poiplshadow - I was suprised at your comment

" I'm sure more people would be willing to give tips of 100 Rs/- if they weren't charge for beds..."

after all the discussions on various boards about the amount tourists throw about as tips, this is a days wages as you, more than most, are well aware and encouraging people to give this as a tip is if they do not pay for the bed has amazed me. Yes we all know it is only one pound forty and what's one pound forty - to alot of day wage earners it is the moon and more than some people have to live on.

Being fairly new to Goa ie: last 4 years or so, could any long termers tell me if Goa is as quiet this year as it was say 10 years ago.

I think it is as quiet (if not marginally quieter) than 10 years back particularly where european tourists are concerned, IMO 10 years ago you didn't get as many domestic tourists as you do today so i guess they at least have them to fall back on now but I can't see them being the big spenders that us europeans have been. I think that the Goans who's livelihood totally depends on the tourist trade (shack owners, hotel owners, taxi owners etc)are very shocked that tourist numbers have decreased so dramatically - I don't think they ever thought it would happen............Just goes to show, you should never put all your eggs in one basket. Fizz

Good question All Saints, but difficult to give a simple answer to!

Taking your random figure of 10 years ago, Goa was a very very different place.
No Russians.
Far far less building going on, so...
far less migrants.
Very few private cars around, and....
nowhere near so many taxis.
Plenty of parking space.
A lot more open space, I look around now and feel that half the buildings I see have gone up in the last 10 years.
There were lots more people from Scandinavia, France, Italy and Germany, far more cosmopolitan.
Very few supermarkets and no Mega-stores full of tourist tat.
No Dominoes Pizza or Robbin' baskins.
No white lines on the road, and very few side roads were tarmac.
Only one roundabout in North Goa and that got ignored.
The road past Molly Malones became just mud further down.
Far fewer places to stay or eat, so most did a reasonable business, and looked busy.
There were gaps between the shacks.
The garbage was ankle deep rather than knee deep and Mapusa only stunk on really hot days.
Bullock carts were still a regular sight on the roads.....
and there was only one elephant being dragged around by the fake Sadhus.
The government at least pretended to get things done and "attempted" to conceal its corruption.
Most long-stay people rented small houses rather than apartments....
and could afford to eat and drink out as often as they liked, because....
it really was "cheap", unlike now when it is just not "too expensive".
Fruit and vegetables were genuinely "seasonal", strawberries were still a rare treat and....
avocados appeared for a few weeks only, potatoes were expensive and six chips commonplace.
Leeks, broccoli, celery, asparagus, decent apples, were mythical items.
It was still a novelty to see foreigners shopping for these things, and.......
no-one had thought to rip them off yet.
Goan boys still worked.....
and some girls, in hotels, shops etc, before they were forced to spend all day sitting around by....
the incoming migrant labour force.
Enfield Bullets were still the "Bike to Have", most of the Jap-derived stuff was smelly two-strokes and.....
the Honda Kinetics rode and sounded like they had slipping clutches.
Goans still smiled all the time, because......
their income was still increasing in leaps and bounds.
The rupee was steady around the 60 to the pound mark, before.....
the leaps and falls of ensuing years.
Foreign branded beers were very rare and had not become an excuse to.....
sell the same disgusting local-brewed lager at double the price.
A decent curry like we get at home (North Indian/Bangladeshi) was rare because....
you were in South India and the curries were very different.
Indian tourists from Maharashtra/Karnataka etc were never seen at weekends, just.....
Goan families enjoying the beach or having a picnic.
The Konkan Railway and proliferation of cars ended that.
There were no Forums on the Internet, so we had to sit around in bars, asking....
"Has this place gone down hill as much as we think?"

