Date: 24 Apr 96
In article <830286891snz@lloyney.demon.co.uk>, Nicholas Doylend
>Any comments, advice, recomendations etc... welcome.
I was quoted £305 for a one year open return from Birmingham to Delhi, if that helps, leaving over the Easter period. It was on some dodgy airline - you pay for what you get!! I think the travel agent was Eagle travel on (01203) 682940 or 667711. Let us know how you get on with prices as I'm on my way there hopefully in a couple of months time.
One possibility you might already have considered is to fly into Delhi and leave from either Goa or Bombay. This will save you time zooming back to Delhi (2 day trip all in) and gives you extra time down south.
Good luck with your travel plans!!!! You're planning an action-packed time but I reckon that unless you fly some legs, you'll be hard-pushed to do what you intend. Those journeys in India are great fun (well, the trains are) but you need time to recover from being bounced around a bus for 12-30 hours (and you've only gone 200 miles!!). Raj and a week in Goa might be more realistic for a month.
Raj is superb, rightly a popular area to go. Pushkar is a very relaxing place, pretty, but a tadge touristy. It's worth a few days to experience a small holy town type feel. I stayed in Udaipur for a week - this really is a smart place to go; fab lake, fishing, old palaces and plenty to see and do around it, and not at all tainted by tourism. Don't miss the 'natural history museum' with the half a stuffed ostrich and a three legged crocodile. Jaisalmer is wonderful - a dusty 8 hours on the bus to get there but out of this world and into Arabia. Fabulous fort in the middle of nowhere and camel rides abound! Unless you're used to riding, I wouldn't suffer anymore on a camel than a day - the insides of your legs will be RAAAW by then! - make sure you get stirrups!. From Jodhpur to Jaisalmer return, with time to have fun there and travelling time, is a five day trip min.
The journey from Udaipur to Bombay was hell. For some reason I didn't (couldn't?) go by train so ended up for thirty hours on a sodding bus.
The road is like a UK B road and this is their main highway. There were tonnes of accidents and blocked roads. If I was there again, that is the journey I would fly.
In Goa, I stayed in Benaulim for two weeks, and had a really laid back time in this Rural-yet-coastal paradise. I stayed at Brito's and loved it. Not so much to do but a nice place to take in the pace. The beaches are superb from there and along for many many miles. Great food can be had in the village but also down on the beach.
My top tip would be to take a tube of Anasol with you, from any chemists. If you are like 80% of people who go to India, you will hate the PPAAAAAIIIINNNNNN of having a shit after a few days of being there.
This stuff, believe me, will help!! Perhaps you could take a few tubes and sell them to fellow travellers at greatly inflated prices, thereby subsidising your trip!!!!
Keep us informed. I'd like to know how you get on. I love the place.
From: padeshpa@mtu.edu (Prasanna A. Deshpande)
Date: 15 Feb 96
Pune is a regarded as the cultural capital of the state of Maharashtra. It is a nice city with two distinct zones: The old Pune and Shivajinagar and the suburbs which are relatively new.
Most of the historic places of interest are in old Pune, where the famous 'Shaniwar Wada' can be considered a must see.
My personal favorite is the 'Raja Kelkar Museum'. Also as you mention that you are interested in chatting with people, you have good chances of meeting people who are ready to talk about Pune and rest of the things.
There are many scenic attractions around the city and the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) can help you.
I think to appreciate Pune, one should have some infomation about its historical background.
Have a good taste of Maharashtra and its culture.
From: Bill Greene
Date: 19 Feb 96
In Pune, a "must see" sight, I think, is the Rashneesh Ashram- yes, THAT Reashneesh, fro Oregon with the 14 Rolls Royces! He's set up a beautiful ashram in his hometown of Pune, which is really the "Club Med" of Ashrams. The combination of dissaffected(wealthy) American 20-somethings and blissed out(wealthy) European 70's derilicts is really fun to see. The grounds are beautiful. Make sure they give yoiu a tour, and resist the temptation to buy too many things at the gift shop.
Also, re hotels in Bombay- check out the West End Hotel near Bombay Hospital. It is clean, modern, and air conditioned. It costs about $55.00 a night but is definitely a cut above the usual tourist hotels, has a decent and safe restaurant, and is a lot less expensive than the big business hotels, like the Taj Mahal or the Oberi. I thought it was great.
Have a great trip!!
