Goa

Hi all,
Goa was the most recent travel experience. My fourth yet the first truly independent travel experience. It was mind-boggling experience & really thankful to self & few friends which made it truly beautiful. First the good things :-

• Goa is fantastic in nature, whether its beaches or the hills or the forests. Although this time couldn't go to the forests this time around :( but definitely something I would like to visit next time around.)
• The people are of warm nature, although now people from all regions are coming more & more places show up due to the proximity of the three states its linked to the 3 states.
• The most exciting, frightening & touch of exotica was seeing Ingo's bazaar, infact they have a site , the bazaar which is there every Saturday has all kinds of people flocking in, the only place where we the Indians were the least & everybody else was there. Saw people in leather, huge tattos, people smoking, skin-heads (got to know what the term actually means) and just all kinds of different & creative people around. I just wished I could have been there way way before so I could really really see & sense different things. Something very similar to our Juna Bazaar but with added touch of exotica to the Indian sensibilities for sure.
• One can just sit & relax in one of the numerous beach shacks littered & just watch the ocean , be with friends or just self & enjoy the scenery.
  

Now for the bad part :-

• Its a great place but only if you have your own bike/transport or already have a bunk at the place you want to visit at night. The public transport shuts down at 20:00 IST & after that one is at the mercy of the numerous Pilots (dunno from where the term came) which dot the place. The only way to distinguish them is look for Yellow color in the number plate. All the pilots have to have yellow number plates.
  
• Even though you may get one its not cheap, they demand whatever is in their mind. For say a typical go & come back from one place to other across 30 odd kms. would send the bill anywhere from Rs. 800- Rs. 1400/- depending on your negotiating skills.
• Its practically worse place to be in if you are a veggie or vegan. Almost every place except for few & far between are all veg. Most of the places which are vegetarian also have no sense of cooking. They either turn to over-cook or under-cook stuff. The salt & pepper is pretty mild compared to our sense of taste & touch. Couple of good places I had been were practically rip-offs.
  
• One can end spending anywhere from Rs. 150/- onwards per meal easily.
  

Overall an expensive place to holiday especially if you are in the season.

Delhi

Hi all,
First of all a warm welcome to all. The last month I was touring North India & especially New Delhi. I made some friends & listened to one & all about things. The most interesting event/happening for me however was the Delhi Metro, one of the more cheaper yet one of the most efficient ways to travel around Delhi. I just loved the way it travels. There are few chinks in the system as compared to the Mumbai locals. Some I know will go away with time, some I hope will be shown by people like you & I in the hope some action gets is taken.

• Quite a few times the ETA for next arrival of train will not show the correct time
• The interval between trains is quite a bit, but heard the frequency is better now.
  
• The Mumbai locals are up from 4-4:30 am to 2 am the next day, the Delhi Metro however shuts down at 12 am. Not cool if you are visiting the city & meeting people.
  
• There is presence of law in most of the Mumbai Stations but not so much in Delhi even though its the capital of the country.
  
• The feeder services linking to & for Metro seem unplanned, also no technology seems to have been used there.
  
• Rickshaws still loot, there is just no concept of a metered Reading. One has to negotiate & they don't go small distances.