India -Delhi Where to stay?

Brian Griffin

Hi,
Myself and three others are heading to India for three months and will be travleing around the place, backpacking of course. We'll be flying in and out of Delhi.

If anyone knows whats the best area of Delhi to stay in and maybe a few names
of hotels?

Any help would be great.

Thanks,

PunyHuman

The district called Paharganj is backpacker central. It's just opposite the New Delhi railway station and within walking distance of Connaught Place, so it's pretty convenient. Plenty of westerners and their attendant touts and hawkers. There are dozens of cheap hotels around. Anyone who tries to sell you anything here is trying to rip you off.

I've stayed in the Rak International on Tooti Chowk in Paharganj a couple of times and it's been great - good value, really friendly Nepalese staff, relatively quiet, beer available on the q-t, and a decent rooftop. The place is listed in the Rough Guide; I don't know about the Lonely Planet. Some of the other places are complete fleapits.

If you're flying into Delhi I would highly recommend booking a room beforehand and getting the hotel to pick you up. The Rak will do this for you.

Any other questions just ask.

Wishbone Ash

It can be quite intimidating arriving at Indira Ghandi Airport. You need to be very assertive especially if travelling by taxi. Many will insist on bringing you to a hotel of their choice (commission for the driver) and will tell you that the one you have chosen is closed/flooded/has rats etc.

PunyHuman

Precisely why you should get your hotel to pick you up. They'll probably only charge about Rs 200 - 500 (~€3.50 - €8.50).

Wishbone Ash

PunyHuman wrote:

They'll probably only charge about Rs 200 - 500 (~€3.50 - €8.50).

Jesus, inflation! When I was last there I was paying R50 for a room for the night.

PunyHuman

Sorry, I meant that they'll charge you that for the airport pickup.

You can still get rooms - or dorms, more likely - for Rs 50, I'm sure; it's just a matter of how much you're willing to slum it. I was paying Rs250 in the Rak for an AC room with cable TV and hot water.

I was in India in Jan 05 and again last month, and in the intervening period prices had gone up 25% on average, except for bottled water and smokes. So yeah, it's not as cheap as it was, but still ludicrously cheap.

Brian Griffin

Thanks for the info,
I'll check out the place, i'm used to how places Like india are like but I expact it to be a bit more hassle then the other places i've been to.