File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Hey guys. First post on /trv/.

So I'm sure you get this *all* the time, but here goes: I spontaneously decided it would be a good idea to travel this summer, I'm turning 21 and my parents are buying me a ticket to virtually anywhere on the globe and I've decided India would be amazing. I've already been to Europe a few times and I wanted to try something different. Problem is, I don't really have any ideas of what I should or shouldn't visit; India is a huge country. I'd rather stay away from the touristy places (I mean, sure, I'll get my picture taken at the Taj Mahal but what I mean is I don't wanna stay at some hotel/resort/eat shitty tourist food/etc), I'd much rather stay at some hostel (if that exists at all there, that's what I did when I travelled through south america and it was the BEST experience) and so on.

So... Yeah, any fact you have about India would be GREATLY appreciated. Food, places, advice and so on.

tl;dr: India, halp, thanks. =3
>> Anonymous
>>40983

Oh yeah, also, a good friend of mine is in Sri Lanka right now, is it a good idea to visit her on the way?
>> Anonymous
>I'd rather stay away from the touristy places

You're always going to be a tourist.
You're not going to blend in.

I don't know how it makes you people feel unique by eating in some shit-hole in the wall in assfuck India or going to some remote city nobody has heard of and pretending that you've learned something.
>> Anonymous
Enjoy your diarrhea.
>> Anonymous
I hope you're not female.

Of course when you're in India, always be on guard for suspicious activity: pickpockets in the most unlikely places, kidnappings, etc.

If someone offers you ANY help and you accept, even with bags at the airport, like loading them into a bus that goes between terminals, be aware that you might have to tip them, unless you want something undesirable to happen.

Always eat fully cooked food. If the place looks kinda seedy, just go vegetarian while there.

Stay out of muslim areas, if at all possible.

Try staying in one of those palaces-turned-hotel.

If you go to one of the monuments and you need to pay to get in, there might be a camera charge as well. Something like 25 Rupees to take photos of the place. If you're a cheap ass who can't even pay that measly amount, you can probably sneak in your camera, unless the guards are really attentitive. Just be ready for a bag-check, but those are not too thorough. Just rummaging through the top layer of the bag. Place some water, notebooks, etc ontop of the camera to hide it well.

As for what you can do, don't know of much, but here's a bit of what I do know...

Forts. Some of the forts can be rather nice, but can be rather touristy, depending on the fort you're at.

Try going on a safari. They can be pretty nice.

Ever seen a bazaar before?
>> Anonymous
>>40984
It is never a good idea to go to Sri Lanka.

>>40983
Since I'm certain you speak no South Asian languages, I'd say that you should stick to major cities. The Taj Mahal is nice, but Agra is a shithole otherwise and doesn't have a terrible lot to recommend it. I'm primarily familiar with the west coast, and I can recommend Goa, Bangalore, and Mumbai as very worthwhile places to visit. They are large cities, so a phrasebook (when necessary at all) can actually be useful. In the countryside, phrasebooks are worthless because you can't count on anyone speaking English, Hindi, or even any major derivative like Marathi. Basically, if you don't stick to the cities it's going to be a linguistic clusterfuck.

Anyways, pick up a Lonely Planet guide/phrasebook. Linguistically, their phrasebooks are best but you can never really trust a travel guide. Just use it to get a feel for how a place is organized and then go.
>> Anonymous
>>40995
notes on this: ~40 rupees = 1 dollar

Just eat where other people are eating. If there's a line at a food stand, go there.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>40989

Fuck off.

>>40995

I'm already vegetarian so no problem there.

Yeah, I don't own a camera myself, not really the picture kind, but it's no problem. Also, I live in a "third world country" so I'm pretty familiar with the whole tipping/kidnapping/shady food deal.

I've been to a bazaar in Morocco before, I'm sure they're very different though, I'll make sure to check it out.

Thanks!

>>40997

Haha, well she tells me in her emails that she's having the best time, so I wondered.

Got it, Miumbai, Goa, Bangalore, I'll wiki them right now. To be honest I don't know much about India but I'm really excited to go. I'll stick to the major cities but I'd also like to get away for a while, I'm a little sick of the fucking asphalt I need to get lost in some jungle or something. Money is not really a problem but I'm definitely not gonna pay for some five-star hotel, I'd rather spend it on souvenirs and bhang.
>> Anonymous
>>40995
>Stay out of muslim areas, if at all possible.

What's with Indian muslims? I thought they were the sanest people in muslim world along with Turks?
>> Anonymous
>>41010

Say hello to dhashim.
>> Anonymous
>>41014

Dhashim?
>> Anonymous
I've been to India a few times. The first if not second and third times are always an anxious adventure. The place is fucking huge and holds over 17% of the worlds population.

