Who's been to India (recently) ???

tigerstyle

tigerstyle

tigerstyle

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I might be making a trip over there to help out some guys with some work for 1-2 weeks soon. I've never been there, I've seen pictures of the Taj Mahal and thats about it. Would like to know what to expect, also anything that I could take that would make my time there easier? A lot of Imodium?

I've been to Dubai/China so perhaps they are slightly comparable? But not sure about other customs and cultures? The mental traffic and pollution will be normal, what other things will be good to see?

I think I'm going to Delhi, what is fun to do around there in my non working time?
 
I went to New Delhi about a year and a half ago. I loved the place and hated it. I loved it because it was just totally different from anywhere else I've been, it was so cultured yet disgustingly hot (47*c in the shade when I went).

During my time I managed to get to the Taj and also went for a visit around Old Delhi which I highly recommend, though not for the clean freaks amongst you, believe you me, its dirty on a whole new level (and I've been to many places throughout Africa). Equally though, if you can get over the grimness of Old Delhi its such a fascinating place to visit and see. What I loved about it was that it was so different from what i expected, if you've got a camera you can get some great shots of people in their daily life. If I can dig out some I'll post them here.

Places to visit:

Taj - gotta be done, its about 150 miles away but just becasue its India, it'll take you 4 hours to get there, well worth the visit.
Old Delhi - Great for a totally different experience of culture.
Red Mosque (I think thats the name) - Amazing views of Delhi, you can go up in one of the pillars, but remember to wear long sleeved clothes and no shorts and covered up shoes, they don't like you showing skin, even if you are male!!

Hope you have a great time!

Greg
 
Frenzy said:
Stick to vegetarian dishes if you dont want to risk being ill. Always drink bottled water :)
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If you can and like it, fizzy water! They can put the water back in the bottle and put the lid back on but they can't put bubbles back in it!
 
Hire cars for the day. Makes life a lot easier and you won't be getting ripped off every time you try to take autos/taxis. A car for the day (with driver obv.) should cost about 10 or 12 quid (this was last year. May have gone up by a couple :p).

Naturally if you're only planning to go to one or two places the entire day it's not particularly worth it, but if you plan to travel a fair bit, invaluable.

If you do take public transport, avoid buses. Just pointlessly crowded and not very comfortable either. Take autos or taxis. They *will* try to rip you off and haggle it down. They mostly all have metres and if they use them, then you are largely ok. Chances are, they will make an excuse for the metres not working so fix the price of the trip *before* getting in. The walking away trick usually does not work in my experience but then there are plenty of other options right near by so you could just as easily find someone else.

Also, with taxis, they may sometimes charge you by the metre + an additional 15% (or something) for the use of the air conditioner. This is standard practice.

Shopping wise, take a look at the back of any product you're planning to buy. Unlike UK, which has a listed RRP, India has a MRP (Maximum Retail Price). They shouldn't be charging you more than that.

Stick to bottled water as someone said above. Far safer and a 1l bottle costs about Rs. 12 (13p). Also, please please please avoid street stall food. Most people I know who get 'Delhi Belly' is because they think they'l be fine and try all of it. That is *not* a good idea. Sure sometimes it won't be a problem (generally if the stall in question has a maaaasssiveee queue and all the food is prepared hot) but if you prefer to be safe, avoid it. Go to small/roadside restaurants instead (obv. the risk still exists but I do think it is smaller).

That's my advice off the top of my head. Feel free to ask if you have any other questions.

Can't advise much on things to visit apart from the mentioned things above as I never did much touristy stuff while there :s


Oh, and if you like chinese food, go to Tea House of the August Moon in the Taj. Amazing restaurant :D (well, at least I love it :p). It also has Masala Art, an Indian restaurant in the same hotel. Also very good.
 
Greg said:
If you can and like it, fizzy water! They can put the water back in the bottle and put the lid back on but they can't put bubbles back in it!
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They can yes. That's why if ordering it in a restaurant, you ask them to open it in front of you. If buying in a shop, just check that the seal is unbroken etc.
 
Don't ask for a McDonald's Cheeseburger!

Jk.. India's brilliant, just hectic and scary at the same time.
 
tigerstyle said:
hmmm no overnight trains for me this time, which sounds like a good thing :)

Again, a retarded question, It's a very touristy place right?
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The Dehli area will be yes. I can't give you much info on those as when I visitied I stayed with family in a small town in the Punjab. The only time I've been to Dehli is when I used the airport. Be prepared for the large groups of beggars.
 
Beggars, cool will watch out for them.

I didn't realise how hot it is there at the moment/all the time. Oh well, will be sweating it out with work anyway!
 
Don't know much about Delhi but I visited Bangalore last summer. It was basically what I was expecting, hectic and stressful but also incredibly vibrant and diverse. It's worth noting that the gap between rich and poor is huge. Richer areas are comparable to high tech European cities whereas the slums are truly 'third-world'. As a Westerner you'll be able to afford to keep almost entirely to the richer areas, if you so choose.

And yes, there are cows wandering around the streets.

Also, if you can afford the vaccination for tourist diarrhea then I would recommend it. It's not 100% guaranteed but the chances of getting sick are pretty high and every little helps.
 
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