Jive and jazz at the Goa Carnival Festival 2011

The mesmerizing sands of time in Goa are a sure treat for all those looking forward to spend quality refreshing time. Goa, long known as the paradise for tourists, has carved itself a prominent position in the history of tourism. The sunrise and the sunset at the beautiful beaches, the wine and the dine at exotic locations serving you with the best and the novel, the party flavors that makes you night and day happening and much more lures the traveler to Goa.

The Goans have inherited a lot of their merry-making from the Portuguese culture making it a culmination of both foreign and Indian culture. The ambience embracing people from all cultures and countries makes every tourist feel at home in Goa. Keeping this in mind, the tourism industry has been constantly promoting Goa providing comfortable stay and various activities to keep the visitor’s interest glued to the place. The Goans are famous for their hospitality that adds to the fun during your stay there.

Do you love taking a break and making merry? Did you just say, ‘Oh God, who doesn’t love it’? Then you are totally the person who would enjoy watching the enchanting parades, dancing extravaganza, the ‘tongue-licking’ food and much more of the mesmerizing festivities. The air full of celebration will sweep you off your feet. Yes, I am talking about the festival of Goa, one of the most awaited festivals of the year –the Goa Carnival Festival.

The festival was initially conducted by the Portuguese who ruled Goa for a long time. When they were overthrown, the Goans continued celebrating it adding a little essence of their own culture. The celebrations are a rare sight and cannot be found in any other state of the country. The festival caters to all sections of the society. Whether you are a couple seeking for a romantic holiday or a family wanting to spend some time together or a group of friends excited about your reunion, the festival will give you enough and more opportunities to have fun and celebrate.

During the three day festival, Goans put fancy clothes and dance like the early Romans making the atmosphere jazzy. When you explore the villages of Goa, you could see people dancing around an oil lamp celebrating their version of the Goa Carnival Festival. The villagers relish their own unique way of celebrating the Goa Carnival Festival in their traditional ways. The music from the Spanish guitar and the sound drums will make anyone dance to their tunes. The city becomes lively with fortune tellers, acrobats, clowns and even plays during the three days. Celebrated since the 18^th century, the Goa Carnival Festival starts with the grand entry of King Momo to the streets accompanied by floats and pageants. The whole city turns out to be a playground where people from across the globe pops in to relish the enchanting feel of Goa and its happening events.

Casino Carnival in Goa

So essentially, the Goans will be partying hard for three days non-stop this year from March 5^th to 8^th, 2011. The colourful float parades will be winding through the streets of Panaji, Margao, Vasco and Mapusa as King Momo, leading the celebrations with music, dancing and revelry. The details of Carnival Float Parades are: 5^th March, 2011 – Panaji 6^th March, 2011 – Margao 7^th March, 2011 – Vasco 8^th March, 2011 – Mapusa

Accomodation in Goa

Beach Homes, Candolim, Goa

Since accommodation prices are really high during these days, an affordable solution is the serviced apartments at Dona Paula Apartment and Goa Beach Homes, or homestay at Arco Iris provided by The Other Home. Their warm hospitality and comfort offered will make your Goan experience more memorable.

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Medical Tourism – Answers to Some Frequently Asked Questions

Today, many people travel great distances to exotic locations or health care facilities in faraway countries, in search of medical treatment and care. Medical Tourism is an age-old concept that has gained popularity in the recent times.

Many developing countries are emerging as hot medical tourism destinations capitalizing on low cost advantages and emergence of several private players. 

According to a study report prepared by Research and Markets (Asian Medical Tourism Analysis 2008-2012), the Asian medical tourism industry is growing at a double-digit growth rate. It estimated that Thailand, India, and Singapore controlled more than 90% share of Asia’s medical tourism industry in 2009. India has been envisaged to emerge as the front leader in medical tourism industry, accounting for around 26% of the region’s industry by 2012 capitalizing on competitive advantage in terms of availability of trained doctors and physicians. With economic growth, the medical infrastructure & technology is also improving at a fast pace. Government of India has also boosted private investment in medical facility with the social economic zone (SEZ) in healthcare sector like BioPure Integrated Health SEZ, Realtech Medicity and Mediville Medical City.

India, known so far as an offshore destination for IT and ITeS, would soon emerge as the medical capital of the world. The medical tourism market in India was estimated at $333 million in 2004 and projected to reach $2.3 billion by 2012 (CII & McKinsey Study). India’s forte lies in Dental Tourism. As dental work in India is good, yet economical, dentists receive patronage from people from SAARC region, Middle East Africa and the West; for dental check-up, tartar cleaning and teeth replacement. An extraction in India would cost around $3, whereas the same procedure in US or a European country would cost approx. $100 or €100 respectively.

According to Center for Medical Tourism Research (2010), it was estimated that 1.12 million Americans traveled for medical treatment in 2009, including dental and cosmetic surgery patients but not spa and wellness travellers. The ‘Survey of Health Care Consumers’ done by Deloitte & Touche 2008 (online survey of more than 3,000 Americans) expects medical tourism to grow at a rapid pace over the near future. The key reasons includes increase cost of health care in developed countries, availability of safe and quality care in developing nations with international accreditation from the Joint Commission International (JCI) and others and last but not the least, saving of more than 50% in medical expenses.

