India Guide

[riandrew]

hi! im looking for a travel buddy too!
pero mga oct or nov pa sana. anyone? 

[phurple0515]

planning a business trip in Chennai for 3 weeks next month.  ok ba ang environment don to those who've been there?  considering medyo high ang rape cases sa India ngayon.  medyo nag-aalangan lang kasi ako coz i'll be traveling alone.

[shegie_285]

i'll subscribe to this thread in case I can help kase I know India is not a common destination for Filipinos. I was in India in July 2009 for two weeks (with a side trip to Nepal) to attend my friend's wedding. We stayed in Delhi for few days before the wedding and did a tour of Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. We did it via a bus day tour. We ended up with a tour operator that caters the locals, it wasn't ideal (tour guide had to translate in english for myself and hubby) but was fine at the end, it was an experience.

We also went to Ganges river, it was a totally different experience, its hard to describe what I felt, it was intense - being beside a dead body carried by locals in a very narrow really dirty street, then with a cow in front of you, I didn't know where to go!

Most of the time it was very frustrating especially with a hubby that wouldn't let anyone rip him off and vendors tend to exaggerate the selling price too much. We bought a pair of indian shoes for hubby's clothes for the wedding, the selling price started at 1,800 ruppee (our friend said don't pay more than 500 rupee if sa sidewalk vendor lang), we paid 300 ruppee. Our friends were impressed with our haggling skills. although sometimes I was actually okay na with 600 or 700 ruppee, kase its few euros lang naman if we convert, but hubby has his principles!

Lonely Planet said hate it or love it. I wouldn't go back but I am so glad to have seen it and experience their culture.  It was a very different type of travel for myself and hubby.

We back-packed of course. Suitcase not advisable unless its a business travel kase im sure me company car (parang malinis naman ang business district nila). imagine lahat ng pwedeng dumi nasa road, hindi ko na nga ginamit ang shoes na ginamit ko dun.

One thing I really love is the indian food kahit super anghang talaga sa India.

[shegie_285]

I went pala July 2010 and I came from Europe so I am not familiar with flights from Pinas.

My friend (na pinuntahan namin for his wedding) attended our wedding in the Philippines last Nov 2012 and they flew to HK from Delhi so most likely Cathay. But they flew via Phil Airlines from HK to MNL.

we stayed in hostels too, as in backpacker trip talaga kami. we realised at the end of our trip there is a place pala for foreigner backpackers kase the first hostel we stayed at (and kaya napunta kami sa local tour) parang puro locals  nandun. although un ang recommended ng aming friend! when we went back to Delhi to fly home, (we stayed mga two more days), naghanap na lang kami ng hostel close to train station and we just followed lonely planet guide book. we ended up in a hostel na may mga foreigners and nagkwentuhan kami meron naman silang bus tour in English!

[phurple0515]

I'm now in Chennai for 2 weeks pero no chance kasi to see the places around here dahil dami pa rin trabaho.  I had to stay over the weekend.  Parang manila lang dito.  Wala nga lang maayos na mall at kainan malapit sa hotel so I had to opt to eat sa hotel restaurant.  Lucky, di umuulan ngayon gaya sa North India where they said about 5000 people died of the flood.

[nocturnalgal]

subscribing..i might be able to help, I have travelled around Agra, Amritsar, Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai previously..got married to someone from Mumbai as well but we aren't staying there but we do travel often..

For those travelling to Delhi, make sure you visit Akshardham temple, it's beyond the Noida area, more than Taj Mahal, this is a better place to visit in India.. I feel Taj Mahal is overrated, there is nothing inside but yea, if you will go make sure you get a good tourist guide, you will appreciate the tour more kasi tingin ko kaya hyped ang Taj Mahal is because of it's history and how it was built, mag ingat kayo sa may labasan dun kasi madami talagang hustlers, they will come and surround you, nakakaintimidate pero just dont get bullied. I went there on my own, a tourist guide approached me and offered his service, max to max I paid 1000 rupees for his service, what I liked about him is he already knows where to take the nice shots,photographer ko din sya..remember, you have to haggle, the entrance fee when I went was around 800-900 rupees only, anything above that is a rip off.. they will make you wear this red socks when you go inside the actual Taj  structure pero yea I was disappointed kasi wala naman sa loob..ang layo ng byinahe ko! When you are in Agra visit the fort as well..

