Help with India

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ktmrider

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I believe my next destination is India. Now it is a very large country so I need some ideas or help with destinations. I am looking at a February or March, 2018 time frame and may do a tour with RoadScholars but will have time either before or after. Have spent a month in Nepal but never India.

Also, thinking of renting a motorcycle and doing a bit of touring. Have to research the traffic.

Found an airfare of $410 round trip from LAX to Delhi!
 
There’s an India travel web site that will answer a lot of your questions.

www.indiamike.com

Traffic is insane, it’s not that expensive to hire a car and driver by the day and a lot safer. The big cities are no longer pleasant, my best times were spent in smaller places off the beaten track.

Glenn
 
Here's the first post:

https://stillthrill.com/2015/01/22/indian-christmas-part-i-mumbai/amp/

I have a few other posts that are from Sri Lanka and India on my site.

I loved Mumbai, Kerala and Rishikesh. I wasn't crazy about Delhi. You'll love it all unless you're on a tight schedule. Nothing ever happens on time (something I enjoyed). Never be without a camera.


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I have been north three times and Rajasthan once, farthest south
i went.

Traffic is crazy period, the biggest vehicle wins. I have seen a lot of bikers renting a locally made Royal Enfield.
 
I am an Indophile and do my best to be in India at least twice a year. I am also a motorcyclist and my longest road trip was from New York to California via Ontario and I did that on a 2-stroke. But no way in hell would I even consider renting a bike in India, simply because I value my lungs and I value my life. Stick to the trains. Please. There are no rules on the road. Think Mad Max with crater sized potholes.
 
February / March is cold in the mountains with it's great mountain roads similar to Nepal, and a good time to go south, Rajasthan to all the way south.
Rajasthan is the India of the picture books, the red and yellow sarees of tribals, big "turbans" and mustaches, colorful embroidery, castles, sand and camels
The beaches of touristic Goa, the easiest place to rent motorbikes or to buy a used Royal Enfield from a fellow traveller
Good beaches south from there too, Karnataka state simple, traditional, tribal, natural, waterfalls
Kerala elephant reserve, hill stations, Cardamom hills, good for biking, + beaches, culture, Ayurveda, Kattakali, clean state, healthy, simple food, state with best education level ( literacy rate higher than e.g. in US )
 
Ahhh, India... I love photographing there and have been 6 times over the past 5 years!

I love shooting in the big cities - Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata are my favourites. Highly recommend visiting Varanasi and spending some time there immersed in the raw and at times overwhelming balance of beauty and chaos of life.

I've loved photographing in Rajasthan too, really beautiful place!

As far as photography goes - I've found it a very comfortable place to photograph for the most part. Take an interest in people's lives and have a chat to as many people as possible - you may be surprised at the opportunities that present themselves!

Some of my photos are at http://www.karlgrenet.com/india
 
I spent some time with friends in Chandigarh which is a territory / city planned (in part) by Le Corbusier. Maybe a bit untypical of cities in India due to the planning. The geographical and cultural region of Punjab (land of five rivers) is beautiful...

Took the train from New Delhi north and returned by car/driver just for the experience... great memory.
 
My wife and I are going to India in January. Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Mumbai, and Goa. 2 weeks, taking some trains, some planes. We made all the plans ourselves, which we always do, saves on costs.
 
Highman: I was looking on Vayama with a specific departure date of 6 Mar 2018. If I change the departure date it can go up to $530RT. The lowest fares (and they are within a couple dollars) are on Air China and China East.
 
Traffic is insane, that's true :) but I would rent a scooter and drive around (as I did in Thailand and Vietnam), just don't travel too deep in the village, might be dangerous.
 
Help with India

I undertook two trips at two weeks each last year. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Varanasi and Kochi. I would caution against a motorbike, not because of traffic per se (which in Delhi is intense - try 90 mins to move 7 kms on some evenings - but it is a serious health hazard with the air quality. Google Delhis PPM rate and you will soon learn it is consistently the most polluted city in the world, making even Beijing in winter look like Palm Springs. Your lungs will still suffer in a car, but to a far lesser extent. Other than that, check out the Thieves Market in Mumbai (listed with directions in any travel guide) where there is a stretch of stores selling vintage camera gear. Almost all of it is caked in dirt and grime (from the ages and also from the pollution), but fascinating nevertheless to come across gear that would have been used around empire and partition. Plenty of FSU gear - just do not expect a lucky Leica find for peanuts. I had no interest in buying, but spent a fascinating two hours just browsing and chatting with the dealers. Varanasi is wonderful to photograph: it does not get much better than the Ganges at dawn and dusk.


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Cash exchange restrictions (January 2017)

Cash exchange restrictions (January 2017)

Last year (January) there were important restrictions on the amount of money I was alowed to change per week; small shops, especially outside large cities, do not accept credit cards. My very pleasant journey became quite complicated because of this.
I sugest you to get reliable/updated information on cash exchange limitations before depature
Have a nice trip
Joao
 
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