Guest phase Posted November 14, 2002 Share Posted November 14, 2002 there seem to be a lot of questions popping up about the Goa party season. Because I was there last year, and I'll do my best to give you some general advice: ---------- Goa is an okay place to hang out for the winter. It is basically a 4 month non-stop psy-trance party of some kind or another, with music almost eveyr night. It is moderately priced (not cheap) for Asia, and is rapidly moving upmarket and attracting European clubbers, rich package tourists and masses of horny drunken indians. It is not really a hippie or "freak" place anymore, although many old-time freaks make a cameo apperance "because it's Goa". Still, the music you hear in Goa is 100% psychedelic trance - and the DJs and party organizers generally are in the Know. The throngs of non-trancer people mostly visit in High Season (December and January) and if you are there outside these times, the party will have a more "dedicated" and hardcore vibe. --------- Goa is very corrupt, but it generally doesnt affect the partygoer! There are numerous greedy cops, indian and western drug thug mafias out to inflate the price of your recreational goodies. prices of some favorite "hits" have been forecefully inflated to match or exceed western prices. this being said, there is SO MUCH completely open and obvious, mass wheeling and dealing and mayhem going on - that a casual partygoer is unlikely to attract any attention. you are a tiny little fish in a big sea! the corrupt cops are after the dealers! It is not really any worse than partying in Europe! just be a little discreet.Organized, properly paid-off parties are quite safe and the poliece did not really come or borther anyone, As of last season. Don't keep stuff in your room (!), and don't carry anything more than a personal amount, and you will have no major problems! drugs are technically illegal, but if you hang out in the party capitals of Vagator and Anjuna, you will have a difficult time remembering this - as people are blasted off their heads 24/7! --------------- how to find the parties: The Nine Bar in Vagator is a huge seaside trance cafe, where a throng of gnarly, tatooed and spaced-out people have a chillum (or 50!) - and watch the sunset. the palce goes off with varying psy-trance sets until 10pm - an if there is all night proper party, you can find out arround Nine Bar arround 10pm. the Primrose, inland little, is an established late night venue, going on after 10pm. if there is no party news at the Nine Bar, check with the people and the motobike taxi boys here and you will find out! alternatively, just LISTEN for the thumping bass and synth sounds, and walk closer to the music! you can find parties easily this way! PARTY TIMES: Most parties start arround Midnight or so, and continue util the next afternoon. NIGHT TIME at the party features hard fast night-trance, throungs of childish indian drunks in peak season, loads of western burn-outs sitting comatose on chai mats smoking their lungs out - and not a very festive vibe. The goa night party is SPOILED and ain't what it used to be. it's DARK AND SCARY! don't lick the vial and go out at NIGHT! if you like a PSYCHEDELIC, DANCING and energetic gathering- you will have to wait until AFTER SUNRISE - maybe 9 or 10 am the drunks have passed out, the dealers are wary and go home, the poliece are tired - and and only the people who are LIT and smiling remain. This is a safe time to party, with a slight trace of the original psychedelic goa spirit! it is best to go out to the Nine Bar or Primrose until arround midnight, then GO HOME AND SLEEP, wake up at 8 or so an then go to the party! it is ufortunate, but the night party is really dark & FUCKED and should be avoided by a smile-happy, bouncing trancer!!! ------------- places to stay: there are thousands! ARAMBOL - North Goa. some freaks here, tourist number rising. quiet beach, rapidly developing, 1.5 hours from the party action by motorbike, and after a mind-blowout at a goa party, you might not feel like riding a morotobike along fast indian roads - though many people do it. Arambol itself has little/no psy-trance. it is not a party place, more of a chillout. the Jungle by the sweetwater lake is the last crumbling holdout of the real goa freak and hippies. Taxi is EXPENSIVE, and the buses are too inconvient an infrequent. CHAPORA - has lowest prices and basic, village-like accomodation. Popular with longstay hardcore party people. It's close to he party action. a dingy, shady Goan village with a nice beach. Streets are lined with cafes, and western dealers. hardcore! everyone coming down, spaced out, or recently lost their passport. Housebreaking and theft is a serious problem, live with a family or get a secure place! VAGATOR - Party central! Big Vagator is more upmarkat and has a daily throung of indian bus tours and hassles. Little vagator is big with isrealis, and is the general party capital! a beautiful rocky beach, popular with british package tourists, mischevious beach cows, hassling lungi and sunglass sellers - and drunk indian tourists with tucked in shirts & moustaches asking if they can take a picture of you girlfriend. night time till late morning the trance does usually go off though I stayed at "Moondance Guesthouse" on the main road to little Vagaotr, near the 9 bar. and i reccomend it! it is reasonably safe place, nice staff, close to all the party action! you don't need a