Goa's infamous for drugs, sex, muggings, petty theft and rip offs.

You may indeed get all of that in the UK ..... but its in pockets, areas around the country. Somehow I cant imagine being pursued by a pimp trying to get visitors to sleep with his girls in a village in Surry for example. Get out of the airport and you're ambushed by taxi drivers who charge their locals a fraction of what they want from tourists. They're not being entreprenurial .... they're theiving by visitors naiivety. Everyones out to make a buck, grabbing, fighting, pushing to extort as much cash as possible from the tourists ... they dont want or like you .... just your bucks

Goa has all the bad stuff concentrated in the one area of that town. Its a dangerous filthy place, prostitutes openly pimping for business in all areas, visitors flocking to get stoned and be happy and whether MrMarcus likes it or not thats the truth

It may be like you describe in certain pockets now, but it wasnt so anywhere in Goa even ten years ago. I would go so far as to say that there was an endearing naivety about the place and its people. It was not too long ago, truly disconnected from the brutality of material "progress". Today it seems that survival is what everyone is aiming for. Goa is today just another beach belt in the world and is getting charmless daily if not outright dangerous. It isnt the refuge it once was, nor the pearl of the orient....but is taking on the character of one more "pimple on the face of India". What is dissapointing too are the Goan owners of private hotels (most reside in Canada and UK...why you wonder?) and tourist enterprises who have not spent one penny towards maintaining safety or cleanliness. It seems they too are drinking from the well of Goan natural wealth without putting anything back towards retaining any aspect of Goa that attracts tourists and visitors.

totally agree - the minute the visitors increased so did the emergence of all the people ready to take advantage. And in an area, even country, where the law is corrupt and often inept its grown quickly and hardly checked.

islandmom: it's not the increase of tourists that is changing Goa. It is the realisation that Goa is the last place on the subcontinent with anything near natural beauty and land that hasnt been ruined by gross buildings. Money is to be made in quantities that take many lifetimes to make in other circumstances. Rules have to be broken, and ordinary people have to be trampled over before the opportunity ceases. Its been happening for some time in Goa now, and the spillover effect is being felt now by tourists and the ordinary joe goan. Wealth means more than life itself.

Honey Bee is correct about the drugs out here. We too have been offered them but not at home in UK. I suppose it depends on the type of place you frequent.

Prices in the UK are the same for everybody - no skin tax there. Either you want to buy something or you don't - you see the price and decide for yourself. When you receive change in UK it is not sweets you are given but coins of the realm. Can we pay in sweets in the supermarket, can we hell. but they expect us to take one sweet for a rupee!

Our politicians are corrupt, but at least they get things done out here, they are so into lining their own pockets and infighting no wonder basic things
dont get done :curse::curse:

Anyway Mrmarcus I think you are just winding every body up. When were you last in Goa? It has changed so much in the last three years dirty, smelly
and the people have got very greedy.

let me say you are a very angry individual, i also take it you are not british as you so obviously hate the uk, everything you pay for in the uk is priced, and you pay that price, i pay the same as you or any other black, white, yellow, fn ect,
in goa i pay 4 times more than goans for even simple things as milk and they even charge you more on buses,
also if you cannot understand a little konkani or hindi, they will charge you for the goan behind you in the queues goods,
i ran a b & b in blackpool so i know drugs are readily available but i have never had anyone chase me on my scooter to offer them to me and never been offered sex on the streets,
a young honeymoon couple here was befriended by a goan and they were invited to the goans home, (which is very common of the friendlier goans)
they were given tea which was drugged, and then 4 of the male family sodemised the girl (26yrs)
the uk may be bad but god forgives not this bad!!!!!!!!

[QUOTE=mywaygoa;6051107]let me say you are a very angry individual, i also take it you are not british as you so obviously hate the uk, everything you pay for in the uk is priced, and you pay that price, i pay the same as you or any other black, white, yellow, fn ect,
in goa i pay 4 times more than goans for even simple things as milk and they even charge you more on buses,
also if you cannot understand a little konkani or hindi, they will charge you for the goan behind you in the queues goods,
i ran a b & b in blackpool so i know drugs are readily available but i have never had anyone chase me on my scooter to offer them to me and never been offered sex on the streets,
a young honeymoon couple here was befriended by a goan and they were invited to the goans home, (which is very common of the friendlier goans)
they were given tea which was drugged, and then 4 of the male family sodemised the girl (26yrs)
the uk may be bad but god forgives not this bad!!!!!!!!
[/QUOTE

mywaygoa: are you serious re the honeymoon couple?. Did they report the incident? it sounds surreal. In any case, it is unwise to visit homes and buildings which you have no previous knowledge of especially when on holiday. it surprises me how many tourists carry items to and fro for the 'friends' they make in Goa without checking their backgrounds and credibility. There are so many transients in Goa today with all the trappings of established members of the community.

[QUOTE=wheatsheaf;6051173][QUOTE=mywaygoa;6051107
mywaygoa: are you serious re the honeymoon couple?. Did they report the incident? it sounds surreal. In any case, it is unwise to visit homes and buildings which you have no previous knowledge of especially when on holiday. it surprises me how many tourists carry items to and fro for the 'friends' they make in Goa without checking their backgrounds and credibility. There are so many transients in Goa today with all the trappings of established members of the community.[/QUOTE]

this story is known by a few here, but the police would have not been interested anyway as the need bribes to places a report, but a guy who travelled home with the couple on the same plane wrote to times on line heres the link
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle3485043.ece
but if you dont want to go to this here is the comment he made in have your say on goa/scarlettes murder.

