Find Good Hotels In Goa

Whether you are on a honeymoon to Goa or on a holiday to Goa, looking for a venue for a party or a wedding in Goa or just trying to eject a couple of days from a busy schedule, choosing the right hotel in Goa is one of the most important decisions in ensuring that you have an enjoyable time without bothering about whether the decision was a right one or not.

While Good hotels in Goa may be abounding, it can often be quite difficult to choose between the fine line of quality and price.Quite often while a hotel may be quite desirable as most hotels in Goa are, its tariffs or prices may not sound so affordable. Also you are not sure what is on offer in some cases.

So what should you look for while selecting a hotel in Goa and where should you go to try and find that perfect accommodation in Goa, whatever your needs?

While it may sound common sense, people often do not make a conscious list of what one is looking for when seeking accommodation in a tourist location like Goa. One of the better ways therefore to determine which hotel in Goa is right for you is to consider what you may be actually looking for, and to correlate your requirements against the star ratings assigned to those Goa hotels by tourist associations and tourist advisors.

The star system ranking is normally ranked on a 0-5 scale in the ascending order. This scale depends on the existence of amenities, facilities and luxuries within the hotel. Often a higher number would mean an expensive rate of the room which can help you decide where your money goes and towards what. Naturally if you can locate a higher star rating at a lower price, you can be well informed that the particular hotel in Goa is more likely to provide you a better value for money and a good level of service can be expected

The other popular way of choosing a good hotel in Goa is by relying on the popularity of the hotel simply by word of mouth. Questions to ask yourself here would be “what do my friends think about various hotels in Goa? Has anyone I know had a particularly pleasant, good(or bad) experience of hotels in Goa around the area that I am looking for? These can be good pointers to provide you with subtle information so that you get good value for money out of your hotel stay in Goa, and it also contributes to the extent that you are not disappointed with your choice midway through your stay.

Also, you are pretty assured that the advice of the friends and people you know, aren't coated with commercially bent interests, and so if someone among your known people tells you that they had a good experience in Goa in a particular hotel, they are more likely telling you honestly than if you hear it from the hotelier himself.

Another good place to check for hotel accommodation is Goa is at the “Goa Living styles (GLS)” where you are more likely to get the accommodation that you desire. You can book your stay in advance and  proceed to enjoy your holiday in Goa on the scheduled date without the hassles of personally sifting through various hotels in Goa as GLS does it for you so that you can have a great, low cost way of ensuring you find a hotel in Goa that meets your requirements, and provides you with an enjoyable trip to help you relax and unwind in this sun kissed state of India. To enquire with “Goa Living Styles” click here.

Selecting a good hotel in Goa is not a difficult process, but you should know where to seek value for money and you could end up with the right Goa hotel for you. Locating a good hotel in Goa is mainly down to realizing what you are actually looking for, and a great part of it also comes down to understanding what's available in Goa and at what price. However, with practical expectations and an experience of where to find good hotel rooms in Goa at an affordable prices, you should be able to find a way around this traditional process, and succeed in having a great time in Goa, the primary reason for which you went there in the first place.

Goa’s healthy foods

Goa abounds in beauty and serenity. It also abounds in a rich cuisine most of which has been inherited from inputs of Portuguese cuisine including the ingredients that go into Goan cooking. When it comes to eating healthy foods, Goans often take a back seat in preference of bad eating habits and underscore on their dietary requirements thereby compromising on nutritional values required for a healthy growth.

In Goa, we have various natural foods which are rich in their nutritional value. Vegetables in Goa which are grown in the villages and across the highways of Goa are rich sources of vitamins, iron and magnesium. Vegetables such as tambdi bhaji, ghosale, padval etc are a must in the Goan diet for healthy foods.The Hindu community of Goa prepares a pulse-vegetable curry known as “khatkhattem” which is very healthy as it contains rich proteins, calcium and ragi. The popular “Bhakri” is also composed of Ragi.

Fish is a natural staple food for many Goans and is also gifted with proteins and calcium. The Kokum juice has been traditionally used in Goan cooking and is now consumed as a health drink or simply eaten as a fruit in Goa. Kokum is known to reduce levels of cholesterol and also assists digestion. In the summers season, Goa’s tender coconut juice and soft pulp of the coconut fruit has a cooling effect while providing rich potassium content. Red rice or “ukdde tandul” especially the traditional Goan rice such as ‘azgo” has more fibre and B complex vitamins and can be regularly consumed as “kanji”

Gopan papayas have also content of vitamin A and fibre while bananas promote adding of weight and have resistant starch in them. Watermelon which is a favorite among Goans is very refreshing and full of water. Mangoes lend the high dietary fibre and contain beta carotene. Often a mango a day can be quite satisfying for the necessary health.

Goan cucumbers are rich in water soluble vitamins and can easily substitute a salad when eaten with salt. They are also excellent for diabetes patients with heart problems and also good against obesity.

Breakfast options in Goa include ‘koiloyos” which are made from Goan rice and can be very rich, healthy and filling. For bread, it is better to opt for whole wheat bread or better “chapatis” made out of wheat which are also very good.

How to get a driving licence for Goans in UK

For Goans having migrated to United Kingdom or any other European country,either through the Portuguese passport or otherwise, it can be quite a task to make a driving licence / license which is required to drive in UK or in rest of Europe. Besides being challenged for high level of English language which is required in the theory process in UK, the practical lessons themselves have been quite difficult for many Goans to pass through.

