India

India is packed with amazing things to see, but it's a huge country and it just isn't possible to see everything you'd like. You'll have to stick to a region if you want to be able to see anything enjoyably, and/or book domestic flights. The Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra, and Rajasthan is highly recommended, but you can easily drop Rajasthan and add Amristsar and Varanasi instead.

Visas:

Obtaining the visa is pretty easy. You can send your visa application to the consulate in Osaka and get it back within a week - fast and easy. If in a rush, contact the consulate beforehand to make sure it isn`t a busy time.

Places to go:

New Delhi

Delhi is quite buzzing. There are some amazing districts with lots of heritage and amazing shopping too.
to see:
Qutb Minar, Red Fort, Hama Masjid, Lotus Temple, Gandhi's tomb, etc,

Amritsar

About a 6-10 hour train ride from New Delhi, maybe overnight trains. Amritsar has many fantastic things to see and so warrants a few days stay, and make sure to see it at every time of day. You can stay there for a pittance, and eating food with thousands of other people is a joy.

to see:
The Golden Temple - totally amazing. Open 24 hours. You can stay within the grounds of the temple for next to nothing. They may ask you to make a donation of US$2 or so. You can also eat at the temple for free - they feed tens of thousands of people everyday for free. People working in the kitchens are all volunteers and you can volunteer too. Try to be in the temple for the closing ceremony - it is a spectacular event.
Also visit the Hindu version of the Golden Temple, the gardens of where an awful massacre took place and also some of the hidden shops in tiny little streets close by.

Agra

Do NOT take a rickshaw right from the station, walk about a km out then pick one up for a price 1/10 of what they ask at the station (but still quadruple the real price).
to see:
The Taj Mahal
Fatehpur Sikri

Varanasi

Put aside at least a couple of days to see everything. It's a great place to celebrate New Year. It looks spectacular in the night but be careful about your money, purse or any other expensive items and beware of the touts! Also be careful if you travel during night time!!

Hyderabad

A good stopping over spot from Varanasi (an overnight train journey), though not much to do for more than one day.

Chennai

The train ride from Agra/Varanasi to Chennai is about 40 hours. If yo must go there, fly from Delhi or Varanasi. Not much to see or do, especially compared to other cities, so don't spend a great deal of time there.

Trains:

• Travelling on trains is convenient, but very tiring and trains have a tendency to be slow and late. This can hinder travelling plans so don't try to cram too much in.
• When you take trains, buses, etc, be VERY careful with your belongings. Having bags stolen is very common, especially on the overnight transport while you are sleeping. Sometimes the workers on the buses/trains themselves are in on it and if you offer them enough money, they will miraculously "find" your bag somewhere.
• Riding the trains are fun, but wasting 2-3 days on one instead of seeing the sites is a shame. If you feel you have no other option, ride the train straight through. There are plenty of stops (with plenty of time to jump on and off) and you can sleep on the trains but you NEED earplugs, and also a chain and lock for your bag, which you can buy at every train station.
• All the train and bus times are included in the Lonely Planet. You'll need to have these down pat if you want plans to go smoothly. ALWAYS buy your departure ticket as soon as you arrive at your destination (i.e. as soon as you arrive buy your ticket out.) This requires have a detailed schedule ahead of time though.
• Night trains are best since you don't waste valuable site-seeing time.

TOP TIPS:

• It is a huge country and it takes forever to travel across India.
• NEVER, EVER for any reason pull out your money belt in public. Keep anything you think you will need during the day (little money, passport, credit card) in a wallet or purse and keep everything else in a money belt under your clothes. And even if you need something in your money belt, DON'T pull it out where people can see it. It just tells pick pockets where you have the big money stashed. Go somewhere private, like a restroom, to get whatever it is you need.
• For women - another tip is to keep an emergency $100 bill in your bra. Most Japanese bras have a little pocket in them for padding. $100 will be enough to get you from anywhere in India to the embassy or to the city your flight is leaving from.
• Never assume 1 day is enough for anything.
• Your Lonely Planet will be your greatest help as you will need to plan your schedule down to at least the half-day. Train times (included in the guide) are everything.
• Try to call as many hotels as you can ahead of time, especially if you'll be arriving at night and don't want to hassle with touts.
• Expect to get ripped off by touts, no matter how careful you are.
• In the winter (Decemer, January, February) all of North India will be cold at night and in the mornings. You can buy hats and scarves very cheaply.

Links:

There's a travel writer for the Seattle Times who goes off on solo trips budget style to various destinations, and then posts daily dispatches back about her experiences. Here's what she wrote about India. Each day's post also includes side bars with links to useful websites, etc. so it's worth checking each post, even if you don't plan to go to that city. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/traveloutdoors/2003289082_webindiaindex06.html

 Create your own free wiki!Support CommunityPublic, not yet premium Privacy Policy RSS