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Visiting India
Posted by HH&T (401 days ago)
Just want to know what are the "must go places" in India, and their locations. I'll be going in Christmas for 10 days. Anyone knows? Thanks.
(I am based in Other)
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Posted by Ms Goodwill (394 days ago)
I should say.. Taj Mahal..
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by shuchisingh (381 days ago)
You can always do the Golden Triangle. The three cities are a good initiation to India (atleast from a tourist point of view) and would be very pleasant in December. Agra - Delhi - Jaipur.
It also depends on what you like doing. Cultural ? Activity ? Laze out ? choose a location accordingly.
It's impossible to "do" India in 10 days. Just choose a small strech and enjoy it.
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by expat2006 (381 days ago)
One word - Goa.
You will love it, plus the weather is great at this time of the year. There is a huge christian population so you won't miss Xmas buzz and for New Year there is a night-long party. Though I must warn you, it is busy time of the year and the rates are for peak season. Let me know if you want any suggestions for places to visit and I am happy to help. You can stay in a castle, fishing village, boutique hotels and heritage homes. The pace of life is slow so you will feel quite relaxed, food is scrumptious and people are lovely. Nuff said.
(I am based in Singapore)
Posted by HH&T (380 days ago)
I intend to fly to Tiruchchirapali first, then take a train to Trivandrum ( does anyone know how to book the train? ) then visit Alappy, do Ayurreda and to Kochin. The idea is to visit the south coast if India since it's not enough time, a bit of sign seeing with lots of rest. Is there any better suggestion? Or other destination? Can I cover Goa too? Tks.
(I am based in Unspecified)
Posted by shuchisingh (380 days ago)
Sounds good. Kerela is a good destination to do. You can do rail bookings through http://www.irctc.co.in/ . Or go through an agent.
I suppose you could cover Goa - but it would be running around all over the place.
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by pro (380 days ago)
For people who are not familiar with India and want to really enjoy nature and rejuvinate themselves, please refer to http://www.holisticindia.net/
They have special packages and courses. Quite interesting!
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by Singh is King (380 days ago)
HH&T -
I wouldnt recommend going to Goa if you;re visiting Kerala coz then you're trip will become very hectic. kerala is God's own country - check this out:-
http://www.keralatourism.org/destination/index.php
there are plenty of multinational hotels to choose from in kerala and as long as you carry your own bottled water - yous hould be fine!
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by shuchisingh (380 days ago)
Yes :) There are plenty of bottled water national and international brands available all across India very cheap. Water contributes to a majority of stomach related diseases. So just make sure you have bottled water to drink and you will be fine.
I am not trying to be judgemental without knowing you... but if you are not eating South East Asian cusine every day; do try to go slow on the spicy food. There is only so much of a vry different cusine one can handle.
You will love Kerela... HAve fun.
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by Gareth Dunster (380 days ago)
we stayed in Varkala in Kerala many years ago. We did a home stay with an Indian family an i was really nice. They had a well!
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by HH&T (379 days ago)
Can anyone suggest which area in Kerala n where a reasonable and convenient place to stay? I would like to make the boat curise and stay along the coast and do a bit of yoga & Ayurreda. Thanks.
(I am based in Unspecified)
Posted by adarya (378 days ago)
Hi,
You could try visiting Munnar (lovely tea estate environs), Thekkady(Periyar wildlife sactuary), Kumily (to buy spices), Allepey (for the houseboat cruises) and Kumarakom (for ayurvedic spas). We honeymooned there a couple of years ago and loved it ! Happy vacation.
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by Firstclass (377 days ago)
Cochin vs Goa?
We are interested more in historical India and culture, not at all in beaches. In light of this which would be the better choice?
If Cochin, would a week be enough to properly see Cochin and other points of interest in Kerala?
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by boo_bun (377 days ago)
We went in late Aug for 1 week, we flew to Delhi, stayed one night, then travel to Agra to see the Taj. Unless you are into seeing different color of the Taj, I wouldn't advise you to stay in Agra. We then travel to Jaipur, the pink city. We stayed there for 3 days - sightseeing and shopping, then traveled to Pushkar, a holy city. If we have more time, we would have traveled to Udipur and Jodipur, the lake cities.
Remember to bring a lonely planet with you and haggle along the way.
(I am based in Unspecified)
Posted by smsm (376 days ago)
Hi If u doing Kerala this is what u could do...
Fly to Bombay and fly to Cochin or directly to any other international airport near Cochin.
1. Cochin - First go to Cochin and stay at Taj Malabar cochin.
hire a car and go to Munnar - 3 hr ar drive approx. Stay at Club Mahindra resort. One of the finest resort to stay. keep the car and the driver with you. Not too expensive.
