Hiya

Can help with a few questions...

Don't buy your electrical adapters until you get to Goa as Indian ones fit the sockets so much better. But do take with you a small multi-socket extension lead as there is usually only one socket in the room.

I just take £££ cash and use ATM's to get the rest as and when. Charges apply but thats the price I'm prepared to pay for security.

Porters - carry your own bags. It'll be no more than 50m to your bus / taxi. If you do use one then £1 is more than enough. I heard one porter tell a tourist £5 last year....haha!! Have no idea whether they paid or not.

I'll leave it for others to answer your other questions.

We never pay the loo lady, the toilets are not exactly swish. Just make sure you have your own loo paper.

as a matter of course ALWAYS take a loo roll with you in your handbag/camera bag. you might never use it but i bet you will and you always get caught short when you least expect it. (beach, train, just going for a walk etc) and better to be prepared. you know it makes sense.!

smudger2

Whatever plug you decide to take from the UK (if any) then I guess they will be the 'thin' prong type. These will always give you headache with them falling out of the socket, so if you take note of the split down the prong, then prise it apart and it will fit the socket fine.

Brill, thank you all for replies so far - am taking notes....

We usually take our holiday money is sterling travellers cheques, however, we usually have between 1000 and 1500 rupees left from our previous holiday which will see us through until we exchange the first of our traveller cheques on the first or second day.

I bought our adaptor on ebay (it came from overseas but I cannot remember where, although it wasn't India). It is grey and has 3 thicker round prongs rather than the 3 thin ones you get on the adaptors over here.

I also don't tip the toilet ladies a £1 coin as the toilets aren't that clean and they only give you 2 sheets of toilet tissue. I always make sure that I take a small roll of toilet tissue with me or buy a box of tissue from a supermarket over here and keep it in my hand luggage or hand bag during my holiday.

Thanks for that Spike, will try it. It is annoying when using the hairdryer. We did think about buying one in Goa though next visit but will try this first.

We have taken all types of adapters with us from the UK, but none of them are as good as the ones you can buy when your there. We bought a couple whilst there and they were no more than 50p and they are far better than anything we have ever took with us. You can pick them up from most supermarkets. Another thing that may be useful to you is to make a few photocopies of your passport, these come in handy for sorting your phone, cashing cheques ect without carrying your passport around. I am not sure but I think Dragon or Max Biker posted a photo of one of the adapters a while ago ......Keith

Ha ha. I see we all have had the pleasure of the loo lady.

Has anyone else noticed that the people in Goa generally have spotlessly clean clothes, but the staff in the airport are totally grubby.

Don't bother giving the porters a tip, you won't be taking your cases very far. Did anyone point out the baggage carousel? Porters take your cases off and line them up so that it is easier for the porters to grab you, so if leave one of you watching the carousel, and one of you checking the line of bags.

I'm usually a pretty polite person, but these porters can be very imposing, and sometimes "no" doesn't work as they grab your cases, and you need to actually smack their hands away. When the 3rd "no" doesn't work, I do sometimes have to resort to "NO, now just F**K off!!!!!"

hahaaha

i did number 3 !! you should have seen the porters face!!

I know what you mean Mobor. I have had to give several a serious hand smackings in the past with a firm "leave it". My other half says I sound like I am talking to the dog.

me an me the plugs used in goa are the same as those used in the uk until the sixtys. they are 5amp round pin and are still used here in certain non domestic situations

They can be obtained from screwfix.com who have branches up and down the country and at other outlets. I would suggest getting a 4 way 13a extention lead and changing the plug to the 5amp type in use in goa. you can see the items here

4 way 13a extention lead cat no 58171 http://www.screwfix.com/p/masterplug-extension-lead-4g-240v-1m/58171?_requestid=566863#

5 amp three pin round plug cat no 22877 http://www.screwfix.com/p/round-pin-plug-5a/22877?_requestid=567478

I have seen adaptors in goa that are fine but its not always easy to find them and you need your hair drier etc as soon as you arrive

Hi me an me
Yes it will be hot begining of November,and even possible to still get a short shower,but at least its hot rain,evenings are still hot so you shouldnt need anything really thick to wear.
We find Pounds the best for us to take and also if needed use the ATMs.
The 2 elephant shops are still in Candolim and theres always Newtons supermarket that seems to do everything you want.

thanks for all the info everyone and for the pic links from silentman - so, I've got a 4 way extension lead, if I get the plug taken off and change it for the 3 pin round plug and put a 5amp fuse in it, is that right? Then that's ok for all my items on the same 4 way extension lead? I'm not electrically minded lol but think I'm understanding it now , I just got muddled cos some places say 2 pin and others the 'old' type we used to have - 3 round pin... I will need to use when I get there (will need a cuppa & hair dryer I'm sure) so want to take from here to get me started on the first morning....

I'll wait and see about porters, being by myself it may be a bit harder to brush them away but if I do use one he will only get £1 and yep, definately no more -

Loo lady - nothing ha ha - yes I do always carry tissues and take loo roll (no chance of getting caught out hopefully!!) - so I don't need to pay her for 2 pieces of loo roll

An now i'm just waiting for the beach and sun..... 25 more sleeps.....

Thanks again -

me an me The 3 pin 5amp plugs don't usually have a fuse in them, but the 13amp plugs on your hairdryer etc will have their own fuse, don't worry about 2 pin types, just change the plug on your extention lead and it will work fine.

imo its worth giving a porter a pound especially if its your first time, its quite a rough surface to the coaches but definitely no more (they are quite likely to ask for more) and nothing coming back, have a brilliant time

I read somewhere that someone offered a £1 tip to the porter, only to be asked for paper money. £5 is way to much to tip, so the traveller put the £1 away and pulled out 10 rupees. I'd have loved to have seen the look on the porters face!!

I think that's brilliant Mobor, I wish I was so quick thinking instead of starting my holiday feeling annoyed with all the money grabbing at the airport.

if I do use one he will only get £1 and yep, definately no more -

Please don't give the porter £1 that's roughly 80 Rs depending on exchange rate.
The daily rate for an unskilled worker is 100 Rs per day.

Watch the Indians when they arrive from Bombay or Bangalore - they pay 10 Rs per bag.