India

dearg lady

I'm hoping to get away for a time this summer, and I'm not sure where to go, India is somewhere I've always felt drawn to, but truthfully know very little about it! I wonder if anyone could give me general thoughts, where's good to go, costs, etc. I'll check out Lonely Planet too, but looking for more personal experiences here I guess, ta!

diywoman1

Me and My partner were plannig to go in July but turned out we could not go anyhow..:mad:

Whilst we were thinking of going, We saw a very cheap flight deal from London to Mumbai for 315 pounds (6 weeks) and would recommend you to check www.southalltravel.co.uk as they do very cheap deals.

From Mumbai, travel to Pune then go to cowpatty then go further down and you will get to Goa then down on then go to south East, then get train back to Mumbai to catch the flight.

Make sure you print out the train timetables before you fly to India, otherwise you might not understand once your there esepcially in a different society! Check out this website..

indiarailinfo.com/train/timetable


Make sure you get the trains during the travel so you meet people and see places as you go pass.... it is brill! The timetable will help you to understand where you could go on train and check out the details of its location on internet - simple!

Apparently West India is meant to be beautiful and less tourism. You wil get to meet real people in real villages and you will not be disappointed!

Have a great time!!! jealous here! one day! :)

Gaz

I spent 3 months backpacking my way around India and it is a fasinating country. Be warned though it is tough travel, can be shocking, dirty and over crowded but also very rewarding.

The following where highlights for me ...

The Taj, Agra ... stunningly beautiful and not to be missed.
Darjeeling, this is up north near Nepal and very different to down south, great food , great people and amazing scenery ... also did a week long trek from here into Nepal to see Everest.
Varanasi is eh ... well, quite the experience. A boat trip on the Ganges first thing in the morning past the funeral ghats is something I will never forget, unfortnately you may see some stomach turning stuff also.( decomposing bodies etc)
Calcutta ... really enjoyed it here depite the overwhelming poverty.
Kerela is nice , back water cruises etc
And finish up in Goa for a bit of a holiday

Train travel is cool too, very slow but you get to mix with the locals and share food etc.

Any questions just ask and i'll do my best.

dearg lady

Thanks for replies. I am kinda worried that I might find it a bit overwhelming. I've travelled some around SE Asia, but India, well India is unlike anythign else I suppose! I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for it, weighing up my options at the moment

I heard a figure of around 600 a month being enough to live on, would you say this is right? Also is it easy to meet people, other backpackers? I've found the people you meet, as well as places you see can really make or break a trip!

What time of year did you go? I seem to prefer low season most places, I'm willing to put up with crazy weather with the knowledge that everything will be less busy

breadmonkey

€600 is more than enough; it's a very cheap country. I honestly don't think the LP for India will help very much in the initial planning stages because it's as thick as a phonebook.

And don't expect it to be anything like SE Asia!

dearg lady

yeah, LP books are ridiculous, they should sell them in volumes lol. Will wait til I make my decision before getting any books. Living cheaply is pretty important on this trip, (did someone say recession??! ) am also considering back to SE Asia, still so much I haven't seen, or South/Central America. it's a tough decision lol

dory

I've spent four summer in India although I was volunteering not travelling so I only have limited knowledge of trains and stuff.

On the LP issue, I think downloading certain chapters is the only way to go. Put them on an itouch or print them or something, the whole book is about as heavy as your luggage should be.

About luggage, you absolutely have to pack light. I really mean it. I've seen so many people struggle in the heat and crowds because of backpacks. There will be a lot of occasions that you won't be able to have your luggage with you if it's too big, and people in train stations take it off you to help you out (for a fee) but this can scare travellers who like to keep their own stuff. Travellers in India are a lot less image conscious than SE Asia I think, just wear the same clothes over and over, you'll pick up great stuff along the way for a euro. You won't want to wear your Irish clothes because they'll seem very boring very soon.

If you're on a budget I think India is perfect. Flights to other places I think you mentioned are more and India is cheaper in general.

As regards a route. I can't decide whether you should start or finish in Delhi, maybe both. It's such a big country that it would make more sense to fly in one end and out the other. Starting in Delhi has the advantage of flying into a developed enough city, it'll break you in easier. Maybe Mumbai, the only other real option from Europe on the cheap, would also give you this. I don't know Mumbai as well. Finishing in Delhi allow you do Agra and the Taj last which I think is important. It's the biggest tourist trap I've ever seen, souvenirs are 10 times more expensive than the same stuff in Delhi, and in general you need your wits about you to have an enjoyable day. You won't have this at the start if you've never been there before.

I've never done the travelling thing, I've worked in Delhi, Kolkata and Shillong (the last is in the north east - incredible tribal culture and scenery but bit more difficult to navigate as they're not prepared for tourists at all). I would highly recommend all of those places,

Think about the North/South divide in India also. In the south the food is spicier and I found it harder to eat, but advantages are the greater development down there makes things a bit easier for a weary traveller. North has the Hindi belt, so if you learn a bit and I recommend you do, you'll get around in many states. In the South you'll be switching language more often. Well, every state has a different language but at least on the Hindi belt you're more likely to find people who at least have it as a second language.

Trains are great, but don't forget India has many low cost airlines if you really need to jump around. Also, my colleagues who were always better at travelling than me went to Rajastan and were blown away. Also, Manali and around there is an adventure sports place. Darjeeling also gets great reviews.

Lastly weather. It's no joke, it's bloody hot in summer. Check the weather forecast before booking! HAve fun.

Civilian_Target

One interesting thing you can do... buy a rickshaw and drive it from one end of India to the other! There's an English company that organises groups to do this 3 times a year. It certainly means you'll get up close and personal with the country.

breadmonkey

Civilian_Target wrote: »

One interesting thing you can do... buy a rickshaw and drive it from one end of India to the other! There's an English company that organises groups to do this 3 times a year. It certainly means you'll get up close and personal with the country.

I met an English couple in Thailand who drove a rickshaw from Goa to Darjeeling and to be honest, I simply could not imagine anything more stressful or dangerous! The infrastructure in India is amazing for tourists and one of its biggest pluses as a destination imo. I saw you did that drive through Africa but really, do you think you'd enjoy doing something like that in India?! Definitely wouldn't be my cup of tea.

Also, to the OP. I would recommend flying into Mumbai if you can. I somehow managed to end up in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta on my trip and enjoyed Mumbai the most by far. I think it would be the "easiest" city to begin your India experience.

Amazotheamazing

Good sites for booking internal flights and trains are yatra.com and cleartrip.com. Very handy and takes all the hassle out of booking trains, on the otherhand, some of the fun of India is dealing with the hassle of booking trains, but too much of it can go from fun to stress. The train system is great, ended up using most classes from sleeper up, don't think I'd recommend anything below sleeper class (I'm sure some people would though) from what I saw of it, but sleeper is fine if a little cramped and everything up from it is nice.

Whereever you go, when you arrive, go to the PREPAID taxi counter if there's one, in most big towns and cities there is one. Otherwise you're leaving yourself open to be scammed.

enjoy

dearg lady

thanks for all the advice. Have requested time off work so fingers crossed!!