• Hotel Gokarn International in India

    Last week I asked my Instagram followers in my Instastories which country they would like to read about next, and they chose India, so today I’ll tell about one hotel, where I stayed some 15 years ago.

    Back then, when I travelled in India and visited Gokarn, I stayed in a hotel called Hotel Gokarn International. That hotel was a bit far from the beach but within a reasonable walking distance from the small center of Gokarn village.

    Hotel room balcony at the topmost floor

    The hotel was modest, very modest, with maybe some two stars classification, and till this day it happens to be among the worst hotels where I’ve stayed in India. But, I did like the topmost room balcony, which was at the same level with the top of the palm trees, and I did stay in this same hotel one more time after the first.

    Hotel room interior

    At that time there was no room service including food and I don’t know how it is now, but at least there was a restaurant in the ground floor of the same building serving some Indian foods. The restaurant was located next to the entrance which you can see in the image attached.

    Entrance to hotel Gokarna

    Hotel Gokarna International was still among the best accommodation I was able to find from Gokarn if you excluded the expensive 5 star resort found far away from the beach.

    Hotel Gokarna balconies

    The image quality is from the time when smartphones did not yet exist.

    See better images in my video Gokarn in 1 minute and read 5 reasons to visit Gokarn for a Western tourist.

    Take the visual trip to Gokarna in 2007 and see India travel history!

    Read more about travelers India from INDIVUE – Trip to India and follow Indivue in social media!

  • Taxi Prices and Traffic to North Goa and South Goa

    This video, filmed in 2006, takes you to South Goa and North Goa, by the road in India. It will show you the amazing surprises in Indian traffic, like cows on the road in some village. You can travel from South Goa, Cabo de Rama Fort to North Goa by the road.

    See the local passangers carrying basket on their head, which is an exotic way for a European to deal with the things. Also you see how passangers use the same road for walking as the cars and buses and other vehicles and animals. You might think there’s nothing strange in that, but considering how narrow the road was, it did look scary sometimes. But these were the Goan roads in 2006. I don’t know how they are today.

    You will also get to see how the local buses were in Goa, and lots of passangers driving on their bikes without a helmet, because at that time it was possible.

    Around 3 minutes you get to walk as a pedestrian in some random sandy road at dusk and daylight. Sometime a scooter stops by you offering a ride, because you’re a woman walking alone. Little bit later you’re walking away from Anjuna Flea Market.

    You’ll get to see how Calangute and Baga in North Goa looked like in 2006 and get to drive from Baga to Mapusa, the “capital” of North Goa, or at least it used to be.

    After Mapusa you’ll get to see how dog can suddenly jump in front of your vehicle to cross the road and how you deal with that with the scooter. Or, if there are big vehicles like trucks and buses in front of you, how you weave between them.

    The video shows also the interesting long and straight street lamps in North Goa, which have always looked unusual and charming to me. Also you’ll get an experience of how it is to drive with the scooter in a dark road without street lamps, when you’re stuck with a sandy road.

    You’ll see the new road being built from Baga to Anjuna during the days, when the badly-needed new bridge was being built across the Baga-river. The old bridge from Baga to Anjuna had been really a nightmare for a traveller, since it was so narrow and dark and with a ceiling on top and a bumby road underneath. But even the road from Baga to Calangute has been fixed after filming this piece, so don’t base your opinion about the road on this video anymore. Rather I’d encourage you to see it from a historic point of view – how Goa used to be with all the greenery and all.

    You’ll get to see lots of tourists riding a bike without a helmet, because at that time it was not a crime. In turn, two years back it was very easy to get a fine as a tourist on a bike, if one was without a helmet.

    If you’ve ever wandered how is the traffic in Goa during Christmas and New Year, you’ll get a glimpse of that also in the end of this video, when the Goa traffic police is needed to guide the long queues in Calangute, North Goa.

