Claiming the Right to Say No-30 Nov 09-EQUATIONS - Equitable ...

Claiming the Right to Say No
Tourism Report: Vagator
and Arambol
Introduction
By Sanford Araujo
The first time when I put my foot step in the sand, I got little bit scared at the first
instance. But, this experience with the tourists on the beach was a unique, enjoyable
and challenging experience. I had been in the rave parties before, but, the tranceparty
was something very unique that I experienced. There were different types of
tourists, like Russians, Germans, Israelis, French, etc. It was sad to know that this
year (2008) the government did not give visas for the military trained young
Israelis.
Walk the Talk with the Tourists
I mostly tried to interact with those who looked like single or bachelors. But, when
I tried to converse with them, they were not ready to talk. They would give some
excuse and move away. The shack owners said that, this year there were less
number of Israeli tourists and a vendor told that they have already moved from
Vagator to Arambol. Some of the tourists make business in Goa. Like organizing
musical show, fire dance, and even in the flea market, we see that they have a
section to sell things. According to me, they do not get much profit on these things.
Hence, I think they might be doing another business like drugs selling etc.
Lifestyle of the Israeli Tourists
The left side of the Vagator beach was confined mostly by the Israelis and they
even call it as the “Israeli beach”. The Israelis mostly come in groups, but, this year
they were mostly with their families and with no support of their government. As we
know that they mostly visit Goa for relaxation purpose, they even shared that they
also visit Vietnam and said that the price in Goa is costlier than Vietnam. Since, they
are less fortunate to have the sunlight, by 10:00am they are seen on the beach. At
night, they are in the Clubs or Disco’s or in the ‘9 Bar’.
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