India

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james-safc said:
Sounds awful and stressful

Holidays are meant to be fun and relaxing, not constantly being harassed :eek::lol:
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Yes, India is mostly a destination for adventurous types seeking the experience and is not a "holiday" destination in the relaxing, break sense.

Like I said, the experience of there was worthwhile and valuable, but I did find it very stressful and overwhelming too. I was glad to leave (and even in the toilet in the Airport the cleaner was asking for a tip).
 


jarramackem said:
Aye I read that.....only going for 5 days though so will just have to make up for it before and afterwards
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you can get it, we had water bottles full of vodka on the hotel table and bottles of beer to sup in a quiet room, the hotel took us to hole in the wall type place, they had to write a letter saying we were staying there
 
MrOompapa said:
I went to India at the beginning of 2016 (New Delhi, Agra, Janipur), it was a mixed, but above all a very valuable experience, prepare for the following:

1) You will be overwhelmed like never before with people trying to sell you everything under the sun. Indians in India are extremely pushy businesspeople and don't lay off easily. You cannot walk down a street with at least being solicited by three rickshaw drivers or beggars.
2) In addition to point one, expect a lot of people to ask you for money or a "tip". Indians do it upfront, don't be scared to say no, but if you are on an organised tour and your guides and helpers ask for a tip they will openly express disgruntlement to you if you don't hand them "enough".
3) You will have no language problems, almost every Indian speaks perfect English.
4) Toilets in India do not have toilet roll! bring your own wet wipes and I mean lots of them!!
5) Prepare for the event of getting an upset stomach, it's almost unavoidable. Bring necessary tablets and necessities.
6) Make sure you secure your wallet in a place not reachable by thieves. I had no issues whilst there, but there is always a risk in a country like that
7) prepare to see a lot of unusual things: such as cows roaming the streets, wild street dogs, monkeys on rooftops and beggars knocking on car windows for money at lights and junctions
8) Always make sure you get the right change
9) If you're going into tourist shops, be prepared to negotiate hard.

Once you've got your head round all of this, you'll be fine. India is an incredible experience, the culture and history are simply priceless to see.
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Sounds like utter shit to be honest mate but I'm sure once you're used to it and all that.
 
james-safc said:
Sounds awful and stressful

Holidays are meant to be fun and relaxing, not constantly being harassed :eek::lol:
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Horses for courses. I'll take some harassment if it means I can see some interesting shit. Lying on a beach and getting continually pissed? Think I'll pass.
 
Been twice to Mumbai and Pune both times. Loved it

Food is fantastic, people are great. Every bugger can dance

It was strange being the only white face in downtown Pune when shopping one weekend but no-one batted an eyelid

We got the train form Pune to Mumbai rather than a driver. Really enjoyed it - even getting ripped off by a "taxi" driver for £20 was a laugh

In Mumbai a train pulled in with loads of people with Orange flags. One chap came over to me said hello and shook my hand as if I was a long lost pal. The Indian guy with me explained they were from the Indian version of UKIP and wanted all foreigners out:)
 
Beery said:
Been twice to Mumbai and Pune both times. Loved it

Food is fantastic, people are great. Every bugger can dance

It was strange being the only white face in downtown Pune when shopping one weekend but no-one batted an eyelid

We got the train form Pune to Mumbai rather than a driver. Really enjoyed it - even getting ripped off by a "taxi" driver for £20 was a laugh

In Mumbai a train pulled in with loads of people with Orange flags. One chap came over to me said hello and shook my hand as if I was a long lost pal. The Indian guy with me explained they were from the Indian version of UKIP and wanted all foreigners out:)
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I had to pose for photos with loads of groups in a park in Bangalore. It was mental. I felt like a weird celebrity or something. The white lass I was with just forced out of most of the images. :lol:
 
I went to Delhi for 3 weeks in June.. Horrible place and an absolute shit hole. Getting from A to B can take forever due to the insane amount of people on the road. The food was terrible and even going to the Taj was hell. 48 degrees to go around some ancient building while locals stare and ask for selfies as they have never seen a white person before.
I didn't find any of it enjoyable and actually found the poverty and living standards very depressing. They have a huge population issue that is clearly unsustainable.
I'm sure places like Goa are nice but I would never recommend anyone to visit New Delhi.
 
