It's well known that the beaches of Goa are no longer the hideaway paradise that they once were, due to the advent of package tours and hotel development. One beach that is supposed to have retained its charm however, is Palolem in the south of Goa. The Lonely Planet guide says it's still one of Goa's less developed beaches, although our copy is 5 years old. So we decide to take a bus there and see for ourselves. First we have to catch the local bus from Colva to the local market town, Margao. This is easy to find at the roundabout in Colva, but the bus winds its way through Benaulim and takes 30 mins for the journey which would take 10 mins by auto-rickshaw.

We change buses at Margao bus station. Initially our bus is reasonably full, with most seats taken, but this is a private bus and they like to pack people in, so very soon it's ridiculously full. There are about 20 people standing and it seems everyone's going to Pelolem beach, or at least to the nearby town of Canacona. There's no bell cord or button to signal to the driver, and the conductor has a whistle which he uses to tell the driver that passengers want to get off. He also has his own selection of whistles which he uses to signal other things to the driver, such as 'go', 'don't go yet' and 'stop at my sister's place because she's got some mangoes that I'm taking to my aunty'.

The approach to Palolem beach is along some fairly narrow lanes, and we're soon squeezing between small shops and restaurants made out of bamboo and thatch. In fact the whole of the area behind the beach, which is covered in the tall coconut palm trees which typify the Goan coast line, has been developed with these shacks, many of which are on bamboo stilts and reached by steps. The single road down to the beach, about 400m long, is lined with trinket stalls and small bars/restaurants. The beach itself is in a cove about 1km from end to end and the palms come down to the high water mark. It's easy to see how it's become known as the loveliest beach in Goa, but now the shacks and huts and also down to the beach, and in many cases, have been built on the beach itself. Unfortunately many of them are covered in a ubiquitous blue tarpaulin which clashes with the natural browns and greens, and yellow of the sand. Needless to say it's fairly busy and there's a certain claustrophobic feeling you don't get at Colva.

If this was NZ the area would probably have been turned into a national park, and access controlled, but this is India and that hasn't happened. It's a shame, but almost inevitable. In the evening we team up for a meal with another couple of Kiwis from Nelson. Afterwards we go to a bar where there's another singer with a karaoke machine, but this time he's also got a guitar. The music is no better than last night's though.