How greedy can they get?.

capt_mahajan

Honeybee, I doubt that 33 percent of the Goan economy comes from Western tourists (of a certain colour) very much. These figures have been fleshed out in great details elsewhere on the board.

Maybe more Indian tourists will keep those cheats more in line

Honey Bee

Captain - The Goans are very upset that this Monsoon (what shall I say brown visitors) are a bit short on the ground as well. Personally I hate this colour thing, you could all be little green men, and we could be blue but we are all gods creatures.
p.s. I know I am not green, when it comes to being fleeced.

capt_mahajan

Parts of Goa have gone out of hand, same as parts of some other hot tourist spots across the country. The rest is good.

Like water, all this will find its own level. Many Indians like me, who used to visit Goa every year (often thrice) now visit once every few years, with the interval between trips getting longer.

People vote with their feet, eventually, or refuse to pay exhorbitant rates. I know I do.

Rapa-Ripa

Most package tourists dont have faintest idea about prices in India, or at least package tourists from my country. And more surprisingly, many simply dont care. They say things like:
"Well, we are on a holiday and its only for two weeks so we dont count. We didnt came here to save pennies."
Then they do things like give 100 rupees for carrying one suitcase 50 meters from airport to taxi.
No wonder prices go up.

crvlvr

the last time I landed in the Goa Airport, the baggage handler wanted his tips, not in rupees, but in Dollars or Pounds!

Rapa-Ripa

This year they will accept all major credit cards.

shashank.aggarwal

If tourists are like what this board sees (some of them) then I thank god, that they stay away from this land.

For that matter, anyone who dares to see any part of India, as a separate entity than 'Indian' is not welcome, atleast by my sensibilities.

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capt_mahajan

machadinha

Ff'ing boring thread that I should stay out of, and I haven't followed most of it, so am not responding to any specific posts.

However, it struck me once again going by some other threads that going by what many people seem to consider a normal "tip" (or acceptable price), whatever you're gonna get "ripped off" over will be peanuts by comparison.

(As in perhaps paying a Rupee or ten or thirty too much for a taxi or private bus ride or something. Many tourists don't seem to realize there exist smaller denominations than 100 Rs. bills anyway. Why? Because they're so handy to carry! 500 is even better! And it's just monopoly money to us anyway, of course!)

Really, I had some otherwise very well-meaning members, who had traveled before there, just recently realize there exists such a thing as coins.

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Nick-H

There is, of course, an obvious answer to that!

(well, somebody had to say it )

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stevebenaulim

I started this thread, many moons ago, just about the way Goans have changed, and some rip you off, and the price in a beach shack??.
Weve had it all, Blaire, Bush, Inflation, Racism, arguements, Etc Etc.
Life is a beach.

Nick-H

Mark of a good thread!

(And Mach... I agree with everything else you said, but I don't think we can ever expect the visitor to understand the value of Rs100. Well, we can... in a couple of years time when Indian inflation has made it as expensive as anywhere else ).

machadinha

Rest assured I'd thought of it myself

<cross-posting: I stand by my rant though. I had to learn, and to learn quickly, as I had little money, and perhaps tend to naturally relate to those who don't. Which I don't find a prerequisite nor very "cool" as such, like anyone else I would rather have had more.

I lived off 200 Rs. a day at the time (earlier '90's) and didn't feel I was missing anything. Someone here way cooler than me recently assured me that at that time this was luxury btw I wouldn't expect to be able to repeat that now and I didn't later, but just by means of illustration. I'm aiming at 800 a next time & keeping my fingers crossed, and will make sure I have some emergency plan.>

btw Steve, you started this thread about a week ago. Yes, there's been one full moon since if I recall. Or maybe I dreamt it.

faustus77

One homily,,
Final word??
an average man whether tourist or not does not die a virgin because he gets screwed someway or the other.
regards

faustus77

Ps:bargaining is an art in which we indians are masters
(Pl take is as a compliment)