Shame about your hotel in the South but still seems like you had a nice. time. Looking forward to the next bit when you stayed in Calangute

shame about the start of the holiday. Would you do a hotel review for us as it will be useful for other members? It is on our page but does not have any reviews
http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/reviews/india/goa/varca/varca-palms-beach-resort-hotel/
It must be interesting seeing Goa through the eyes of your 6 year old.

Shame about the hotel sounds like you managed to make the most of it and good to hear the rep moved you at the first time of asking. Look forward to reading the rest of the report

Loving your report so far. Especially interested in hearing about the North and your stay at the Osborne as staying there myself in April

Great report. Look forward to the next part. Keep it coming

Sorry the Hotel was so bad, I remember you being worried about it , before you visited. Varca is certainaly a lovely beach and i am glad that wasn't a dissapointment. You are right about the isolation of the Hotels at varca beach and being dependent on the Taxi Mafia!. During the day we often walk along the beach to Benaulim, and get a tuk tuk there, but at night no other option but Taxi.
Looking forward to hearing about the rest of the Holiday

Ok, so our first week was spent in Varca, as I have said. When the rep came to us on day 6 of our holiday he wanted to see the room and what we had a problem with (by the way we aren't moany people and are easily pleased), he came up and didn't even say anything, as he looked like he agreed with us. Then he just announced to us that he had found us another hotel. He said "Are you ready to leave?" to which I began throwing my clothes into the cases with a slight grin on my face. The front desk then called the room in the middle of this saying "Would you like your upgrade now????" (We had been asking for a better room since we arrived and were met with 'come back later/tomorrow'.) Suddenly they wanted to give us an upgrade, I could have laughed if it wasn't so pathetic!!!! They obviously wanted to save a bit of face, which did not work.

Well we proceeded to the lobby with the rep and he arranged for a taxi for us to take us from Varca to Calangute, the fixed price from the hotel was 1400, which he said the company (Travelpack) would pay. The staff at the front desk wouldn't even look us in the eye and we had to write a list of why we wanted to leave which they then had in their possession. So, we bid farewell to the rep, and I made a mental note to ensure that I let the company know that he did all he good to get us out of that place, for that I was thankful for my little lad's sake. The taxi driver taking us to the North was a lovely guy, and we chatted all the way, taking in the sights and George, my son, loved the journey. We were spotting things out of the window, fruit sellers by the side of the road, stopping to let a train pass, beep beep beep of motorcycles/rickshaws/trucks. It was like a weight had been lifted from us all. However my hubby was saying "we're not home and dry yet-we haven't seen the next place yet". I was just glad to be having a change of scenery really and I thought what a bonus, two holidays in one really.

We neared Panaji and the roads got progressively better, white lines down the centre, people actually wearing helmets on motorcycles (the law in the city) and having been here before I kind of knew we weren't far off. When we started to see the signs for Calangute I was thinking, I hope we are going to like it, being worried about it being too touristy etc. We turned a couple of corners and then saw the 'Osborne Resorts' sign, we were informed that we were being given a superior room at the phase 2 of the 3 phases of Osbornes that exist. Well our room was great!!! They had arranged for the extra bed to be in place, there were a load of room boys waiting to carry bags, and the Northern rep for Travelpack was at the other end ready to pay the taxi driver. We were given room C1 on the ground floor facing the pool (well, about 2 metres from the pool-you couldn't get any closer!!!!) The room was spacious, clean, lots of towels shaped into lovely patterns, a new air conditioning unit. I must say I breathed a sign of relief at this point!!

My first impressions of the hotel were quite good, lovely gardens, tended to by a lovely lady who is always snipping, cutting and watering to keep it looking good. The bar/waiting staff were well turned out and always happy to help. We hired a safety deposit box but I had an email from my Dad telling me that on the internet he had read that people had theirs broken into so we didn't use the boxes at night, just through the day. Ok, back to the holiday....