However a driving licence in the United kingdom is known to open doors of opportunities for anybody living there and Goans are therefore keen to have a driving licence to improve their status as well as avail of the benefits. Mere travel inside the United Kingdom is expensive and the ability to drive your own vehicle is therefore a huge advantage.

The cost of a driving licence for the United Kingdom can increase with every test failure and the cost for many Goans seeking a driving licence, has easily run into thousands of pounds without success. However more than the cost of the driving licence for UK, Goans are more troubled by the process to be followed which involves elaborate tests which often discourage candidates from applying for a driving licence.

However now there is good news for Goans who have their Indian licence in Goa, to get a driving licence for the United Kingdom. Goans can now get their driving licence in United Kingdom without the hassles of theory tests and undergoing practical licence tests.

However it is strongly recommended that even though one may acquire a driving licence by virtue of the Indian Licence, it is important that proper training for UK standards be compulsorily taken by prospective Goans who seek to have such a licence as conditions in India and UK are completely different. Also standards of safety and discipline in driving for the United Kingdom are very important to be acquired, to be conversant with prevailing UK laws. Failure to be compliant with UK standards could put the drivers as well as pedestrians to dangerous risks associated with unqualified driving.

It is therefore important to know that this help is being given under the express hope that even though knowledge of English may be poor, one has to be conversant with the UK driving licence requirements, and learn the same although the driving test may not be undertaken in UK. Learning and mastering the English language is also important for Goans if there is any genuine concern to survive in the United Kingdom.

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Is your Portuguese passport taking longer than it should have? Here’s help!

It is natural anxiety that many Goans feel for the delay in receiving their Portuguese passport. With the Consulate at Goa moving at snails pace, it appears to be a deliberate method of dragging on with a process which actually should not have taken days, or maximum a month to complete.

However we have Goans trying their luck at the Portuguese passport for years and some for even a decade without success. Some Goans  have all the necessary documents but nothing moves in any direction for them to see their European dream.

It is rightly believed that things are far different in Portugal compared to Goa. In Goa you seem to have separate rules for the speed of the process than the rules applied in Portugal. In Portugal the Assento do Nascimento which is the certificate of Birth can be obtained in 2 days . The Bilhete or the Cartao do Cidadao takes another day and the Portuguese passport would consume a fourth day to a maximum. In Goa such speed of processing at the consulate is something unheard of. So in Portugal all in all you would be able to finish your process in about 4 days from start to finish and be the jolly good Portuguese in no time.

However the consulate in Goa functions in a manner which is exactly the opposite. They probably believe that 4 days in Portugal means they have to actually make it 4 years in Goa. This is unfair and unacceptable some would scream. Problem is there is no redressal mechanism for Goans living in Goa to take Portugal or anybody to task for the delay and hence the irregularity flourishes it seems. No amount of arguments with consulate staff can help to speed up the process. It can only raise eyebrows at what they would perceive as your lack of patience. They would give you a look like as if you are asking for Indian TATKAL methods when actually you have been made to dance to their tune for many odd years.

It is also a known fact that Portugal honestly is not amused to give passports to Goans faster. That is precisely the bottomline. Surely they have their reasons with England breathing down their neck at the helpless influx of “Goan Portuguese” happily invading Britain with impunity. The Problem that Britain and some other countries have about Goans with Portuguese passport is that many of the lot are not qualified but have the right to work in that country by virtue of the Portuguese passport and the benefits accrued to the European community hence. Britain does not enjoy the extension of that kind of hospitality to people who have difficulty with English. Already, they have made visas for Indians lacking proficiency in English to be a dear affair. Naturally all the pressure on Portugal obviously motivates  it to delay the inevitable.

But  in Portugal they have little choice but to grant you the passport in a fixed time period. They cannot make you stay for days or months to give a citizenship card ( bilhete or cidadao) They owe it to you as a citizen to grant it in a reasonable period of time which is possibly a week. So common sense would tell you that you should go to Portugal after preparing your papers in Goa and apply for the Portuguese nationality directly in Portugal. The cost of travel to and fro would be around 30,000 which for many Goans would be worth the trouble. Accommodation would probably cost you less than 15,000 for 10 odd days. But all these costs are the least of your worries.

The problem is the consulate at Goa does not grant visa to Goans at the drop of a hat. If they have wind of the fact that you are visiting Portugal for the Portuguese passport the denial of the visa is almost certain.Funny one would say. But it is only if you have the cartao do cidadao or the Bilhete, the consulate grants you the visa , not otherwise. So you are back to square one.

Your only hope therefore rests with something called a schengen visa which is a visa given by a group of 15 European nations which includes Portugal. Which means that on a schengen visa one can travel to any of the 15 countries including Portugal.The purpose of the visit must be leisure, tourism, or business. The Schengen visa is governed by the Schengen rules and regulations and one needs to apply for the schengen visa from any one of the schengen nations which are as below

• Austria
• Germany
• Belgium
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Greece
• Iceland
• Italy
• Luxemburg
• Norway
• Portugal
• Spain
• Sweden
• The Netherlands

So if you get your schengen visa and you got your papers ready, you could soon be on the fast track to your dream  of the happy Goan with the Portuguese passport. Good Luck!