dreadsoc

Just to Clarify Wheatsheaf, when I refer to 'thinking the Goan way', I am referring to the selfish entrepreneurs, such as some of the builders and advocates etc and the Government of Goa. It is not the ordinary people of Goa who are harming us, they are being shafted by their own Government as much as FNs are ! There are too many influential people in Goa who worship only the god of money at the expense of all else, meaning that the traditional Goan values are becoming less visible and apparent in the shadow of such overt greed and corruption by the governing few.
Perhaps I should have made that clearer in my original post.

Dread - clarifying !
x

Remy-Ireland

just read the first 12 pages of the thread in fact just posts 4,38 & 41 will do.
Combine these 3 posts with my one above and what more do you really want to know regarding Douglas?????

Birdy num num

Hiya y'all,
Have been watching all that is going down in Goa, for quite a long time now, and having spent the best part of 3.5 yrs there, (and more importantly, being both a friend and neighbor to Douglas M and his lovely wife), I suggest you all get the hell out of there with whatever you can carry.... he and his partner weren't even allowed to bring out a few of their most precious and sentimental possessions (just a few tiny boxes that the developer/"owner" promised he would ship on to them, but never bothered about) ...The Goan government as well as the developer/"owner" made sure they left with only what they could carry...(they wanted it ALL!)
To let you all know, he and his wife are now out of the "uncertain hell" that is Goa, and have settled happily in Malaysia....It has taken them many many months to get over what happened to them, and if you STILL all believe that the British High Commission are going to be in a position to help you individually, or collectively, it is time to take the "rose tinted specs" off....!!! Once you start giving "individual" information to an Indian Government Official, you can guarantee your prompt "individual" repatriation to the UK! (Just remember Northern Cyprus! One bag per person, and villas still empty after 30 plus years....What did you UK Government do then?? Declare war on Turkey? I think not!!
Goa is NEVER gonna be not Sussex..and you will never be treated fairly....YOU ARE IN A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY with absolutely no security on anything...(advocates, police, banking, government, RBI etc etc) It is completely corrupt, and unless you temporarily adopt the baksheesh method to delay the inevitable, you will definitely loose everything...dont think that knocking your property down will prevent them from fining you (or worse!), cos they will DEFINATELY prosecute you for destruction of a property not "belonging" to you!! They will also thoroughly enjoy taking you on as "individual" cases (however you interpret their Laws) and that is how they will dissect the remaining UK expats in Goa ...(individually!)

Best bet, is to look at ways to get out with the least publicity you can...look at ways to move your cash out of the country, and count your blessings if you make it!
We spent around 10 weeks in Malaysia with Douglas m last year, and they are slowly healing, and enjoying a much less precarious lifestyle these days, but you are wasting your time battling the system or studying FEMA (some of you at Phd level!) or their interpretation of their legislation...cos its /B]ALWAYS[B] gonna be to their benefit!!
I can tell you, that it takes a long long time to re-adjust after Goa, but it really isnt real, and you are all living in a bloody bubble of unreality...!!! GET OUT ASAP!!! JUST REMEMBER DOUGLAS HAD ONLY A FEW DAYS TO LEAVE INDIA...SO BE PREPARED FOR THE LETTER GIVING YOU 15 DAYS TO LEAVE WITH WHAT YOU CAN CARRY (30KGS EACH)..
Good luck to you all, cos you are ALL gonna need it....
Birdy

johnny five

Wow, that was a reality check wasnt it?

Ploughing my way through "Buyer Beware" from the beginning, and its amazingly interesting, also backs up the sentiments just expressed!

To my surprise this thread starts after Douglas was forcibly ejected, does anyone know if he detailed his earlier experiences on any thread in particular?

If you have an urge to tell me "that I already know", please sit on it, as Fonzie would say, innit?

Birdy num num

Hiya J5
Yes I am privy to what occurred before Douglas was ejected from "incredible India," however to discuss it on here, would implicate certain people, and highlight areas of rural Goa that I am not prepared to do!
Suffice to say, that no FN will ever make a true lifetime friend from a Goan.
(If i am sounding like Douglas, its because we both tried to "integrate" with the local population, unsuccessfully)

There are around a billion Indians on the continent, and if any of us had moved to say China, I doubt we would have any difficulty in understanding the jealousy involved in what we brought into their "sights".
So, it is completely understandable how they feel about us "rich" FN's...

Difference is, that they are skilled at controlling their jealousy in order to survive and milk us all...they are excellent businessmen.....!!
(we ended up calling them all "smiling piranha's")
Our final rule of thumb was to look for ALL the angles, and become extremely streetwise towards everyone...and because of that attitude, we survived it ...(not intact, but enough to learn from the experience and never ever repeat it)

Lets face it, the Goa we all loved, has turned into a squalid, corrupt "Benidorm" without any perks these days, apart from the weather, and you can get that anywhere in Asia without all the hassle...
You all need to look at the strain you are going through, and question whether the "cheapness" of the place warrants the pain and uncertainty that comes with it?? ...Another saying comes to mind..."if its cheap, it WILL be cheap!!"
Birdy

Mitzyboy

I know this is probably not the place to discuss it, but that description of Benidorm is pretty much way way way off target

Remy-Ireland

Hi Birdy,
Great to hear from you!
Thankyou for your very Sobering post and please don't forget to pass on my best to Douglas and his OH.

Regards,
Remy

noni

Thank you and regards to Douglas.

wheatsheaf

There can be no comfort in any of whats happening. But you should also know that Goans living outside India also get eaten up by the local 'piranhas' when they come back to Goa.

mainwaring

Ill second that

Thanks Remy, Noni, Birdy and Wheatsheaf for filling in the gaps.
Especially Birdy.
I also did not realize that Douglas had already left before he started the thread Buyer Beware.


Keep Fighting

Mainwaring

johnny five

Yes, this is an outdated view, it was like it once but certainly not now! It took a slagging off on Holiday Troofs this week too.
In terms of current accuracy its a bit like advising people not to walk through London in case someone empties a chamber pot from an upstairs window!

johnny five

Rude

Daff

Hear hear J5. I spent many happy holidays in Benidorm with my late husband from th 70's until a few years ago. It has developed into a beautiful place. Goa can never aspire to doing the same as the mentality is just not there

Remy-Ireland

a classic case of pot calling the kettle black, me thinks!

noni

Now all of you over the Gossip and Chit chat - including Mitzy