We took our first walk down to Calangute beach, from the road that goes past the Seagull, and I looked at hubby and thought "Uh Oh we are NOT going to like this", only because the part of Calangute beach we had gone for lunch at was nose to tail sunbeds, huge coca cola signs, sellers everywhere. Not really my cup of tea. It just felt so 'corporate' and spoiled. We ordered some lunch in one of the shacks (cheaper than the south for food), and a young Indian girl called Elisha came and sat with us, playing cards with us and chatting. A man kept on walking past and calling her the 'number one Goan beggar' but we didn't mind her sitting with us, she was enjoying a game of top trumps with my son. When our food came she disappeared and when we had finished she had noticed that my lad didn't eat much of his Veg hakka noodles. Well the guy took the plate back to the kitchen and she was distraught, asking us to ask the guy to bring the food back. We did so and she scoffed that food down so fast, bless her. Whether or not it was the right thing to do, I don't know, but I know it felt right for me and I'm glad she had a hot meal that day. It was an important lesson for my son, as he truly saw the value of food, and he actually looked quite sheepish for leaving such a big plateful.

Well I have gone on quite enough and will write a bit more very soon.....

do some more good report. i feel sorry for the little beggars and the stuff they have 2 do just 2 make 10 rupees

Loving this report , hope you can manage the next installment soon, thanks shirleyv

hi haddojetty i nkow the little girl you on about we went to seahorse shack and her mum worked in i think next one called twinkling star. she kept coming over to play with my daughter which i didnt mind, but after a couple of days she got really cheeky always asking us for money, i wouldnt mind 1 day she was dripping in gold jewellery!! fab report keep it coming as i going to osborne at xmas.

Funnily enough that girl did ask us for money as we left but we didnt give her any.

haddojetty, she didnt just ask she followed us and another couple all the way up beach and to taxis begging us, wouldnt leave us clung on to my husbands arm!!

Ok, I will try and do a bit more now before my memory fades .
So overall we quite liked the set up where we were after all our preconceived ideas about Calangute it wasn't all that bad (apart from the beach there). We changed money at the shop below Babutes on the corner, where there is a really sweet girl there, aw she was so friendly. Also the little lad who adds it all up on the calculator (and still doesn't know how much change to give. The rate was 85rs to the pound so we were quite impressed with that. We arrived at the osborne on the Friday (16th feb) and on the Sunday we took a taxi to Vagator Beach. It was more for nostalgia than anything. When we were in Goa in 1999 we spent all our time there, but back then we were partying and sleeping till noon, staying in an 80rs a night room. Wow what a difference, zoom to 2007 with child in tow, we are in Calangute on a package. How times a-change hey!

Vagator hadn't changed much really, in as much that the Shiva Head is still there, the food and drink is much cheaper, but there is loads of litter on the approach. We got there quite early and set up for the day, the sea was pretty rough there and I was aware of my son not going too far due to the choppy waves. Hubby had to tell me to chill out but I was thinking of all the horror stories I've read on HT about the currents in Goa, and I didn't want to take any chances. So, we slapped on the factor 30, ordered some ginger tea and glued my eyes to George playing in the surf. The sellers came out in full force at Vagator, and I made the mistake of getting into dialogue with one who gave me her puppy eyed story about having to pay the police 1000rs a month bribe to be able to sell on the beach, and that out of season she went back to her homeland near Hampi and earned 25rs a day as a gardener. Course, her story must have worked on soppy old me as I bought a pair of fisherman pants (that I still haven't worn), and a sarong (obligatory). Also george ended up having a scorpion henna on his arm. She got one of her cronies to do this and she scurried around looking for a a stick with which to use to make the tattoo. I had my beady eye on her making sure it wasn't going to be sharp or cut his skin. She used a biro to make the outline and when she had finished she told him it was fabric paint!!!! (luckily it faded after a few days).

We went into one of the shacks for a spot of lunch and my goodness I forgot how darn hot the sand gets at Vagator, I don't know why it seemed hotter than anywhere else. Why oh why did I leave my flip flops at the sunbed???? After a choccie pancake and a visit to the freakiest toilet so far....I had to walk out through the shack, past the ...ahem...kitchen (I closed my eyes and nose), I was given a key to the padlocked loo. Well it was in pitch darkness, an Indian toilet but not sunken into the ground so I had to...hover...in the dark. I had visions of what might have been crawling around my feet. I tell you, I think they must have wondered how quick I was in there, I couldn't get out of there fast enough, well as long as my lungs could hold a breath!!

Back to the fast sprint to the sunbed and a lovely hot afternoon spent on Vagator. The sellers were annoying, frisbees/sunglasses/Goa trance CD's/the usual stuff really. Also, the one thing that really didn't change from 8 years ago was the huge volume of Indian men who come to stroll up and down and try to take secret photos of you but make no secret of doing it. The casual sideways glances, then the men stopping either side of my bed, then the third man taking the pic with me in the middle. Well they didn't get any body shots as I wrapped my towels around me every time lol. Sunday is the day that, so I have been told, the Indians come down from Mumbai to vagator and, well, leer. Some things never change there then.

