passing through - vasco or margao on way to hampi?

caz_a

hi all,

i'm planning a trip with my daughter (13) in july - flying from mumbai down to dabolim saturday afternoon and then to hampi on the sunday morning train (if i can book it online ).

my question is: is it better to stay in vasco or margao?

i know the train goes through both, and that vasco doesn't have much going for it. i have been to margao briefly before, but it was years ago.
we'll probably be knackered after our flight from the uk, so won't be up to much ... i just thought i'd do a bit of shopping and stock up on a few essentials and maybe head to the coast for a couple of hours so my daughter can see the sea (weather-dependent!)

so which combination is easier/nicer/better for shopping - vasco/bogmalo or margao/colva?

any recommendations for accomodation near the station in vasco or margao - budget but comfy enough for my daughter's first night in india.

thanks for any suggestions!

GoanCanuck

I would recommend Vasco. You can stay at Hotel La Paz which is a decent hotel with reasonable rates. Very close to the rail terminal and in the middle of the city with plenty of shops nearby. An airconditioned room will cost you about $45-$50/day.

caz_a

thank you very much for your reply.
i was looking at google earth and vasco looks quite nice in some parts - and easy for a stroll around the coast if (its not raining!) and it would be handier for the airport and station.

not sure i can stretch to $50 though! when i said 'budget', bear in mind that i mostly survived on less than 100rs a day last time i was in south india! ...ok - it was early 90s so i don't expect to still pay 20 rups for a hotel or get a thali for 4rs! but i was thinking more around the 600 to 1000 price range (and it is off-seaon!)
maybe the La Paz would have a cheaper non-AC room tho - i'll certainly check it out, thanks

machadinha

That's a feat. I was averaging 200 at the time. Sheesh, and then people called me crazy. (OK, maybe in my defense, it was later early nineties? I felt like a king with all my needs no matter how basic met btw. Wouldn't expect to be able to repeat it, no. I didn't later.)

I assume Goa will tend to be pricier by nature, not sure, never been. I'd also assume there should still be some off-beat lodges there. INR 20, no, highly unlikely, as you thankfully seem to realize. GoanCanuck should be able to tell you all about it.

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caz_a

200rs a day?!! ...that's luxury!!

cheapest rooms i had were for 20rs - in kovalam and in paharganj. (in '91/'92) and you could get a very good 'meal' (thali) for 4rs - with seconds! - in kochin.

the delhi one - the hotel relax (don't do it!) - was a bit dodgy but kovalam was basic but clean (tho i did see a snake!).....certainly not the worst i stayed in!

i'm going more up-market this time as my daughter is coming and, to be frank, i'm getting on a bit now!

machadinha

It's funny really. At that time (just one or two years later I think), I think Rs. 45 for a room was really the lowest I got. (35 Maybe sometimes if very lucky? Well, there was the 10 Rs. or less rat-infested place that I had no qualms in moving out of asap.)

A decent "meals" place would be 10 Rs. or so. 8 perhaps, if lucky again. And none of this in any major city, of course.

Makes you dread what prices will be like now

I found esp. room prices had gone up quite a bit just a few years later btw. Could never figure out if it was the area, our mode of travel, or more general. The rest seemed to have stayed pretty much the same.

I've been trying to discreetly put my "feelers" out here for what should be a decent low budget. I'm thinking 6-800 a day (preferably the latter) should cut it. But have no way to know until I try.

What's funny is some recent reports by people in the know would suggest the South has gotten more expensive than the North. It was always the other way around. Figures though, as Kerala and such are quickly picking up I take it. I imagine more off-beat areas will still be, well, more off-beat.

But so anyway you're right, the south was significantly cheaper back then (and featured more "meals" places to begin with, for instance!) Reports here would have it this would be lessening then -- although I wonder really, find it hard to believe they'd all be gone.