The main thing with India is safety. The place is fairly safe for travellers/foreigners, excluding a few regions prone to terrorism, though that is primarily in the north. Expect to be pick pocketed at least once or have somebody attempt to. Never keep a large amount of cash on you, at least not in your pockets. Keep it hidden the best you can but easy to access. There is rarely any crime that's going to harm you there such as robberies, but it's not non existent.

Never exchange anything without negotiating a price in advance, be it a ride on a rickshaw somewhere, a day guide, or somebody to handle your luggage. People will try ripping you off every fucking chance they get. When you pay, make sure they didn't skim your change and give you the wrong amount. Never pay more than what was negotiated.
>> Anonymous
When eating, always always always eat cooked food. Make sure it's cooked. If it looks undercooked, ask them to heat it more. ALWAYS drink bottled water, beer and spirits. They may be able to handle the parasites, but you cant. Also, always eat with your right hand. It's very disrespectful to use the left.

Learn a bit about the varying cultures there and where they are. Depending on where you visit, you may need to adapt to traditions. Examples would be the formalities when visiting a Muslim dominant area or Hindi. Also, they have different physical communication there, as in nodding yes/no and handshakes.
>> Anonymous
When travelling expect to experience some pretty shit conditions. Trains are the worst, next are buses. Pay the extra cash for a better class when travelling on train for example.

You can have a great time in India without visiting any tourist places, but then again it would be nice to see such things as the Taj Mahal, Bodh Gaya, and the Ganges.

Indians are very friendly, polite and helpful. So while the millions of people may be somewhat overwhelming, it's a pretty fucking awesome place with so much to it.

It's dirt cheap to travel around - you can easily get around, eat and sleep for less than 30 dollars US a day. Stick to hostels (they're everywhere), local foods, and trains and you won't even spend 1000 bucks. English is widely spoken too so you shouldn't have a problem. Translation books aren't too helpful due to the many languages and dialects spoken.

Just research the place extensively before you go, there is so much to know before you attempt to travel/backpack around.

Also, don't bother going if you're female and plan on going alone. And don't visit Sir Lanka, the place isn't the safest to travel around as a foreigner. In fact, I'm pretty sure most embassy's world wide are against travelling there right now due to the various rebel/terrorist groups active in the country.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
Thanks again everyone ^^'

>>41017

Aight, I'll make sure to keep that in mind. I didn't know about the whole pickpocketing-thing in India, to be honest it has never happened to me yet.

>>41018

Will do. I'm definitely gonna do as much reading as I can before I leave, I like to know as much as I can about a place before I go there.

-

Questions:

Varanasi. y/n.

Where can I find a good, not-so-densely-populated beach?
>> Anonymous
>>41019

Well there's gonna be three of us, one guy, two girls.

Thank you so much for all the feedback, /trv/ is really one of the troll-free boards on 4chan; impressive.

Any places you can personally recommend? (Besides the Taj Mahal, Bodh Gaya, and the Ganges)
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
I just got to this thread, so I may be repeating some things already said... but I lived in India for six months last year (mainly in the countryside east of Hyderabad) and visited quite a few places in South / Western India.

Pickpockets and beggars are something to watch out for, especially if travelling alone. I was lucky to have both other non-Indians with me AND a friendly Indian guide (the guy who invited us), so we weren't hit on too much and when we were, our guide was able to shoo them away in their native language. one of the key things is not to make eye contact with the beggars or, in fact, to give them anything, unless you enjoy being immediately hounded by 100+ (I'm not joking) women and children holding out their hands and making "food in mouth" gestures because they saw you give a dollar bill to a little girl beggar...

Food can be a problem; NEVER eat from street vendors unless there are about 40 in one place (street restaraunts), and be careful even then. Some places in India still use crude oil to cook their food, meaning that you're basically ingesting unprocessed fossil fuels and all the bad stuff that comes with it. The good food, however, is AWESOME; curry done right is some of the best food in the world. I recommend South Indian food above the rest (more spicy!), but I really didn't spend more than a month eating other region's foods.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>41038
I see a question about beaches; the BEST (but only) beach I went to was in Machiliputnam (lit: place of fish) where the sand was flat for half a mile inland because of the tsunami :P great beach though

I never had a problem taking pictures with my Canon digital... although there were times that I was sneaky about it because I wasn't sure of the rules.

Do stay out of Muslim areas if you are white and/or female; there is a good chance that you will be beaten up and left to live (according to my Christian Indian guide; I could be wrong).

