India [Travel]

2012 Feb 20
So I'm considering India for the summer. I have two old friends there that I would be able to hang out with in New Delhi. I've been considering India for a long time.

So for those of you who have been. What were the best parts? The worst parts?


2012 Feb 20
I was in India last year backpacking for 1 month and loved it!

You might want to mention youre interest and how long you will be in India.

I would recommend purchasing a lonely planet India book.

2012 Feb 20
Cool.

Well the obvious interest is the food..I love love Indian food. How different is Indian food in India to what we get here? It says you love street food and I know they have a good scene there especially I think in Mumbai? Is it safe to eat? How can you tell?

I am big on culture travel. Curious to see a different way of life and all their beliefs and take part in some of that. I'd love to give their kinds of meditation a try. I'm very open to taking part in different things but don't have a total idea of what's fun to try.

Love to get a chance to meet people there and have fun. I'm sure that will be much easier because of the friends I already have there.

And finally I love to relax. I know most of India is fast and busy..and I don't mind that..but are there a lot of places to just relax and take picture of natural beauty. I love just nice naturally beautiful places to relax and take pictures.

In terms of budget, I would be looking at $1000-1200 for the month I'd like to stay. What could that get me accomodation wise, food wise, (not looking to pay anything for group tours or too much for getting into certain places)


2012 Feb 20
You will need to decide if you want to do the North or South since you only have 1 month. There are popular routes that most travelers do...

I landed in Delhi and went West toward the Desert in the city of Jaisalmer where i did the camel tour in the Thar Desert and came back east visiting big and small cities until i reached Agra (Taj Mahal). I took a flight to Varanasi (Holy city) My favorite city...the place for meditation. If you like hiking you should consider crossing to Nepal...very popular route for backpackers.

The food trough out the trip was amazing...i have never travelled and ate such incredible foods for super cheap. The flavours makes all the diffirence. We couldnt believe it...

Most of my trip was done by train which is the best way of transportation.

You might want to verify when the season of rains and plan your trip from there.

I didnt have time to visit Mumbai and Goa (Beaches) and Kerala popular south destinations.

You should check out Indiamike.com, The site to go for info on India.

You can email me instead if you have questions regarding your trip.

Hostels are very cheap and they all have restaurants where you can get meals for 3$ usually.

You have lots of reading to do so get to it. Tripadvisor and Lonely planet websites are very information too.

One suggestion would be to book your train tickets 3 months in advance...they sell very fast.

franky_fishy@hotmail.com

Cheers.

2012 Feb 22
Have you checked out the weather for the Summer, I was in India as part of my "gap year" activities, spent 3 months there and 1 month in Nepal. Highly recommend this! Experience of a lifetime! We arrived in January and left in end of April or so. I would imagine that climate would be a HUGE concern. One of the last places we visited was Benares/Varanasee (Ganges River) and it was extremely hot, like 40oC and this was in the Spring. From about 10 am - 4 pm all we could do was lie on our bed and watch the ceiling fan, hoping this would cool us down! From what I remember, there are recommended months to travel, i.e., Nov - April. I think the one exception might be in the Jammu and Kashmiri regions and Kulu valley. My info may be a bit fuzzy as this was "a few" years ago. At the time, the Lonely Planet book was the ultimate guidebook/bible!

I must have been a foodie at the time of this travel even though I didn't know it as I really had very little knowledge of the country or this region of the world, only thing I knew was that I LOVED Indian food so when a friend asked me to travel with her in India, I jumped at the opportunity!


2012 Feb 24
If you want to taste really good Indian food suggest you do Old Delhi. Check out the blog Eat and Dust. It is from a British lady who has settled in India and has probably tried every place in old Delhi. She knows a lot of Indian food writers and they are constantly looking for new and interesting indian food places. She is very accomodating. When I was planning on going I had asked her if she would take me around to all the best places she knows of. She happily agreed although I ended up not going because of work.

Stay away from fresh fruits and vegetables from street vendors unless you are going to be peeling these items yourself. For other street foods there are a number of restaurants that are now offering this so the chances of getting something are much less.

Enjoy your trip, keep an open mind and tell us all about it when you are back.

2012 Feb 24
Make sure before you go, get all the necessary medical shots. You may have to go for 2 or 3 rounds to be fully vacinated so I would start now before you head out. You will find the airports and travel around any parts of India to be busy and slow. Its an amazing place and amazing foods. Try to stay clear of some of the street vendors and stick with regular dining spots for health safety. Just some advise from my many business trips to India. Have a good trip