[Mina]

Hi everyone,

I'm playing to travel to India either this year (which would be pretty soon) or next... I'd be a 20/21 year old female travelling alone, but from what I've heard here and in other places this shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'd be going from mid/late July to early/mid September; not ideal I know, but I can't be choosy.

I'm not altogether sure yet if I'd rather travel the north or the south. I'd love to see Kerala etc, but I've been thinking about this journey for years and always planned to go to the North instead - start in Delhi and go east and back again.
I'm not too interested in castles and history, or the Himalaya/very north except for maybe Dharamsala, I'd rather see people, different places, culture, more religious places like Varanasi... or else Backwaters and the like, but I'm not sure if the South would be interesting enough to spend almost two months there. I've only really looked into the North. Ideal of course would be both, but I'm not sure if that's enough time, and money matters a bit too.

Any opinions on where I should go, especially considering the time of year, and which places I shouldn't miss?

[john.sw]

Welcome to the Tree!

Kerala's monsoon is in full fling during July, but by the middle of August, it's on its way out.

Having said that, the monsoon is something to experience and enjoy, especially if you're on the backwaters!

I'm no expert on Northern India, but I think that Kerala is one of the most wonderful places in the world - not only because of its countryside, food and culture, but because the people are so friendly!

Don't forget that you can fly from Delhi to S. India quite cheaply, so maybe you could visit the north and the south?

There are lots of N. India experts here on the tree, and they'll be along soon with suggestions and advice.

[WonderWomanUSA]

Mina, on Jun 28 2008, 08:45 AM, said:

I'm not altogether sure yet if I'd rather travel the north or the south. I'd love to see Kerala etc, but I've been thinking about this journey for years and always planned to go to the North instead - start in Delhi and go east and back again.
I'm not too interested in castles and history, or the Himalaya/very north except for maybe Dharamsala, I'd rather see people, different places, culture, more religious places like Varanasi... or else Backwaters and the like, but I'm not sure if the South would be interesting enough to spend almost two months there. I've only really looked into the North. Ideal of course would be both, but I'm not sure if that's enough time, and money matters a bit too.

Any opinions on where I should go, especially considering the time of year, and which places I shouldn't miss?

You can see a lot in three months. It's going to be hot (30-35 in many places) and probably very humid becaue of the monsoon.

You didn't say whether or not you have purchased your flight tickets yet; you can see a lot more with an "open-jaw" ticket -- one with which you land in one city and leave from another.

If you're only interested in North India, I'd say to go with that -- and then you can make South India your next trip.

As far as "where to go," well, it might depend on your interests.
Old forts? Rajasthan is the place to start.
Buddhists? Dharamsala, but then you might want to go to Varanasi, Sarnath, and Bodh Gaya.
Fantastic wonderful carvings? Head for Aurangabad and see the Ajanta and Ellora caves. (These are also on the Buddhist itinerary).
Shopping? Hit every bazaar you come across.
Big cities? Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai

You could also start in Delhi, and plan a route that would take you around the country so that you can leave from Chennai or another Southern airport, and see a bit of the south as well. It is possible to see quite a lot, by train, in 2 months, if you're a good planner -- and you don't have to schedule every day in advance.

But you've already been investigating North India, so where do YOU want to go?

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Edited by WonderWomanUSA, 28 June 2008 - 09:31 PM.

[Mina]

Thanks for your replies and the welcome!

Well, as I said, I've always been thinking about the North and never really thought about visiting the South until recently, but the more I think about it, the more it tempts me., so I can't really make my mind up anymore. If I need to decide really quickly, i'll go with the North, but the South tempts me too.


How much are flights to the south? If the monsoon's not in full swing anymore in August/September, I could go to Delhi first, travel the north, and then either fly down or travel along the coast... I like that idea, Wonderwoman.

I haven't booked my flight yet.

Edited by Mina, 28 June 2008 - 09:57 PM.

[john.sw]

Mina, on Jun 28 2008, 05:26 PM, said:

... How much are flights to the south? If the monsoon's not in full swing anymore in August/September, I could go to Delhi first, travel the north, and then either fly down or travel along the coast... I like that idea, Wonderwoman.

Rs.6650 would get you a return ticket from Delhi to Bangalore on SpiceJet.

There are plenty of other domestic airlines, so it's a matter of hunting around for the best deal!

