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Once a peaceful fishing village, then a haven for hedonistic
hippies, Calangute is now Goa's busiest and most commercialised
resort. The road from the town to the beach is lined with
Kashmiri-run handicraft boutiques and Tibetan stalls selling
Himalayan curios and jewellery. The quality of the goods - mainly
Rajasthani, Gujarati and Karnatakan textiles - is generally high.
But haggle hard and don't be afraid to walk away - the same stuff
will crop up again. The beach itself is nothing special, but is
more than large enough to accommodate the huge numbers of
high-season visitors. To escape the hawkers, visitors should head
fifteen minutes or so south of the main beachfront area, towards
the rows of old wooden boats moored below the dunes where teams of
villagers haul in their nets at high tide and fishermen will be
seen fixing their tack under bamboo shacks. Calangute's bars and
restaurants are mainly grouped around the entrance to the beach and
along the Baga road, as with most Goan resorts, the accent is
firmly on seafood, though many places also offer vegetarian dishes.
Western breakfasts also feature prominently. Thanks to repeated
crackdowns by the Goan police on parties and loud music,
Calangute's nightlife is surprisingly tame with most bars closing
by 10pm. A notable exception is Tito's at the Baga end of the
beach, and Pete's Bar, a hippy hangout that offers affordable
drinks, backgammon sets and relentless reggae until the early
hours. Calagnute is a 45-minute bus ride north from the capital,
Panaji.
