going to India, any suggestions

johnny168

i'm going to india for the month of november. going to fly in and out of delhi, and travel by train pretty much in a lap of the country. Anywhere, apart from the taj mahal that i absolutely have to see????

bittihuduga

visit rajasthan..very hot but very royal.
if you want to see what most hippys do in india then goto GOA.
dec is the best season but nov will not be bad too.

if you want to see some old palaces, old architecture from 15-16 century visit karnataka state.if you want to enjoy beautiful lakes, trees, boat houses visit kerala
there are plenty of temples in india but not sure if it is any good to you.

Fr Tod Umptious

I would recommend the Golden Temple of Amritsar

teh Taj Malhal is amazing, but at the end of the day it is a tomb.

The Golden Temple on the other hand is the holiest place in the Sigh religion and is a living, working temple.

While in Amritsar take a cab out to the border closing cermony at teh Pakistan border, great fun

johnny168

thanks for the help. its pretty daunting trying to pick out what to see in such a big country. i will certainly go and see some temples, but i want to see lakes and trees as well and palaces. i guess i kind of want to see it all.

how safe is it? i'm by myself, 31, pretty well built. apart from pickpockets etc what else should i look out for?

bittihuduga

johnny168 wrote: »

how safe is it? i'm by myself, 31, pretty well built. apart from pickpockets etc what else should i look out for?

look out for hot indian girls...they love well built men:D

bittihuduga

johnny168 wrote: »

thanks for the help. its pretty daunting trying to pick out what to see in such a big country. i will certainly go and see some temples, but i want to see lakes and trees as well and palaces. i guess i kind of want to see it all.

tomb - taj mahal, qutub minar
historical places - hampi
palaces - rajasthan, mysore palace
temples, golden temple, tirupathi (2nd highest revenue generator in world in a day)
forest - corbett national park, nagarhole national park
water - kerala, ooty
drinks - goa
plenty more but this is enough i guess

Boca

bittihuduga wrote: »

tomb - taj mahal, qutub minar
historical places - hampi
palaces - rajasthan, mysore palace
temples, golden temple, tirupathi (2nd highest revenue generator in world in a day)
forest - corbett national park, nagarhole national park
water - kerala, ooty
drinks - goa
plenty more but this is enough i guess

i'd also add mumbai and rishikesh/haridwar to that

consider taking an internal flight or two to free up time if budget allows (eg Delhi - Kochin)

Peppapig

Oh the excitement, Can I come?;)

Boca

johnny168 wrote: »

how safe is it? i'm by myself, 31, pretty well built. apart from pickpockets etc what else should i look out for?

there are so many scams it's impossible to list them all...

for example, going to the rail booking office in New Delhi station (the booking office for foreigners) you will meet touts who may tell you that the office is closed/burnt down/moved... they will then offer to take you to an alternative office (a private 'travel agent')

it can be frustrating having to constantly deal with that sort of thing but if you keep your head screwed on you'll be grand

Richard Roma

Varanasi is well-worth a visit. It's arguably India's most historic city, the burning ghats there are the strangest things I've ever seen

johnny168

guys

thanks for all your great advice and suggestions. makes my life an awful lot easier. i'll let you know how i get on.

arag

i just thought i should warn you that trains in india are of varying standards. I am indian, but haven't travelled much by train. however i do know that shatabdi express is a good one to take, so if you have a choice, take that one.

i'd also suggest you see the south of india. it has a completely different atmosphere, and is known to be a friendlier part.
kerala is a good place to visit.

also, if a taxi driver or anyone else quotes you a price, offer them half of that. (you'll still be overpaying:P)

johnny168

thanks again for everything. I will be travelling by train all around the country. i was going to go 2nd class sleeper as most of my journeys will be very long. i am going to bring a little padlock for locking my bag to me or something at night. i know i'll need to keep my wits about me on the train, because i could lose everything. i'll be heading south for the last 3 weeks, to kerala and pondicherry and a few other places down there, and yes, i'm going to get some sun for 2 days in goa, although if there's a nicer beach option than this, i will certainly go there instead.