Got back last night.

Hi everybody, got back last night after 4 weeks in Baga/Calangute. Had a great time with our friends, plenty of good laughs and much beer was drank by all, did all the usuall stuff eg night stay at Ashvem beach and so on. It was good to see the night market at Ingo%26#39;s back on, and things are slowly getting back to normal(thats Goa normal folks!), I must say that its the first time I%26#39;ve flew with Cattle truck airlines (thats Monarch if nobody knows) and although no particular problems and no lengthy delays I wouldn%26#39;t rush to fly with them again. I know its not much of a review but there%26#39;s a couple of important things that happened that need to be brought to light. The first thing is, the locals had mentioned that there was a big problem with Africans around the Baga area in particular Tito%26#39;s road, ie drugs, fighting with the police, intimidation etc, then one night my mates wife had her bag snatched from her shoulder by an African. Please note, this is not a racist letter it is based entirely on fact and nothing else. The person came out from nowhere asking if they wanted a taxi then before they knew anything he dragged the bag from her shoulder and jumped onto his mates bike and off they went into the night.

Due to reasons of there own they had their passports in the bag and a reasonable some of money as well as a mobile phone, fortunately when they were explaining what had happened to the hotel manager the following morning a hotel worker over heard and told them that he seen a couple of men throw a bag on a pile of rubbish nearby, when they got there the bag was there with the passports inside, How lucky were they!. After speaking to their rep they decided to report it to the police, well, what a total waste of time they are. The police told them what to write stating that they had ';LOST'; the bag on the Baga beach, therfore no reported crime, no police work and no harm to tourism, what a joke.

Another problem what the locals said they had was the Russians, a taxi driver friend told me he had been ripped of by some a couple of days ago, after taking them out all day then dropping them off some where they refused to pay him and there wasn%26#39;t much he could do about it.

I hate to say this, but if things don%26#39;t change then Goa could well be putting a nail in its own coffin. On top of the problems I%26#39;ve just mentioned and the recent visa problems and charges, I also read in the paper that there will soon be a levy charge introduced for leaving Dabolim airport as well as a number of other airports. At the moment Mumbai charges Rs300 for domestic destinations and Rs1000 for international. And by the way, the taxi drivers and tuk tuk drivers are doing their best to try and rip tourists off at any given time, especially night time. With all that said, it still holds its magic and is a fantastic place to visit, just exhert caution in certain areas.

Got back last night.

Oh Dear, i hope all these incidences did%26#39;nt spoil your enjoyment.

You%26#39;d think the police would try and tackle this petty crime, mind you we%26#39;ve seen their response to a much more serious crime, so i dont suppose they will give much prority to bag snatching.

Glad to hear that your friends got their passports back.

Got back last night.

Hi DagenhamKal, no it didn%26#39;t spoil anybodies fun, all they got was some money and a phone, the main thing was nobody was hurt. Didn%26#39;t really expect the police to do much going off their track record but they needed a police report for insurance reasons. The main problem is if they continue ignoring these incidents they%26#39;re going to have one almighty problem sooner rather than later as that wasn%26#39;t the only incident while we were there, we heard off some locals of other incidents by the same group of people and again nothing being done by the police although they are fully aware of these incidents.

Glad you managed to enjoy your 4 weeks you lucky so and so. I had a few problems with Africans last year too, Nigerians to be precise, every time I went to the toilet I was followed by this bloke who insisted that I buy his cocaine from him, ';you take it and pay me tomorrow';, I just couldn`t get through to him that I didn`t do drugs and wasn`t interested, he put his hand on my shoulder and I raised my fist and he backed off just as the bar security fella wandered in and launched him out. That was in the bar opposite Kim Faa in Baga, Aqua lounge if I remember, there seemed to be a few hanging around down there. Definately needs to be nipped in the bud, but as you say the police are just after the quiet life and are not really interested.

Yes, you got it bang on, its all around that area. Spotted them a couple of times watching people as they were sorting the their bills out, also propositioning women, winking at them, they really are to be avoided in bars at all times.

Glad to hear you had a good time, despite the problems. Can%26#39;t say I%26#39;m surprised about the police reaction when your friends had their bag stolen, I had the same reaction when mine was stolen off my shoulder by 2 men on a bike in Candolim over 3 years ago. I tried to insist that it had been stolen when they wanted to write that it had been %26#39;lost%26#39;. The crime situation will only get worse if the police refuse to acknowledge it exists and try and cover it up. Your friends were so lucky to get their passports back, that would have been a nightmare! I no longer take my mobile phone out on a night and take a minimum amount of money out just in case it happens again but I appreciate sometimes you may not have a choice.

Glad you had a good holiday bindoobaba regardless of the problems you and your friends encountered. Like you say, the important thing was nobody was hurt and great that your friends got their passports back. That was lucky! But the police? Well, no surprises there then really!!!

oh my god its enough to make you stay in your hotel of a night... dont want to be atacked on my holiday ill have to make sure my insurance covers for my murder, Am staying in Marina Dourada Hotel, Arpora just outside the baga area but am worried its going to be dark and secluded making myself and my partner vulnerable for attacks...

Oh..Rob, I think that you just need to take the same safety precautions that you would any where else in the world..(including UK).

Susie.x

Hi Gemma, yeah they were very lucky or unlucky depending which way you look at it as that was the only night they took their passports out. Still, they got them back and it was only money and a phone they lost, it could have been very different who knows? it certainly didn%26#39;t spoil theirs or our holiday it just made you more aware of the surroundings that you were in.

Calm down robocop, it wasn%26#39;t as bad as it probably sounds, anyway, where the Marinha Dorada is you will need a taxi to take you home so no problems there apart from getting robbed off the taxi drivers that is ha ha. Hi Meerkat, how you doing? won%26#39;t be far off yours now will it or are you not counting?

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