| Calangute Beach |
Pping On Tourist
Pie
 A
mere 45 minute bus ride up the coast from the capital, Calangute
is Goa's busiest and most commercialized resort, and the flagship
of the state government's bid for a bigger slice of India's
package-tourist pie. In the 1970s and early 1980s, this once
peaceful fishing Village epitomized Goa 's reputation as a
haven for hedonistic hippies.
The Town And The Beach
The road from the town to the beach is lined with Kashmiri-run
handicraft boutiques and Tibetan stalls selling Himalayan
curios and jewellery . The quality of the goods - mainly Rajasthani
, Gujarati and Karnatakan textiles - is generally high. Haggle
hard and don't be afraid to walk away from a heavy sales pitch
- the same stuff crops up every Wednesday at Anjuna's flea
market.
The beach itself is nothing special, with steeply shelving
sand, but is more than large enough to accommodate the huge
numbers of high-season visitors.
To escape the hawkers, head fifteen minutes or so south of
the main beachfront area, towards the rows of olf wooden boats
moored below the dunes. In this virtually hawker-free zone,
one'll only come across teams of villagers hauling in hand
nets at high tide or fishermen fixing their tack under bamboo
sun shakes. |
| Getting there |
| Buses from Mapusa and Panjim pull in at the small
bus stand cum Market Square in the centre of Calangute . Some
continue to Baga , stopping at the crossroads behind the beach
en route. Get off here if one can, as it's closer to most of
the hotels. |
| Accomodation |
| Calangute is chock-full of places to stay.
Demand only outstrips supply in the Christmas - New Year high
season, and at Diwali . Most of the inexpensive accommodation
consists of small rooms in family homes, or in concrete annexes
tacked onto the backs of houses. The top hotels are nearly
all gleaming white, exclusive villa complexes with pools,
and direct beach access. |
| Eating Out |
Calangute's bars and restaurants are mainly
grouped around the entrance to the beach and along the Baga
road. As with most Goan resorts, the accent is firmly on seafood,
though many places tack on a few token vegetarian dishes.
Western breakfasts also feature prominently. |
| Entertainment |
| Thanks to repeated crackdowns by the Goan
police on parties and loud music, Calangute's nightlife is
surprisingly tame. All but a handful of the bars wind up by
10.00 pm. One notable exception is Tito's at the Baga end
of the beach, which stays open until 11.00 pm off-season and
into the small hours in late December and January.
Unfortunately, the only other places that consistently stay
open through the night are a couple of dull hippy hang-outs
in the woods to the south of the beach road; Pete's Bar, a
perennial favourite next door to Angela P. Fernandes , is
generally the most lively, offering affordable drinks, backgammon
sets and relentless reggae. Further afield , Bob's Inn , between
Calangute and Candolim , is another popular bar, famed less
for its court around a large table in the front bar. |