    TAXI FROM GOA AIRPORT TO NORTH GOA AND SOUTH GOA

    When a tourist arrives at Goa Dabolim Airport, there is often a shuttle bus waiting directly for the hotel. If it is not a package tour, but the room is independently booked from a good-quality hotel, an airport pick-up can be booked through the hotel, with the air-conditioned taxi driver waiting for the customer with a name tag at the airport exit. The safest option for the self-employed traveler is to book and pay in advance at the airport for a prepaid taxi, which then takes you to the agreed destination at a pre-determined price. At the airport you can pay by card.

    The safest way for a tourist is no doubt to take a taxi in Goa, but it is also a very expensive way. Here I’ll attach the taxi price list from 2019 and it will show you the prices and distances from Goa Dabolim airport to various villages in North and South Goa. Sedan is a common car with separate compartment for cargo and Suv means sports utility vehicle. Both the car models are air-conditioned. Their price is mentioned in rupees and euros, and it may have increased by now. The rate I used is 1e = 81inr. Note also that the night-time rate between 23-05 is about 35% higher.

    While waiting for the well functioning public transport, here’s what the traveller will meet.

    NORTH-GOA

    DestinationKmSedan (price in 2019)Suv
    Candolim441427 INR / 17,60 EUR1700
    Calangute431372 INR / 16,92 EUR1650
    Baga441427 INR / 17,60 EUR1700
    Arpora461515 INR / 18,68 EUR1780
    Anjuna481603 INR / 19,77 EUR1860
    Vagator501636 INR / 20,17 EUR1880
    Mandrem571961 INR / 24,18 EUR2180
    Morjim551900 INR / 23,43 EUR2130
    Arambol632010 INR / 24,78 EUR2230
    Ashvem581933 INR / 23,83 EUR2160
    Mapusa431372 INR / 1692 EUR1650
    Pernem622148 INR / 26,49 EUR2360
    Tiracol822258 INR / 27,84 EUR2450
    Miramar341240 INR / 15,29 EUR1530
    Sinquerim461515 INR / 18,68 EUR1780
    Porvorim351240 INR / 15,29 EUR1530
    Panjim301094 INR / 13,49 EUR1380
    Assagao501636 INR / 20,17 EUR1880
    Aldona501636 INR / 20,17 EUR1880
    Siolim501636 INR / 20,17 EUR1880

    SOUTH GOA

    DESTINATIONKMSEDAN (price in 2019)SUV
    Mangueshi421279 INR / 15,77 EUR1560
    Quepem451372 INR / 16,92 EUR1650
    Benaulim341094 INR / 13,49 EUR1380
    Canacona682021 INR / 24,92 EUR2230
    Agonda742159 INR / 26,62 EUR2440
    Loliem872615 INR / 32,24 EUR2780
    Palolem702059 INR / 25,39 EUR2340
    Mobor441339 INR / 16,51 EUR1680
    Margao341094 INR / 13,49 EUR1380
    Ponda411251 INR / 15,43 EUR1530
    Cuncolim431304 INR / 16,08 EUR1650
    Betul521603 INR / 19,77 EUR1860
    Sanvordem551629 INR / 20,09 EUR1910
    Sanguem601812 INR / 22,34 EUR2040
    Colva301014 INR / 12,50 EUR1300
    Chandor341295 INR / 15,97 EUR1480
    Varca361144 INR / 14,11 EUR1430
    Cavelossim451372 INR / 16,92 EUR1650
    Majorda25964 INR / 11,89 EUR1250
    Curtorim311196 INR / 14,75 EUR1480

    INDIVUE is not responsible for the correctness or accuracy of these prices. They are just approximate prices from a taxi booth in Dabolim airport in 2019.

    For a comparison: In Delhi, you was able to reach 80km at INR 1200-1300 or get an air-conditioned taxi for 8 hours.

    In Delhi, suitcases are tied to the roof of a taxi, but in Goa, suitcases are not necessarily tied to a car.

    Note also: Cheaper and non-air-conditioned rides can always be found in India outside the airports, but a tourist can never take for granted the destination of those rides.

    This article is part of the INDIVUE – Trip to Goa – consider following me in social media and you will get the updates to it easily!