Movin' On Up

The first rule of backpacking with the Lonely Planet is that you don't talk about backpacking with the Lonely Planet.

No, wait.

The first rule of backpacking with the Lonely Planet is that you always assume that whatever guest house is listed in the LP will charge at least double the listed price, not by any means be your only choice, and if the LP folk rave about the place you can rest assured that it will really be thoroughly mediocre.

I knew this, going in. Especially for Goa, where the whitey tourists and out-of-state hired hands probably outnumber locals at this time of year. Because I was tired and didn't feel like pacing the streets of Agonda looking for a place to stay, I went with the LP recommended Dersy's. It turned out the bed was awful, the mosquito net was full of holes, the bathrooms sucked and there weren't enough of them, a floodlight "flooded" my hut with "light" all night, etc. etc. No dealbreakers, but just enough mediocrity to make me think I probably wasn't getting my money's worth (at the exorbitant price $13 a night, no less!).

So yesterday morning I took a stroll down the unpaved footpath that is Agonda's one and only street to see what I could see. And I found a much better place, improbably called Harmony Hives (no, I have not broken out in them yet), which was charging 350 for a nicer hut with an intact mosquito net, comfy bed, toilets actually separated from the shower (important when toilet = hole in ground), and no night-time illumination which is fine because that's why I packed a flashlight. My new hut even has electricity, including a functional ceiling fan!

Let this be a lesson to all you backpacking hopefuls. The Lonely Planet hotel section sucks, and you should not rely on it.

Also, I hope all of you like sarongs, because the sarong wallahs around here are PERSISTENT.