motorobike if you stay here or arround. ANJUNA - full of color and attitude! a commericalized former freak center, is host to the Wednesday market and has many parties at Pardiso, German bakery, Bamboo Forest in North Anjuna. has upscale, flashy accomodation options too. a bit of a "scene"... PALOLEM - a chillout beach in far south Goa. VERY FAR (hours) from the party action. a simple place, rapidly developing, Goa's nicest beach in terms of view/sea/sand. a booming hit with british drunks and european tourists, some backpackers, some older crowd, some yoga people. --------- Enjoy your season in Goa. it is not the "nicest" and friendliest scene in India, but it is still pretty good if you are a true trance maniac! if the politics, commercilization, attitude and modern goa style is too much for you, head south to Gokarna, where it is more like Goa was 10 years ago. Simple huts, occasional parties, nice people, low prices, and more organic family feel. headed soon the the Eclipse in Australia, Phase, USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Full Lotus Posted November 14, 2002 Share Posted November 14, 2002 Good info.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ktrance Posted November 16, 2002 Share Posted November 16, 2002 Thanks alot man, just the info I needed. Peace Ktrance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SHIVMA Posted November 22, 2002 Share Posted November 22, 2002 Thanks for the info phase... I want to head to Goa this winter..was very excited about the party which was announced for the 30th of december.the notice is not up anymore.guess its not happening. small but relativily exciting psychedelic culture in Hawaii....slowly starting to pick up..if you ever make it back to Florida:)..check the scene out on the islands.....it might be real fun by the time you finish your travels. namaste PS I spent 4 months in Florida last year. Not looked or heard enough fof any parties. Might head there in the near future. Any tips?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Spindrift Posted November 22, 2002 Share Posted November 22, 2002 > The goa night party is SPOILED and ain't what it used to be. it's DARK AND SCARY! don't lick the vial and go out at NIGHT! it is best to go out to the Nine Bar or Primrose until arround midnight, then GO HOME AND SLEEP, wake up at 8 or so an then go to the party! it is ufortunate, but the night party is really dark & FUCKED and should be avoided by a smile-happy, bouncing trancer!!! < Hmm...i thought just the opposite, the night used to be really dark when goa parties was at their best (<96). Then it was all about a journey, getting out all that agression and darkness during the night, and then as the sun starts rising, you feel reborn, and start smiling with the people. Now adays the night's normally consists of the usual GMS style full on morning trance, which makes you feel soo bored by the time the sun goes up, because you know that it will the same kind of tracks for another 8 hours or so. So rarley nowadays I manage do stay both morning and night. Keep the cheese in .th...please! Then come and join the dark forces in goa...;-) See u there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest andy Posted November 24, 2002 Share Posted November 24, 2002 the new season start now,like always,newer now how is gonna to be.india is chaos the politics always change,the police like the monay,the people come anywhere ,if you stay long time you will find some good partys,the funfactor is high........goa is only so good how we make it,bring some good energy and create !!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest phase Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 spindrift... i like night music and getting the agression out..give me Droidlock and the Psyside...i like the whole journey, of course this is what the psychedelic alchemical tranceformation in about..going from darkness into light. "quit the night and seek the day". In some places it feels physically safe to party at night, for example Japan. dark hard vibes and flailing bodies, people shaking and beating their inner demons out. (but even Japan is getitng spoiled as psy-trance is becoming fashonable there, and losing it's underground secret feel) Places other than Goa are spoiled too: in thailand, the Had Rin FMP is now a full-fleged commrical Alcohol & clubber party, with funky house and Brittney Spears ..many venues advertise a "No psy-trance!" policy. Serviced by Party "package tours" from Bangkok and Koh Samui with complementary "welcome drinks"... with no trance of underground vibes on the main beach. Fat drunks and tourists with fluro necklaces . If you want psy-vibes in Pangahn or thailand, you have to look cafefully for it at inland locations... --------------------------- goa is still a lot more lawless and psychedelic than thailand though, it just attracts a lot of disturbing riff-raff..particularly from 12 - 7 am or so. In PEAK SEASON (New years and arround) ...in Goa...to me it felt physically unsafe and more than a little paranoia. My impression ( while psychedeliclly lit up) - and wandering arround amongs throungs of Indian drunks shouting and kicking each other..and trying to raise drunken hell, police on the prowl for victims to shakedown for baksheeh (money), dealers trying to sell you drugs, people smoking and coughing and hudlding togther in little cliques on chai mats, clubbers pousing arround in the latest london