http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=30193&cid=2
Traditional Shack owners move to SC

Reading the letter sent from a UK lady in todays newspaper she certainly seems to think the beach is much better!
P.S. Another boiling hot day here Papa!!

We like the peace and quiet of the southern beaches as we like to chill, but we wouldn't go so far as to say we were classed as 'better clientele', we just like what we like.

Looks like they have started putting up the shacks anyway.

Papa

Several shacks around the Goan Heritage Hotel have errected tempory shacks today and put tables in to start selling food, others say they will wait a further week till the next court case The shack I use offers limited food, noodles, omlettes etc, cooked off the beach and delivered to your sunbed Service is of course suspended regularly as the local police are prowling everywhere attempting to thwart any moves to offer anything to the tourist to compensate for the mess. Very Goan attitude on their past, anything to assist the destruction of their tourist industry seems to be their motto
Alan

Not sure what this lady means by "bettter clientele"?....maybe she thinks if you use the shacks your a bit rough?!?..I expect she was staying the the Taj!

One can sympathise with the lady, after all when one is having a holiday one is entitled to not have to mix with the lower social orders who drink beer and speak with regional accents.
One does have standards you know

Maybe she should attend one of the refined meets at the Carvery.
One always meets a better class of people there.
No beer drinking, only coffee.
Just ask Chilly.

I wonder if she meets me, with my otherplanet accent of english I try to improve my english in case we meet
argo

Theres the rub then!

We know that some of the problem is caused by hoteliers who want us to stay within the confines of the hotel all day and spend our cash on their food and drink. Another issue was raised quite a while back when we were referred to as "Dregs" and they were considering encouraging a "better clientele" to Goa. (because we are all less desirable rabble who are on the dole etc etc) Since then there has been the Scarlett Keeling case (to name just one) and the mindset that the shacks encourage all manner of seedy goings on which the government "say" they want to eradicate so.......looks like this could really be the death knell of beach shacks in Goa.........this season may be the beginning of the end :think.................... Just my opinion of course.

Just for the record......I don't do drugs, I'm not on the dole and I consider myself to be a fairly nice and normal human being (sometimes) ........ Like you all here I save up all year to go and I spend my money fairly AND liberally between local shops, shacks, hotels etc when I am in Goa, me thinks they will be feeling the pinch if they continue with their ideas.

So called "classy" people (or the better clientele they say they want to attract) that I have met in my life have often turned out to be wolves in sheep's clothing, they may get more than they bargained for in Goa.

Fizz

lets not go down the road of "dole scroungers".
I myself am now unemployed, having been made redundant and have to sign on for JSA.
However, I booked and paid for the holiday before this happened, so am I now considered less desirable as a visitior?

Before Fizzy's post this was my thoughts to be honsest...i didn't want to post anything that may make things sound worse than they are.
I hope i am totally wrong but i think they will put a complete stop to the temporary shacks,i'm not even sure any will get up and running properly this season yet.
As i said i hope i'm wrong.

It also crossed my mind too that this could be the beginning of the end for beach shacks or the very least the number of them. Of course, what could happen is that the issuing of licences could be delayed until the new year when the tourist numbers have dropped and therefore not much money to be made out of us.

Del

Sorry to hear of your redundancy. Hope you get fixed up with something soon although it's not good out there.
My OH was almost in a similar position September time (thankfully he's OK for now) but if he hadn't have been we'd made the decision come what may to go on our holiday anyway.

You've earned the money to pay for it and you should go and enjoy it . As for being less desirable clientele, according to the article that a lot of these posts refer to - if you enjoy sitting in a shack all day with sunbeds all around you people watching, you may be not the type of clientele that the person in the article enjoys mixing with.

If that's the case me and my OH are probably not desirable clientele either, so come and have a beer or two with us

Might just take you up on that..unless Mr Brown ups the JSA

Back on topic.....
I supose that in all fairness I am as much a snob on holiday as anyone else, looking a bit askance at people wearing union jack shorts etc. who seem to personify the "brits on holiday" culture.
I usually have no genuine reason to think that they are lager louts but the stereotype does stick, so in all probability I am as bad as the woman who wants better clientelle in Goa.
I imagine that we all have our own prejudices.

My sentiments exactly Del

To bring the thread back on topic - I think the bookings for Goa next November will be way down because of the problems this year, the shack debacle is such that they are getting later and later every year and I think if we want to continue going we could well have to get used to the temporary shacks not being there. I hope I'm wrong but as I've said before shacks are part of our holiday and we will seriously have to consider whether we book for New Year 2010/11 if the shacks are not up and running for this New Year.

PS Del if you join us lesser clientele for a beer - you'll recognise my OH easy he'll be the one wearing a knotted hanky on his head.

Booking for 2010/2011
Already done it..... shacks or no... We are going for 4 weeks in February.

Knotted hanky.....please not that..... a bandana OK .... but not a hanky

Some shack owners now saying they want a reduction in any licence fee as when they eventually get the licence they will have lost a months business, so mabey that will be the latest twist in this sorry saga.
Alan

The price of food has risen considerably in the market in the last couple of months plus the price of the shack license and the loss of time so I would expect the price of the meals and drinks in the shacks not to be what they were last season.