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Subject:
From: Frits Wiarda <71553.3104@compuserve.com>
Date: 14 Jul 95
I travelled for one month in December 1994/January 1995 through India. Delhi-Varanasi-Agra-Rantambur-Jaipur-Pushkar-Udaipur-Bombay.
I was really desilluded about the Indian people. Almost all people I spoke with, just tried to sell me souvenirs carpets and other junk. First they try to socialize with you by showing there interests in where you are going. After some minutes it apears they have "a nice shop, you should definitely have a look at". The people are just out for your money, and want to do as less work as possible for it.
(An experience I did not have in an even poorer country like Vietnam.)
I did find the people in Bombay already a lot more sympathetic then the people more north. From people who travelled South India, I did understood the people there are again more sympathetic then the people in Bombay.
The climate in North India is rather mild in December. 20 to 30 C during daytime and 10 to 20 C dduring nighttime. Quite chilly, so n the evening I wear a coat. In Bombay it was warmer especially in the evening.
I think Agra (Taj Mahal) and Varanasi are real highlights you should not miss. On the other hand Rantambur National Park was not worth the trip. You go with 10 lorries fully loaded with people through the park, so you will not see much animals (and certainly no tigers). Individual tours through the park are not allowed.
I did most domestic travel by train, which is reasonable. Traveling the highest class (1st AC or 2nd AC = AirCon) can have an advantage in night trains, because you get sheets and pillows, and you have less chance you have to sleep on the ground. For daytime trave
I think 2nd class is good enough. Mostly you can sit.
From Agra to Rantambur I took a taxi. I would not do this again. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!
From Udaipur to Bombay I did fly Indian Airlines. It was OK. However, if you buy a domestic airline ticket, check the status bok of your flight coupon contains the letters "OK". If it contains a number, that is your place on the waitinglist, and not your seat number as the travelagent told me. (I was lucky, in the end I got a seat.) Something similar for train tickets. Coach WL means waitinglist.
Take a hotel from the Lonely Planet Travel Survival kit. Then you know what you get. Taxi drivers always try bring you to a hotel which pays them a lot of provision, and therefore give you less value for money.
If you ride taxis or rickshaws on the meter, there is a conversion chart, to convert the meter reading to the actual price. Do not pay anything more than that. If they have no chart, pay yust the meter reading. If they claim there is a aditional fare for your luggage, it must be on the chart, otherwise there is no fare. However, they do not like to switch the meter on. They prefer bargaining. When you arive at the airport, ask the police how much a taxi ride should cost. In Bombay the police was so friendly to switch the taximeter (which is mounted outside) on, much to the disconfort of the driver.
Especially rickshaw drivers are willing to bring you to some shops before they bring you to you destination. Thay get some 30% of the momey you spend in the shop. So it is a bad deal for you. Sometimes it is very difficult to make them clear you want to go to the Taj Mahal and not to a souvenir shop. Threatening not to pay if they stop at a shop helps wonderfully.
Frits Wiarda
Subject:
Date: 12 Jul 95
From: cst945@ACDM.RDC.AB.CA
*******************************
I spent a 2 years in India back in the '70s. I visited again briefly several times in the mid-'80s. The weather in Delhi in December was very pleasant. Upon arriving (April) I wore clothes I brought with me, but it soon became apparent that "going native" was more comfortable.
For most of the year I found the loose, fitting natural hand-spun cotton kurta (shirt) and draw-string pajama bottoms that are available in colors or white from the state-run chain of "Khadi" (village co-operative crafts are sold there) shops, were great. (The Khadi shops were started by M. Gandhi.)
By December, in the evenings, I augmented this with a plain thin wool full man's-size (3 x 6 feet?) natural color Kashmiri shawl (purchased from the Kashmir Govt's handicraft shop/outlet. The shawl also doubled as sufficient sleeping cover during the cool nights.
If you want to go less native, stick to 100% thin cottons, loose fitting. A thin sweater would substitute for the shawl....but the later makes a great souvenir!
For footwear, I used sandals in the warm weather. If you are going in Dec., simple, airy sports shoes of some kind would suffice in the north. That time of the year seemed much healthier than the warmer months, and disease is less of a problem.
In the south at that time of the year, I don't have much experience, so won't suggest much other than it should be a lot warmer down south.
I love India, both north and south. I stayed 5 months in Kashmir, 3 of which were spent in a tent in the foothills of the himalayas.
Rajisthan is also great! Back then there were govt.-run guest houses where staying was cheap, clean, simple. I don't know how that is now, but the tourist office in New Delhi would have brochures from the various state gov'ts.
I stayed one year with a family in New Delhi. Their kids have grown-up since the '70s, the eldest son is running his own tours & travels business. Please give them a call or fax if you need any arrangements!
H.O.: Wadera Niwas
D1 A/99, Janak Puri
New Delhi - 58
India
Tel: +91-11-5559976
Fax: +91-11-5554103
B.O.: 897/29, Noida-201303
Tel: +91-11-89-32047
: +91-11-89-23510
Fax: +91-11-89-56991
-Ron Snider, Red Deer, AB, Canada-1
Subject:
From: luttrell@netcom.com (Jordan D. Luttrell)
Date: 12 Jul 95
We traveled only in the south, but we did travel in January (probably close enough to December to compare). The weather was bearable, even pleasant outside the mid-afternoons. We wore conventional American clothes, wash and wear trousers and shirts.
We traveled out of Madras as far as Cochin thru Maduarai, then back via Bangalore, in about 17 days. If you look at a map, this doesn't look like much, but we were *hustling* to do even this, and that includes air from Cochin to Bangalore and then from Bangalore back to Madras. The bottom line is that travel really does take time, whether by bus or train. Given the road traffic, I would say renting a car is out of the question. But ground travel is a lot more real than air travel. So you face a difficulty with three weeks.
We also found there were *lots* of Indians traveling during the Christmas season; it is a high travel season, and rates go up. More importantly, without hotel and train reservations you will wheel-spin trying to get from A to B, and then finding a place in B.
If you like beaches, we had a very good time in Mamallapuram, near Madras. The Tamil Nadu Beach Resort is a very good value, right on the beach, at around $30/night.
We enjoyed Madurai a lot; kind of a country town growing up, but still "real", with one of the most representative temples. We stayed at the Sree Devi, which was serviceable enough, at about $20/night; its roof looks out right on the temple, though they were putting in a penthouse that might scotch the view (except for those staying in the penthouse).
The $20 was for the airconditioned room, which made a *big* difference.
For me, the high point was Halebid and Belur, which you can reach from either Mysore or Bangalore; the medieval ruins were worth every moment spent, and the guides are archaeologically trained and superbly knowledgable, humblingly so.
Some time spent with either the Rough Guide or Lonely Planet will give you lots of ideas.
Have a great trip!
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