Take lots and lots and LOTS of bug spray, preferably with a high percentage of DEET, because you do NOT want to catch malaria from mosquitoes and spend two weeks of your trip getting shots in the butt and going slightly delirious from fever (happened to a girl with us).
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>41039
Right now, the rupee is trading at about 43R to 1$US, or about 68R to 1 euro. You can get a good meal at a high-priced restaraunt for about 80R, and the pricing scale is pretty much the same across the board (except for technology, which has something like a 500% markup)

I'd better stop, as I could write for a LOOONG time about six months in a foreign country... it was a great time in my life, even though I was pretty sheltered through most of it. Hope you enjoy the trip!

Picture is a billboard in Vijayawada (across the street from the best hotel restaraunt there); every female I traveled with went CRAZY over getting their own sari ;)
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
anybody want more india pics? :P
41038 is a very low-key, underdone wedding (slight sarcasm, but you should see the expensive ones)
41039 is Bangalore from the roof of a four-story building, near the outskirts
This one is the giant Hanuman statue on the way near Vijayawada; it looked like it was at least 150 feet tall
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
8 tickets to the Bangalore Zoo: $8?
8 passes on the Tiger Tour: $4?
6 large bottles of ice-cold Coca-Cola: $4?

Taking a picture of a wild monkey living in the park as he leaves the bird cages, climbs up on the tree near us and scratches his ass, but you take the picture RIGHT as he is smelling his fingers.... PRICELESS
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>41015
>> Anonymous
>>41039
>Do stay out of Muslim areas if you are white and/or female; there is a good chance that you will be beaten up and left to live (according to my Christian Indian guide; I could be wrong).

Muslim areas aren't really that bad unless you're female. Muslims aren't all insane fundamentalists bent on world domination in the name of Allah. Just do NOT bring up the issue of politics unless they initiate a conversation, and even then try to steer away from it. Another key thing is to simply know Muslim customs and traditions and do not break them. The smallest, insignificant things can cause great disrespect and they'll often scold you. Generally, it's okay to visit Muslim dominated areas, especially if they're higher class, rather than a slum. Again, don't bring a female around with you if you go anywhere near there, OP.

When I was in Iran I met some of the friendliest people in the world, and they were nearly all Muslim. The media simply gives people warped ideas about them.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>41038
>>41041

Wow! Great! Thanks for the advice! I'll *definitely* be careful with food and pickpocketing as it's what everyone here as been warning me about lol. I guess I'll be staying in the south-east region but I'd love to visit Bodh Gaya so we'll see how it goes. I pretty much settled on India yesterday so it's all news to me.

Man India seems really wonderful (and cheap lol) I feel like I'm gonna really enjoy this trip. :)
>> Anonymous
>>41053
>When I was in Iran I met some of the friendliest people in the world, and they were nearly all Muslim. The media simply gives people warped ideas about them.

...Except for the fact that they...tear women apart on sight? Right..sounds real friendly.
>> Anonymous
>>41057

Have you ever been to Iran? Yes, women will gather some stares but not as much as you'd believe. I went there with my 17 year old sister and we encountered no problems.
>> Anonymous
>>41053
>Muslim areas aren't really that bad unless you're female

>Again, don't bring a female around with you if you go anywhere near there, OP.

>The media simply gives people warped ideas about them.

I lol'd.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>41075
Yeah, sounds like the media is pretty accurate to me.

Pic related.
>> Anonymous
As an india fag I say that you stick to the south. Bangalore has the best weather I hear. Also a lot more people are able to speak english in the south also.

As people already said, youre going to be charged a fucking ridiculous amount of money to visit museums/etc etc. If its about Rs.30 youll be charged Rs.150 (for foreigners) - it will be labeled at the counter, unless you can pass for an indian. Buy the bottled water and food. Cant really say about that just stick to hotels and fast food joints in malls. Hyderabad, madras and bangalore have a shit load of them. Youll find pizza, mcdonalds, bk, kfc, etc etc all there.

Housing is pretty cheap. You can rent a very nice apartment out at around Rs.5000($100-200) for a month. Hotels will cost too much but they will offer you more comfortable enviorment. Dont stay in a hostel if your visiting it. Youre going to get fucking robbed in the night.
>> Anonymous
archive this shit before the muslim shitstorm hits harder
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
nice this thread is still around
>> Anonymous
>>41053
>>41039
didn't know people who went to India took absolutely no time to understand the culture they would travel in.
>> Anonymous
be ready to bribe the police. An Indian friend of mine visited India, and they (him and his family) got their way out of all sorts of trouble with the equivalent of $5 given to the right police officers.
>> Anonymous
ITT: people who know nothing about Muslims or Islam.

Retards
>> Anonymous
>>41777
Now, I'm generally the guy who points out the retardation and ignorance these morons spurt, but for some reason that sounded a bit too butthurt...