First impressions are inexplicable... the magic continues to draw me to goa every year... can't wait to have a place of my own in Goa and spend more time...

Some of my memories...

As the train left Dudhsagar Water Falls train station towards Madgoan, several guys got up the train with buckets of chilled beer to sell

They shouter: beer beer beer"¦ amazing"¦ not possible in other parts of India.

Baga beach, North Goa, my brother saw a shirt he liked at a roadside shop. My brother is good at haggling"¦

Woman (shop keeper): Ok bhaiya (brother) last price 180?
Brother: 90
Woman: Ok, 110
Brother: 90
Woman: Last price Bhaiya 100
Brother: 90 (walking away)
Woman: ok Bhaiya"¦90
Brother: 70?

So every time we passed her shop during that week of our holiday, she would shout at him: Bhaiya"¦90"¦90"¦

Colva, South Goa, early nineties - a shack owner introduced us to a beach boy who wanted money to take his girl friend out - so he provided us with accommodation in his bungalow minutes away from the beach for five days for only Rs.500 for six of us"¦ walking back late nights from the open discos on the beach, had to encounter a haunted bungalow on the way that had all kinds of things written on the walls with charcoal"¦ one was "¦ BHOOT BANGLA (haunted house)"¦

What the !!!!! as I opened my eyes as the sleeper bus from Mumbai stopped at the Goa/ Maharashtra border crossing a monkey stuck its hand through the window

What the !!!!! as I opened my eyes as the sleeper bus from Mumbai stopped at the Goa/ Maharashtra border crossing a monkey stuck its hand through the window Shocked

So Friendly Goa isnt it, even the Monkeys want to shake your hand

I was in shock for 2 days, spent the first day crying wondering where the hell ive come too. After we had ventured around a little and found our feet, we just fell in Love with the place

I too thought oh my god what have we done but we soon ventured around and found our feet and am now planning our 2nd trip there.

wheres me mam ..i want me mam now 4 years on we still going and mam is just a phone call away oh by the way im 44,but at times of trouble and stress who else do we ask for

our first impression like most people was OH MY GOD, I got used to it quicker then OH, he vowed he would not go back, then after a few day's and going on the jungle book trip, he love's it planing our 3rd tripp next year

Having read it never rains in Goa except during the monsoon we couldn't figure out quite why 12 years ago when we arrived it started raining, but it was only a little shower.
That night our first meal and we went to the tourist hotel on Calungute steps, it started raining again and all the staff rushed to move us and our meal under cover! Then the most horrific shock when I visited their loo it was stinking an absolute mess and the electric had gone off.
That night I asked my husband where the hell he had bought me . The next day we got up to bright sunshine walked down to the beach which still had no shacks (we were very early in the season) and got speaking to a local girl called Nancy she asked us if we wanted cold drinks and magically provided some, when she told us that her beach shack would be up and running within a week, we had no concept then as to what a beach shack would be like. We were in for a wonderful surprise.
The toilets thankfully have improved (and the electricity) although I doubt if the GDT hotels have that much. We adore Goa we have tried other countries and they are all missing the magic!!