This coming tourism season, Ashvem and Junaswaddo, two wards of Mandrem that kiss the coastline passing through the village, appear set to welcome domestic tourists and let the Russians drive by.
Once wards that offered homestay facilities for foreigners and later for domestic tourists, development close to the beach, with clean rooms and uninterrupted views of the waves breaking on the shore, has led to inquiries from domestic tourists.
Ashvem has three high-end restaurants within metres of each other, a first for the village, and a handful of hotels offering the best in comfort, also just meters away from each other.
“There has been a lot of development in our ward because many people have sold their land and gone abroad or settled in other parts of Goa. Businessmen from India have different concepts that are new to us and that explains the change in the ward,” observes Sarita Pereira, who has decided that her swansong will be in her village.
The ward has two retail liquor outlets, again neighbouring each other, and business for both is good.
“Apart from tourists expected to come and stay here, we have plenty of tourists passing through, on their way to Arambol or Morjim,” explains retailer Clifford.
“The season should pick up within a month, though one can notice a lot of traffic even now. Much of the crowd these days is of people who have come to enjoy the Independence Day break,” reasons Britto, who runs a rent-a-bike business.
“The demand for bikes has increased in the last two days,” offers Britto as he services one of his bikes. “I have regulars, but I expect the bikes to be more on demand closer to Independence Day and after,” adds Britto who expects a ‘boom’ this season.
Once the haunt of Russians, Ashvem is now the favourite beach for domestic tourists, especially the affluent, and that explains the appearance of the high-end restaurants.
“We have our in-house clients, though walk-ins are always welcome. We normally cater to the tastes of our clients,” suggests Swaroop, the manager of one of the new restaurants.
High-end clients are reflected by the top of line vehicles that can now be seen parked along the coastline or near the hotels.
“The traffic has definitely increased, but fortunately, we have not seen any accidents. As long as they drive carefully, it does not matter,” says a local, Pedro, as he sips a beer early in the evening.
“Most people come to enjoy the beach. And now, that enjoyment is going to be topped with the presence of these restaurants. We lacked a proper eating place for a while,” admits Pedro.
The people of the ward are not disturbed by the absence of Russians, but a few still mourn the departure of English tourists. For them, they had become family, and that bond snapped after the English could not manage the Russian noise.
“The Indians started coming during the Covid-19 pandemic, and they have not been bad. They were not big spenders at first, but gradually, the big spenders started falling in love with the place and hence the flush of money,” thinks Fatima, who still distills caju the traditional way.
The British came and went, the Russians saw and made a big noise, now the Indians are set to come and make Ashvem a luxurious home for themselves.