2. then move to Thekaady and stay at a resort called Spice Village. One of the finest and one of its own kind with heavenly food. The sec would be Taj Garden retreat and then cardomom county..but nothing in comparison to Spice village
3. then drive over to the last leg to a place called Kumarkom where there 2 best hotels...Taj Kumarkom or Kumarkon lake resort...this place is just 1.5 hour away from Cochin where u fly out to either bombay or any other place to come back to ur start point.
Check out the Taj holidays site..http://www.tajhotels.com/TajHolidays/
.if u staying at any Taj hotel u cant go wrong..wonderful hospitality and very warm welcome..they come out with Kerala packages very often and take care of ur stay and travel bet the cities and their hotels..do check it out
Have a great trip...and do read about special care needed before any India trip....
Enjoy Kerala is simply heavenly!!!
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by Ed (376 days ago)
Might be an interesting target for Ed's Adventures.... is the net connection reliable in the better hotels in Kerala?
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by shuchisingh (376 days ago)
yah Ed it is... all 4-5 stars have broadband.
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by Ed (376 days ago)
Perfect.
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by smsm (376 days ago)
Ed, all the fine hotels mentioned in my post have the broad band connection...
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by adarya (375 days ago)
hi,
smsm's plan is good. However, just a suggestion from my side - from thekkady drive to allepey. Hire a houseboat there and they will drop you at kumarakom resort- This way you enjoy a cruise on the beautiful vembanad lake and also get to taste some heavenly fish fry - made for you by the chef on the houseboat. Watch out for mosquitoes at night, though :-) .
Enjoy.
(I am based in Hong Kong)
Posted by mumbaipete (374 days ago)
Hello,
there's an awful lot of advice here. At the end of the day it's going to come down to why you chose India as the location for your holiday and what sort of things you like to do when you're away.
I've been living in India for 4 years. In my experience most people's image of India most closely fits with Rajasthan. Things like the Taj Mahal, forts on hills, palaces on lakes etc.
It takes a long time to get around the country. If you are travelling by road you should allow for about an hour to cover 40Km unless it's a very good road (and there aren't many of those). The train doesn't go much quicker. Delhi to Agra (where the Taj Mahal is, approx 203Km takes about 3.5 hours. Agra Jaipur approx 232Km, Agra Jodhpur 563Km and Agra Udaipur 637Km.
In my experience there are very few places in India that require more than 2 days to visit. Figure on 1 day to get to the place you want to be, one to two days to see it and then another day to get to your next place. Try very, very hard not to travel on Indian roads after dark!
Good luck. Have a great time, India is a fascinating place.
(I am based in Unspecified)
Posted by the goddess kali (372 days ago)
my 2 cents..
Last trip to India, I went to Goa, and totally fell in love with the place and I am NOT a beach person...
But if you do go to Goa, you can take the train from Madgoa to Hampi which i think is really cool as well, i've taken hubby, mum-in-law, friends (all non -indians) and they were all seriously impressed.
I think there are plenty of temples and other sites to visit from any point in India.
welll, unless you go with plenty of money to burn, be prepared to do bus and train journeys and they are logn and inthe case of bus journeys back breaking. But it's all part of the indian journey experience.
that said, even the train journey from goa to hampi was really nice.
one of these days i have to get aroudn to doing the taj and rajasthan etc...
We flew into bangalore (now dragonair fies direct) and if u land in banglaroe (which is not so excitiing in terms of sightseeing) you can also do the palace of mysore.
oh there's a thousand things you can do in india...
(I am based in Unspecified)
Posted by NN (372 days ago)
if u go to Agra .dont miss ONLY restaurant.tasty indian food and cheap as well . last time power cut 5seconds then i kissed my exbf in dark.thats my best moment in my life.india is amazing.south india is different with north india.10days i think golden triangle route is a good idea.
(I am based in Shanghai)
Posted by the goddess kali (369 days ago)
and if you do go to Hampi, dont miss the Mango tree restaurant. It's the best, for view, the most excellent vegetarian food and everything.
maybe you can telle verybody places you've shortlisted, then people will be able to give u better pointers
(I am based in Unspecified)
Posted by activewoman (368 days ago)
Goa is not bad,ppl are very friendly ,nice.but it is just like some beach place in South east asia.Mumbai is not worthy to stay more than 2days.well ,you can just skip Mumbai at all. My firends went to plenty places in india.they used to work there.i heard north india is very good for personal experience the culture.
Be careful overthere. only drink bottle water.if you take train,only take the air condition train in india.i suggest you bring some instant food.my stomach get massed up .the currey is too strong.
Be ready for a dirty trip but different experience.
(I am based in Shanghai)
Posted by Ed (365 days ago)
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(I am based in Hong Kong)
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