Goa is one of india's tourism centrals.
Goa is
India's smallest
state in terms of area and the
fourth smallest in terms of population. Located on the west coast of India in the region known as the
Konkan, it is bounded by the state of
Maharashtra to the north, and by
Karnataka to the east and south, while the
Arabian Sea forms its western coast.
Renowned for its
beaches, Goa is visited by hundreds of thousands of international and domestic tourists each year. Goa is also known for its temples and
world heritage architecture including the
Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa, which makes it one of the biggest Christian pilgrimage sites in Asia.
[citation needed] Goa also has rich
flora and
fauna, owing to its location on the
Western Ghats range, which is classified as a
biodiversity hotspot.
(information courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa)
Our purpose in visiting Goa was to see what effect globalisation has had on the city. Tourism is the cities 2nd largest source of revenue next to mining, at number 1. Tourism has had many positive effects on the city. Supporting local vendors and creating many high class jobs for local Goans. Jobs in the tourism business are considered prestigious and a high end line of work. Our group took advantage of all of the trendy, trinket shops selling cheap souvenirs. This city was the closest reminder of home that we have had for a while. Coffee shops selling java's and brownies, bathrooms with toilet paper and soap to wash your hands with, seeing other people on the street that have similar skin tones as ourselves, etc
... sandy beach...
vendors...
I managed to capture this nice close up picture of a tourist in action... Notice the shirt: "Enjoy Summer Goa"
After taking the picture I inquired the unsuspecting tourist as to how much she paid for the shirt. She excitedly informed me that the vendors original price was 100 ruppees. But she bartered and got it for 40 ruppee--> $1 US )She also told me that she was very fond of the little dude in here hand that was carved out of a coconut. "I would have bought it but the guy said, 'not for sale, decoration.'" Haha tourist... take that! You can;t buy everything. comodification and capitalism loose in a big way today..
It did not take for unsettling feelings to start nagging my thoughts. Every morning we had speakers give lectures that enlightened us to the many negative impacts tourism has had on the city. The traditional Goan culture is slowly being suffocated by tourism. The environment has taken a large toll from the activities of tourists. Some of which include: higher pollution, more garbage production, natural beach and sometimes entire villages destroyed and in order to make room for large beach resorts . A problem that came as a complete shock to me was the problem with pedophilia. The sex-tourism industry is a big concern in Goa. Many foreign pedophiles are attracted to Goa for a chance to molest a child and then make a quick safe exit out of the country. Last but not least, where there is sex tourism, there is AIDS yet another large danger to the Goan community.
Alas, I kiss my naive and ignorant tourist days goodbye thanks to this trip...
Part II of the trip (2 nights and 3 days) were spent in a group home-stay with a farmer in the tropical jungle area of Goa.
We stayed with Rama, a farmer, and his family.
Rama was the man. Although his English was not to sharp, he communicated clearly to our group how the mines were damaging the livelihood of all of the local farmers by taking us to many mines and areas that demonstrated the destruction that has occurred thus far. Crops, deforestation, water supply (mining lowers the water table and causes wells to dry up as well as pollutes local rivers with toxic levels of iron ore and soot), and invades the locals space and home with noise and air pollution.
On one of our many quests through the jungle to reach a mine, Rama had a neighbor climb a coconut tree (a mere 15 meters bare foot and bare handed, no equipment) to pick us all a tender coconuts. When you machete off the top you can drink the nectar. It has a a cooling effect for the body ( which is good because jungle= HOT) and is said to be very healthy beverage to drink. I have been fortunate enough to try this special drink before because it is commonly sold in the city, but NEVER has it been this good. This was by far the freshest and best coconut nectar I and the rest of the group agreed will ever have in our lives. After drinking it, the coconut is whacked open to reveal the tender white insides for a bonus treat to eat. yum...
Every beautiful hike ended at the dramatic and destructive site of a large open pit mine.
Last but not least, Goa is known for their cashews. They are a top producer of cashews as well as a bitingly strong alcoholic beverage, cashew fenne. On the second morning at Rama's house on my way out back to the bathroom, I stumbled across a bunch of fruits on the ground. I of course pick one up 
and proceed to crack it open with my finger nail to see what magical treasure is inside. Rather than diamonds, an oil seeps out of the organic vessel and covers my fingers. I find Rama and ask him what this substance is that is coating my hands and to my surprise, the-cool-as- a-cucumber Rama gets all worked up, runs out of the room and comes back with a different oil that he insists I rub all over my hands followed by a good scrub with soap and water. Apparently the oil of a raw cashew nut is hazardous to bare skin and causes bad burns. My ring finger is completely gone along with all of the skin that previously covered my two thumbs.
After drying the nuts in the sun for several days and then toasting them over a fire however, they are completely safe to eat. Needless to say, when Rama set out an entire plate heaping full of fresh cashews, we gobbled up the most fantastic tasting cashew nuts I have ever had in my life. They were incredible.
p.s.. All of my fingers and skin are currently attached and my hands are healthy... just checking to see if you were paying attention. : )
