India Advice

>What am I in for?

Poverty like you've never seen it before. 5 months is a loooong time to spend in India, have fun with that lol.

>>1258399
This. Why the hell did you do 5 months? Have you ever been, judging from your post it sounds like you have not. Did you just blindly book?

I mainly want to travel the place, not just go on holiday.

>>1258404
Did you do 0 research about traveling the places then? 5 months is a long fucking time to explore, you'll probably get bored and run out of things/get bored in a month unless you mapped out stops prior to booking, which it sounds like you didn't

>>1258406
I'm arriving in Mumbai, I was planning on heading up to Nepal through Rahjistan. Then heading south-east and following the coast to Goa.

Basically, I have a flexible plan of doing a circle.

>>1258412

You mean *Rajasthan.

Nobody knows what you're in for.

It depends on what time of the year you're arriving and where you'll be traveling and staying.

Spending a week trekking the Himalayas would be a very different experience from taking a hike into Chhattisgarh's Bastar District.

4,000 pounds is fine for five months in India. While you might not be able to go out and have a great time every day, you won't be suffering. That's about $35 per day, which is okay for eating at local restaurants, grabbing the odd beer, and staying in a budget hotel or hostel dorm with some sightseeing.

The only place I think you'd really struggle to make ends meet would be in Mumbai, given the city's housing prices. Finding a centrally-located budget hotel there for under $25 or $30 per night is a struggle.

I think I found a place for around 1,000 rupees just south of the red light district which was one tiny room with a fan and dysfunctional shower.

Frankly, I'd recommend going a bit more off the beaten path if you're going to be spending nearly half a year there.

Go to Northeast India for a spell and wander around Madhya Pradesh - neither area is particularly unsafe, but Rajasthan and Goa are basically India: White Hippie Raver Edition.

>>1258387
Well, India is large and 5 months seems enough time to explore some states of India. Lonely Planet has a fresh edition on India (almost 400 pages).

As previous anons posted, poverty affects a mojority of the people. Rubbish and animals everywhere. Safety rules forget it. And remember when you had a crowded train back home when you did commute to work. Well, multiply this with 100

>>1258418

Are you trying to say that Indian trains are crowded or just making a point about population?

File: _87211432_trainmathurreuters[1].jpg (59KB, 624x383px) Image search: [Google]

59KB, 624x383px

>>1258422
It's both, have you any clue what indian trans look like?

Pic related: not ALWAYS this bad but still pretty fucking garbage

>>1258387
5 months is a long time, especially if you're going solo, but should be fun. You could spend a year there and still have shit to see, plus it's easy to get to Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka etc.

Forget what this guy is saying>>1258418, the trains are fun to ride, cheap, and pretty fast. You get bunks large enough to lie down on. You'll pass places you'll never otherwise see and most passengers and friendly and inquisitive.

I'd plan your trip around the climate as it can be very extreme depending on the region and season.

>>1258424

Please see: >>1258476.

I made the post you're replying to.

I do, in fact, have some clue what Indian trains look like, considering I lived there for several years.

I agree with the other Anon - trains in India are, by and large, cheap, fun, and a fairly fast and efficient way of traveling around the Subcontinent.

Unless OP is planning to book tickets in General Class, he will not be squeezed in with dozens of other passengers.

While I'm not sure what's going on in the picture you posted, I have never seen a train like that in India, ever. However, over-crowding and people hanging out of doorways is common on the Mumbai local trains, as well as other some other suburban and low-speed commuter trams.

Any and all AC classes on Indian trains tend to be well-patrolled by ticket inspectors, comfortable, and secure. Sometimes toilet cleanliness is an issue, depending on the route and other passengers.

Not only is not ALWAYS that bad, it pretty much fucking never is.

>>1258418
Why do you always post that image?

Go watch some IPL

>>1258489
Im an indian and I will be honest, only poor people in india take the train especially for long distance. I have a cousin who does low level marketing for some company, they sent him on a trip to calcutta for business. It took him 18 hours with all the delays, he booked a plane ticket home.

It might be fun for a 1-2 times experience but traveling that way is just retarded. Its like taking the public transport system in america if you have a car.

>>1258505

I guess I'm not sure what your point is.

Obviously it's easier to fly.

Somebody traveling around for five months on a budget of 4,000 pounds doesn't have the money to book flights every time they're going from city to city.

>>1258505
IDK i live in India (americafag) for two years, loved taking the train everywhere. Always met fun people, sometimes people I wish I never met, and of course the sights while traveling south (north is pretty barren). Take trains. They are cheap, sometimes comfortable, and a good way to be exposed to life in India, especially in some obscure places. I'll never forget my train to Kochin, singing Jai Ho! with a group of young Indians and getting drunk of palm wine, having to stop in the middle of a jungle in the middle of the night and being completely freaked out that I would get attacked by something out there in the deep darkness. I guess the shittiest part is having to take a shit on a train.

