It's interesting that Mr Proeve mentions nudity being against Indian culture.
I've seen many a 'lively' discussion on this forum about sun-bathing topless and/or in thongs.
I do have my own views about this but am not going to air them here.

There are bins for rubbish on Candolim beach.

In the beach shack that we go to (Stringfellos), the toilet is not situated next to the kitchen at all.

I've seen beggars everywhere I've been in Goa (and on the train to Hospet for Hampi).

I'm a bit confused about his comment:
'The worst examples of hell are Gokarn and Hampi or Spain in past.'
I wonder what is wrong with Hampi in his view.

I wonder what other HTers think of his views.

Polly

He makes some valid points, there are far too many shacks, more than ever this past season. I understand the rule is 10 sun beds per shack, the one I use, Johnies at the back of the Goan Heritage has about 60! When the police come, you remove them, pay the fine or bribe, and then put them out again. As far as hygene goes have you ever looked behind the scenes and at the back of them ? I advise you not to. I would go so far as to say that if they imposed the hygene rules that apply to the U.K every shack would be closed down There is no sewage system, no running water or if there is it's from a well which is not a hundred miles from the toilets which just seep into the sand Now I,m not knocking the shacks, they are one of the main reasons I go to Goa, I use them most days and also eat in them, but it,s still a chancy business and if there was an outbreak of some sort one day, I for one, woud,nt be surprised But it,s just the way Goa is, the Goverment has invested nothing in the infrastructure of the tourist belt, no sewage system, no piped mains water etc so it,s not the package tourists to blame, but the Goverment who are glad to take the revenue but are not prepared to spend on the basic systems Alan

Just had a quick read but agree with almost all he says - will read fully later.

As regards toilets-- the old Goan way (and still is in some pleaces) was 'Pig Toilets'. Maybe we should campaign for that to be reintroduced at the rear of the shacks. May not be as stupid as it sounds.

Bins on the beach-- I have never seen any on Colva beach. the problem with bins is that they need to be well sted and emptied regulalrly-- theirein lies the problem. Who is going to pay for that.

A much better solution would be to make it a condition of beach shacks, before issuing a permit' that they are responsible the cleaning of a certain designated area around their shack. May not wholly solve the problem but will go some way to helping.

Let's also be fair. Litter is a big problem as well here in the UK. Why people prefer to just drop and throw it away is beyond me but that is the society we are living in. We always expect someone to be cleaning up after us.

"
it should
instill a ban on all new five stars and mega complexes for the next ten years "

I agree with the above and thought the article very interesting.

I'm certainly going to give Goa a break for a few years, probably try Kerala and Thailand.

Try Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar islands....Carbons Cove (sp?) is a beautiful beach. You could also travel to different islands by boat. I believe there are some islands where you cannot go without a permit as there are man-eaters.

Saw this article in the Herald

http://oheraldo.in/node/13961

edit - that link doesn't seem to be working but the gist of it is-

The survey affirmed Goa's undisputed status as the world's cheapest package holiday destination. While a three-course meal in Goa was about £5 (approx Rs 425), it was £8 (Rs 680) in Brazil, the next cheapest destination.
According to the TCCHLI survey, the average price of 16 typical holiday items (including milk, bread, taxis, meals and papers) in Goa was £25.70 (Rs 2,184), in comparison to £26.89 (Rs 2,286) in Brazil.
Incidentally, the survey revealed that long-haul destinations such as Goa, offer greater savings in holiday spending compared with Europe, with Goa, Brazil and Tunisia all cheaper overall than even Bulgaria, Europe's cheapest destination
"For the budget clients, the best long-haul destination is Goa. When compared to other countries, Goa's overall pricing package is relatively lower," explains Ernest Dias of Sita Destination Management.



I wonder how much of the 2.184rps was taxi fare as the rest of the list cost with the exception of a meal - costs very little!!

It worked OK Expect the price of the hols to go up now



Alan

Well that's another £100 on your UK package holiday.

Isn't Thailand about the same price as Goa regarding food. I've heard that Taxi's aren't such a rip-off.

Quite disturbing report in the Sunday Herald today about paedophiles in Goa. Full report here:

http://www.sundayherald.com/55993

And this is going on all over India if the children are "Dalit" then nobody gives 2 pence for them

lez

At present we're staying in theDusit Resort in Pattaya in Thailand for two weeks We flew with Emirates Glasgow-Dubai Bangkok thought by many to be the best long haul carrier and we woud'nt argue with that. The two and a halh private transfer was by a private Mercedes a.c. car with driver and rep in attendance. The price all in was 650 pounds. The hotel is very much better than the Taj in Sinquerm and the cost of eating out is comparable to Goa, beer is about 15pece a bottle dearer. So when you compare like with like Goa isint always so cheap We certainly couldnt have flown scheduled to Goa from Scotland and had a fortnight in a five star hotel for that price I'll still be back in Goa next season but there is plenty of places out east that are just as much a bargain. Remember the Goan prices are for charter flights and very basic accomadation, When you look at some of the prices people are paying in March it doesnt look so cheap to me Alan

Alan , the price you quoted is per person i presume ! Sounds like an excellent deal. Please P.M your experiences as i plan to go there in the next 10 days.

goandentist
why not go on to the Far East forum and ask away there also!

if your thinking of buying in Goa then read this

http://oheraldo.in/node/14581?PHPSESSID=6637aa3b8f1047 ba93c1d315b1da8e9d

lez

Similar artical in Navhind Times

http://www.navhindtimes.com/stories.php?part=news&Story_ID=060216

Also a pole on the Herald website

Don't know if this is the appropriate thread or, if posted before.

http://living.scotsman.com/travel.cfm?id=390002006

GW

I've not read that one before it's quite amusing, made me chuckle anyway.

The 'green' greed

http://www.expresshospitality.com/20061031/market07.shtml

105 km, 9 lifeguards: Don't go Goa

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/9-lifeguards-105-km-dont-go-goa/24866-3.html



Too late - we're going!

GW