Take a look here for a list of domestic airlines

You could then see Bangalore, travel to Mysore and up to the Nilgiris, down to Coimbatore and to Cochin, maybe taking in Munnar, Thekkedy and the Backwaters on the way...

It all sounds rather exciting!

[cyberhippie]

So many possibilities here, I plan a lot of trips to India (and totally rearrange them too) but through experience, I like (I'm an opinion remember) to plan routes that gradually, without too many deviations gets me to where my flights leave from.

Open Jaw Tickets that allow for different arrival/departure airports are great for this.
Often just as cheap as normal return.

So try Flying into Cochin and out of Delhi for instance, failing that, a open Jaw for Mumbai & Delhi would also save a lot of time consumed travelling between north and south India.

Easy to do, Swiss Air did this for us on the last trip. Into Mumbai out of Delhi.


So three months, you lucky thing, not an ideal time and the humidity is going to be a factor in your budget!
If you travel South to North at this time of year the heat is going to be a thing you'll want to escape every now and then, so a budget for AC rooms would be wise, AC rooms can be had for 700-1000 Rps as a general rule in budget travel.

Don't panic though, there's always somewhere to be in India where you can cool off The monsoon recedes (I think) the fastest in the north. So with this in mind I would Start from Kerala, where the weather might be wet sometimes but it will be quiet and very green.

Head slowly North through Goa, again not the best time of year but Old Goa and the falls at Dudhsagar would be spectacular at this time of year.
The pilgramage town of Gokarne just across the southern border in Karnataka is also worth a visit.i

Heading East from Goa; Hampi is a truly amazing Unesco heritage site is just 10 hours away, Remains of an ancient civilisation amidt mind boggling landscapes.

Head North and there's the Ellora/Ajanta caved which are a very interesting as is Aurangabad. A gateway town for both cave sites.

From here several places spring to mind that are truly wonderful spots and again migrate you northwards, towards your flight home.

I'l just list a couple of options on the way to Delhi

From the caves (railhead manmad/Jalgaon)

Madhya Pradesh route

Khandwa(railhead)
Ohmkareshwar, Maheshwar Mandu
Indore
Pachsmari (hillstation to cool off)
Bhopal
Jhamsi
Orchha
Gwalior
Agra
Fatepur Sikri
Delhi

Rajasthan Route

From the caves again
Kota
Bundi
Chittor
Udaipur
Mount Abu (again Hill station to cool off)
Ranakpur
Kumbhalgarh
Falna
Johdpur
Jaisalmer
Bikaner
Delhi


Don't write off the Himalaya, this huge tract of land encapsulates a great diversity of culture and spiritualism. For me the magic of Hinduism's is most apparent here. There's a gentleness about the mountain faith, which imbibes a warmth and feeling I don't get everywhere in India.
Nearer to the god??
Anyway a lot to attract in terms of culture and meeting Indians in their day to day life , the landscape is pretty good too  

[cyberhippie]

Here are a few links that will help you plan your journey Mina.

Map of India Railways

Train Guide You'll need this to find train numbers for booking later

Trains at a Glance This is the online version of the book you'll want to buy for getting around India by train. Costs around 40 Rps

Prices

[kullukid]

cyberhippie, on Jun 28 2008, 09:16 PM, said:

Don't write off the Himalaya, this huge tract of land encapsulates a great diversity of culture and spiritualism. For me the magic of Hinduism's is most apparent here. There's a gentleness about the mountain faith, which imbibes a warmth and feeling I don't get everywhere in India.
Nearer to the god??

I couldn't agree more! CH's suggestions are spot on, i'd say start in Kerala & work your way up. By the last week in Aug the rains start to die off in Dharamsala,so this would be a good time to head there, towards the end of your travels. KK

[Mina]

Sorry about the delay, I was away for a few days. So I'll be going to India next year, not this one, and I've got to say I love all of your suggestions! I'm definitely going to plan my trip using them.
I really like the idea of starting in the South and then going north. I would've loved to go this year, but one advantage of going next year is that I'll be able to stay there longer than I would've done this year. Looking at three months instead of two at the moment; enough time to travel both the north and south!
I'm not writing off the Himalaya completely, just if I was only going for six weeks I'd rather see the rest of India instead of 'wasting' a few days travelling there and back, even though I'd really like to see Dharamsala. Now that I'll probably have a lot more time that's a different matter altogether though and I'm going to put the Himalaya on my list.

Thanks for the links too, cyberhippie! That's just what I need... going to bookmark them.

