This was my first time in Goa. Expectations were high. We expected it to be hot and humid. We expected lots of tourists and desis. What we saw met our expectations. We had lots of fun and a genuinely great time. I dont want to talk about the great stuff that you see in Goa. Everybody talks about those stuff. Im going to talk about the stuff that I thought to be BAD.
Goa is projected as a tourist destination. These tourists come and lay on the beach reading or just getting a tan. Theres bound to be some sort of extortion. It was holi there and I saw a bunch of kids, may be 5 or 6 years old, smearing a foreigner with the traditional colors and then asking him for money. The amount that they ask starts from a hundred. They ask him five hundred. The foreigner is not let to go unless he pays and he succumbs and gives the kid a hundred rupees. I never saw any kid asking an Indian that amount of money. They dont ask coz they know they wont get it. It would be a waste of their time and the money they spent on the color.
Normally the bike that we get for rent in Goa costs about 200 rupees. They hike the prices to a thousand we they see that there is demand. We reached late on a saturday and a person asked for 800 rupees under the condition that the bike had to be returned @ 9 pm that same day.
They also provide roof less Maruti Gypsies for people. These Gypsies are not allowed in Goa. They dont tell this tiny detail. The police wait for these Gypsies and once they get one extort money from the tourists. The tourists are made to pay the whole amount upfront and complaining on return of the vehicle doesnt matter.
We got into a bus when we started from Baga to Calagute. We were told by the owner of the place we stayed that the fare was 5 rupees. The conductor of the bus asked us for 10 rupees. He doubled the price. We told him that we knew the fare was 5 and that he was trying to trick us. He argued for a while but took the 5 per person after we said we would complain.
We got down at Margao to go to the railway station to catch the train. A bus was parked in a petrol pump and the conductor told us to get in after asking us the destination. We got in and sat. Just then another guy came from the bus stand and told us that the bus wont go. We didnt get out then. The conductor then came in and asked for the fare and we gave him a hundred. He went upfront after taking the money. Then the bus started and went inside the bus stand and stood there for more than 10 minutes. When asked why he didnt tell us that the bus wont go now, the conductor said that the bus would go in some time !
Dont ever go on the beach without foot wear. You would only get you foot split by broken glass. Get sun tan lotion or you will burn to death. You will have to buy water. No one, not even when you dine in a small shack, will you get some drinking water. The most time wasted will be for food as the shacks there take 3 hours to serve a single meal. Take some light food along if you intend to roam about in Goa.
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