 

I'm now in Chennai for 2 weeks pero no chance kasi to see the places around here dahil dami pa rin trabaho.  I had to stay over the weekend.  Parang manila lang dito.  Wala nga lang maayos na mall at kainan malapit sa hotel so I had to opt to eat sa hotel restaurant.  Lucky, di umuulan ngayon gaya sa North India where they said about 5000 people died of the flood.

Sis, I heard Chennai has really nice temples if you are into such. I think it's already rainy season there. Just make sure if you will go temple hopping, wear decent clothes, no shorts or sleeveless and you may want to just wear flipflops or sandals as from experience, you will need to remove footwear to enter temples..

[phurple0515]

^ sis, the weekend I was there di ko rin nagawang mag-visit ng temples kasi daming work even though my colleagues there volunteered to assist me.  mainit din kasi e.  pero along the way ng hotel ko, puro churches naman ang makikita.  when you are in India, one of a kind experience talaga.

[nocturnalgal]

ay sayang naman..pero that's ok..actually eye-opener sya, i feel blessed na sa pinas ako lumaki, i miss indian food there, indian food overseas don't taste the same, kahit pa indians din mga chefs..siguro yung spices kasi.. nagdrive ako dun, di ko kinaya, either ako mamatay or may mapapatay ako, hahaha!

Post modified. Please use the ^ or @ sign instead of quoting the post directly above yours.

[phurple0515]

I'm actually in malaysia and never talaga ako kumain  ng Indian foods dito, pero sa India, yes, hotel cooked nga lang, tska the team there treated me for lunch before I left so carry lang.  mahilig din kasi ako sa maanghang kaya ok and di kasi ako ganon kapihikan sa food.

grabe ang mga drivers nila noh? masahol pa sa atin, heheh. dikitan kung dikitan ang motor, kotse, etc.

tama ka don, maswerte pa rin tayo sa Pinas.  On the way to the office nga, makikita mo na madaming aso din don, parang Rizal Avenue yong road malapit sa Airport.  Kakaawa nga mga cows, kasi naghahanap din ng food sa mga basura.    tapos super init don so isipin mo na lang kung san sila umiinom ng tubig.  daming tao pa.  Pero, tama nga, either you love it or you hate it.  I'm in between, hehe.  But if given the chance bumalik ulit, why not.

[nocturnalgal]

^ i think sa malaysia more on South Indian food makuha mo, mas ok North Indian. let me know if you'll be in SG anytime soon, I'll take you to a cheap pero masarap na indian resto..

[phurple0515]

^ sure, though sa amin ni hubby ako lang ata ang adventurous sa food

ang layo pala to travel to another place sa India....tipong 6hrs by train, etc...long drive karamihan

[nocturnalgal]

^ yea i went to amritsar from Delhi, i think 6 hours by train one way..pagoda mirasol ang peg ko!

[elle_888]

Hi sis! Maganda ba tlg sa india? I wanna go to maldives as well. I saw pics sa inet. Do i have to get a visa to visit india? Hindi ba iffy yung smell sa india? hehe

[shegie_285]

elle_888 I've only been to Delhi, to Taj and to the Ganges river. Maganda? No for me kase madumi, run-down and mabaho nga (nasanay na nga lang ang ilong ko sa amoy). Masyadong mahirap ang India. Parang kahit sa middle class area madumi pa din. I was in a friend's wedding, sa party the night before the wedding, ang mga waiter naka-tsinelas at ang dumi tingnan! as in. To think may kaya naman ang friend ko. But India was very cultural especially the Ganges River - its a different world.  At the end of the day, I am still glad I've seen India. Learning other people's culture ang peg.

