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Every time I am in India, I use the services of INVICTA TOURS & TRAVEL agency ... it is run by a pair of brothers (they speak English and a few other European languages fluently) and their tiny little office is on the main street that runs through the Pahar Ganj bazaar just across the street from the New Delhi's main train station. They will get your train tickets, airplane tickets, pick you up at the airport, drive you to the airport, arrange for a car and driver carry your luggage to the train station, make sure you get on the right train and compartment ... they treat you like royalty!!!
I have used this agency for more than 10 years and cannot recommend them highly enough!!! The prices they charge is very competitive ... yes I did check out other travel agencies in New Delhi. They are 100% legitimate, reliable, friendly, and ave your best interests in mind. I have seen them put together a fine package for tourists who had only 5 days in India - accommodations in good quality attractive but not too expensive hotels, car, driver, advice on where to go and what to see (in five days an ideal itinerary includes the fabled "pink city" of Jaipur in Rajastan, and a trip to historic Agra and a visit to the Taj Mahal).
Invicta Tours & Travel in New Delhi, India. Google it.
I couldn't disagree with this post more.
I have just returned from a trip to India where I had the misfortune to purchase a tour with Bilal Shafi (aka Invicta Tour & travels). Let's call him "shafi the shark" for short. I had done a lot of homework prior to travelling, booking some hotels and working out an itinerary. I originally intended to travel by train taking a few buses here and there. But found it hard to arrange the train tickets online (Indian bureaucracy is astounding) and half jet lagged in the heat trying to avoid street touts ended up organising a car and hotel bookings through Invicta travel.
Travelling through India by car is actually a great way to see Rajasthan and gives you the freedom to visit places slightly out of the way (e.g Bhundi and Ranakpur). However I would urge everyone to book a car and driver directly, as they only charge 9Rs per km. Through "Shafi the Shark" it cost us a lot more and the hotels were a complete rip off (basic ammenities, decrepit bathrooms and awful breakfasts) when you realise that you can stay in well furnished mid-range hotels for under £25 per night (e.g Anjani hotel in Udapiur, Green hotel in Mcleod Ganj, Prince Palonia hotel in Delhi)
Public transport is ridiculously cheap in India (e.g a 12hr sleeper bus journey between Bikaner and Amritsar costs only 400Rs pp) So the best way to organise your trip is by NOT USING INVICTA TOUR & TRAVEL.
India was magical but it's very upsetting to get taken advantage of and I don't mean a modest profit. This guy is a crook - beware.
Not only that, I would return thinner or emaciated, because I can't stand Indian food. Not even if they had McDonald's over there.
They do have McDonalds, and every thing else there is in North America.
A friend of mine grew up in Chennai. Last year she married a white guy from Nebraska. They had a wedding in California, Nebraska, then last fall, in India.
Some day I'd like to fly into Delhi, buy some motorcycles, and take a tour from there all the way to Thailand or Cambodia. People think I'm insane.
Not only that, I would return thinner or emaciated, because I can't stand Indian food. Not even if they had McDonald's over there.
The first time I went, I couldn't stand it either. I love it today, but have a hard time eating it for a week (or more) straight.
Any of the major cities have McDonald's, Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC, and more of our chains in abundance. In addition, every major city has a plethora of non-Indian restaurants. My favorite place in Chennai for a quick bite to eat was an Italian style pasta bar that had a variety of pastas, toppings and sauces. The best part? a filling meal was like $5. I also ate French, Portuguese and American food over there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by scorpio516
A friend of mine grew up in Chennai. Last year she married a white guy from Nebraska. They had a wedding in California, Nebraska, then last fall, in India.
Some day I'd like to fly into Delhi, buy some motorcycles, and take a tour from there all the way to Thailand or Cambodia. People think I'm insane.
Chennai is where I spent most of my time in India. It's a cool city in a beautiful location. The beaches just outside the city are fantastic (inside the city, I found them to be a little dirty) and Pondicherry, about 2 hours South is a great little city with a French influence.
My father actually did something similar. He never went as far as Thailand or Cambodia, but he did it along the coast near Chennai. He bought a vintage looking Royal Enfield and drove it for a while there (just recreationally). He had it shipped over to Boston and it STILL cost less than buying a bike over here. It's a great idea.
India will always have a place in my heart, it is really a different world.. but not for the faint of heart. The nice thing about India is that it is quite a safe place to be, so you can see something that is so different from the USA and not really have to have as much of a risk of crime as you do in something like South America.
Would I go back? Most likely not, but it is definitely something to see if you want to see something that is far from westernized.
It takes a different kind of traveller to want to visit India. Even before going there, you really need to brace yourself for the most extreme experience you can imagine, especially if you're born and brought up in a western country. Yes, India is filthy beyond anything I've seen in Asia (I'm not talking Hongkong or Singapore here, but places with dense population like China and Indonesia). Black crows were everywhere, they're the first ones that woke me up in the morning and the last ones I heard before I fell asleep. I could smell the offending aroma of raw sewage all along the highway from the Mumbai airport. So you get the point.
