| Submitted by: Kaye Stott , Australia |
| Submission Date: 04 February 2005 |
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Input for this guide came from many netters; individual contributors are listed at the end, Thanks to all - your input has been most valuable. Special thanks to Mark Nowak <markn@comm.mot.com>, who compiled the original postings on the net.
When using this guide, be aware that it is compiled from edited comments of various people on the Internet, who may or may not have been to India, at times distant or recent. Remember this when assessing the usefulness of all information.
This is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to India. It reflects the personal impressions, opinions, and recommendations, of your fellow netters, and may not cover the areas you require. In addition, the guide may have errors of fact or omission, although unintentional. Should you find such errors, or wish to add anything to the guide, please contact me. I do scan rec.travel for your items, but may miss some, and your comments and suggestions are welcomed.
Kaye Stott
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This guide is split up into 13 sections.
-- Important Information/Latest Updates
-- General information
-- Philosophy of travelling in India
-- Health and safety
-- Money and foreign exchange
-- Things to bring with you
-- Driving
-- Flying
-- Trains
-- Places to visit
-- Things to do
-- Things to buy
-- Women travelling alone
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Important Information (July 13, 1993)
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There is current unrest in some parts of India. If in doubt, enquire from the Department of Foreign Affairs (or its equivalent), before planning your trip.
There are some areas of India that it might be inadvisable to visit. For example, it is certainly unsafe to travel to Kashmir, particularly Srinagar at this stage. One of the fundamentalist groups had issued a 'directive' asking all foreign tourists to leave. Ladakh, which is a part of Kashmir state but is not affected by terrorism, should be OK, but then you should take the flight to Leh and not the land route through Srinagar. Similarly Jammu city and the neighbouring districts are in Kashmir state, but are comparatively safer places. Similarly, the Punjab is another state affected by terrorism, and may be unsafe to travel in.
Certain areas of India require restricted area permits. It is certainly required for visits to Punjab, but not if you are merely passing through on your way to another state. When you apply for your tourist visa for India, mention all the places you need to visit so that the necessary permissions can be obtained.
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The #1 most important piece of advice offered is: rush out and buy the book 'India: A Travel Survival Kit' published by Lonely Planet. It is the bible of travel in India, both for the budget and the luxury traveler.
There are other guides -- either Insight travel guide or Insider's guide, (whichever is the book _without_ the glossy colour photos) comes strongly recommended. It's a series that comes from outside the U.S. and is geared toward low-budget travelers. You'll see it all over India (in the backpacks of fellow travelers).
India is a huge country, with as much diversity as Europe, probably more. There is an extreme variety of languages, from Tamil in the south to Bengali in the north. In the north one language (Hindi) is almost universally used, but each state has its own language, and English is the link for the most part. There are also extremes in climate, from the Great Indian Desert to the humid swamplands of the northeast. In terms of social class, the variety is even more enormous, from the farmers you see everywhere, to those living in shanties everywhere, and those living the lives more closely attuned to Western nations, yes, everywhere.
Because of the geographic and climatic changes, you should take some care in planning when and where to travel on the sub-continent. Most short visits are timed for spring or autumn, avoiding the pre-monsoonal and monsoonal months. Summer may not be the best time to go, but if you don't have a choice you should just go ahead with your plans. For example, Bombay might be a bit rainy in June but the Himalayas can be great. June is, in fact, the best time to visit the hill stations on the Himalayan ranges, for example: Kulu, Manali (Himachal Pradesh), Haradwar, Rishikesh, Mussorie, Badrinath (Uttar Pradesh) and Darjeeling (West Bengal). The thing that might trouble people who are not used to the hot weather conditions in India is not the heat but the dust and the hot winds that carry it. If you have trouble with the heat, use hotels, buses, trains that are air conditioned.
Without question, anyone should visit India, particularly those coming from western nations. The culture, living styles and the way things work are about as different from the west as it can be. If you can, go around with an Indian who can show you around and explain things to you. If you know Indian people, you can stay with them, and gain an insight into their lives.
