Over many years of organizing holidays and tours in India from people from all walks of life and from all corners of the globe, I usually get asked a whole lot of questions, especially from first-timers, on what to expect and what to do in order to have the best holiday experience.
My advice has always been simple: just sit back and enjoy.
The India Experience
It's not for nothing that the India has been dubbed as "Incredible." It is indeed a strange and paradoxical mix of antiquity and modernity that eventually takes hold of the heart and mind and leads one rather unsuspectingly into electrifying and mind-expanding concepts of eternity. The teeming multitudes and unimaginable chaos on the streets of the vast and bursting-at-the-seams' metros such as Delhi and Mumbai or Kolkatta can be very disturbing to the first time visitor to the country.
The constant movement of on-rushing traffic; pedestrians who seem to be unmindful of the safety of life and limb and hell-bent on committing hara-kiri, casually cross impossibly crowded streets, skillfully dodging onrushing vehicles, avoiding near-certain death by a hairs breadth and continuing nonchalantly on their way, seemingly impervious to the perilous nature of their daily commute home. One may also spot the ubiquitous holy cow, sitting supremely unperturbed in the middle of a busy thoroughfare, quietly extolling the virtues of a blissful life, unburdened with the woes of the modern rat-race.
Overseas' visitors soon realize that this chaotic madness seems to point to a greater, underlying pattern of order and symmetry. In the face of such conflicting sensual impressions, even an incorrigible, hardcore atheist is likely to immediately renounce his deepest convictions on the subject of providence and convert to being a fanatically enthusiastic believer in God!
In the midst of this turbulent swirl of life in the colourful kaleidoscope that is India, you, dear traveler, soon find yourself enjoying this rapid and impossible onslaught of vivid impression on the senses You soon realize that you are slowly, but surely, starting to enjoy your travel on the sub-continent. You realize that somewhere along the way you have moved from an attitude of apprehension to a whole-hearted enjoyment of your India travel experience. You soon find yourself planning your next visit here before you even go home!
Making Your Holiday Even Happier
However, while reveling in the excitement of the joy of discovery it would do you well to adopt some simple, well-founded and practical "Do's & Don'ts" that could help make or mar a perfectly good holiday in historic "Hindoostan"!
Water
Drink only bottled water. And yes, do check the seal diligently every time you buy a bottle, to ensure that it has not been tampered with. Use it even for brushing your teeth.
Food
Eat only at 2/3 star restaurants and above. Avoid the roadside food vendors like the plague. No matter how enticing their preparations may look, "Delhi Belly" is one experience you would like to skip on this holiday!
Rest & Sleep
Try to get enough rest during the course of your tour. It is usually tiredness that can get you sick, not the traveling.
Changing Money
Most of the bigger cities will have an abundance of banks and ATM's. Change enough to last you a couple of days at a time, depending on the amount of spending you wish to do. Use a debit/credit card for most other payments. Whenever you change money, do keep the official receipts - they can be useful when you need to change your unused rupees back into an international currency at the end of the tour.
Communications
There is just no need to be "incommunicado" during the course of your tour. These days, temporary Mobile pre-paid SIM cards are easily available at most cities in India. A photo-copy of your passport is all that you need to supply, along with payment, in order to obtain one. Since it is a pre-paid card, you top it up as you go along.
Tipping
In India, "tipping" is not a bad word. Rather, it can open up a world of opportunity, ensuring that you always get the best service. The golden rule though, is: "Never tip in advance!" Simply get the impression across that a generous tip would be available, depending on the satisfaction-level the service generates. If you like the service, then, by all means, do tip! The accepted norm is usually 10 percent of the bill at hotels and restaurants. You may also wish to tip drivers and guides who shall be taking you around. If he/she has been with you for just a day, then a Rs. 100-200/- is fine, as a general rule. Do remember that a guide is above a driver on the social scale in India.
Since the keyword is "generous", do use your judgment - if the bill is small, your tip is going to be even smaller. Don't be surprised if you get tipped back, with your own tip, if it is perceived to be too small! But wait, don't rush to take offence. Just laugh it off and you will actually enjoy the irony of the situation.
Shopping
Shopping in India is usually a delightful experience. The variety of wares will take your breath away. The bigger, posh showrooms usually go by the dictum of the "Fixed Price." But everywhere else, you are encouraged to bargain. Bargaining is, itself a game wherein both parties lock wits with each other in a good-natured way in order to get the better of the other. The bargain is sealed when money changes hands and both parties go their separate ways with big, bright smiles on their faces, each enjoying the notion that he has gotten the better of the other! Man, what a relatively misconceived notion!
Talking with Strangers
We all remember mother's stern warning when we were kids, about talking to strangers. This is still sound advice and well worth remembering while traveling. Not every show of interest about you or your family background is prompted by simple friendliness or the lofty desire to welcome a guest to the country. The simple rule here is: Do not trust easily while always maintaining a mentally relaxed, alert, neutral and slightly reserved, but good-natured demeanor.
Visiting Crowded and Religious Places
It is always a good idea NOT to carry your passport and too much of money or jewelry while on excursions to crowded and/or religious places. It is also advised not to spend more time than necessary at these crowded places in view of the heightened perception of danger that could erupt quite without warning due to simmering discontent or the stresses of fast-paced modern life in most countries of the world today. While on a visit to the many religious shrines that will form the backbone of your tour itinerary in India, it is always advisable (for both men and women) to ensure that you are modestly dressed, with head and legs suitably covered.
Taxis & Auto-rickshaws
The taxis and especially, the autos (the little, three-wheeler auto-rickshaws that rule most city streets in urban India) could easily perform the coup de grace in terms of scuttling your happy sojourn. They are a swashbuckling, reckless, devil-may-care bunch of pirates on wheels, who bow to no authority, whatsoever. They usually refuse to go by the meter, their only motto being to take their passengers for a ride! Pun definitely intended! Even if you do get one of the more amiable individuals of this aggressive tribe to go by the meter, you still get left with the gnawing suspicion that he is laughing at you behind an inscrutably deadpan poker face!
If you must use these services sometime, then either be prepared to grin and bear it or get an idea of the fare from your local contacts and negotiate in advance before starting the journey. To do otherwise would risk a long and intense debate at the end of the journey, when the driver informs you that his meter is out of order and proceeds to convince you as to why you should pay up. Never mind the fact that you feel that he has quoted you a taxi/auto fare that sounds more like an airfare!
Don't Expect Everything to Work Exactly as at Home
It is a fact that the best holidays are possible when you put aside all expectations and just concentrate on the simple experience of enjoyment. George Bernard Shaw summed it up well when he commented: "I dislike feeling at home when I am traveling abroad."
Plan Confidently for Your Best India Travel Experience Ever
The foregoing advice is by no means an exhaustive or authoritative list. It is highly likely that you may be able to add more tips of your own when you actually travel here yourself.
But I do believe it is an excellent starting point to for a very happy holiday experience in India.
So go ahead, plan your trip like a pro!
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