Did not take long to say nothing - it should have said.

Will not bother with you sad lot again.

Scooter is the way to go 100 Rps a day and you never need to pay the very high taxi charges in Goa.

As for the shop rip offs well It rarely happens to us, we´ve known most of the local shops since they were simple village shops and barrow boys.

Hence we don´t pay the tourist prices written on things. We just get the normal price for everything. Shopping in the markets we just avoid because it´s mostly junk and can be had elsewhere much cheaper (still junk but cheaper junk LOL)

For those exstrapolating their expeiences into being the India norm I'm afraid you're wrong. Many many shops will serve you just like any other customer throughout India, not all have dollar signs in their eyes when they see foreign tourists.

Lastly just to add to Deepa's points, when a tourist walks into a hotel and the tariff cards says 600 a night and you haggle it down to 450 because it's quiet, then this is variable pricing at work. I've yet to hear a tourist complaining about this aspect of variable pricing, so it works in your favour sometimes too.

hey jeera,you are more than welcome to post on this site,its a public forum after all and its up to the mods to decide whats acceptable or not.i have never met you so i dont have an opinion,but spending 16 years in goa will give a differant perspective than the package tourists glossier view.

i dont really understand people being given a hard time for having a negative view.we can decide if we read them or not and this site doesnt have a rule that negative views cant be posted.i say its good to see all sides of the story,and after all we are all differant ,the brain is complex ,our pasts are all differant,we cant all have a sunny disposition,some of us are a little sad and it comes out in our communications

Well said musicsavedmylife, some people need to lighten up here and realise that their views are not the only ones that count and that they can be wrong sometimes.

I think the cosy cliche on the Goa forum doesn't like their collective views challenged at all.

To do so, is to incur the wrath of the regulars and folks who take their designated status as DE a little too seriously.

I've also had to put up with a barrage of snidey little remarks from some people here.

Who can't bear it when someone opposes their views but lacking the insight and experience to argue their corner, they prefer to resort to collective slagging, as mostly they don't have any reasonable justification for their thinking on certain things. So they get their kicks of of silly little one liners, that the rest of the unenlightened can have a giggle at.

It's all a bit childish really.

If we the Goa forum say that's the way it is, then we must be right, seems to be the general attitude here.

Anecdote and collective justification isn't a replacement for research and experience I'm afraid.

Much of what is discussed here is all about entitlement issues, and how do I save a few quid (often at the expense of others) I think this the point Jeera is trying to make, there's more to Goa than the needs of the British package tourist.

A few posters here might want to read this link

"Within these online communities, notions of hierarchy are quickly established by the more seasoned posters who exhibit a rather skewed sense of importance and authority. Cliques are formed and mimic real life by picking on weaker or less popular individuals within the group"

associatedcontent.com/article/…

Firstly I would like to say that I am not an expert on Goa, I am just somebody who loves to travel and one who likes to make the most out of their holiday/trips. I enjoy talking about travel and Goa in particular but if I can make even one post that helps somebody get a little more out of their trip then that is fantastic. I don't generally get involved with the political debates etc. that are on here sometimes, as this site is called TRIP advisor and if I wanted debates I would go to a debate orientated website. Yes, people who live in Goa will have a different perspective from people who go on holiday but then most people who use trip advisor do so as they research their holiday in order to make the most out of their trip.

On the point of debates.......debate should be a two way thing and CH, rather than takig part in an open, you tend to tell people they are wrong and then proceed to lecture.

Yeah yeah Goan Jock that's right try to deflect the real problems here onto others

After facing the groupist mentality here I sometimes resort to pointing out that people are just plain wrong.

Why because sometimes you can just be plain wrong (gasp) and no amount of collective thinking can change that.

Like the existance of Plasmodium falciparum in Goa requires the use of Malarone.

Completely untrue and misleading.

That's not open to debate that's just how the medical experts break it down.

People here backing up that fallacy with anecdotes and safety numbers is just plain wrong and issues like this need clarity, not a bunch of forum lurkers trying to define the remedies according to them.

I bothered to do my research and brought real info to the forum. I was greeted by boos and hisses from the gallery from people who really didn't have a clue what they were on about but decided to argue the toss anyway. That's just unhelpful and shows a distinct lack of maturity.

The comments that ensued from the prickled gallery have been quite tiresome and equally immature.

I wonder why it's only on the Goa forum I have this communication problem.

I have no problems on any other forum here on TA

hey goanjock,i always enjoy youre contributions on this site,they are always measured and informative.i also very much enjoy cyberhippies as he challenges the status quo and theres no denying his knowledge and litterary skills.sure he doesnt know where to find the best chinese restaurant in calungute,but he has practical knowledge that is helpfull to some of the longtermers,travellers ,budget minded amongst us.yes im aware of how he sometimes comes across,though we must never forget how easy it is to misinterpret the written word without the benefit of facial expressions or body language.

i personally dont want to be in any cozy club .

and personally would rather be hated for what i am

than loved for what im not

It's interesting to note I was warned by quite a lot of people when I joined TA about the bullying and misinformed nature of the Goa forum. It didn't take long to find out how much truth there was in the warnings.

I joined the Goa forum, to obtain advice from the

T/A's on all aspects,medical,travel,resteraunts &

their own experiances.

This has given us a insight in the different

culture & what to expect.I like a laugh & a joke on

the way thats my nature.The world would be a sad

place without a bit of humour.

I thank all T/A's who have given their time to

contribute to the forum,some people do take things

to seriously.

If I wanted a debating holiday I would have booked

a soapbox at Speakers Corner,Hyde Park.

Yorkieborn