India

Benny Bunter

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
I'm going to India for five weeks this summer (July/August) and was hoping some folks on here might have some good recommendations for places to visit and things to do (and avoid).

The (very) rough plan so far is to fly into Delhi, stay with a friend for a few days, then head north towards the mountains. We fly out of Mumbai 5 weeks later so we were considering maybe visiting Goa towards the end of the trip. Aside from this we have made no hard and fast plans at all so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I am aware that it is probably not the best time of year to visit due to high temperatures and the Monsoon, so I definitely want to take this into account when we plan our trip.

Some places that I've read about and quite fancy seeing: Manali, Himachel Pradesh region, Jaipur, Pushkar...anyone been to any of these places?

Cheers in advance...
 
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Z

zhao

there are no accidents
a friend of mine says of Mumbai:

during one part of the year it is very, very, unbearably hot;

and during the other part of the year...

it is HOTTER!!!

:D

but never been so no recommendations... besides these Indian/Chinese fusion restaurants which my food-snob friends says is in many ways better than both traditions.
 
B

Bang Diddley

Well-known member
If your going that far north its well worth stopping at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manikaran. Its right up there in the mountains and takes an age to get to through mountain tracks. Bit scary that part as there's no barriers and if you go down you're dusted.

Really beautiful place. Go can get fee accomodation and food should you decide to stay at the temple and respect the customs. Otherwise im sure its pretty cheap anyhow.

Saw quite a few bikers who had travelled up from Dehli who came to camp, wander around and smoke the local weed which seems to grow all over.
 
Benny Bunter

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
zhao said:
a friend of mine says of Mumbai:

during one part of the year it is very, very, unbearably hot;

and during the other part of the year...

it is HOTTER!!!

:D

but never been so no recommendations... besides these Indian/Chinese fusion restaurants which my food-snob friends says is in many ways better than both traditions.
Click to expand...

Yes, must admit to being slightly scared of how hot it might get. The Indian guy who runs my local wine shop also told me to avoid Mumbai if possible. Too overcrowded he said...but I've got no choice now, thats where we're flying from at the end of the trip so we'll probably just make it the last couple of days of the holiday. Plus I recently read 'Shantaram' and quite fancy visiting Leopolds bar, though I'm sure its nothing like it is in the book any more...
 
Benny Bunter

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
Bang Diddley said:
If your going that far north its well worth stopping at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manikaran. Its right up there in the mountains and takes an age to get to through mountain tracks. Bit scary that part as there's no barriers and if you go down you're dusted.

Really beautiful place. Go can get fee accomodation and food should you decide to stay at the temple and respect the customs. Otherwise im sure its pretty cheap anyhow.

Saw quite a few bikers who had travelled up from Dehli who came to camp, wander around and smoke the local weed which seems to grow all over.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this, I'll definitely look into this, looks like a beautiful location. Sounds like just the sort of place I want to visit. Seems like there's loads of Charras smoking goes on in the northern regions, which I'm certainly not averse to!
 
N

Numbers

Well-known member
I've been to Ladakh, the northern regio above Manali. If you're into hiking it's the most fantastic thing ever, proper surreal scenery. Let me know if you want more info.

Utar Pradesh is nice as well.
 
Benny Bunter

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
Cheers, I'll get back to you on this one. Definitely we're gonna spend most of our time in the northern regions, should be a bit cooler up there and the scenery looks amazing. Need to get planning...
 
D

DannyL

Wild Horses
If you're going North out of Delhi, there's a railway that runs over the Himalayian foothills into Shimla which is absolutely amazing. Waking up at 5.30 in the morning on a sleeper, and seeing the sun coming up over those rolling mountains was really something.

Dharamasala is about 10 hours away from there on the coach and is really worth visiting to see the stunning Buddhist temples and the Tibetian expat community. It is hippie central as you can imagine - lots of young backpackers and post-national service Israelis getting massages and tarot reading and doing meditation courses. It's still great though - momos! Mmmm...

If you're in the region be sure to check out Chandigarh (I never did and am still gutted) - it's a village designed and planned by Le Courbusier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandigarh

Am really tempted to go again myself this summer after writing that!
 
V

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
It's the business! South India is so beautiful and a bit more chilled out in my limited experience. Kerala and Tamil Nadu are both wicked and interesting - check the old hill stations Kodiakanal and Ooty which are high up and very cool.

Manali is wicked too, amazing peaks everywhere and ridiculously strong hash.
 
Benny Bunter

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
Hey, thanks for all the tips you lot. Can't wait to go now...

I've come across the most bizarre stuff reading up about India. For instance, the Standing Babas...



A hindu sect that have taken vows to never sit down ever again. They even sleep standing up in a sort of harness. The guy in the video who'd been constantly upright for 9 years looks so cheerful!
 
Benny Bunter

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
Aarghh! Check this guy out...



:eek:


Thats it, I'm trawling the web for more India related bonkersness now. There must be loads...
 
V

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
The overnight trains are great! you can cover so far in them, really get around the massive country and if you make sure you get the 2nd class sleeper tickets you get a proper fold down bed, quite comfy and really cheap. Loads of fun people on the trains and people coming on to sell snacks etc. the 2rd class coach is mental though, so busy.
 
B

Bang Diddley

Well-known member
DannyL said:
If you're going North out of Delhi, there's a railway that runs over the Himalayian foothills into Shimla which is absolutely amazing. Waking up at 5.30 in the morning on a sleeper, and seeing the sun coming up over those rolling mountains was really something.

Dharamasala is about 10 hours away from there on the coach and is really worth visiting to see the stunning Buddhist temples and the Tibetian expat community. It is hippie central as you can imagine - lots of young backpackers and post-national service Israelis getting massages and tarot reading and doing meditation courses. It's still great though - momos! Mmmm...

If you're in the region be sure to check out Chandigarh (I never did and am still gutted) - it's a village designed and planned by Le Courbusier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandigarh

Am really tempted to go again myself this summer after writing that!
Click to expand...

Yeah there's the Rock Garden in Chandigarh which is made from recycled materials. Its good to walk around but beware its was mosquito hell when I went because it was hot and there was a lot of standing water so cover up with repellent, not that it works very well.
 
Benny Bunter

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
Book Parties: hmmm...looks interesting. Just bought a copy of 'White tiger' actually, heard lots of good things about it.

Anyone here up on their Indian literature/books about India? I'm trying to get myself all geed up for the trip. Enjoyed reading 'Shantaram' by David Gregory Roberts recently, a definite 'page-turner'. Was thinking of maybe giving EM Forster and Rudyard Kipling's 'Kim' a go but I fancy something a bit more contemporary.
 
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