Been meaning to post this for a week but am struggling to recover this time and still feel very tired. This was our 11th time to Goa and we went with my sister and her hubbie who were going for the 1st time.

Flew with Monarch from Manchester and dare I say it the flight wasn't that bad. On time, decent food, friendly crew. Only problem was once we landed in Dabolim there were 3 planes in so we couldn't get off and had to sit on the runway for an hour. Eventually got off and were ushered straight through immigration in record time. All in all it took about 20 minutes from plane to taxi. All in all I think the airport has improved massively on 2 years ago. Even our return check in was pretty smooth.
Stayed at Sunshine park hotel in Candolim and apart from a daily power cut we loved it. Lovely big rooms, nice pool and excellent staff. We hardly ever saw our little boy who was given a job waiting tables and paid 20 rupees a day for doing it. My sister hated it for the first 2 days then fell in love with the place and is rebooking for next Christmas.
First impressions were that things were pretty much as we left them apart from prices do seem to have gone up a little and Candolim did seem much quieter than last time we were there. Candolim beach was virtually empty in our first week and most places we ate at night were much quieter than 2 years ago. All the shack and restaurant owners we spoke to said they were really struggling this year and many of them were very worried.
We spent most of our time at lovely jubbly shack at Morjim as Nicky who owns it is a good friend of ours and picked us up most days and took us up there. Think it took about 40 mins from Candolim but seemed much longer with the repetetive horrendous music he insisted on playing at full blast on each journey. We had never been to Morjim before and really loved the fact that the sea is much calmer and you can actually feel safe in it. Lots of little rocky areas too where the kids caught a whole host of sealife including a variety of crabs,a squid and something resembling a sea snake. Loved the shack too and all the guys there were great. Nicky's business partner Sid has the most English like sense of humour I've ever come across in Goa and was the source of much amusement. Funny but he was even funnier after 3 or 4 kings and a couple of honeybees. My little boy was also given a job taking drinks orders at the shack and at the end of each day was rewarded with a free massage which he loved.
We ate at lots of places but still had some of the best food at ice n spice - though it has moved location. It's now off the main Candolim road just around the corner fom where it was before. Same staff as before apart from Nicky who left to open the shack at Morjim. Best evening entertainment was at sweet chilli where I'm ashamed to say we laughed so much at the weirdest version of angels I've ever heard. My sister is booking to go back next year just to hear that song again.
Lots of drinks were consumed and as per previous years the honeybee flowed like water. I'm sure it's the reason for many a strange dream I had during the 3 weeks - one of which involved me running down Candolim beach wearing a prom dress !!
Hubby and son both had a stint of sickness which lasted a day or 2 (hubbies definitely down to over indulgence on the food n drink front) so Nicky took me to quite a few places I would never normally have gone. The local fish market at 7 in the morning was one of them and an experience not to be missed. It was chaotic with everyone crowding around the fish and haggling. I was the only non Goan there and the cause of much curioisty with the children but everyone was really friendly and insisted on pushing me to the front to get the best view of the fish. I had to draw the line though when we went to buy 3 chickens and the man just slaughtered them right in front of us. Needless to say I didn't eat the butter chicken at the shack that day. During this time I also went to Vagator beach which was full of Goans who were on a days vacation and was really lovely and somewhere I will definitely go back. I also went to the sunburn music festival on Candolim beach (which is not somewhere I'd normally have gone) but I really enjoyed it (probably down to the vodka)and by the time I left was almost enjoying the horrid music I'd been subjected to in the car.
We went to mandrem beach for the day and loved it so much we spent a night in the huts there. Would recommend that to anyone and will definitely be doing that again next time.
The people were as amazing as ever and for me what makes Goa so special. They are one of the main reasons we continue to go back. I don't think theres anywhere else where you can be invited to dinner with a family you've never met before and made to feel so welcome. So much attention had been paid to the food and Nicky's family treated my children like they were their children and I found the whole experience very moving.
On a sadder note I witnessed a man get killed by a bus in the chaotic Candolim traffic around Christmas and a few days later was standing outside the elephant shop when a woman was hit by a car. Never seen that before despite the road chaos and hopefully never will again.
In summary we had a fantastic 3 weeks away and I can't wait to go back in February. Just need to shake off this tiredness in time to go through it all again.