Where Bob Marley is God: Goa is the ultimate hippy hangout

It is strange how geeks who believe in reincarnation always claim to have been a leader or a hero in a former life.

The chances are if they did have a previous existence they would have been exactly the same dweeb with the same pipe cleaner arms. No VC, no army under their command and no castle with a moat.

Beautiful beach: Anjuna, Goa at high tide. It is busy yes, dirty in places, but also wonderful

They would most likely have worked on the railways, in a factory or a similar important job - but one that is wholly lacking in glamour.

"Reincarnation" for these people is solely a means to inflate their self-importance. But that's just my view.

In Goa you meet some truly odd individuals.

One German we met called Markus ("that is Markus vith a K") was holidaying with his girlfriend while his wife stayed at home with their child. Charming.

He was a writer (sorry "vriter") in touch with his spiritual side and sported a ponytail.

Kelly-Ann relaxes in a huge restaurant chair as we looked out over the beach

Markus, with his pipe cleaner arms, told us with total sincerity that after 500 years floating round the universe he had finally been reincarnated in 1981.

In his previous life he was a warrior who had slain hundreds of men, he explained as he puffed his chest up.

Of course he was.

Welcome to Goa, the land where Bob Marley truly is God and the sun never sets on the psychedelic 1970s.

Dirty black sand and two cows sitting on the beach. This is India

This is a place where the beach bars stay open until 4am and the partygoers keep themselves going with "herbal remedies" you can't buy in Boots.

Some of the modern day hippies who sport dreadlocks, tattoos and a vest top will undoubtedly grow up a few years from now. They'll get a job in banking and live in an ordinary commuter town. Some will even read Her Majesty's Daily Telegraph.

But hey, this is India, and selling out is for the future.

Goa is home to some truly astonishing beaches and areas of it remain undeveloped.

Yet they are beaches with India's own very unique characteristics.

You'll be sipping a cold beer (90pence a pint) on one of the sun loungers when a cow will run along the beach being chased by a stray dog.

A less busy golden section of beach around five miles along the coast at Calungate, Goa

Beautiful: The beach at Calungate, Goa

You don't get that in Bognor.

Parts of the beach are also very dirty.

But when you look past this, what you have is a brilliant bit of coastline and the ultimate relaxing break.

Other parts of the coast are lined with cheap hotels where retired couples from Yorkshire stay to actually get some sun.

Of course, they go beetroot red the instant they step outside because they're so unused to the big glowing ball in the sky.

In the evenings, they'll sit in the local restaurants and berate the waiters for "taking so long to serve the beer it will be warm".

They're angry because "last night the vegetables were cold and you really need to do better". And they're foaming at the mouth furious that all their starters didn't arrive at the same time.

I swim in the sea

They moan that service is so much better back home, all the time going ever redder.

After this "debacle of a night out" they'll settle their tiny £8 bill for an enormous meal washed down with lashings of alcohol. But they won't leave a tip because of the "bad service".

As sure as night follows day, they'll be back at the same table at the same time tomorrow. And they'll say exactly the same rude things to the waiters.

With manners like that it is little wonder we prefer hanging out with the hippies.

Even if their claims about reincarnation are laughable.