Backpacking in India/Nepal

Sev

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to India this summer in September for about a month (maybe longer). I'd like to see as much of the country as possible and visit Nepal also, not necessarily staying in any particular place too long. I'm just wondering if theres any one out there who's trekked around india before and has some advice to give. What route did you take? where did you fly in and out of? what particularly cool stuff did you get up to? and what places would you reccommend visiting and avoiding. Also, how did you do most of your travelling? train? flights? how long does it take to get from place to place, and how much time did you spend in each area.

I know thats an awful lot of questions, but id be very grateful if anybody could lend some friendly advice. I'm in the very early development stages of planning a trip and I don't know an awful lot about the country, and how to best travel around it. So I think the best way to go about it at the moment is to appeal to others to share their own experience.

Thanks,
Steve.

PunyHuman

I'm no expert, but I think you'll love the place, or hate it. Some hate it because travelling there is difficult and frustrating sometimes; you get very little personal space; you might get sick; and it's stinking hot and dirty in places. But most people seem to love it because it's such an intoxicating immersion in totally different cultures, histories, religions, foods and societies. My favourite thing about India is that so many people are so desperately poor, but they're always smiling and friendly nonetheless. Travelling in India should be mandatory for all us decadent Westerners.

First off, a month isn't a very long time. You might want to confine your travelling to, say, the north or the south, so you can spend a comfortable amount of time in a dozen or so places without having to move on constantly. That said, you could easily spend a couple of weeks in the south and then fly up north. My two trips have been to the north, so my comments are biased in that regard.

First trip Mumbai - Aurangabad - Ahmedabad - Udaipur - Jodhpur - Jaisalmer - Jaipur - Agra - Varanasi - Haridwar - Rishikesh - Nainital - Corbett Park - Delhi. Second trip Hyderabad - Indore - Mandu - Bhopal - Jhansi - Khajuraho - Orchha - Delhi.

Highlights are hard to pick but if forced I'd say Jaisalmer, Varanasi, Corbett Park, Mandu and Orchha. But then again, I prefer dusty hills and crumbling palaces to palm trees and beaches. Depends on what you're into. There wasn't anywhere I didn't like particularly but Ahmedabad was a little too hectic for me, and Agra seemed awfully grim except for the Taj.

I'd recommend spending at least three full days in any one place in order to get a feel for it. Larger cities may need more time, if you can stand it. If you're hightailing it around the place, it might be a good idea to head to a quiet rural spot every few weeks where you can sit and read and recharge before hitting the road again.

You can easily get by spending €10 a day or less. Depends on your style of travel and the amount of beer you drink. The fact that many people can speak English is very handy.

The trains are the way to travel although you can get cheap internal flights which cost roughly €100 per 1000km. Train and bus journeys take forever but are - often in retrospect - great atmospheric experiences (as long as you don't get killed).

Feel free to PM if you have questions. I can't stop talking about the place anyway as you might have guessed

bittihuduga

I am from south India. if you need any specific guidance about south india, feel free to ask me.

bearaman

Totally agree with poster # 1. A month isn't a long time in India/Nepal. My advice would be to select an area that interest you and spend most of your time there. You can always go back. I did some trekking in the Annapurnas in Nepal and it still stands out as one of the highlights of my travelling life. If you're into mountains in any way, head for Nepal. Varnasai in India is incredible if you want to get a taste of Hinduism and temples. I'd suggest land in Delhi, quick stop at Agra to visit Taj, train to Varanasi, tough bus (or easy flight) to Kathmandu. From there, you can hit the mountains. I think that took me about a month. I have a travelogue with videos and photos on www.bearaman.com if you want to take a look.
Enjoy. I'm very jealous :-)
Bearaman