Hi! I am possibly being inspired to go to India in January 2008 for about 3 months or so. I would be open to the possibilty of travelling with soomeone for that period. I also would love to hear from anybody who has been there and what they would recommend and wouldn't reccommend. Thanks
Travel partner India 2008
- Thread starter mattdo
- Start date
I have been before and would advise checking out the Lonely planet forum they have a whole section on India, can be very informative. Their world guide is quite good as well if you havent already read it -
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/asia/india
Rough guides has similar info.
Good time of year to go, as it is at its least hot. I would recomend going down south at that time of year, Goa or Kerala would be lovely then. the less package tourist areas of Goa are lovely and relaxing, might be a very nice way to start off your journey.
Are you looking to relax or would you be interested in History or trecking? There is so much to it that its hard to say what I would recomend as it would depend on what you are looking for, a lot of people find the big cities a bit overpowering but I found them very interesting. I really enjoyed Delhi, Mumbai is a bit much for anyone though, two or three days would be enough.
There is the obvious of course, get your injections and talk to your doctor fairly soon, cover up a little and take more care if you are a girl, and have a great time its a wonderful place
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/asia/india
Rough guides has similar info.
Good time of year to go, as it is at its least hot. I would recomend going down south at that time of year, Goa or Kerala would be lovely then. the less package tourist areas of Goa are lovely and relaxing, might be a very nice way to start off your journey.
Are you looking to relax or would you be interested in History or trecking? There is so much to it that its hard to say what I would recomend as it would depend on what you are looking for, a lot of people find the big cities a bit overpowering but I found them very interesting. I really enjoyed Delhi, Mumbai is a bit much for anyone though, two or three days would be enough.
There is the obvious of course, get your injections and talk to your doctor fairly soon, cover up a little and take more care if you are a girl, and have a great time its a wonderful place
My daughter is travelling on her own at the moment she is 24 and she has just left India after a month travelling on her own around it. She arrived in Delhi and travelled south from there she found it a culture shock especially the Northern section it was more westernised the further she went south. She was harrassed alot by people trying to sell to her. She said you have to be allert all the time and was constantly followed. Some where maybe you should visit
art of e-mail from her.
'Varkala is definately somewhere you have to visit. I am in love with the place. However I would say that in another year or so, this area will get heavily populated with tourists which I think will take away a bit of the magic.
I am having the best time!! Love this place, nicest place i have ever visited. My self, (irish guy) & Claudio (swiss guy) are sharing the most beutiful hut overlooking the beach (all for 2euro a night each). The Oz & Kiwi are in a hut beside us. None of us want to leave this paradise! We keep pushing out departure date. But Im afraid Saturday is D day when we all take separate paths. Myself and Claudio are traveling down to Trivandrum Saturday morning. I am flying to Mumbai the next day and he is flying to the Maldives. O and thats another thing! The FOOD!! O my god, it is divine. I have been living on sea food since I arrived. Its all freshly brought in from the fishing boats every evening. Had nice big fat juicy prawns last night, blue marlin, snapper, shark, kingfish other evenings. I think the beautiful surroundings makes the food taste sweeter as you sit out on a restaurant on top of the cliffs here watching the sun set. O ya and when you are only paying 2 euro for a fantastic meal, it makes the food even tastier I think. Cocktails and beer are less than 1 euro. We are all in heaven! I just cant say enough good things about the place'
So even though she found India hard work at times (especially travelling up North it seems more like paradise down south)
art of e-mail from her.'Varkala is definately somewhere you have to visit. I am in love with the place. However I would say that in another year or so, this area will get heavily populated with tourists which I think will take away a bit of the magic.
