The Novice Goa experience - what to do, what to avoid

The Novice Goa experience - what to do, what to avoid
Disclaimer before you read anything further: I am a novice traveler and have been to goa only thrice. So seasoned travelers, please feel free to correct me if I've gone wrong somewhere. Hopefully somebody might find this useful.Each time that I find myself on holiday in goa, I am at a point where I am so sick of my life the way it is right now or when I find my life so chaotic and unpredictable that I need to just throw my problems away for a while and unwind. This time was no different.What was different was how goa has changed. Baga has gone the calangute way - teeming with package tourists Indian and foreign. For all the traffic there I might as well have been in Bandra on a sat night! One excursion from Anjuna to Britto's at Baga was all we could stand - even though the food almost made up for it.Took a long ride to the beaches up north. The ride itself has some fab views on the way. Arambol had the best places to hang out and do nothing - which is what I love Goa for. Had tons of places where you could order some beer and munch on something while you smoke a cigarette, look out onto the sea, listen to the music and read in between.A friend who'd been all over goa before said that Palolim was almost the same way and was also a much better beach. Dunno about how it is like after the shacks were demolished a few weeks back. Arambol by now has a lot of places to stay and has quite a few decent bars that serve up much better food and at more reasonable prices than places around vagator, anjuna and baga (obviously package tourism has started to make its presence felt in the prices).Anjuna is now not much more than a pit stop for travellers headed further up north. Not much there except for the rave scene. The beach has coarse sand and there is a fierce undertow that you got to watch out for during low-tide.And a word of caution to those who think that Paradiso (they have changed the name from Paradiso De Anjuna to just Paradiso) is a club scene - it is totally a rave scene. Clubbers would feel out of place and disappointed. But on a full moon night, the view of the sea from the deck below just beyond the bar counter is to die for and well worth the Rs. 300 entry charge even if you are not into rave. Grass might prove difficult to score, but harder drugs are available fairly easily during the day in the lanes leading from the cliff with paradiso to the main anjuna beach. Prices quoted are insanely high and expect to pay only 20% of what he quotes initially. The same goes for wares in the small market with trinkets and bags. Paradiso is open only wed and sat nights starting 2230 hrs. Worth a look-see if you want to check out the rave scene or even to just enjoy the view on a moonlit night.People looking for a club scene ought to head for Club Cabana. Tito's and Mambo's have both become pricey (Tito's entry at Rs.800and Mambo's couple entry at Rs.300) are hardly worth it - being very crowded and playing mediocre music that you'd hear in any club anywhere else in India. And the drinks are over-priced compared to any other place in Goa.Little vagator (pronounced more like Vaagatour and not to rhyme with 'gator like I'd supposed it to be) has a good main beach and a couple of smaller coves and doesn't suffer from a throng of day-trippers like Vagator (the main beach). Night time action is better here than Anjuna.Chapora has a smattering of very lively bars. Right opposite the chapora chapel (on the way to the chapora fishing village) is a small cafe that serves up really good pancakes and other food that tastes almost as good as what your mom's cooking. Not much oil or spice - and very reasonable rates and run by an extremely friendly family. Ashtrays are masqueraded as small pots with a plastic flower to avoid harassment by the police who are a bit overzealous in enforcing the smoking ban in public - across India you can be fined Rs. 500 (or Rs.100?) for smoking in public. Chapora is very relaxed and would be ideal if you just want to experience an idyllic laidback goa.That's it for now. Updates post my next trip :-) Have fun guys and hope this helps someoneCourtesy urbane79 aka the-ubergeekPS: M - did some formatting that had been long pending.PPS: Not been posting bcoz hv no access from home. And at work things hv become more than a li'l dicey