Sa Taj Mahal and Red Fort lang malinis. Actually ang financial district din ata sa Delhi malinis, very few ang roads na nakita ko na malinis. 

We need a visa to India.

Would love to see Maldives too!

[l_neveph]

hi sis shegie_285 how did you go to ganges?by train ba or you joined a tour group? what hotel can you recommend here?

for other sissies here ,would you really recommend to book a 4star hotel?in delhi what hotels are near the tourist spots?
thanks!

[ohcmon]

Sisses, how much ang needed budget dito for 5-7 days tour? I'm thinking of going to India after my SEA trip.

[mistyb]

my husband and I were in India for 12 days at different places. Although we arrived at Delhi, we didn't really stay there. we went straight to Agra (for the Taj) then move on na agad sa ibang city. I strongly suggest to stay in a 5star hotel for your own safety, and hotels in India are not that really expensive or siguro depende sa city.
Your budget depends on your itinerary. so plan ahead and spend time on googling info para u can prepare ur budget.

[shegie_285]

l_neveph we took the train to Varanasi (for the Ganges river). we didn't join any group. DIY kami. if you're taking train book first class!  my friend sent me this link before for the Ganges river.  http://www.varanasicity.com/.

Hotel - i think there's no hotel, sa town meron pero dun mismo sa malapit sa Ganges  river wala ata! parang masyadong masikip at maliit ang mga daanan to have a hotel. hostel kami. I cant remember the name of the hostel but we just picked from lonelyplanet guidebook. that's a good guidebook. ok sa hostel dun puro foreigners so gusto ko ang ambiance.

book a 4-star na lang. kami kase backpacker ang peg. we stayed in hostels kahit sa Delhi- mga Php1k per night in 2010. ok naman kaso basic talaga, shower and tabo meron, aircon naman na. stay in a 'foreigners' tourist area rather than 'local' tourist area. mas malinis ang hostel sa 'foreigners' area and mas madami kaming nakakwentuhan.

ohcmon feeling ko parang pinas lang din ang price - food, train tickets, etc. kahit sa taj mahal as far as I remember mura lang. iba price ng mga foreigners sa mga attraction

[phurple0515]

tama, 5 star hotel ka dapat pag sa India for safety reasons esp. sa food and water.  Buti di ako isa sa mga victims na first timers who always get stomach pain when they visit India.  never take anything with ice, lagi bottled mineral water.  Yong bottled mineral water dati sa office, di ko gusto lasa, kaya yong sa hotel ang lagi ko binabaon.  Then don't take any drinks outside, unless hot siya.  If you want to take softdrinks, take those in cans.  Mahirap na.  My boss advised me before to take a lot of medicines for stomach ache, diarrhea, etc.  Buti di ko nagamit, I was cautious din kasi 

[shegie_285]

kami even with hostels hindi kami nagka stomach pain. ang naging problem ko lang is hindi maganda ang toilet dun sa local area na mga hostels. pero sa mga foreign tourist area ok naman na din. parang mga basic hotels dun sa Puerto galera, un ang naaalala ko.

we were very cautious, we drank bottled water all the time, didn't ask ice kahit saan, even sa mga restaurant. we only had meat sa okay na restaurant.  we actually even ate sa mga sidewalk na kainan (tipong turo-turo pag nag-bus pauwi ng province sa pinas) kase we ended up with a local tourist bus going to Taj Mahal. nag-stop sila sa turo-turo pauwi. we were hungry na din at that time, we ate gulay lang dun kase if meat wala naman silang mga fridge plus nilalangay ang mga meat. eow!!! sa train, gulay lang din inoorder namin.

The funny  thing we actually had stomach pain (really really bad stomach) sa wedding ng friend ko, and that was in a good hotel. we were offered fruit juice and our friend said we should try those. so we did, that night oh my, super sakit ng tyan naming ng hubby ko.