The Relax sounds familiar btw -- wasn't that the really off-beat place on a little square a little off of Main Bazaar?* I think I had been tipped it/checked it out/met someone there/or it was full or something, anyway I remember it as being decidedly off-beat in any case --> Probably quite passable though if one can muster it for a bit. If it's the same place, it was cheap as hell, it's very true. I was wondering if they were technically allowed to take in foreigners at all.

* No, I think that's the Hotel Deep if it still exists. Never mind. There is something too familiar about the Relax though. Hmm.

Anyway, blah -- sure, getting on a little, with daughter, having just landed -- some extra bucks for a fancier room may go down nicely She'll get used to thalis after that first stop no doubt.

caz_a

yep - you got it! the relax was right on the little 'triangle' about half way down the main bazaar. it was full of russians when i was there - they walked around in their underwear and spent all day buying leather jackets and furs! it was one of the wierdest places i stayed...

this time, we're planning to go down to karnataka, kerala, TN ... i'm hoping 500-600ish should be ok for clean, basic but comfy-ish room with bathroom (ok with bucket & jug job) in the off-season. and maybe splurge a bit in a fancy place for a few nights.. but as you say, won't know til i get there...

but anyway, getting very off-topic now!

GoanCanuck

The Vasco Residency which is owned and operated by the Goa Government should meet your budget and requirements. It is right next to the rail terminal.
http://www.goa-tourism.com/project_d...asp?id=20#test

caz_a

thank you! ...that looks perfect! and excellent value.
i have never stayed anywhere that posh before in india
and on-line booking too... how things have changed since my last trip!

steven_ber

Not really sure if I should reply as I only had 5-6 hours in Vasko, and also, GoanCanuck's replies are always spot-on and based on a lot more knowledge than mine.

It was my 2nd trip and I wanted to see the 'other' side of India, I read on some website that Vasko was a rough town with drug users and prostitutes often seen on it's dirty beaches, I just had to have a look.

I only found one small beach, it was indeed very dirty, and families were living in a kind of shanty town next to the beach, I didn't have much of a look around as I'd scared myself a little with thoughts of the drug users, I ended up finding a place with a pool table near to the train station and spending a few hours playing pool, I couldn't really find out much about the place as the people I was playing pool with spoke little english.

5 trips later, I've learnt that there's good and bad in every place in India and I'm a little more adventurious, but my first impression of Vasko was of a place I wouldn't want to take a 13 year old girl.

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GoanCanuck

Steven the beach that you visited is called Baina and it was indeed a red light area but it has been cleaned up and the huts which you saw have been demolished. There are now plans to build a hotel on this beach and a company from Mumbai wants to start watersports here. During the Portuguese rule this beach was the most famous beach in Goa with a bandstand and was very popular as a picnic spot.

jcbrum

They are planning major improvements to Baina beach.They have given permission for 3 beach shacks to be put up next season if done properly it can be a great beach.

As for Vasco,yes it's a bit rough around the edges...but we go into Vasco most days and we have never encountered any problems.I would recommend a few restaurants to go but they are probably out of your budget.

John

steven_ber

Can't remember the name of the beach, but I'm sure you're correct, glad to hear it's being cleaned up, I just hope those living next to the beach are given an alternative place to live.

caz_a

thank you all for your input. glad to here things are looking up for vasco, and yes, i hope those people were rehoused.
we are only there a few hours, and depending on how knackered we are, and what the weather's doing, may not even make it out of the hotel!
we do live in london, so are not overly sensitive! however, the reason we are heading straight down to goa the day we arrive in india was to avoid mumbai. i remember being quite shocked and upset by the beggars there when i first arrived in india years ago. wouldn't want to go from the frying pan into the fire and end up surrounded by addicts and guys looking for prostitutes!

machadinha

Most recent reports by fresh arrivals to Mumbai (probably braced by all the advice and cautions they could take in on boards like these) actually seemed to indicate how surprised they were to find it a relatively hassle-free and modern affair. (Where all the scammers?! See also the pretty hilarious Feeling Cheated and Lied To.)

But nothing to stop you from heading straight to Goa, of course. Have fun!

ps

Yes, that really was it. Hmm, may have visited two places there then, I don't remember.