Medical Cost Comparison (in %)

(Source: “Patient Beyond Border” by Josef Woodman and Global Benefits Options). Note: Costs are for surgery, including hospital stay only.

On prima facie, Jordan may appear as the cheapest country for medical treatment, followed by Colombia and India. However, different countries have different cost advantages for the medical tourist. It is important for the medical tourist to identify the country which offers clear cost advantages in comparison to other country, offering at par level of services.

Surgery	Cheapest	Second Lowest	Third Lowest
Heart Bypass	India	Jordan	Singapore
Angioplasty	Jordan	Colombia	Thailand
Heart Valve Replacement	India	Colombia	Jordan
Hip Replacement	India	Jordan	Colombia
Hip Resurfacing	India	Jordan	Colombia
Knee Replacement	India	Jordan	Colombia
Spinal Fusion	Mexico	Jordan	India
Dental Implant	Jordan	India	Mexico
Lap Band	Jordan	Colombia	India
Breast Implants	Colombia	Jordan	Costa Rica
Rhinoplasty	Colombia	India	Jordan
Face Lift	Jordan	South Korea	Colombia
Hysterectomy	Colombia	Jordan	Singapore

Although cost of travel or treatment isn’t the first thing that comes to mind while seeking medical care, going abroad for an operation can be a harrowing experience if not organized correctly. With the right planning, it can be an incredibly positive experience. However, there are few inhibitions pertaining to hygiene and infrastructure in third world countries. Some of these issues are due to lack of knowledge about the foreign land and can be resolved through high quality medical or dental care offered by medical tourism agencies.

Seeking medical care is never without concerns whether sought at home or overseas. However, through proper planning and preparation you can get around these concerns and enjoy a happy, safe and successful medical travel experience. Some common issues have been addressed below:

Difficult to Mange Things Directly: Often, patients cannot organize all the tasks themselves like finding top quality hospital and arrange other things. It is always advisable to appoint a medical tourism facilitator specializing in finding top quality hospitals and providing valuable services like detailed information about hospitals and surgeons, online medical records transfer, free surgery quote, pre- and post-consultation with the overseas hospital, medical and dental loan financing, immigration document services like passport and visa acquisition, airport pick-up and drop-off, hospital escort, language translation, air tickets booking, travel insurance, hotel booking, tourism services in the destination country, feedback and testimonials from previous patients, and many more.

Simplified information of medical services: Awareness of medical procedures, medico-legal law and accreditation systems, pre-and postoperative arrangements are of utmost importance. This requires the medical tourism facilitators to have a basic understanding of the medical subject so that they can confidently explain their offered services with all the technical details, thereby providing better medical/healthcare experience. Tie ups with prominent doctors, experts in various fields, leading hospitals and nursing homes are mandatory aspects of the medical tourism agency.

Unfamiliarity with the Overseas Provider: Travelers may feel lack of confidence in obtaining medical care in an unknown land with unfamiliar rules & regulations. This is a practical problem and has a logical solution too. Patients should spend some time and collect information like hospital profile, its accreditations and affiliations, facilities available, surgeon qualifications, ask for previous patient testimonials, and so on. Patient can contact some medical tourism facilitators to provide these details.

Follow-up care in the Foreign Land: Aftercare is very important for a patient, especially when one is in a foreign land, away from your family and friends. The advantage in new medical tourism destination countries is that foreign patients can stay for longer duration in the hospital without causing much financial burden. The patient can recover under the full supervision of the physicians and medical staff and be in touch with the local surgeons after going back to his native country.  It is always important to remain connected with local providers at home for any follow-up care needed.

Physical Distance: The physical distance between the home country and host country, where the patient is looking to avail medical services is very important as it is often difficult for the patient to take long flights after treatment. The practical solution is that the patient can choose a destination which is closer to his home country and secondly, travelers can keep some extra budget for flights so that one may avail the comfort of business class travel, at least for the return leg of the journey.

Away from Family and Friends: Patients in foreign countries are also concerned about the absence of family and friends at times when one needs them the most. It is always advisable to plan a medical treatment trip with a companion. This will ensure that you feel comfortable in the company of your companion in the foreign country. Now days, it is possible to remain connected back home through revolutional communication mediums such as internet, calling cards, video conference and emails. In medical tourism countries, you can avail the service of personal attendant at a reasonable cost.

Local Accommodation for Longer Treatment: In certain cases, the patients are required to stay for longer duration in the host country. In these cases, it is difficult to stay in a good hotel for longer stretch as it will burn a big hole in your pocket. The solution to this problem is staying in a service apartment, villa or home stay. It is not only economical but also ensures that the patient gets full comfort, individual care and privacy round the clock. It is possible to use the furnished kitchen to cook the food as per the patient’s preference and requirement of the medical prescription. Also, once the patient has recovered fairly, some trips may be organized for upliftment of his spirits and complete recovery after seeking medical consultation.

Weak or Malpractice Laws: Legal system in the emerging medical tourism destination countries is perhaps the black sheep in these developing countries leaving foreign patients with little or no legal help available in case of any medical problem. However, the best way to minimize this risk is to avail only high quality healthcare services and select healthcare service providers only after checking the track records. So, if you have selected the right provider and surgeon after thorough research, you will definitely get quality services.

If you want to be notified next time, subscribe to the RSS feed or say hello via Twitter @theotherhome. You can plan your dream holiday with us, visit The Other Home.