[quote]rajs wrote:
You want to come to Delhi why…?
Worth checking out Leh, Manali, Andaman Islands if you can, Agra of course, Kerala and Goa.
Bring Supplements with you if you plan to use them, unless you like spending 100 USD for protein and 50 for fish oils.
Don’t expect English to be that widely spoken. Oh and trust no one.[/quote]
Wow [/quote]
Wow what?[/quote]
Also, WOW for good information. I’ll bring supps, thank you. As for flying vs. train, I’m not sure. I’m going with the consummate traveler himself, Tim Ferriss, so he’s taken care of a lot of this. I’m just along the for the adventure.
[quote]rajs wrote:
You want to come to Delhi why…?
Worth checking out Leh, Manali, Andaman Islands if you can, Agra of course, Kerala and Goa.
Bring Supplements with you if you plan to use them, unless you like spending 100 USD for protein and 50 for fish oils.
Don’t expect English to be that widely spoken. Oh and trust no one.[/quote]
Wow [/quote]
Wow what?[/quote]
Also, WOW for good information. I’ll bring supps, thank you. As for flying vs. train, I’m not sure. I’m going with the consummate traveler himself, Tim Ferriss, so he’s taken care of a lot of this. I’m just along the for the adventure.
[/quote]
Ah cool, that is one less thing to worry about! Oh and(in New Delhi at least) be prepared for it to be hot! It is only around 34c (93F I think) but with the humidity it feels much much warmer! It has cooled a bit since last month, but still pretty uncomfortable. Yer, and always keep your windows up at traffic lights, the boys selling magazines are the least of you worries. I won’t ruin the surprise ha ha.
This is going to sound bad, but at the beginning of trip you see a lot of impoverished children which will shock you if you’ve never been to a less developed country. By the end of the trip you become desensitized and they just become background noise - lol.
Delhi has an old and new part, one very historical and the other quite modern. I’ve felt taxi drivers wanting to rip you off more than any other Indian city so be wary. There will also be taxi drivers wanting to give you a tour for the day etc, find a reputable tour company instead.
The architecture in old Delhi is very much designed by the Mughal dynasty, some amazing buildings not to mention the Taj Mahal in Agra which is a day trip. Red fort is worth a look. There are others like Qutab Minar etc but I haven’t really been there.
Everything else has been said but please drink and use only bottled water, watch your wallet and have fun.
New Delhi is the political capital so you should definitely walk and view the large political buildings as well.
Hopefully there’s some ongoing Hindu/Indian festival on the calendar to see further on the culture. The Indian festival of lights is next month but maybe you’ll see some decorations already.
Hotels (the good ones are expensive) and that’s because of demand. A 3 star hotel is really bare bones type stuff, make sure you view the rooms before committing to where you’re staying.
Good luck JR. If you have any Q just ask I’ve been there twice on both business and two of my best friend’s weddings!
EDIT : I was going to say if you have a gf/wife/special someone, for sure shop for a nice sari/saree for her, I bought a few back for my wife and she loved them. Ask for Nalli (the shop’s name, it’s from the south of India but very good silk and selection).
[quote]rajs wrote:
You want to come to Delhi why…?
Worth checking out Leh, Manali, Andaman Islands if you can, Agra of course, Kerala and Goa.
Bring Supplements with you if you plan to use them, unless you like spending 100 USD for protein and 50 for fish oils.
Don’t expect English to be that widely spoken. Oh and trust no one.[/quote]
Wow [/quote]
Wow what?[/quote]
we have a new contestant for the lurker of the year award. Been here since 2002 and 3 of your 5 posts are in this thread.
Impressive.
[/quote]
Right, so I am not allowed to help then? Almost as impressive as replying to a thread you have nothing to add to just to point that out.
I read stuff on here a fair amount but don’t post as I don’t really feel I have anything to add, nor can I be bothered with all the negative crap. Your post for example. [/quote]
I think you misunderstood. I was in no way attempting to insult or belittle you with my post and I’m sorry if that’s how it came across.
I made a joke but I certainly didn’t intend for it to be at your expense.
As stated earlier, be very wary of water. Always drink/carry bottled water, don’t drink juices (unless they’re bottled), don’t eat anything off the street unless every component is cooked in some way. Iced anything is a no no too. That being said, sample all the local food you can but keep milk handy as it’s more than likely to be stupidly spicy.
You will see some pretty horrific sights, ignore them. Don’t give too much money away too easily to street kids, they will follow and pester you. Keep your money safe.
If you’re taking a taxi or rickshaw, agree on a price with the driver before you get in, or they will take you on a tour of the city. I don’t know how much you should agree on, but your hotel staff should be able to tell you.
[quote]rajs wrote:
Right, so I am not allowed to help then? Almost as impressive as replying to a thread you have nothing to add to just to point that out.
I read stuff on here a fair amount but don’t post as I don’t really feel I have anything to add, nor can I be bothered with all the negative crap. Your post for example. [/quote]
No, you’re not allowed to help.
WTF - how could you possibly that that was implied?? If you’re going to just start inventing “negative crap,” you’re letting these boards victimize you.
You are within striking distance of the Indian Himalayas in Delhi. I went to Shimla and also Dharamshala/Mcleod Ganj and Gangotri (close to the source of the Gnages) and Kedarnarth (in the Rudraprayag District of Uttarakhand – has a very beautiful Shiva temple with a very dramatic backdrop.)
I can reccomend all of these (actually, maybe not shimla) they all have great hiking options.
Also the classic tourist route around Rajasthan is worth doing (Bharatpur, Jaisalmer, Jodhphur, Udaipur, etc.)
Even the rat temple at Bikaner is interesting. (Creeped the fuck out of me though!)
The culture shock is inevitable, but try to keep your sense of humour — not everyone is out to get you.
Having said that…the most hard sell of the hard sells (and you have to be pretty persistent to out hard sell the other hard sells) usually turned out to be Kasmiris in Delhi.
The Sikh taxi and tuk tuk drivers were usually pretty honest.
-Go to the Taj Mahal (obvious) which is only a couple hours drive from New Delhi. When buying tickets for the Taj Mahal if you can get a local to buy your ticket it will save you a lot of money. They charge $20+ to foreigners and only a couple of dollars to locals.
[/quote]
Wow. Really.
I’ve traveled a lot and the Taj Mahal is one of the most ‘smash you in the face’ outstanding things of beauty I have ever seen. I would pay $200 to walk around that. I can’t believe someone would worry about a few bucks to see that.