Subject:
From: wang@alpharel.com (Alice Wang)
Date: 19 Sep 95
For all those travellers to Agra who are looking for a hotel with a view of the taj, there is no better place than the 'Sheetal Lodge' in the Taj Ganj area of the city. Taj ganj is the old part of the city surrounding the Taj Mahal. I was there this summer and the room with attached bathroom, air cooler and a double bed cost me only Rupees 100 a day. It is not 5-star by any standards but wait till you see the view from the roof. If it doesn't impress you, I don't know what will. It was a pretty clean place too. Also, the lonely planet rated the Shanti Lodge pretty high.
Some other useful tips would be :- 1) Always fix the fare with the rickshaw drivers before leaving your point of Origin. The will always tell you that they will take you to the place and then you can pay them whatever pleases your heart. If you agree to that they will most definetly try to rip you off. My usual practice was to ask the hotel people what a good price was, and then negotiate the price with the rickshaw person before leaving. Also, the fare from the Train station to the Taj Ganj area should be no more than Rupees 20-25.
2) There are going to be so many antique shop people trying to pull you into their shops, that after a while it just gets annoying. MOst shops in the Taj Ganj area are overpriced anyways. I bought some good decorative marble stuff in Fatehpur Sikri for really good prices.
3) There are always scurpulous carpet manufacturers who want you to take their carpets with you to your country, and supposedly their contact will come pick up their carpet from you and pay you 150% of what you paid for it. They'll make up pretty good stories how you have no risk to you, but it is a bunch of crock. Do not trust anyone who wants you to use you credit card for your purchase.
4) If you go to Agra, definetly go to the desrted city of Fatehpur Sikri. There is a Big 50-foot door there. Right by the door is a marble shop, who had the best prices I could find. Be sure to check it out. Also in Agra, people will tell you that the best way to get to Fatehpur Sikri is to hire a car which will cost you Rupees 300. They'll tell you horror stories about how the local bus just sucks, and is loitered with pick pockets. Not true. I used the local bus which cost me only Rupees 22 two way. Besides being a early 40's model with rackety windows, it was a pretty worryless trip. Infact on the way back it was so empty that I used 3 seats to lie down and slept the entire 50 minute journey.
5) Be sure to check the timings of entry to the Taj cause for 2 hours in the morning and two hours in the evening thay pump up the prices to Rupees 100 from the regular Rupees 11.50. If you miss the time and do not want to pay the extra cash, just walk along the outside red wall of the taj complex and it will lead you by the Yamuna river, and you can catch a free sight of the taj from the other side. I got a guide at most places I went. At the Taj I paid Rupees 50, at the Red fort it was Ruppes 40 and at Fatehpur Sikri I paid Rupees 25 each (i.e 25 for fatehpur and 25 for sikri) which are actually 2 different parts of the same fort.
6) Most places will ask you to leave your shoes outside. There is usually a stand to leave you shoes. Most of these are free, but the attendants still expect a small reward. Beware, cause they too will try to ask you for too much money seeing that you are a tourist.
Agra was definetly the highlight of my trip. Even if you choose not to stay at The Shanti Lodge, atleast go and check out the roof top view, which is worth a million bucks.
If you have any other questions about Agra, drop me a e-mail and I might be able to help you
Subject:
From: jsubra@cup.hp.com (Josyula Subrahmanyam)
: Barathpur OR Ranthambor OR Sariska (if open?) (1 or 2, train?), Agra(1 or 2, air),
Bharatpur:
As a former resident of Bharatpur, I would say that Jul-Aug is an inappropriate time to visit that place. The bird sanctuary is ideal to visit during Nov-Mar when migrating cranes flock there.
Replace this with a trip to Mt. Abu on your Rajasthan leg.
Agra:
As a former resident of Agra :-), I would advise a 2-day trip as it would be too hectic to wrap up all things in a day. I feel U should use Shatabdi Express from Delhi to Agra. It starts early morning from Delhi and it returns in the evening from Agra.
On day 1, U could visit Agra Fort and Taj Mahal. In the evening, U could visit the famed markets near the fort on your way back to the hotel.
On day 2, make a trip to Fatehpur Sikri. It is 30km from Agra and would take about 4-5 hours to see the place. U will not be disappointed by it. If U have time in the afternoon/evening, U could see Sikandra which is Akbar's tomb about 8kms from Agra OR, Itmad-ud-daula which is about 2-3 kms away across the river.
