Hi Callangute last weekend very busy, very hot,very hectic,we stay in the south but visited north. South for us but at the end of the day Goa is Goa and anywhere will do (just love the place).
Regards Bighally40.

Candolim and Calangute were jumping.

"Jumping" .... maybe I'll not bother going... will wait till I hear more.

Arrived Friday, not as busy as other years, lots of the Goans we know are very worried, they know all about the visa shambles, expecting it to remain quiet until xmas. Lots of the smaller places had hiked their room rates up and are half empty, including our old "digs" at the "White House". Taxi drivers particularly desperate as no Ingos, no Mackies Markets last couple of weeks, Rumour has it the Tourism Minister is locked away writing a best seller "How to **** up a Tourist Destination, he's the world expert in this field. Alan

'G'

Thanks for that info'. Maybe I'll hang off till Feb' or late Jan', see if I can find a last minute bargain. I stay very near the Indian Embassy so Visas aren't a problem.

Maybe the Tourism Minister is really an undercover Environment Minister in disguise.... wanting to stop people going there until it cleans up. Just a crazy Monday morning thought.

Anyway thanks and if you have time post any observations when they come in.

Hi Big Neil, Nice to see you posting again but i'm sure you have been keeping abreast of things - don't leave it so long next time, need you to spice things up Jude x

Rather sad to hear that there is no night market at all, no Ingos and no Mackies! I the know the traffic generation is an absolute nightmare, but it really is part of the jazz of a Saturday night!

I thought in the end of Inigos thread, someone said they were both opening shortly

"Hi Big Neil, Nice to see you posting again but i'm sure you have been keeping abreast of things"

I'm quite appalled at some of the posts here about the current situation in North Goa.

Problems, problems, problems...

Late building of shacks.
Ingo and Mackies Markets delayed/cancelled.
Calangute central a hazard for pedestrians.
Rubbish still not getting cleared in 'central' tourist areas.
Coco beach eroded and seemingly a health hazard.
Cubana closed (not my cuppa but a lot of people do like it).
Prices up on Hotel accom' - affects those travelling flight only.

And no doubt more building.

Hmmmmmmmm... doesn't make for great reading. Can't imagine this would put anyone off who is already booked so Xmas will no doubt be busy but I wonder about Feb'? Maybe much cheapness on the way.

Neil
why not try Thailand? I can recommend it. You haven't been happy with Goa for a while now and the world is too big a place to return to somewhere you've been disappointed with.
Kerala- more and more folks are trying there.
Have a look at the Thailand and India forums

Fiona,

Yes I will try Thailand... but I do have a part share in a Time Share so I do have to use up weeks in Goa. I bought into this when Goa was in better shape and thought that 'they' might have a little more pride in keeping the place up to scratch.

If you don't state your greivances about the state of Tourism in Goa, will ANYTHING ever get done. No point ignoring the problem if you still want to go there.

I misunderstood your first post- I thought it was Goa or Thailand or Kerala- so that is why I gave the reply I gave. I'm intrigued about your timeshare- is it north or south?

Hi me and the Mrs just back last night. We stayed mainly at the Baga end for beach shacks and they were not busy at all. Looking down toward Calangute it looked packed out. Bosco's, Big Banana, Witherspoons shacks were not busy, the restaurants were not busy either, but all the Goans are hoping for a busy time come Christmas/ New Year. We are gonig back in March. The locals know all about the visa fiasco thats happened.

Neil I must agree with Gramps and add that i found Goa very very quiet.
Oceanic shack wasnt opened until a full week into our holiday, a few others shack along the Baga end still havent even opened up at all yet. Ive also heard others have opened but have no licences. Baga beach itself was extremely quiet. Candolim was busier than normal and I didnt visit Calangute so cant comment. I dont know if it was my imagination but there seemed to be many more beach sellers this year, getting more persistent and annoying you even more ie. waking you up while dozing off, trying to sell you their cheap junk.
No Ingos or Mackies this year. They say Mackies may open eventually but no one has a clue what is happening.
The Goans are well aware of the Visa situation over here, but to be honest they didnt seem all that concerned or bothered.
More Indian tourists than white Europeans on the beach at Baga also.

This is all very very concerning!

I don't mind quiet as were all going to relax. But i'm 22! I like going out for a drink meeting new people. I also love the markets.

What are they playing at

It's such a pity the markets haven't been happening. It always broke up the weeks and while I've done the whole buying of 'tat' it was always nice to relax and listen to some music or just watch people.

So yes... what exactly is going on?