I am having the best time!! Love this place, nicest place i have ever visited. My self, (irish guy) & Claudio (swiss guy) are sharing the most beutiful hut overlooking the beach (all for 2euro a night each). The Oz & Kiwi are in a hut beside us. None of us want to leave this paradise! We keep pushing out departure date. But Im afraid Saturday is D day when we all take separate paths. Myself and Claudio are traveling down to Trivandrum Saturday morning. I am flying to Mumbai the next day and he is flying to the Maldives. O and thats another thing! The FOOD!! O my god, it is divine. I have been living on sea food since I arrived. Its all freshly brought in from the fishing boats every evening. Had nice big fat juicy prawns last night, blue marlin, snapper, shark, kingfish other evenings. I think the beautiful surroundings makes the food taste sweeter as you sit out on a restaurant on top of the cliffs here watching the sun set. O ya and when you are only paying 2 euro for a fantastic meal, it makes the food even tastier I think. Cocktails and beer are less than 1 euro. We are all in heaven! I just cant say enough good things about the place'
So even though she found India hard work at times (especially travelling up North it seems more like paradise down south)
brian.mobile
Registered User
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- 347
Went to India a few years ago. Great spot. A list of thoughts:
- We went to Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Agra and a few other areas mentioned below
- Crazy citys (if your are in Delhi a lot of folk stay in an area called Paher Gange
- Go north and check out the Hill Stations (Dharmasala being the choice of backpackers); beware the bus ride up is scary and I literally saw cliff edges out my bus window (bis driver was no more than 16)
- Go South, Goa has a host of beachy areas and is the most West-ish in it's catering to tourists (Goa is number of areas as opposed to a specific spot)
- You can forget about the food. The grub is nothing like what you get in your local Indo. You'll get fairly blank stares if you ask for Peshwari with your meal...
- There's a 50 / 50 chance you'll be ill from either food / water there (based our own data!)
- Do some train journeys from the Hill Stations down; see the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, chill on a beach and watch amazing sunsets and set some fireworks off during Diwahli
- You can forget about any decent alcohol over there. In three weeks, had a handful of decent beers....
....but I'm sure you are not going to party?
Log onto the Lonely Planet and click on the Thorn Tree Forums/India
We flew Air India and some local airline I cant remember the name of. In three weeks we had seen all the have-to's and didnt cost us the world.
Enjoy!
BM
- We went to Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Agra and a few other areas mentioned below
- Crazy citys (if your are in Delhi a lot of folk stay in an area called Paher Gange
- Go north and check out the Hill Stations (Dharmasala being the choice of backpackers); beware the bus ride up is scary and I literally saw cliff edges out my bus window (bis driver was no more than 16)
- Go South, Goa has a host of beachy areas and is the most West-ish in it's catering to tourists (Goa is number of areas as opposed to a specific spot)
- You can forget about the food. The grub is nothing like what you get in your local Indo. You'll get fairly blank stares if you ask for Peshwari with your meal...
- There's a 50 / 50 chance you'll be ill from either food / water there (based our own data!)
- Do some train journeys from the Hill Stations down; see the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, chill on a beach and watch amazing sunsets and set some fireworks off during Diwahli
- You can forget about any decent alcohol over there. In three weeks, had a handful of decent beers....
....but I'm sure you are not going to party?
Log onto the Lonely Planet and click on the Thorn Tree Forums/India
We flew Air India and some local airline I cant remember the name of. In three weeks we had seen all the have-to's and didnt cost us the world.
Enjoy!
BM
Z
z109
Guest
The Taj is only as good as the pictures of it. If the weather isn't good, it's not even as good as that. Agra was a stinking cesspit when I was there (mid-late nineties). Avoid it if you can!
North India:
Mussourie hill-station - there's a tibetan monastery that has the best view if you walk to the end of ridge.
I hear the camel trek in the Thar desert in Rajasthan is good. I preferred to stay at the fort-palace hotel in Neemrana. Get a tour of the rooms, they're quite something.
Avoid Delhi, it's a kip. If you do go there, don't stay in Paharganj it's an even bigger kip than the rest of the city (even if it is near the train station).
Middle India
Hampi - full of hippie travellers going "wow, isn't this like amazing, I feel so in touch with the culture"
Goa? If you want a beach, go to one of the Costas and save yourself a packet. If there is anywhere you are likely to be mugged in India, it is Goa and it won't be by an Indian. It'll be by some spaced out traveller who's gone native and run out of money.
South India:
Ooty (Udacamundi sp?) - a hill station in the middle of the the southern plain. Very English at one stage, had gone a bit to seed when I was there, but not popular with tourists.
Kerala - the backwater tour
Cochin - worth a look for the river taxis and the traditional fishing.
Trivandrum (Thiravuranthapuram sp?!) has little to recommend it apart from the meeting of the three seas.