Try out a local sweet called "petha".
: - I wil arrive at Delhi Airport early in the morning (5.15 am, Thursday July 20),
: and have planned to leave as soon as possible for Jaipur. Do I need to go to
: the city centre of Delhi to catch a bus or do any buses leave from the airport
: to Jaipur directly?
Jaipur:
As someone mentioned, the best way to reach Jaipur is by Shatabdi Express which starts at about 6:00 AM. But, it doesn't leave U with too much time. There are buses which run every hour from a place called Bikaner House which is close to the monument India Gate.
If I remember right, every 2 hours, there is an AC bus. It could come in handy when U're staring at 42 degrees centigrade.
To return to Delhi, use the overnight buses. Pink Line is the luxury bus service which I would recommend. There are buses every 15 minutes between 10:30 PM and 1:00 AM.
... ...
From: Lars-Erik Nilsson
Date: 23 Mar 96
Some facts about Andaman Islands which I visited 2 months ago.
1) They are not at risk of global warming. These are not coral islands. The highest mountains are about 700 meters.
2) The population today is about 250 000.
3) They are visited by about 50 000 domestic (Inidan) and about 5 000 foreign tourists every year.
4) There are limited fascilities for tourists. You can travel around several of the islands but it is higly recomendable to make arrangements beforehand as accomodation is scarce outside Port Blair to put it mildly.
5) There are some very beautiful beaches. Unfortunately many of them are difficult to get to.
6) There are some limited fascilities for scuba diving. It did not try it myself but what I could see from snorkeling I doubt that it is presently worth the trouble and money.
7) Things are changing very fast at these Islands. New resorts are beeing built and there is a heavy influx of imigrants from India and possibly Sri Lanka.
8) The islands are very beautiful with lush jungles and rain forests and they are well worth a visit. If you plan to travel around you need at least 14 days.
From: "Per Löwdin"
Date: 26 Apr 96
masson@riq.qc.ca (Rene Masson) wrote:
>Anybody there has been travelling recently to Kashmir ? How is the situation
>over there ? In Srinagar ?
Dangerous from what i gather.
>In Ladak, OK: but You have to fly in or go via Manali Leh ?
OK: from what I gather. Though some tensions between buddhists and Kashmiris in the tourist trade.
> Manali ?
Why? Has it not always been a nice place?
>Is it also possible to go over to Pakistan ?
Possible: yes! But not anywhere near Kashmir. The border can be crossed near Amritsar in the Panjab. I have no details.
>
>Rene Masson, I love India !, planning to go back there, sept96 ...
Why bother to go to Pakistan if You love India? If You say such a thing in Pakistan they will think there is something wrong with your head.
From: smiddle@mail.island.net (Steve Middleton)
Date: 1 May 96
The north East is a far different part of India that is well worth the experience. It is made up of tribal people and has been restricted for many years. It is now just opening up. One tour that I would recommend can be found on the internet at http://www.islandnet.com/~eco_adv?culturalpursuits.html check the page out and ask for more information by e mailing - jim perry at eco_adv@islandnet.com
In article <4j10fp$8l0@thrush.sover.net>, Whit Wheeler
>I just returned from spending several weeks traveling in Rajasthan. It was
>a fantastic experience and one that I recommend highly if you are one for
>adventure and can tolerate surprises. I agree with the other writer, a
>copy of LONELY PLANET's guide to India is a good way to start.
>
>Rajasthan is probably the most popular region for tourists. It's has many
>layers of history and the people and culture are very interesting. We went
>from Delhi to Jaipur to Jodhpur to Jaiselmer (including a camel safari) to
>Udaipur. Each place offered its own enchantment. I cannot wait to go back.
>
>I would say the weather will be changing quite fast in the coming weeks as
>the monsoon season comes on in late May. I would not want to travel then;
>the humidity and heat - over 100 degrees fahrenheit someday - would be too
>oppressive, giving one yet another frustration to deal with. On the other
>hand, to perhaps best appreciate the strength and character of the Indian
>people one could make a case for visiting during this time. I understand
>October is a great time of year, like March but it is green and the lakes
>have water.
>...
© J. Mário Pires, 96
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Subject: Pune
Subject: Bombay and Pune
Subject: Andaman Islands
Subject: Travelling in Kashmir - India? Safe?
Subject: Is India worth travelling to? If yes, when?
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