Mumbai or Delhi first? Need advice!

stephwalsh

Hi

Myself and the hubby are planning to head to India for a weeks next April as part of our travel around Asia before we hit Oz for a year -

hoping to get feedback on where people think we should go first - Delhi or Mumbai?

Reason I ask is because I've heard Delhi can be quite a culture shock so therefore Mumbai might be a better option for a first time traveller to India.

Conscious of the fact that Delhi is hotting up in April so we're hoping to get there as soon as we can into the month in the hope that it won't have boiled over completely.

Any advice/comments welcome,

Thanks

Steph*

beagle001

India will be a culture shock full stop,only been to mumbai and I was not very impressed by the airport first of allbut then you just settle in.
Its an eye opener and all I say pack norfloxicin in your bag an imodium as there is a good chance you will need it along the way.
Enjoy the experience after you get used to the hassling it is an interesting country.
Really depends where yee want to travel in the country and choose the city closest its all hectic.

stephwalsh

Thanks for that - I think we are going to head straight to Delhi as the weather is hotting up there at that time so the sooner we get there the better.

I am expecting the culture shock to be fairly hard hitting but have heard lots of people rave about India so am looking forward to it.

Thanks a mil

dory

I lived in Delhi for 3 (summer) months. It really wasn't that hot. But maybe I'm just used to it. It's a dry heat which I found way easier than Kolkata's humidity. How long are you in India for?

I've never been to Mumbai but for me Delhi is far more western than the rest of the country. I would always say Delhi last but only because people go to the Taj from there and you need your wits about you for that. If you've just arrived in India you'll get ripped off like mad at the Taj. If you know water shouldn't cost 3 Euro you'll be fine and can haggle.

madrabui

Mumbai or Delhi – it depends on where you want to go/see. If you were thinking of going to Goa then Mumbai would be the logical choice. For Jaipur and Agra you would fly into Delhi.

What do you want to see/do?

Check out the book - "A girls' guide to India - a survivor's handbook". It's full of practical information.

kraggy

Anyone been there recently? Was gonna go there on my last trip but ended up going to SE Asia instead.

How much for:

Basic room (not a hole though)
Bottle of Beer
Pack of cigs
Basic lunch but safe to eat
12 hour bus journey

Thanks,

K.

dory

kraggy wrote: »

Anyone been there recently? Was gonna go there on my last trip but ended up going to SE Asia instead.

How much for:

Basic room (not a hole though)
Bottle of Beer
Pack of cigs
Basic lunch but safe to eat
12 hour bus journey

Thanks,

K.

Not sure how recent you want but I spent the summers of '05, '06, '08 and '09 there. Bare in mind prices differ from city to city. Kolkata was very cheap, Delhi not so cheap. I think Mumbai is even more expensive.

Room - Most expensive I had was €20. Average when backpacking was €5 for non-AC, €10 for AC. Obviously if you want you can get one for €200. Or €2. Completely depends on what you want. Work put me up in a nice one last year that was €50.

Beer - I remember a Bacardi Breezer was 130 Rupess (€2). That was in a posh bar in Kolkata. You could get a beer for €1 in a not so posh place.

Cigs - 100 Rupees (c. €1.70)

Basic lunch - you could always get Subway sub of the month for less than a Euro. (Note I said sub of the MONTH -gets very boring very fast!). I remember 6 of us had a lovely lunch in Kolkata for €6 (for all of us). Normal in Cal was 1-2 Euro. And they're grand safe places.

Bus - Never took a bus sorry! I'm sure you can get lots of info on Indiamike.com

Also, Kolkata and Delhi are very touristy, hence why I could eat at McDonalds and Subway. But when I was down south in rural Karnataka it was all very spicey traditional food. Even my friends from Delhi couldn't eat it. So all this advice may be totally different if you go to a city I haven't been to.

kraggy

dory wrote: »

Not sure how recent you want but I spent the summers of '05, '06, '08 and '09 there. Bare in mind prices differ from city to city. Kolkata was very cheap, Delhi not so cheap. I think Mumbai is even more expensive.

Room - Most expensive I had was €20. Average when backpacking was €5 for non-AC, €10 for AC. Obviously if you want you can get one for €200. Or €2. Completely depends on what you want. Work put me up in a nice one last year that was €50.

Beer - I remember a Bacardi Breezer was 130 Rupess (€2). That was in a posh bar in Kolkata. You could get a beer for €1 in a not so posh place.

Cigs - 100 Rupees (c. €1.70)

Basic lunch - you could always get Subway sub of the month for less than a Euro. (Note I said sub of the MONTH -gets very boring very fast!). I remember 6 of us had a lovely lunch in Kolkata for €6 (for all of us). Normal in Cal was 1-2 Euro. And they're grand safe places.

Bus - Never took a bus sorry! I'm sure you can get lots of info on Indiamike.com

Also, Kolkata and Delhi are very touristy, hence why I could eat at McDonalds and Subway. But when I was down south in rural Karnataka it was all very spicey traditional food. Even my friends from Delhi couldn't eat it. So all this advice may be totally different if you go to a city I haven't been to.

Thanks Dory!

Sounds like it's almost as cheap as some places in SE Asia so, which is good to hear. Next time I go backpacking, it'll definitely be to India.

Hopefully not too far way either!

madrabui

kraggy wrote: »

Anyone been there recently? Was gonna go there on my last trip but ended up going to SE Asia instead.

How much for:

Basic room (not a hole though)
Bottle of Beer
Pack of cigs
Basic lunch but safe to eat
12 hour bus journey

Thanks,

K.

Mumbai is very expensive compared to the countryside. Just get out of the cities as fast as you can. It also depends on your defintion of 'not a hole'. For Mumbai I'd budget for about €60.

breadmonkey

Mumbai, definitely. It's more expensive but not quite insane as Delhi, has better nightlife and is just a "nicer" place imo.