We met our taxi driver at 4pm and paid 400rs for the round trip. We asked him to take us back through the small village of Chapora, as we stayed there in 1999 and really wanted to see it. It was a bit emotional on the approach as I remembered being on the scooter, coming back from a party/Anjuna flea market, and then into Chapora. Well I was happy to see that it was the same, right down to the restaurants still being there that I remembered, Yak/Babu/Welcome(where the baby cow used to eat the naan bread over the wall). Ah it was good to see that tourism hasn't reached there, and I don't think it will.

Ok, some more tomorrow......

Hi haddotjetty

Really enjoying your report, we were stayed at the Osborne 25th Feb - 11th March so our stays overlapped, its our 2nd stay at the Osborne and Im sure it wont be our last.

Look forward to your next installment

Jules

Right, next part....

We had used one of the taxi drivers outside of the hotel to go to Vagator Beach and he tried to rip us off, saying it was 400rs, then when we agreed to go on the Sunday he said 500rs, we reminded him it was 400rs. This made us make a mental note not to use him again. The next day we walked up the road, past Laxmi the elephant, bless her. The sadhu/holy man came barging over saying "thats my elephant, take picture" before grabbing my camera and pointing to us to stand with the elephant. It seemed funny to see this tradionally dressed old man being so adept with a modern digital camera-he's had plenty of practice with us tourists eh!!!! Well my lad did not want to go near the elephant, well, Laxmi is one huge beast and I must admit she is monstrous up close, I didn't blame him for hiding behind me!!!! Then the sadhu asked for a large sum of money for the 'children'. Whether it was or not, I wasn't being dictated to about my donation, so I think hubby gave him 50 or 100rs, I'm not sure. There was a euneuch walking closely behind trying for a few rupees too but we'd seen enough of them in a past visit to Calcutta to know not to feel bad for not giving him any dosh.

So, at the taxis just by Rockys jewellers we got chatting to the loveliest driver called Avid, young, tall and with a friendly nature. We asked him to suggest a 'quiet' beach that was not too far, as we had 2 more weeks in Calangute we did want to have a little look around. He suggested Coco Beach, which, he said was about 20 mins away. So, off we trotted with him to Coco beach. It was nice to drive in the other direction, through Candolim, and then Nerul, past the fish market. George loved these taxi rides, and I had got used to the whole issue with no car seats for him, it's funny how we relax and somehow the things we get uptight about back home go out of the picture when you are away isn't it. He'd ride in the front seat of taxi's sometimes, getting the seat wet with his little wet bum shorts after a day at the beach-awww. Back to our first day at Coco Beach.... Avid walked us down a short track, through some fishing nets and small shacks and onto the small beach there. We knew he was taking us to one of his mates shacks but that was cool with us, as you have to pitch up somewhere and why not go to his friends place?? We were met by Nico (who was nicknamed Dogboy by the other lads), and 'Scrapman'. This day spent at Blackies Shack on Coco was really great. They lads were alwaus smiling, especially Scrapman, I felt good about being in Goa, so relaxing. The tide was very high up when we got there and the sunbeds had the two front legs in the sea, but the lads said that the tide was on the turn and that there is hardly any current there.

I noticed that the heat was very intense there as it is a cove with no breeze. The dolphin-spotting boats are in and out quite regularly and that was the only annoyance as if George was in the water I worried that the boats would hit him, but they always seemed as though they were getting close, but they never did. George made friends with a lovely little girl and Nico in the shack lent him a rubber ring (he said-to save us money!!). So we had a wonderful day. The seabed at Coco has sharp shells/stones and George did have a lot of tiny cuts on his feet by the end of the day (note to self-bring his jellies next time). So after a good day, Avid, our driver, came and picked us up at 4pm and we headed back to Osborne to have a dip in the pool, then shower and get ready for dinner. We paid him 400rs for the round trip which I thought seemed reasonable. Coco Beach isn't that clean, there is a bit of litter floating in the sea, and I can imagine it was stunning before the shacks arrived, but there was no point in going there and wishing it was like it used to be. Overall, a very successful day at a beach where we could relax and sunbathe without worrying about George in the sea, as it was very safe there for children.