One year to plan now - I know time will crawl for the next eleven months

Again, thanks a lot! I'll probably have plenty of questions, so I'm sure to come back

Edited by Mina, 09 July 2008 - 11:08 PM.

[cyberhippie]

No problem Mina that's what we're here for but it's nice to get a thanks every now and again. Please feel free to ask anything that crops up, as you plan your trip!

[Mina]

Okay, so I'm thinking about mid-June till early September 2009. Again, not ideal, but I can't be picky.
Taking into account some of the suggestions here and places that have always been on my list, I've come up with this itinerary:


flying in to Bangalore (I thought of Trivandrum instead, but Bangalore is easier)
Mysore
Cochin, Backwaters
up to Goa
possibly Hampi
Pune
Mumbai
Aurangabad
Jalgaon
Indore
Udaipur
Jodhpur
possibly short trip to Delhi
Bundi
Kota
Jhamsi
Varanasi
Fatehpur Sikri
Gwalior
Agra
Delhi
Shimla
Dharamsala
Amritsar
Delhi


It's still subject to change, and I want to add a few short stops in between if possible (e.g. between Cochin - Goa), because I don't want the journeys to be too long.
I'm wondering what you think of this itinerary, if it's too ambitious or if a different route might be smarter.

[cyberhippie]

My first thought is can you fly into Cochin??
Then you could work you're way north, if not you're chosen route is still doable.

After Bundi, it would probably be more sensible to head for Agra or Fatehpur Sikri (which are very close to each other incidently.

A nice way to visit Fatehpur Sikri is to stay at Bharatpur, only 25 minutes from the deserted city and has good accomodation possibilites. It also has a bird park which is really nice to wander around at dawn. The park is more famous for migratory birds, but that is in Oct/Nov/Dec, however there are still plenty of local birds, deer jackal, porcupines and pythons to keep you interested.

I would choose to stay at Bharatpur then continue to Agra, It's only about 40 minutes by train and 1.5 hours by bus.
From Agra it's very very easy to get to Gwailior.


From Bundi/ Kota there are no direct train links. Which is why I advise this alternative.
To Bharatpur is around 3.5 hours from Kota, or there's a direct train from Bundi but it's very very slow, easier to get to Kota 30 Kms away and catch the train there, it will still work out faster.

Doing the trip via Bharatpur/Agra makes the train travel hassle free, there are tons of trains between, Agra and Gwalior and Gwalior lies roughly half way to Jhansi.........Perfect.

You can easily continue to Varanasi from Jhansi, again there are lots of direct trains to choose from, stopping at some interesting places along the way, like Chitrakoot and Allahabad.

From Varanasi direct to Delhi, again plenty of trains, the rest of the route is easy from there.

Hope that helps some, It's a bit of a change but it's an easier way to go and you still see all the places on your list.

[Mina]

Thank you! I don't mind change at all, I'm grateful for all suggestions. It'd be foolish not to listen to people who actually know India and have been there


I could fly from Germany to Bangalore to Cochin, but it'd be more expensive. Then again, Bangalore is not a must in my eyes and I only put it on my itinerary because of the airport.
Something to think about.

[cyberhippie]

Hang on Mina I'm just checking something for you, what are you thinking of paying for airfares, do you mind a little adventure??

[Mina]

I forgot Jaipur. I'll probably include it between Jodhpur and Bundi,

[cyberhippie]

Try flying with Air Arabia, a low cost airline, the only thing is the nearest departure point is Istanbul, but there are plenty cheap flights from Germany to Istanbul..A return could be had for as little as 150 Euros, including taxes
You can also fly back with the same company from  Delhi or Jaipur

Could even have a day in Istanbul!!!

Germany to Istanbul              100 EUR
Istanbul to Kochin via Sharjah 179 EUR
Delhi to Istanbul  via Sharjah  178 EUR
Istanbul to Germany              100 EUR
  
Total                                    557 EUR including taxes

[Mina]

Wow, that's quite cheap... the flight I was thinking about is 720 EUR. But my family have a say in things too and I know they really want me to fly with a more reputable airline (=Lufthansa, British Airways), and I';d probably feel better about it too.

[cyberhippie]

Air Arabia is a operates a very new fleet of aircraft, Airbus 320's, newer than most of the airlines you mentioned.
It only started in 2003!!

Still whatever makes you comfortable.

[cyberhippie]

Their online reservation is one of the best I've used. Very easy and fast.

[Mina]

Yeah? I'll look into it then. Thank you again.