I found Goa to be extremely sinister. Never go off the beaten track and never go to native Goan parties or houses. When we were there we were constantly 'befriended' and invited home to meet the families. Politely refuse. Regrettably a couple who were on the same flight out as did not refuse a similar offer. They were both drugged and the girl, about 26, was raped and sodomized by 4 different men. A honeymoon she'll never forget.

stewart , leeds,

if you follow this link and read all the have your say you will say how many horrible things happen everyday that no one hears of,
plus a swedish guy found dead in his b&b hallway yesterday and no ones commenting,

[QUOTE=mywaygoa;6051767] I dont know if this actually true (it is a third party story)....it could be drug induced hallucination?. But it is a very lurid story and if it is true, one would hope that the couple could come forward and tell it now that they are back in England. It is their duty to do so in the interests of the safety of others who could be entrapped similarly.

[QUOTE=noni;6050410]Honey Bee is correct about the drugs out here. We too have been offered them but not at home in UK. I suppose it depends on the type of place you frequent.

well i have just returned back from goa about 5 days ago,and it is the same as it always has been,and honey bee i am english i just dont live there anymore,and yes england makes me angry,yes everything is priced in england but atleast in india you have a chance to bring the price down.why is everything in england 3 times more expensive.you dont call that been fleeced,and if you pay them prices in india for general goods then they must see you coming.if you show to the locals that you will not be tolerated been fleeced then it will not happen,thats why there is a mrp on everything,and anyway back to the point i have just seen on cnn that goa police are looking for a uk guy for the murder?.

mmmm but dont you understand about why you think you get ripped off,your not actually getting ripped off,say for instance you get a taxi for the same distance in goa as in london,goa will be a fraction of the price even if they charge you double,and let me tell you the locals get paid a fraction of the money we do so i dont blame them for been opportunists,we would do the same if we lived in the same conditions.

[QUOTE=noni;6050410]Honey Bee is correct about the drugs out here. We too have been offered them but not at home in UK. I suppose it depends on the type of place you frequent.

Prices in the UK are the same for everybody - no skin tax there. Either you want to buy something or you don't - you see the price and decide for yourself. When you receive change in UK it is not sweets you are given but coins of the realm. Can we pay in sweets in the supermarket, can we hell. but they expect us to take one sweet for a rupee!

im not winding everyone up i just like a good debate

Well you just explained why a taxi fare in England is a fraction of what it is in Goa, and why things are relatively cheap there. "The locals get paid a fraction of the money we do" Doesn't mean that you're being ripped off in the UK, the average wage is much much higher

How much more doom + gloom can we stand on this site ?
I don't recognise the Goa that I live in from the descriptions given by so many people on this thread.
On examination a lot of them are either just infrequent visitors or live elsewhere e.g St. Vincent & Grenadines .
I don't look at Goa through rose tinted specs ,far from it I realise and criticise many of it's shortcomings.I cannot stand by though and listen to some of this 'over the top' criticism without putting my two pennorth' in.
I spend over 7 months of the year here,live in Calangute,go in the pubs and restaurants,know a lot of locals from all stratas,travel to other parts of Goa,
been through all the property things,driving tests,vehicles in your name,wills etc.etc.
We do get ripped off a little,how much depends on you.
Never ever 4x for milk though.All foodstuffs etc. have a price printed on them(retail price maintenance, still exists here) if you pay more, your fault I'm afraid.
There is big change shortage (apparently the beggars have most of it) and therefore you are often given a sweet for smalll sums ,up to 5 rupees (in the UK you'd just say it doesn't matter mate,keep it.
Yes it is dirty and smelly in places, has been for 14 years ,little improvement visualised I'm afraid.I know it sounds strange,but you do get used to it.
People are greedy everywhere ,has no one noticed ?
There are not prostitutes all over the show or others pimping for them,everywhere.Those who require such services know where to find them,
just like everywhere in the World.The same of course applies to drugs.
There are very few muggings,or burgulary's, a little petty thieving here and there.Murders obviously occur as they have in every society since the beginning of time (read the Bible and Shakespeare).
These are mostly local domestic issues
The age old message must therefore be given :-
No one's feet are nailed to the ground,if you don't like it move on.There will always be someone else to take your place.
I know this to be true as I have spoken to several 'first timers' whos first mission on returning is to book for next season.
By the same token i know of several people who have been coming for years ,
some of whom have lived here full time ,that are leaving for pastures new not to return. Your choice!!!!

hi enfield
did you say little burglaries, there are people in monsoon being burgled every day, my friend has a house near us only 10km from calangute it has been burgled 3 times in 2007, i also have a friend who has apartments in calangute which have been burglarized 2 times last monsoon and he lives here all year,
as for not having your feet nailed to the ground people like friend and a lot of others who have been here for years, are either leaving or trying desperately to sell there house,
on the brighter side i myself love goa, but as you have only been here 7 months you will not know the real goa, as it was when we all came to live here, this is the complaints we are making how much the goans and goa has changed for the worse dirtier and less friendly, also re food stuffs mrp on products is not paid by the goans they get a 20% discount the reason i know is my friend is married to a goan.
anyway hope you enjoy your time here and report back here in a year and we will see if you are singing the same tune. the average western stays in goa 3 yrs, that is all year round