fashions bragging about how many pills they ate. Also at night you cannot sit down or even dance without people trying to HARD SELL you water, candy, inhalers or whatnot at vastly inflated "party prices". you can't dance hard without brushing the vendors off. An old freak lady, covered in tattoos and dreadlocks every color of rainbow told me one morning at a juice cafe in Chapora "the night is THEIR time, the morning is OUR TIME to party" by morning and late afternoon - all the non-trippers and dancers - all the drunks/vendors/clubbers/cops and commerical hassling people are exuatsed from being up all night, and pass out or go home..and the old goa vibe reigns. a thin crowd of smiling people dancing in the bright sun - the bright sunlight, exaustion and UHF DAT wizzy noises filtering out and chasing away all those creepy ghouls and demons.... i wish goa was what it once was, and it was possible to stay up and dance all ngiht without a lot of paranoia and constant hassle - but times have chanced - in this authors humble, acid-soaked opinion.... go to goa briefly, just to see the fucked-up India freak show, and go south Gokarna is my advice. it still has a good 5 years before it is developed and all the resulting shit happens... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest phase Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 the "Freaks" and party regulars in goa last season were a pretty tough and crusty bunch, it really took an awful lot of pills and drops and dancing to make them let down their guard...and really open up their hearts.... on New years day, it happened finally..at about 3 in the afternoon during Domino (UK) set on the HillTop motel. everyone just collectively lost their marbels....so much acid, so much DAT catharthic dance therapy, some many 4/4 beats and stomps. None one could hold on to their "I am on Fucking FIRE and so COOL!" attitude. it seemed like a "shady" cloud lifted and people just looked in the eyes of their fellow strangers and wasn't afraid to be...with a naked soul and no thorns or character armor. this lasted a few blissful hours until sunet, and by the time the sun went down...it seemed that a new fresh crowd started pouring in, and everyone put their "wall" back up in respose to the new influx of edgy people pouring in... -phase "not going back to goa again" p.s. in defense of Goa..the starndard anaonymous DJ music is still awfully psychedelic, recent (mostly released stuff, less than a year old), and the sound systems are ...OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Spindrift Posted November 26, 2002 Share Posted November 26, 2002 Yeah Phase, I know what you mean with the drunken indians and stuff in the night nowadays. They can really manage to ruin the vibe, when they turn up in droves around x-mas and newyears. For sure goa never been just a blissed out hippy haven, the whole party scene there started much because of some rougened criminals, that coulnd't go back to europe for partying, and therefore set up a local scene. I was very surprised already when I went there 92 first time, expectiing a friendly freak community, but also among the freaks there there is a very rough mentality. Always paranoia for the cops, never sure if or when the parties will be, people overdosing or starting fights with the locals. Last season for example I was threathened with a knife by a flipped local for no reason, just before starting playing at the Hill-Top. So there is a lot to say about Goa and it's dark sides, but somehow i think that the speciall energy on the parties there woudn't be there without them. There is still something to drive around looking for parties in the night, getting chased by the police in the process...If it was safe and well organised the feeling would probably be very diffent in goa. I know germans (who don't seem to have any problems wirth police when making parties at home) that say how they miss the excitement going out in germany, and how they love the hassle in goa. Spindrift "just booked my ticket ... off to goa in a few days time" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest -= Rishi =- Posted November 27, 2002 Share Posted November 27, 2002 I've been going to Goa in season since '94 & Goa's not that bad, altough some things are irritating. Come to the party at 4:30~5:00 in the morning (best time) The old hippies/freaks have their reasons to be gaurded. The music in Goa is dark/hard night style even at 8:00 in the morning. -= Rishi =- Done 1 month in Goa already this season, going back for more!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rishi Posted November 27, 2002 Share Posted November 27, 2002 You have to understand how things work in India, then the Goa experience is not bad at all Goa = Sex, Drugs & PsyTrance! more or less Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest phase Posted November 28, 2002 Share Posted November 28, 2002 yeah, goa was rough and gnarly - but I got a shady kick out of it - some scenes that impressed me from those vivid peak season parties last year were: *** Christmas morning, a group of Isrealis, rasing a ruckus in hebrew and cheering - and me looking over to see this guy with flashy red oakley glasses - coughing and wheezing and struggling to stoke a BASEBALL BAT-sized clay chilum! BOM BOLENATH SHIVA SHANKAR BOOOM!!!! Oi Vey!! 4 dudes holding lighters were required for ignition. "The bigger the better" was the phiosophy that inspired the