Absolutely spot on Johny Five
Hardly any directional road signs either, if you didn't know the way, chances are you'd get lost!!!!!!!!!!
And where do the cows go to get their hooves cut now? - used to be on the bit of waste ground at the front of Silent Retreat (now Neelams). Used to love watching that from our balcony on a Saturday morning. Liked it better when the front entrance was at the back down the lane (for those who remember) and you could get all sorts of stuff at Annies little shop next door. Ahhh well, times they are a changing Fizz

all true! and dont forget the milk! always sour ... thats when you could get it 'fresh' ...and the tea... if you asked for a cuppa you got chai or an insipid version of what we call tea if you were in a hotel...so many things we take for granted here now were simply unavailable then....and all the pigs, you dont see them anymore..then everyone had them... yes how things have changed
chilly

waterproof - Hi, I'll clarify.... I do think tat 100 Rs/- is a large tip, although as most people stay in the same shack all day, I would presume they would get quite a large tab at the end of the day so 10% of it might be as much as 100 Rs/- (which is what many people tip). Also I said that they'd prefer to give a tip rather than having the money forced out of them for hiring a sun bed... I was not encouraging people to pay a 100Rs tip, rather encouraging people NOT to pay the 100 Rs for the beds!!!

Know what you mean about the long termers Chilly, we have friends who stay in Candolim, when we were there they were in the middle of moving places which I found most strange as they had been at the same place for a few years. Anyway it turns out that he decided that he was charging them for the monsoon this year even though they aren`t there, never done this before with them, do you have to do this too Chilly ? or is it just greed ? they moved anyway and are more than happy with their place just up the side of Lowandes.

As regards sunbeds We stopped goingn in Bono,s 4 yrs. ago because He charged 100 R. a day We only moved 2 shacks to Baywatch where they were free, this Year though We found out They were charging some punters but not others, seeing as most of the beds are illegal (over quota) no shack should charge anything as They must make enough just on beer, I can have bottles of Kings delivered to My door for 12 Rs. and the shops seem happy enough with that. The Goans, or whoever a s said in the above posts are in danger of killing the Golden Goose, although We will of course be back in Jan. only because We have learnt various lessons. Happy Holidays to You All.

Anyway it turns out that he decided that he was charging them for the monsoon this year even though they aren`t there, never done this before with them, do you have to do this too Chilly ?

hI FTV No fortunately for us we own our house here so dont have that worry, but its not the first time i have heard of it happening. I know the places you are talking about, the aprtments, they are over the back of where i live more or less.
chilly

Loved your response to the question J5. It is so right. We wandered around in the dark, with all the regular power cuts, only vying with cows and the odd bike/scooter. Everything was sooo cheap!
I had a conversation with a beach seller the other week, trying to sell me some old tat for 'only a couple of 'nicker' (her words). This would have been unheard of 10/15 years ago.
We are I suppose all to blame somewhat, for recommending the place to so many people who would never have dreamt of holidaying in India. They came, they overtipped, they demanded English food, they needed more concrete jungle, more taxi's, supermarkets (unheard of), a bridge (bypassing the little ferry crossing at Siolim) to the northern beaches, more sophisticated amenities. etc etc.
The hippy, chilled atmosphere has long gone.

It still holds a little magic for me though, beats the 'costas' hands down and 'I'll be back'. As I'm getting older I now need air-conditioning, more sophisticated amenities (decent toilets), I like nicer accomodation, breakfast etc, so Goa is evolving to suit my needs in a strange way. It doesn't stop wistfully remembering how things were though.
As the world is more and more accessible, places will change to suit demand. It is the same in Thailand, and closer to home the changes in Turkey and Egypt are even more pronounced in major resorts.

If They make it any more difficult to get visas there will be hardly anyone able to get to Goa, I,ve been trying (literally)all morning to getan application form, it used to be You clicked on the form popped up You printed it off and sent it to Birmingham or wherever and got Your visa now it appears They dont want Us to get Our hands on one, Iwould appreciate any help on the subject as its defeating Me.

lidolil check out the visa thread its a real mine of information and good advice and help
chilly

Chilly can You tell Me how to get this Visa thread and I,ll buy You several drinks in The Public Bar in Calangute, (it wont cost Me much in there, believe Me), Cheers

It's going to take you some reading lidolil as it's a very long thread. http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=109916&start=0

oh Glynnis i bet i have missed out on all those free drinks now from lidolil
chilly

I agree JF! very different in lots of ways!

oh Glynnis i bet i have missed out on all those free drinks now from lidolil

Oops Here's one from me instead

Glynis HT Admin wrote:

oh Glynnis i bet i have missed out on all those free drinks now from lidolil

Oops Here's one from me instead :tup

Dont worry Glynis,Chilly only drinks coffee anyway