India (best hotels, how much, hotel)

[boardmanite]

I'm currently living in Asia and I'm going to do some traveling while I'm here. One of the places at the top of my list to see is India. But the country is so huge, so I need some help in narrowing down my options. What places have you visited in India, and how did you like them? I enjoy beautiful scenery (mountains, beaches, etc) as well as interesting architecture (temples, ancient city neighborhoods, palaces, etc). Please share your experiences and recommendations about India!

Boardmanite

[mead]

Make sure you get the visa well in advance. Dealing with the Indian consulate is generally an unpleasant experience in nearly any country I've been in (although I wonder if there will be any crowds at an Indian embassy in South Korea?)

Obviously my top pick would be Delhi. Tons of old stuff to see. You can easily spend several days taking trips around Delhi and seeing all of the old Moghul monuments scattered around Delhi. There is also a decent history museum in Delhi, I forget the name but it is near the Parliament building and Victory Arch, that is worth a visit.

When you get bored of that you can take a day trip from Delhi to Agra and go see the Taj Mahal.

Goa is very nice with old Portuguese colonial buildings to see and decent beaches. It is pretty touristy though, so the level of harassment from the locals can be somewhat high.

I actually like Calcutta, however I think I like it because of how shocking it is. Not very touristy but you can create your own touristy stuff to see. Old temples, Victoria Monument, Mother Theresa Grave & Headquarters of her order of Nuns.

I'm not a big fan of Bombay, but I am sure others will disagree. Beyond Elephanta Island, I didn't find much to see as a tourist. Tons of slums all over the place. It was quite shocking to see the sheer number of slum buildings, even by India's standards. I believe Bombay has the largest slums in the wolrd, if I am remembering what I read correctly.

As an aside whenever I've been in South Asia I like to bring a lot of immodium with me. I generally eat a lot of spicy foods and curry in the USA, and that never bothers me. But its either the food preparation or the lack of sanitation, but one way or another you're bound to get sick. If you get a stomach bug really bad even pepto bismo won't help you out in South Asia.

I'm sure you'll be somewhat accustomed to dealing with spicy food after being in South Korea.

Also just be careful about walking around. Cars and rickshaws drive crazy in India.

Be prepared to haggle and fight over prices! This applies especially to Taxis. I reccomend that before leaving your hotel you ask someone at the counter how much it would cost to take a rickshaw from your hotel to a tourist site. Then when you find a rickshaw the driver will never want to agree to a reasonable price and will try to find ways to scam you one way other another.

If you have been to China the level of bargaining is similar as to what you'll find in most Chinese souvenir shops (endless bickering over a couple of cents) however the technique of bargaining is completely different in India than it is in China.

[ian6479]

Dehli would be a better option that Mumbai.. its cleaner and more to see. You could take a trip to the Taj Mahal from there.

I loved Goa, but stay away from the major tourist bit. You can get a cab 2 hours south to Polalom (check spelling!) Beach for about $20US and it is beautiful and uncrowded. Huts run at around $5 per night but the basic accomodation is worth the beauty.

[boardmanite]

Thank you both very much! That was extremely helpful. I've been researching the major cities, but I find it's better to get a "real person's" opinion. Before I was leaning toward Bombay, but now I'll look into Delhi a bit more. I like the idea of a day-trip to the Taj Mahal. My trip is still in the planning stages, so I've got a while to figure everything out.

The getting sick part scares me. I've been to many parts of the world, and have never gotten any stomach bug. I'm careful about what I eat, but not overly obsessive. Some places, particularly here in Korea, I've had a few upset stomachs because of stuffing it with "foreign" food. But there's a big difference between that and say, having to go to the hospital and get an IV of sorts. What type of "sick" do foreigners commonly get in India?

Again, thanks for the help. If you think of any other places of interest, let me know!

[wastina]

I haven't seen much of India, but I've been to the Taj twice. While at the Taj, you can visit the Red Fort (down the river from the Taj, and part of the history of the story: There are some good current-ish fictionalized stories about the history of the Taj), but what I liked BETTER was Fattepur Sikhri, which is an hour or so from Agra. I'd plan on two days to do Agra and Fattepur Sikhri, and to do them at leisure. It's cool to walk the walks around the Taj and to see how India lives in and around one of the World Wonders. If you've got some money to spend, there's a fabulous hotel with direct views of the Taj from your room, which is worth the money just to stay in the architectural style of the place. The hotel is the Oberoi Amarvilas (perhaps $300 a night), and it's one of the "World's Best Hotels." If you can splurge, it will definitely help frame your experience in Agra.

[mead]

Yeah getting sick while traveling around South Asian is unfortunately quite common. I've been all over east and Southeast Asia and have eaten spicy random foods all over the place with no ill effects, however even I wasn't prepared for the gastrointestinal problems that awaited me in South Asia.

Just bring some immodium. The second things start going downhill, just take a couple of those and drink some water. You don't want to get dehydrated from having a bad stomach, especially if you won't be traveling with someone else who would be able to help you out.

Try not to eat too much street-stall food. However even a lot of the food in restaurants will probably make you sick. There's really no avoiding it.

OH! Also for taxis from the airport. Remember that there is always a counter in the airport where you go to in order to get a Pre-paid taxi. Do not just hop into a taxi at the airport, without having prepaid for it. This cuts out the need to haggle with the driver over the price of your ride from the hotel. Even then, the driver is likely to try to ask your for money once you have purchased the pre-paid taxi-ticket.

Whatever you do, do not hand over that pre-paid ticket to the taxi driver until you get to your hospital. Also don't give him any extra money, as it is not necessary. You can however give him a couple of rupees in an attempt to shut him up, however this will likely backfire as he will just ask for even more money.

Originally Posted by boardmanite

The getting sick part scares me. I've been to many parts of the world, and have never gotten any stomach bug. I'm careful about what I eat, but not overly obsessive. Some places, particularly here in Korea, I've had a few upset stomachs because of stuffing it with "foreign" food. But there's a big difference between that and say, having to go to the hospital and get an IV of sorts. What type of "sick" do foreigners commonly get in India?

Again, thanks for the help. If you think of any other places of interest, let me know!