GOA
				Trip done in Oct 2001
	I had a very pleasant trip to Goa and I can really recommend the place to single and not so single travellers. The nature is much like on Thailand, but the architecture and the people are very much affected by the former Portugese rulers. I did enjoy diving, motorcycling, beach life, dolphin spotting and seafood. You can find also crocodiles and some river trips. It was also nice to make trips to inland towards Old Goa and Ponda. The area inland is still untouched and the traffic is not so bad than elsewhere in India. There are three different ways to go to Goa. The cheapest is to take UN-vehicle to Jammu and from there a night train to New Delhi, best category. Some trains go to New Delhi from Amritsar and then the border crossing is in Lahore. Then it is easy to fly to Goa from New Delhi. The best price from New Delhi to Goa you can get by letting the SOIC in New Delhi to book them. The price for the flight from Jammu to New Delhi compared to the flight ticket from Lahore to New Delhi is much the same. I took a Daewoo first to Lahore and then flew to New delhi and that was a good system. Of course you can also fly from Islamabad to Lahore, but let the wallet deside. I stayed on Calangute Beach and it was a good base to start the journey all around Goa. There is a Hotel Golden Eye 9 1/189 B, Gaura vaddo, Clangute, Bardex Goa 403 516 India. Tel. 0832-277308/277309, Fax: 0091-0832-276187 just 50 m from the beach, rooms with a seaview and a highly recommendable seafood restaurant. The beach is full of little restaurants and bars. The owner is very friendly and he did not charge too much. I did pay 350 INR/day for a room with balcony, fridge, bathroom and TV. During high season you can add 200-250 INR on the price. The standard is european. If you want to be sure to get a good seaview, contact the place in advance. I visited also some other beaches like Anjuna and Candolim. Anjuna was a good one and there are the rave parties, I did even see one hippie there, a relic but a real one. Candolim was totally empty and dirty. I don’t recommend that one. One beach is a must. Palolem in the south, paradise beach, a big lagoon with palm trees, clean sand beach, nice view and cheap huts to stay over one night. Diving is quite good on Goa. I was diving also some wrecks. Visibilty can be sometimes poor, the diving depth is approx 6- 15 m. The underwater life is quite good, lots of fish and murrey eals, jack fish, lion fish, hard corals etc. There is only one good company in Goa, Barracuda Diving. You can find it from the Mariott Hotel in Panaji. They have also a desk at Hotel Gitade del Goa in Dona Paula. They can arrange day trips, PADI-courses, safaris. Staff is nice and friendly and professional.
		RATES Motorcycling 500cc Enfield: 250 INR/day Room: 350 INR/day Diving: 2200 INR/trip, 4-5 hr, two dives, equipments included, transfer by boat, fruits on board Good eating at restaurant: 200 – 500 INR including everything, roadside restaurants even cheaper, local restaurants 30 INR/lounch Dolphin trip: 300-600 INR So, go there. I had good time.
			Courtesy of Kai Lehtonen