design... *** a bull, gone bezerk, running and charging arround the second morning of a banyan tree party. He kept charging arround the speakers and scaring all the trippers - and no one could get him away - he was a speaker-freaker Trance crazy cow! everyone kicke it in the ass, and put plastic cups over his sharp horns - but he could not be persuaded to leave for over an hour! he loved trance and ws freaking out on it - maybe he accidentially grazed on some lost pills that fell into the grass?!?!! *** a group of 5 Indian playboys from Bombay, driving their yellow Ford Escort up over sand-dunes, past cactues and into the party area - standing arround conspiciously and posing with sunglasses and Belseri waterbottles - proudly showing of fthe fact that they owned a car, learning all over the hood, smoking chilums with house music blasing from the basic sound system. priceless. **** watching all the hard-banging speed ravers and frazzled pill-heads, covered in glitter - obviously too spun out to walk, let alone drive- jumpping on mototbikes after goa gill played Paradiso and rasing holy hell with high speed motorbike exit spped races. toooo fast! **** walkign over the hill that divides Vagator and Anjuna - to discover a pile/mountian of no less than 1,000 freshly discarded, empty Ketamine vials and boxes, neatly dumped. One day 4,000 years from now - archeologists will excavate and be able to piece togther the culture of the region, along with rusted bikes and chillium stones and cones, and fossilized DAT tapes. i wonder what they will make of it??? **** Chunky indian trancers with moustaches, selling mix CDs and blasting away Infected Mushroom and Skazi tracks at Anjuna Flea market **** numerous "Dancing cows", wildly decorated in psychedelic colors, with masters that would play a flute and get them to "dance" by pumping thei front legs while standing on the flute players thighs, for a few rupees donation. the life of every party Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest C Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 Hi Phase, I was wonderin if u can get in touch wit me on dis address.......... If u r on msn pls do add me. Thanx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest C Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 Hi Phase, I was wonderin if u can get in touch wit me on dis address.......... If u r on msn pls do add me. Thanx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest C Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 Hey Spindrift, I'm goin 2 Goa dis Dec as well......... Hope we can catch up....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KS Posted December 5, 2002 Share Posted December 5, 2002 well that is some cool info///// well phase u say it like it is...i think you mirror my thoughts on the place exactly and so no point adding info, instead a couple of thoughts would be more appropriate. i am going back this year...... been going since 96... the last good year.. but then again i am only 24 years... but i like the scene there... drunk goans aside, i remember my friend got hit when on his bike by a drunk goan.. who instead of apologizing, attacked him..... the funny thing was that we still had a blast... what i love about goa is the freedom and energy... especially in the mornings.. see i feel psy is a very personal thing and you will find people who hated a party and some who loved it.. i think its got something to do with the vials..... i have had some amazing times there, like 2 years ago was quite good,.. 96-97 seasons were cool and the millenium parties were quite good as welll.... i am always in search of good psy on a cool system..... and coupled with the complete freedom one experiences in goa, its just what i am looking for... i find as quiet spot ;-) near the stacks and just let it go... i have spent 14 hours at a party in one shot... going to sleep and getting up to come back/... and staying another 12 hours... good times... i only go towards sunrise, the earliest i go is 3, where i chill on the mats till 4 and then dslowly get into the music for sunrise... anyways enough rambling, i hope to see some of you in the fluoro jungle at disco valley this year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Silvio Posted December 6, 2002 Share Posted December 6, 2002 Hi there! very nice forum guys! I was asking to myself if late february beginnig of march is too late to experience the flavour of goa what do you suggest? Thanx a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Silvio Posted December 6, 2002 Share Posted December 6, 2002 Hi there! very nice forum guys! I was asking to myself if late february beginnig of march is too late to experience the flavour of goa what do you suggest? Thanx a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lance Posted December 20, 2002 Share Posted December 20, 2002 hi people well i am going to goa in a few days and id love to have some cool company any body out there hellooooooo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest psyzion Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 If you arrive late february you're still in time for the season!! ciao!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest psyzion Posted December 28, 2002 Share Posted December 28, 2002 If you arrive late february you're still in time for the season!! ciao!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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