far the best type of stove that I have ever found, petrol is available pretty much anywhere and the stove really kicks out some heat.
Coleman do an all in one version (you might be able to get one in Argos) or an MSR whisperlight and a separate fuel bottle is a bit more expensive but I have two of these and they are fantastic (took mine to the US camping last year with no problems)

Just checked on Argos website and they no longer do them.
Look for Coleman Sportster 533 or Feather 442 stoves (40-64 quid price range)
MSR whisperlight Internationale (dual fuel petrol/kerosene) from about 65 quid

coleman omni fuel its not cheap but its the dogs danglies works with most fuels and boils a kettle in no time

and don't forget you need a pan too !

Hi
You could always go electric, - GFF is right it is difficult to get the gas. - 2 rings from the electric shop on the calangute high st or if you are in Panjim downstairs in the Gulf supermarket on 18th June Road about £20 you can always haggle, pans are cheap enough from Lawandes or Newtons.

Happy cooking!!

Still in UK but about to leave. Yes, electric does look the simpler option, and I'll check those places tomorrow. Thanks all again. Ruprecht.

ruprecht,
you could buy a kerosene pressure or wick stove in Goa. Or a sidetank stove too.
You don't have to take it all the way from here. And it would be much cheaper too in India.
http://www.roleximpex.com/kerosene-stoves-petromax.html

For future reference;
Gas is available without gas book/ration card at "private price". Many foreigners staying here long term have to go this route, and although it is more expensive, it is not too bad.

The electric option looks good, but if you are staying in a hotel room (and even some apartments) it is unlikely that your wiring will be up to running it. The wiring here is at the best of times and overloading often results in a fire.

Kerosene (Parrafin) stoves are cheap here. Not that many years ago they were the main form of cooking for those that could not afford a gas bottle and stove. Largely due to this, kerosene is only available on presentation of the Ration Book, and from our experience, this rule is rigidly enforced in most places. We thought this was odd at first, this total refusal with a blunt "Its against the law", but then found out that it is common here to dilute the petrol sold in bottles at the side of the road with it (kerosene under rs10, petrol almost rs50), so the retailers of kerosene are keen to be "seen" to obey the law.

The petrol stoves are brilliant. I have one in the UK for motorcycle touring, just drain a bit from your tank, and you are cooking! Very expensive, though, unless you wanted one anyway, and getting rid of that petrol smell is a nightmare. A small gas bottle privately, a single ring gas stove, and a regulator would definitely be cheaper, but what to do with it when yo go home?

Ended up with a kerosene (paraffin) pressure stove bought in Calangute market for 230/-, plus 30/- for a litre of paraffin. Very helpful shopkeeper showed me how it worked, but of course when I tried it didn't - there is a knack.

"Don't put it on the table" my wife called. Too late, I had, on the terrace outside at our hotel. I overstoked the stove and hey presto set the table on fire. Fortunately no damage was done, as it turned out that the table itself wasn't actually burning, just the paraffin running over it. Dodgy moment though as I attacked/smothered it with a towel - no oxygen, no fire. After that, it wouldn't work. We ate out that evening.

As luck would have it, my Calangute dentist's husband is a civil engineer, and used a stove at university to boil water for tea etc. He talked me through the process and it was fine after that when I got home. Bought a smashing non-stick flat pan (designed for rotis, purees, I guess) in Mapusa market for 100/- and a dear-by-comparison deep frying pan for liquids. Knocked up some prawns on it, and delicious thin slices of kingfish - 100/- for six, again from Mapusa market.

My wife however had been against the idea from the start ("We've already got an electric travel kettle. Whoever heard of using a paraffin stove in a hotel? And I told you you'd set to the place" etc.) and refused on principle to eat anything I cooked. The item languished unused on the terrace for most of the hols - I gave it to our somewhat bemused roomboy when we left.

I shouldn't find your story funny but I'm afraid I do