Jgrainger said:
I went to Delhi for 3 weeks in June.. Horrible place and an absolute shit hole. Getting from A to B can take forever due to the insane amount of people on the road. The food was terrible and even going to the Taj was hell. 48 degrees to go around some ancient building while locals stare and ask for selfies as they have never seen a white person before.
I didn't find any of it enjoyable and actually found the poverty and living standards very depressing. They have a huge population issue that is clearly unsustainable.
I'm sure places like Goa are nice but I would never recommend anyone to visit New Delhi.
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:lol:

Herein lies your problem. 1 went for a week, I thought that was enough and was glad when it ended.

I can definitely sympathize with what you're saying about New Delhi, it's overwhelmingly filthy, overcrowded and polluted.

I had went during january, it was a perfect 25c and during the dry season
 
Jgrainger said:
I went to Delhi for 3 weeks in June.. Horrible place and an absolute shit hole. Getting from A to B can take forever due to the insane amount of people on the road. The food was terrible and even going to the Taj was hell. 48 degrees to go around some ancient building while locals stare and ask for selfies as they have never seen a white person before.
I didn't find any of it enjoyable and actually found the poverty and living standards very depressing. They have a huge population issue that is clearly unsustainable.
I'm sure places like Goa are nice but I would never recommend anyone to visit New Delhi.
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Loads of people have told me Delhi is horrific, like. I spent most my time in Bangalore which was slightly cleaner and less busy than other places in India apparently.
 
MrOompapa said:
:lol:

Herein lies your problem. 1 went for a week, I thought that was enough and was glad when it ended.

I can definitely sympathize with what you're saying about New Delhi, it's overwhelmingly filthy, overcrowded and polluted.

I had went during january, it was a perfect 25c and during the dry season
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Yep went for work so didn't really the get the chance to go out and about as such. The Taj Mahal was the only major trip we did. Indian motorway services are something that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
 
Lexingtongue said:
Horses for courses. I'll take some harassment if it means I can see some interesting shit. Lying on a beach and getting continually pissed? Think I'll pass.
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Who said anything about lying on a beach getting continually pissed? Exploring a city can be relaxing and involve not getting harassed or pissed :D
 
I'm in India now, drinking a cold beer watching the sun go down.

There are plenty of crazy, stressful bits of India, crowded and full of people, but it also has some fantastic hotels, great food, and awesome bars. The trick is to mix it up a bit, have some time seeing the sights among the crowd of people, then have some time to chill with a beer somewhere quiet.
 
jarramackem said:
Look at me....off to Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Apart from the obvious (like don't drink the water) any wise SMB advice of what to do/ see/ not to do/see?

Cheers.
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Pretty sure Joanna Lumley passed through on her recent series, worth digging out if so.

MrOompapa said:
:lol:

Herein lies your problem. 1 went for a week, I thought that was enough and was glad when it ended.

I can definitely sympathize with what you're saying about New Delhi, it's overwhelmingly filthy, overcrowded and polluted.

I had went during january, it was a perfect 25c and during the dry season
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I went in a December and aside from the air pollution, thought it was quite nice. Absolutely bucket loads to see and the food seemed decent enough. Walking round was quite the challenge but I quite enjoyed it none the less.
 
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I used to have to travel to delhi, then get an internal flight to Kolkata, then a 6 hour train journey to a place called Madhupur to visit the plant that we were selling stuff to.

I would say Kolkata was the most mental place I've ever visited, the amount of people/cars/animals on the roads is something to behold. The place literally doesn't stop, I've never seen such a vibrant place set amid such decay.

Madupur was brilliant, days of the Raj type stuff while travelling there. I was there for the Holi festival one year, mental to say the least, it took about 3 weeks for the coloured powder stuff to come off my skin.

I've been to Goa as well which is a totally different vibe altogether, still beggars and people trying to sell you stuff everywhere but not as bad as the big cities.

Love India me.

Lankester Merrin said:
ji nahi chaleja.
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nahi daneva.
 
Thanks all. Some useful advice in there particularly about the bog roll :lol:

I'm going there for work and will be with Indian colleagues for the complete duration so I should have some degree of protection/ assistance. Will be spending 3 days in a factory but hope to get to see some sights as well...no doubt just going there will be an experience in itself.
 
jarramackem said:
Thanks all. Some useful advice in there particularly about the bog roll :lol:

I'm going there for work and will be with Indian colleagues for the complete duration so I should have some degree of protection/ assistance. Will be spending 3 days in a factory but hope to get to see some sights as well...no doubt just going there will be an experience in itself.
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Enjoy it mate, it will be a brilliant experience.

Go with an open mind and just remember it isn't Europe.

The locals will take you to all the nice places and leave out the crap.
 
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