dauchery

Hello forum

I'm new here. I'm a freelancer currently living in Ukraine, and have also lived in England, Australia, Thailand and Serbia.

I'm getting pretty peed off with the weather here in Ukraine (it was -32 degrees the other week) and I am looking for a somewhere hot to disappear to for a couple of months.

Interested in Goa, but I was hoping someone could answer some questions for me:

1.Is there good fixed line internet available?, by good i'm talking about 4Mbps at least.

2. Is it relatively easy to find an apartment to rent on a short-term basis?(ideally with a shared swimming pool close to beach, achievable for £250 per month?)

3. Is there many decent gyms?

4. Is the food decent?, is there Western food available too?

Any info greatly appreciated!

dreadsoc

Hi Dauchery

First of all welcome to BE and the Goa forum.
You must be freezing in minus 32 - I can see why you need to escape to the sunshine - and Goa has beautiful weather at this time of year.

I will try and answer your questions as much as I can.

First of all internet :
I use a Tata photon dongle - I have no idea if that meets your internet speeds - I find that it works well for me in terms of internet. BE member AFD is the person who can advise on internet speeds.

Apartments - I am not too familiar with the cost of rental apartments as I have always owned my place - but accomodation has a range of prices. I am sure some others will be along to help you with some ideas. Try searching the internet too as many advertise on there.

Food - Goa has all types of foods available, including Western foods. I see you are from the Ukraine so you will find plenty of Russian restaurents now as Goa is very popular for tourists from Russia and neighbouring countries. There are probably more types of eating places available in North Goa than South Goa.
North Goa is a lot busier than South Goa, so have a read up on the different areas in Goa to see which one would suit you best.

As for the availability of a decent gym, there is only one I would recommend which is called 'Fitness Plus' in Calangute, North Goa (about 45 minutes drive from the airport). They have all the decent equipment with full cardio set up as well as decent free weights - and it is clean. Most gyms in Goa, including those in 5 star hotels, will be a bit of an eye opener - 'lift heavy/grunt loud' type places !!
If you want a personal trainer I can recommend an outstanding person for the job - but you will have to make 2 more posts so I can pm you the details.

My advice would be to book accomodation for the first week or two, then look around once you are there. This will give you flexibility if you don't like what you get or if you decide you want to move to a different area. Once you are there you will see lots of apartments and rooms for rent.

Hopefully that has answered some of your questions.

If you have anything else you want to ask of us, please don't hesitate.

Have a great trip to Goa - the weather is certainly nice and hot

Dread - x

wallydug

Dauchery,
Cambodia is beautiful.

W.

a_f_d

Almost certainly not 4Mbs - I just checked at 2.3 / 0.6 on a fixed line (which are not readily available), which is about the best ever. Claimed speeds for dongles are ah! - optimistic, realistically < 1Mbs. There are some good internet cafes.
For 3-6 months that should be no problem
...:

AndyD 8-)#

dauchery

Great thanks Dread.

I certainly wouldn't be interested in Russian food, that's a part of the reason I want to escape the FSU!

Thanks for gym info, just looking for a clean modern gym for less than 2400 per month.

I will definitely rent some hotel first then look about thanks

dauchery

Omg 2Mb is low but I guess it would be ok for Skype calls.

Is the connection generally reliable there, or does it drop out?.

a_f_d

If you want broadband mostly for skype then its probably cheaper to get a local sim and use your cellphone- or the internet cafes mostly offer skype.

AndyD 8-)#

dauchery

Why is it better to get a sim, is mobile broadband faster than fixed line broadband?

No I work using Skype, can't work from an internet cafe.

johnny five

From Andy's post #4 above

Or more accurately, for a two month visitor, impossible. The only way you will get it isn if you rent somewhere with it in..........highly unlikely!


.

dauchery

Arghh.... so is mobile broadband sufficient for Skype?

a_f_d

my point was that cellphone charges are minimal - but check rates for the countries you will be calling.

AndyD 8-)#

dauchery

You've lost me.

Basically I need to make a lot of calls to the UK, i have the unlimited UK package which is about £4.50 a month, I'm sure there is no way on earth that cellphone charges from India to UK can come close to that

dauchery

Does anyone have any experience of using Hathaway?

http://www.hathway.com/hathway-broad...hp?cat_id=OA==

chrisjolly

Hi and welcome to the forum...and to answer your questions..internet connection is possible either with a dongle or in an internet cafe but the speed is rarely fast by European standards. It would be possible to rent an aprtment but if you want a pool then you will have to pay more. Accommodation is not that cheap any more so I would just find something for a week then have a look around. Not many decent gyms as there are many other ways to keep fit and work out here...food is great and local, Indian and International. The weather is lovely..over 30 most days so thats what counts. Good luck

iain492001

Use skype regularly to UK & Australia with TATA PHOTON+

Suggest u try PINK ZEBRA estate Agent in Calangute for flat rental, if you want North Goa.

Welcome to Goa!