Having said that, I consider myself lucky to have visited 3 cities in India: Calcutta, Mumbai / Bombay, and Goa. I tend to avoid the touristy places when I travel, so what I've seen maybe slightly different than what other tourists have seen. One thing about India that I admire is the people. They're some of the warmest, friendliest, and most welcoming people I've encountered. They would go out of their way to help you out. We were lost on one of the smaller roads in Calcutta, and a guy who spoke very limited english simply got on his motorbike and guided us for 3-5 miles back to the road we're supposed to take, then simply smiled and waved to our chorus of thank yous, then he drove back 3-5 miles to where we met him. Imagine someone doing that for complete strangers in the US!
The beaches in Goa are okay, the sand there is kinda reddish / brownish sand, but the food is fantastic..! My husband and I had great fun walking around in Mapusa market, Goa.
Did you know that India has its own blend of Chinese food that is distinctly India? We found that out in Calcutta, which by far, has the best Chinese - Indian fusion food I've tasted.
I didn't like Mumbai, too much city feel for my taste.
If you have India on your wish list, go for it. Just read as much as you can about your destination before you go to prepare yourself mentally. I personally would like to visit India again someday, perhaps to Kerala.
I think you should go BODH GAYA. In BODH GAYA, there is a GOUTAM BUDH temple. It's respectable temple in the world.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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I'm fascinated by the history and culture of this exotic, mysterious land, and my next trip within Asia will definitely be to India. I plan to go with Intrepid the first time round, as their prices seem reasonable, maybe a 3 week tour across Northern India. I'm interested to check out Varanasi, for it's significance to Hinduism and Indian culture and it's age, Agra, Rajasthan, and the South of India. Bangalore is a very clean, modern city by Indian standards, and Kerala is one of the better off states. Being in Western Australia it's only about a 6-7 hour flight to Sri Lanka.
Of course India is dirty, but as a tourist, if you take precautions (necessarily vaccinations, don't drink tap water, stay away from certain areas) you should be fine. I'm sure the good hotels are very clean.
Of course India is dirty, but as a tourist, if you take precautions (necessarily vaccinations, don't drink tap water, stay away from certain areas) you should be fine. I'm sure the good hotels are very clean.
This was the hardest thing to do. I was told over and over again "don't drink the water!" "Use bottled water for brushing your teeth!" etc. Even with it totally stamped on my brain, literally the first thing I did when I got to my room was go to the bathroom and brush my teeth with the tap water. About 3/4 of the way too I started cursing with a mouth full of toothpaste when I realized what I had done. Thankfully, most of the nicer hotels treat the crap out of the water (to the point where it tastes almost like chlorinated pool water) so nothing happened, but it's tough to always remember.
Not to give out TMI, but if you spend some time in India, you're probably going to have an...umm... adjustment period where you find you need to find a restroom with little warning. I never have trouble with IBS or stomach ailments or anything like that. I can eat any type of food and be just fine. However, between the food and the water (it's tough to completely avoid), getting a case of the runs in India is almost as good a bet as wagering the sun will rise in the morning.
This was the hardest thing to do. I was told over and over again "don't drink the water!" "Use bottled water for brushing your teeth!" etc. Even with it totally stamped on my brain, literally the first thing I did when I got to my room was go to the bathroom and brush my teeth with the tap water. About 3/4 of the way too I started cursing with a mouth full of toothpaste when I realized what I had done. Thankfully, most of the nicer hotels treat the crap out of the water (to the point where it tastes almost like chlorinated pool water) so nothing happened, but it's tough to always remember.
Not to give out TMI, but if you spend some time in India, you're probably going to have an...umm... adjustment period where you find you need to find a restroom with little warning. I never have trouble with IBS or stomach ailments or anything like that. I can eat any type of food and be just fine. However, between the food and the water (it's tough to completely avoid), getting a case of the runs in India is almost as good a bet as wagering the sun will rise in the morning.
I think it really depends on the person, I spent a pretty decent amount of time there and drank the tap water in restaurants and everything. I can't remember the name, but a lot of restaurants keep sanitized water so everything is usually pretty safe to drink. I wanted to save money so I just drank the tap water at the restaurants and never had a problem.
That being said, I'm probably being dumb and just got lucky. India is really dirty lol.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,054,732 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lrfox
This was the hardest thing to do. I was told over and over again "don't drink the water!" "Use bottled water for brushing your teeth!" etc. Even with it totally stamped on my brain, literally the first thing I did when I got to my room was go to the bathroom and brush my teeth with the tap water. About 3/4 of the way too I started cursing with a mouth full of toothpaste when I realized what I had done. Thankfully, most of the nicer hotels treat the crap out of the water (to the point where it tastes almost like chlorinated pool water) so nothing happened, but it's tough to always remember.
Not to give out TMI, but if you spend some time in India, you're probably going to have an...umm... adjustment period where you find you need to find a restroom with little warning. I never have trouble with IBS or stomach ailments or anything like that. I can eat any type of food and be just fine. However, between the food and the water (it's tough to completely avoid), getting a case of the runs in India is almost as good a bet as wagering the sun will rise in the morning.
I was told the same in SE Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, China - I didn't drink any tap water but used it to brush my teeth, wash, without any problems.
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