>>1258489
I attest to this. Though general class was never unbearable to me. You learn to adjust.

Should I get health insurance for this trip?

>>1258507
4000 pounds probably go a long way in India, and short distance flights are often dirt cheap, at least in other regions, I have never actually been to India. So if you travel a reasonably long distance I would definitely recommend taking a flight, unless you enjoy the train experience.

>>1258734
yeah and work out which hospital you should go to if something happens.

>>1258758

In my experience in eight trips to India, 3AC is almost always sufficiently cheap as to pose a tempting alternative over budget flights, which are not as inexpensive in India as you might think.

For instance, a last-minute train ticket under the tourist quota might cost $30 in 3AC from DEL - Mumbai but be $70-$100+ by plane.

Uh, just make it 3 months or so, where is the problem lol

>>1258505
well I can tell youre from india and not american for sure. a lot of people have cars in new york or philadelphia but take public transit if they commute to the city. same with long distance, some amtrak tickets are cheaper than paying for gas + tolls driving interstate.

watch out for people shitting in the streets

How do I use my US number to order fucking food through these apps like food panda or swiggy.

>>1258387
ya dun goofed

>>1259998
You get a sim for fee when you arrive. Brand new policy by Mohdi. It tracks you, but who gives a fuck, you're a tourist, not a Al-Qaeda.

>>1260119

Unless they changed the policy since I last entered India in August, you only get a free SIM if arriving on an e-visa.

They don't have any similar concessions for persons traveling on standard paper visas.

>>1260124
Oh sorry, yeah that's right. Sorry, in my head its all e-visas.

>>1259933
I am from india but ive been living in america for a long time now. I live in upstate ny and an amtrak ticket to nyc would cost me more than driving to nyc and back.

Outside of some major cities in america, public transport in america is trash especially if you live in a suburb or rural area. Depending on where you live and where the bus route is, its gonna take you a good walk to get to it.

One of my co workers moved up here recently from long island. Their car had a problem and they had to take a taxi to work. For a ride that was less than 5 miles it cost them $35.

>>1258505
Well it depends on what part of America, In NYC, Sanfran and other large cities. Its impossible to drive a car effectively. Also parking is a fucking nightmare.

>>1261142
Well it depends on what part of the country you are from. In some parts of the country it makes more sense to take public transit compared to taking your car. My parents pay over 1k a month just to park on car in Manhattan.

Going to India next year in April, anyone care to give any hints?

Place i'm going to are:

Calcutta
Goa
Mumbai
Jaisalmer
Jaipur
Delhi
Agra
Varanassi

Spending the longest time in Goa (over a week) because I enjoy a beach and a party, shortest stop is Calcutta at only 1 day (its a stopover between coming from Thailand and flying to Goa).

I ended up cutting out Rishikesh and Amritsar because I decided I wanted to out in more time to Nepal so I could get as much time on the Annapurna trek as possible.

Getting trains (AC2) everywhere because i save a night in accommodation, they are cheaper and I get to see the countryside for a bit.

May have a bunch of extra time in India if things don't go to plan (Attempting to get a Turkmenistan transit visa and Uzbekistan visa while i'm in Delhi, quite a chance Ill be denied one of them). Wondering where i could spend an extra month or other must see things.

Alternatively, thinking about going to Pakistan for a bit, try my hardest to keep out of harms way there and mainly stay to Lahore and Karachi. Would love to go to Peshawar but somehow doubt ill have the balls to go there (without some paid security at least).

>>1261545
I think what you're planning for is too much for a month, try limiting it to the north or the south (even calcutta is out of the way from all the other places up north, its on the other coast of india)
What i would suggest is something like:
Delhi
Jaipur
Varanassi
Jaisalmer
Agra
Amritsar
(not in this order though you have to check out the map and transport lines)
and if you have time then you can go down south to mumbai and goa

>>1262447

I just found out my regular travelex card isn't accepted in India. I have 3 days to convert my 2.5k aud to indian rupee

What do anons use to get money? Preferably AUD.

>>1262455

I did,only because better safe than sorry.

>>1261728

I'm sending closer to 2 months there, I said I'd potentially end up with a whole extra month if i can't get a Turkmenistan visa.

Calcutta is literally a stop over on a plane, the flight from Bangkok goes to Calcutta and from there ill be getting a plane to Goa. As the stopover was going to be a 7 hour wait in an airport I thought I might just spend a whole day there.

Also the route i'm going is the big tourist route (with the exception of Mumbai to Jaisalmer which is a pain). The trains are overnight so i save on accommodation and time.

Also I plan on spending a minimum of 3 days in each location (except Agra which is only a 1 1/2 days). I could cut off some time in some places to add to others maybe.