We visited India on our Honeymoon from 30 November 1997 till 15 January 1998. We made a 7 week tour and visited Delhi, Rajasthan, Agra, Varanasi, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Bombay. In this report we describe some of our experiences and things we've noticed during our trip.
|
We flew from Amsterdam to Delhi and back from Bombay on Air France via Paris. Although the months around Christmas are high season we paid less than US$ 650 for an open-jaw return ticket. We bought our ticket at BUDGETAIR, a dependable Dutch travel-agent with good deals at most of times. They are part of the NBBS-chain who have offices all over Holland. For other cheap tickets in Holland try D-REIZEN (they are practically all over Holland). In Amsterdam try Ad Latjes (he is also on Internet http://www.etn.nl/) or the Turkish agencies in the Albert Cuypstraat.
|
The Indian Embassy in Holland is at Buitenrustweg 2, 2517 KD The Hague (visa information 070-3635162). The consular office is open from 10.00 till 13.00 hours. The tourist visas they now provide are multiple-entry and valid for 6 months. They cost 65 guilders (about US$ 30). For one year multiple entry you pay 105 guilders.
|
Devaluation was heavy in India; during or stay the Rupee devaluated from around 37 to 40 rupees to the dollar. Prices hardly keep up with this rate, therefore if you are from a country with a strong currency, India might even be cheaper than you expect.
We travelled on train (1st class, 2nd class AC and Sleeper class) and busses (most times no class at all). We stayed in clean hotels, almost always with hot water and more than once with satellite TV and a complimentary newspaper in the morning. We paid between US$ 3 and 12 for a double. Hotels are more expensive in Delhi, Madras and Bombay). We tried to eat in good restaurants(expensive by Indian standards) and had enough beer in the evening (if available). We got by very comfortably on less than US$ 35 for both of us, including everything! Prices we mention are always including tax.
Like almost anywhere in Asia (and the world), tourists are overcharged in India. Two simple rules apply: ask prices before you order anything and bargain for everything. It will make your stay a lot cheaper.
|
Having been in India twice before, the weather wasn't exactly what we expected, at least in the North.
In the North we had daytime temperatures up to 20 degrees centigrade when the sun was shining. If not, temperatures stopped at 12-13 degrees. For us (from Holland) this was still T-shirt-weather, but the papers spoke of an actual coldwave. People were dying because night-time temperatures dropped to 8 degrees. We had a few rain showers and in Pushkar even a hailstorm.
In the South we experienced the last two days of the monsoon, but for the rest in was excellent weather with temperatures between 25 and 35 degrees Celsius.
|
Friendliness and annoyances
|
In general we think people in the South are a lot more friendly and relaxed than in the North. If we say in general it's just that. In the north we met very friendly people and were even invited to weddings. In the south not everybody was nice. The more relaxed you are yourself, the more friendly responses you'll get, in the north as well as in the south. If someone wants to take you to his shop (hotel, sister, wedding, festival, home) and you don't want to join him, be firm in keeping the direction you were going in. Try to talk to them about other things; even touts can be fun to chat to.
|
Our top two of annoyances:
|
1. Babe-bumping; grownup youths walking up against western females (more than once in a while also using their hands). After 10 days Mirjam found the answer; she turned around and smacked them. This is especially effective if their friends are watching; they lose a lot of face being hit by a woman.
2. Urinating on monuments. This is another thing that really annoyed us. Any slightly dark corner of virtually all the monuments, palaces and even temples you visit smells of ammoniac. OK, it's not always possible to find a public toilet in the streets (quiet difficult to be honest), but could you please stop pissing all over your national heritage?
|
Way to go in India. Although quite slow they are reasonably reliable and relatively safe. Travelling by train has the added advantage that you meet lots of people, whose first interest in you isn't purely commercial. As with everything in India, you get what you pay for and in this case even without haggling. Problem is not the trains (they are running) but getting the reservations. As most trains are full, if you want tickets on short notice you need to get into some kind of quota. There are heaps of quota (VIP, emergency, military, sport, handicapped etc.), the trick is to find the guy (or girl) who is handing them out. In big cities this is not a problem; there are special reservation bureau's that deal with foreigners. In smaller places it is often necessary to use your imagination and social skills. Basically the procedure is: buy your ticket first, find out that you are waitlisted, find the manager in charge of quotas, fill in a form and get your reservation next day or so. Shortcut: find the manager of the reservation office, present your business card, explain your problem, drink tea and have some smalltalk, pay for your ticket and reservation.
Like we said; you get what you pay for. Price difference between unreserved second class seat and first class air-conditioning sleeper is enormous. For long distances there are five classes to choose from; First class AC sleeper, Second class AC sleeper, first class sleeper, sleeper class and second class seater. Most times we opted for first class without AC or second class with AC. In both classes there are two berths above each other; the difference is the aircon and you get bedding in second class, but there is more space in first class and it's about 30 percent cheaper. On occasion we also travelled in sleeperclass. There you find three berths above each other and although it gets a bit cramped and full it's also a feasible option. In any class: lock your luggage with a steel wire to the train.
|
As we wanted to get some sleep we didn't travel on nightbusses. We heard from other travellers that they can be OK, but most of the times aren't. Same goes for day busses though. Once in a while you might get a good one, but the best material of private buscompanies is used during the night.
A bus in India is never too old and never full. Don't be amazed to find yourself in a bus with more than 200 passengers, not counting the ones hanging on the outside (we are definitely not exaggerating). Fortunately we didn't have any accidents; small donations to various temples may have helped. The good thing about the busses were conductors. Almost always friendly, helpful and we were never overcharged.
|
Both of us were quite tired the moment we started our holiday. In order to keep healthy and sane we started our trip very quiet and slept far into the day almost every day during the first week. We are not very good at avoiding the hottest part of the day (logically if you're up late), but most days we relaxed a couple of hours with a beer and potato-chips at teatime. Although we travelled quite a distance (about 6500 kilometres) we have the feeling that we took a leisurely pace.
We were extremely lucky as we didn't get ill once. Some simple tips: drink bottled water (unlike the last time we visited (1992) it's now available everywhere). Wash your hands before eating (or use disinfecting wet tissues; also good for cleaning feet after temple-visits). Never eat anything bought on the streets. Stay away from buffet-style meals. Eat in busy restaurants. It might be worth to eat in more expensive restaurants in the beginning of your stay, but on the other hand: who knows what happens in the kitchen. Donate small amounts of money to a Temple once in while and pray to the gods on a regular basis. Have Immodium ready anytime. |
|
