Goa Post-Mortem

I'm tying up about a week in Goa, staying just a little longer until I depart for my next destination. So far I've seen beautiful empty beaches and bustling tourist-filled beaches. For me the charm in Goa is hearing every shop, restaurant, and bar whether day or night playing trance techno. You don't see this anywhere else in the world that I am familiar with (not much right now, but I am working to change this), although I imagine Spain's Ibiza would be similar. The unfortunate difference between Goa and Ibiza is that Goa is no longer the party center that it once was. This is due less to the fickleness of European, Russian, and Israeli ravers, and more to ordinances passed by the local government banning "amplified music" after 10:00pm, citing the bad influence on local youth. Some popular hangouts get around this with bribes, but the majority of places have had to follow this rule or close, effectively killing nightlife throughout Goa. Maybe the local youth would benefit better from serious education supported by taxes on cover charges/drinks at the otherwise banned parties.
As a result of the government's crackdown, in walking around Baga or Anjuna beach even before the mandated closing time, you see a huge overcapacity of bars and clubs, which is another way of saying that they're mostly empty, and that they were built under conditions of much larger crowds. In the busy season of Christmas and the three weeks following, they get their crowds (even from America, which is shocking from my experience of not meeting a single American here). But in this, the 'shoulder' season between February and May, my understanding is that traffic is far below what it was historically.
I convinced an American buddy from Bombay to fly down for half a week to hang out until we go on to our next respective ports of call. He's been thoughtful enough to show me the nuts and bolts of running a business remotely, something I've been keenly interested in. Speaking of business instruction, specifically, negotiation skill, I got the firmest accolades from a local vendor from whom I was purchasing towels along with my friend. As my friend was stammering to negotiate prices, I took control of the situation, coming in with a laughably low price of 50 rupees a towel ($1.25) against her asking price of 600 rupees ($15). Over the next few iterations of bargaining we each shaved margin from our respective positions, but I wasn't satisfied (even though I would have no problem purchasing a towel for $15). I pulled my friend and walked out the door knowing the magic trick that makes vendors start playing fair. It didn't take long after for her to meet my price. The kicker is that after the transaction was complete, she called me a very bad man, and my friend a very good man for originally considering her original pricing scheme. So I guess I'm a bad man, but it never felt so good. (For those sympathetic to the poor vendor's situation, you may console yourself that she is doing fine for having a storefront on the main drag of the main tourist city of Goa, and that she sells many towels to many foreigners in excess of $15, and further that she wouldn't have made the sale if she wasn't making money on the deal. I dare say she was probably still making 50-100% margin off our transaction).
And finally, my verdict on Goa: Without the trance-fuelled nightlife that made Goa so popular for over a decade, all it has left are its beaches, which exist in better quantity and quality elsewhere in the world. My advice to Americans looking for an exotic locale to relax in for awhile-- lie back in Cancun, sip pina coladas in Puerto Vallarta, or when you've got some more time, go surfing in Bali.
Next stop: Bangalore, center of the "New India"; Recent experiences are telling me to expect supermalls next to slums. We'll see soon if this plays out . . .