Left from the new Dabolim terminal on Monday - first impressions were that it's not as bad as reported; second impressions were that it is pretty bad - spoiled for a few pen'orth of tar.

AndyD 8-)₹

We left via the new terminal on Saturday morning & other than the a/c not being very effective in the main departure area & a few bits of decoration missing, it is a big improvement on the old terminal. There were no queues to speak of & no hassle.

H.

Hi Chris!

George's place was recommended by both Mango61 and us in your thread "Chennai". So glad you enjoyed it! We are staying there again for one night at the end of May on our way to Sri Lanka for a week. Looking forward to it! BTW, did you eat out or avail yourself of the "takeaway facilities"? Did you have breakfast there? Any recommendations?

We seem to have arrived when other Forum members are leaving. Spending a few days in Cavelossim, mostly Indian and Russian tourists, haven't seen any British. Russian people seem to be very pleasant families and pairs.

Then going to Karwar on Saturday for a few weeks. Hope the mango crop is OK.

Make the most of the mangoes in India-they've all been banned from the EU due to new EU legislation!!!
No more Alphonso's unless you buy them tinned!!!

other people keep banging on about the Russians, but we have made the effort to converse with a few. surprising how friendly some of them are. theyre just looking for a relaxing holiday same as most families. try talking to them

Absolutely true but there are different types of Russians coming to Goa now. The families on holiday are just like the Brits used to be in Goa, friendly, happy to be on holiday and in the sun and good with the locals BUT...the ones in the north especially around Morjim area can be very rude, insulting to the locals, dishonest, arrogant and thoroughly unpleasant. We give everybody a chance and hate to generalise normally but you have to see how they behave to believe it. There is also a drug and prostitution problem which they are also involved with and as far as I remember there wasn't the same problem when the Brits, the French or anyone else come to that came to Goa.
I am pleased you have put forward an alternative point of view but it needs to be balanced.

You are right, there is a much better mix of Russians holidaying in Goa now, we do get some youngsters in our resort and they can be noisy late at night but we make a point of saying good night/evening/morning to those that are sitting around as we pass by and if they speak English we talk to them and for the most part they are friendly as are the families who come to the resort. However, the resort has also had a problem with Russian prostitutes being brought in, security should stop them but no doubt take bribes not to.

There was two Ukrainian prostitutes working up stairs above the Sportsman in Calingute.Twins too.They might have arrived by a commercial airliner but i think they went back by private jet judging from the queues outside. The punters were mostly rich Indian men down for the weekend from Mumbai and Delhi. There was even a lady boy from Thailand working the same pitch at one point.

Actually, I should stop calling these people Russians as they may be from any of the former Soviet block countries!

Things seem to heading the right way for a change.But not for property holders i saw that confiscations are again on the cards despite whats been publicised in the local rags re Parikar having a look at the mis-selling via FEMA and The Congress Mafia property grabbers who have profited from it. Visas look like coming down to more reasonable levels...I mean £92 is a joke especially when you consider whats on offer for your money. The Garbage problem is now on a war footing mainly due to the fact that European tourists, who spend at least 3 times more than Russian tourists do, largely because Putins industrial gangsters in Russia pay even less than the Top Shop Phillip Greens do in the UK, are a wanted commodity. India has a very big problem with balance of payments for oil and gas.Its cheaper to use Rubles as toilet paper in Russia than ordinary toilet tissue. New Terminal on stream with Air Asia India for an easy escape to the quiet beaches of Cambodia for less than a £100.You've never had it so good..........

Those of you that drive know what a pain Panjim is for parking, ok if you arrive early you get a place, but after 10am forget it, anyway as from
15th Sept its pay parking like Patto Plaza. rs 10 for 4 hrs. read it in
Goan Voice yesterday, hope it happens.:

You think that will improve things? The parking on the roads is dreadful, especially the scooters which do not leave enough space for pedestrians wanting to cross the roads. Besides, Goans who can afford a private car can afford 10 rupees for 4 hours parking so what difference will it make.

You would need to know what it was like at Platto before pay parking came in, and what a pleasure it is now, once you've paid the fee, you can move on to your next place without paying again.

You are right in saying that those 'who can afford a private car can afford 10 rupees' but there seems to be an extreme reluctance to fork out for parking. As leegrand says, Patto is a pleasure now and, strangely, not so many cars! Same goes with the parking under the market. It would appear that many people are happy to drive around for some time looking for free parking places so pay parking will make a very big difference.