Back at the Osborne we had a dip in the pool (showering off our sand first of course), and enjoyed the last few rays of sun before having a cold coffee there, which is to die for. 80rs a glass but the most refreshing thing!!!!

This night we ate at Little Italy. Someone had said it was very nice so as we like pasta we gave it a try. Set in a lovely location, under a huge tree, with nets strung under the branches (to catch the leaves I presume??). There is a pool there which looked lovely there at night all lit up and blue. There are paintings along a wall which were for sale, they were nice to look at. Well we had a fantastic first meal at this restaurant, the mixed fruit juice was amazing, freshly blended over at the juice bar, yum yum, so refreshing. Little Italy was all vegetarian (I'm a veggie anyway), and we had a mozzarella and tomato salad to share, and the pasta dishes we ordered were sublime. I couldn't believe how they got these ingredients in India. It was all superb, even the garlic bread was the best I had ever had. For pudding we had 'chocolate bomb' which was gorgeous too, with hot choc sauce oozing out the middle of a sponge. The total bill for the three of us was about 2500rs, pretty expensive, seeing as the average evening meal bill was about 900rs, but we vowed to come back as it really was a great meal.

The walk back from Little Italy was out past the Seagull (always full of Brits), and right up to the main road. Jeez that is a tough road to cross, I swear there are holidaymakers there that have taken residence at the side of the road as it's taken so long to cross it!!!! The bit along by Ben and Jerrys is where I mean. Then it's a case of running the 'taxi, taxi, taxi' gauntlet. We popped into the fixed price shop next to the supermarket and bar (dont know any names), as I liked the look of the bags......

Out we walked with armfuls of gear!! I bought a...ahem...Radley purse for 290rs, nice black one. A polo bag for 600rs and a lovely wooden belt for 50rs. There were also some nice sandals in there for around 290rs. Hubby was eyeing up the Rolex watches so at least I could shop guilt free. As the guy had a TV he put on Cartoon Network for George so he sat there whilst we spent spent spent......hubby vowed to have a good think about the watch and go back the next day.

Ok, some more next time about another day at Coco Beach, and when we visited Children Walking Tall, Morjim Beach and Anjuna Flea Market...

Nice report 'Haddojetty'.

Did you come across "Veggie" on the Calangute-Candolim rd? - newly opened. Good food; very attentive service.

Coco beach is one of our haunts; did a croc trip from there in Jan 06 - shy - dolphins were a little better tho'

I'll be interested in more from Coco beach....and if you managed to get to 'Queen victoria' shack as we didn't get round to it in Jan 07.

ve94n, we only went to Blackies Shack on the 3 occasions that we went there. However we enjoyed each day at Coco, despite what people say about it being dirty etc, we liked it. I liked the fact that there was no music playing, and my hubby took a walk with our 6 year old down to see the fisherman at the left side of the beach, and had a chat with them. My son learned so much in these little moments that nothing out of a book could have taught him. He took his nintendo one day and it was sweet to see the shack lads all crowding around him trying to get a look at his racing game!

Bit more for you before my memory fades one day of holiday into the next....

We asked our taxi driver, Raj, to take us to 'Children Walking Tall' one day as we had brought out our 3rd bag full of clothes and bits for the children. I work at a preschool and we have some clothes there that we use for our children if they have accidents etc. Well we recently had a donation of nearly new stuff so I asked my boss if I could have it!!!! She said gladly, for the children at CWT, so off we trotted to CWT, wothout prior arrangement, only an email from Rob to say come anytime in the week, which we did. Well when we go there I recognised the place immediately. We walked up the steps and as we entered the office were greeted by Rob with a cheery smile and dusty handshake (which he apologised for!!), and he took us on a tour of Mango House. Wow, we were so impressed, the work that all the guys have done there is beyond great-the kitchen is wonderful, it all is so nice! George believed Rob I think when he said that the well was where the naughty children went!!!!

Unfortunately there weren't any children at the house (due to a licence they were waiting for, I believe), so that was a shame. All the same, I was so pleased that we went and saw the house, after reading so much about it on the CWT website and on here too. So thankyou Rob, for showing us around, and to the other lady, Lin? We had a nice chat with you about Goa and Hampi.

The drive back to Calangute from CWT was a bit hair raising-that main road!!!!!!! phew!!!!

More soon........