Travel by train or if going by plane, get a discover India pass (it'll allow multiple flights), but I would recommend the trains. 2nd class a/c is quite comfortable, if not exactly private.
If you're going south in November, be aware that the southern second monsoon can still be active then and it can get quite wet. It is good fun, though!
PS I was there mid-nineties, so some of my bad impressions of places may have improved in that time!
North India:
Mussourie hill-station - there's a tibetan monastery that has the best view if you walk to the end of ridge.
I hear the camel trek in the Thar desert in Rajasthan is good. I preferred to stay at the fort-palace hotel in Neemrana. Get a tour of the rooms, they're quite something.
Avoid Delhi, it's a kip. If you do go there, don't stay in Paharganj it's an even bigger kip than the rest of the city (even if it is near the train station).
Middle India
Hampi - full of hippie travellers going "wow, isn't this like amazing, I feel so in touch with the culture"
Goa? If you want a beach, go to one of the Costas and save yourself a packet. If there is anywhere you are likely to be mugged in India, it is Goa and it won't be by an Indian. It'll be by some spaced out traveller who's gone native and run out of money.
South India:
Ooty (Udacamundi sp?) - a hill station in the middle of the the southern plain. Very English at one stage, had gone a bit to seed when I was there, but not popular with tourists.
Kerala - the backwater tour
Cochin - worth a look for the river taxis and the traditional fishing.
Trivandrum (Thiravuranthapuram sp?!) has little to recommend it apart from the meeting of the three seas.
Travel by train or if going by plane, get a discover India pass (it'll allow multiple flights), but I would recommend the trains. 2nd class a/c is quite comfortable, if not exactly private.
If you're going south in November, be aware that the southern second monsoon can still be active then and it can get quite wet. It is good fun, though!
PS I was there mid-nineties, so some of my bad impressions of places may have improved in that time!
jonnyhotspur
Registered User
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- 147
Myself and three of my football team mates spent a year traveling around the world a few years ago and spent 2 weeks in a $2 a night hotel in Old Delhi. All of us agree that it was the high-light of the trip. A very humbling and life changing experience for all of us and one that definitely shaped our lives for the better.
Yes it is a kip but a place that even thinking about stirs up so many happy/sad memories.
Z
z109
Guest
Ah, now Old Delhi is a different place, if the municipal authorities haven't cleaned it up as they keep threatening to do:
- the silver market opposite the entrance to the old fort, leading to the Jamma Masjid. At the end of the silver street, on the right there used to be a shop that did the most fabulous samosas and chilli pakoras.
- on the other side of the mosque between the ball-bearing market and the live chickens slaughtered in front of you market there was a restaurant (Karim's I believe the name is). The best chicken curry you'll ever taste.
Also, I agree with the posting above about Varkala - the tandoori swordfish is super and the atmosphere is relaxed. When I was there in 1999 the same sentiments about "come now, it'll be spoiled in a year" were being expressed!
There is much more sales hassle/begging in the north, the south (from about Mumbai down, I would say) is more relaxed, especially on the west coast (communist state and all that!).
jonnyhotspur
Registered User
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- 147
Japers that's some memory you have for ten years ago.
We avoided all meats for the 2 weeks ( except for a lamb burger in Wendys). Vegetable curry and Kingfisher beer kept the Delhi Belly away.
We avoided all meats for the 2 weeks ( except for a lamb burger in Wendys). Vegetable curry and Kingfisher beer kept the Delhi Belly away.
Z
z109
Guest
I spent a lot of time in Delhi (working).
Very sensible, but there are a few places where the meat is good - Karim's, most places in Haus Khaus village. Seafood on the coasts is fine, but I wouldn't trust it much inland.
There was also a dhaba near Connaught place (I think it's off Janpath) owned by the Narula brothers that does excellent chicken tikka.
There used to be a lovely beer brewed in Haryana province - Sandpiper Super Gold - but the brewery was shut down when Haryana went dry.
We mostly drank Black Label beer. The Silver Anchor gin is excellent (I still miss it); you'll pay more to get Schweppes tonic! Old Monk dark rum has a good flavour, especially with coke in it. To get cheap beer, go to one of the government licensed grog shops. Don't drink in publlic!