The government of India Department of Tourism has offices in many countries to provide tourist information to people who wish to spend their vacation in India. They are called India Tourist Office. These offices are very helpful, a source of maps, pamphlets, addresses, etc. Get in touch with the nearest Tourist Office for information; there are some great plans that you probably never knew existed. Most of them are however for NRI or Foreign Citizens and require payment in Dollars. Some US addresses are:
New York India Tourist Office L.A. India Tourist Office 30 Rockefellar Plaza, 3550 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 15, Suite #204, North Mezzanine, Los Angeles,New York, NY 10012. CA 90010-2485 (213) 380-8855
Chicago India Tourist Office NY Govt. Of India Tourist Office, (312) 236-6899 c/o Drawer S (312) 236-7879 Bellport, NY 11713-0519
The FAQ from soc.culture.india is now archived, and is available via anonymous ftp from pit-manager.mit.edu (18.172.1.27) or sending email to: mail-server@pit-manager.mit.edu with Subject: send usenet/soc.culture.indian/FREQUENTLY_ASKED_QUESTIONS
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Philosophy of travelling in India
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Keep an open mind, and enjoy the experience; India can't be described, it must be experienced! It seems to be the sort of country that people either love or hate.
Good advice in a country like India is to take it _slow_. Don't try to see a ton in a short period of time; that can be stressing even in the easiest of countries, and India is not an easy country. A favorite method for getting around towns is to just wander; India is the perfect place for this because you continually run into surprises. There are endless things that you will see that you can't even begin to understand, and that is half of the pleasure - the small day-to-day activities that go to make up the culture.
The main thing you should know about India, is that the notion of personal space is very different there. Once you step out onto the street, people will immediately begin to approach you offering to sell you things, perform services, etc., or just to ask for money. People will not go away if you say 'no'. If you're not prepared for this (and even if you are), it can be a very tense experience.
Indian queues can be amazing - you have to abandon all courtesy in queues if you ever wanted to be served. If you want to buy a ticket at the railroad station, you have to 'actively queue'- defend your position or else someone will simply shove his money into the little counter window before you, and there will be someone next to him with money in hand trying to do the same. On the other hand, you may sometimes receive a little more respect than local people do because you 'look different'; this can be useful at times, and distressing at others.
Also, don't complain too much - it bothers Indians to the point where they become unfriendly.
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Be careful about the food/drinks etc., especially with regard to drinking water. You should take water-purifying tablets, and drink bottled water, widely available (only a few rupees per bottle). Try to avoid fresh vegetables or fruit unless they're peeled, and steer clear of salads.
It is still possible to get amoebic dysentary in India, so recognize the symptoms. For those unfamiliar with this yucky affliction, it's different from plain old diarrhoea; usually, there is blood involved and no fever (if fever is present, it's bacillic dysentary and will either go away by itself or can be treated with antibiotics). If left untreated, it can get very nasty. Treatment is easy but not real pleasant: go to a drugstore (there in India, or in other Asian countries) and ask for metradiazenole (sic?), often known as Flagyl or Flagyl-forte. You don't need a prescription for just about anything in most of Asia. Get ten days worth (40 tablets) and eat them after eating because they're very hard on the stomach. Drink NO alcohol, or you'll throw up. If your urine turns brown, don't worry. That's apparently a side-effect of the drug.
It is, of course, better to see a doctor than to try to diagnose yourself, but experience with doctors and this condition can be very frustrating; it's hard to diagnose. It's better to buy the medication overseas (i.e. not in the USA), because it'll cost you maybe $20 as opposed to the $150 it costs locally. In Australia you will be able to talk your GP into prescribing a course of tablets for you to take with you.
India has some areas where malaria is still common. Ask your doctor to prescribe the appropriate prophylactic to suit the region in which you will travel, and carry some insect repellents and ointments to prevent insect bites.The mosquitoes can be fierce. Another deterrent is mosquito coils (you light one end with a match), and a $6 Japanese-Indian electrical device called Good Knight gets good press: 'Within hours hundreds of mosquitoes were literally dropping from the ceiling. Amazing. Next trip I'll buy one of those cause there was usually an electrical outlet in my room'.
Physically, India is a very safe place to travel. Each city like everywhere else in the world has the safe spots and some unsafe spots, but generally there is nothing to worry about but keep your eyes open and ENJOY!
When travelling overnight on the trains chain your luggage together, to make it difficult to pick up any one piece. |
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| Copyright © - "Kaye Stott" |
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