Goa India vacation

Shopping Anjuna is the site of Goa's wonderful Wednesday market, goa shopping where a nonstop trance soundtrack sets the scene, and a thousand stalls sell everything from futuristic rave gear to hammocks that you can string up between two palm trees on the nearby beach.

It's a wonderful place to meet people from all over the world as well as Rajasthanis, Gujaratis, Tibetans -- even drought-impoverished Karnataka farmers with "fortune-telling" cows.

It's a bit like London's Camden, but everyone's tanned and the weather's almost always wonderful. When the crowd gets too much, pull up a chair at Mango Shade, an outdoor family-run restaurant at the edge of the market.

Come the weekend, Goa's global residents head for Ingo's Saturday Night Bazaar, where most of the spending seems to involve liquor and food. Scores of happy-go-lucky revelers dance and cruise, exchanging plans for the remainder of the evening.

North of Panjim

Besides the vibrant markets, Calangute has a variety of options worth checking out. Casa Goa is a stylish boutique featuring designer wear by celebrated goa shopping

Goan designer Wendell Rodricks, as well as local artwork, silk drapes, and a variety of antiques.

Then take a look at Leela Art Palace nearby; with any luck, proprietor Ravi will be in. You might find yourself agreeing to accompany him on an exotic journey into some of the country's remotest regions, where he regularly treks to source tribal art.

Located in a 200-year-old Portuguese mansion, Sangolda is the lifestyle boutique venture by the dynamic duo behind the boutique hotel Nilaya Hermitage; here you can shop for unusual home accessories and furniture sourced from all over India -- from rattan loungers from Kerala to Rajasthani chests.