BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi
I have been to India now 4 times and each time its been with a tour operator, and I have finelay decided to bite the bullet and go it alone. There will be me and my partner and even though we are not thinking of going until middle of next year, I like to plan and get things sorted out. So, this is what I am thinking, and I would be greatful if anyone could add, modify, take away, or even scrap and start again what I am proposing to do.
I am thinking of a 6 month break from work, this is why it wont be until next year as we need to get the money together first, and starting in Mumbai, hopefully in the October, heading on to Rajathan, Haryana,Uttranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and flying home from Goa. Now those amongst you who have travelled through India and knowing what the transport is like and how easily it is to get lost in a place for a few days, do oyu think I am being over ambitious. I would love to here from anyone with help and adivce, or even just to laugh at my idea. There are so many thing and places I want to see and do still in India I doubt I will ever get it all done.
Thanks again for any help.

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That sounds fairly doable. I was in India for 3 months and I made it to 2/3 of the places you mentioned, and I didn't feel rushed. With 6 months you'll be fine. I wish I had spent more time in Kerala.... it was beautiful there, especially when floating down the backwaters...

PC

Tippy, if you mean middle of next year, I hope you don't mean june-july, august.

You want to be travelling in December-May if you can. Really. in the hot months, only the mountains are comfortable.

Bonjour,
Iam Sanjay from Mumbai 35/m my native place is mahableshwar, panchgani.

So if your landing in india , i can pick you right from mumbai if you are interested to travel on bike.

I can be a rider & also a good tourist guide and if you are interested to go mumbai-mahableshwar-panchgani-goa on bike and interested for camping at mahableshwar [trekking, para gliding, boating and some cultural interaction as my native place is there good places to see]

Tour cost can be worked out later, But i assure you a safe bike tour iam not a drinker , smoker iam adventures loves bikes and iam from mumbai.

Mail me at s_m0102@yahoo.com so i can send you pic of myself of my bike

We are thinking of going October through to March and if possible longer (fingers crossed).

It depends on your budget - An inexpensive way to get from one place to other is by trains or buses. You can get reserved seats on the trains easily - Or if you want to experience how rest of the country travels, try unreserved [just kidding, please do not try unreserved 2nd/3rd class compartments by trying to save a dollar or two]

I did 3 months in India and saw 5 states. I used trains and local buses.

Here's a tip. THe trians can get very packed, but if you go 1st Class sleeper you will have the carriage to yourself and be able to sleep.

Many of the 1st Class passengers from India speak English and its very enjoyable chatting with them and having tea.

One time I arrived at a train station at night off of a bus. My train was about to leave and I had no ticket. I said screw it and jumped on the 1st Class carriage. It was empty and the conductor just charged me the fare.

TRains are way better than busses but you will have to use buses sometimes.

Heres another small hint. Whenever you take the train, try and go to the train station a few days before you leave and book your ticket. The trains may be full. Always go to the Managers office where you can book a reserved Tourist Seat. If you don't, you may find the train booked a week or more in advance. You'll need your passport with a valid Visa, and a sense of politeness and patience. The people at the desks are so polite and kind at times, they take what seems to be nearly forever with each tourist. This works out well when it finally gets to be your turn. If you have any kind of railway question, the people there will to out of their way to find you a schedule that meets your need. Many seem to have memorised the schedules of the entire Indian system!!

You may be tempted to go third class, but considering the hot and stuffy nature of a long trip, you'll save wear and tear on your body to go second class minimum. Just once I took an air-con first class sleeper because it was the only one available. It was heaven, though I paid twice as much, or more.

To eat, many bring their own food. I liked to bolt out and eat some of the food on for sale in the stations, which didn't get me any sicker than any other food in India. I stuck with deep fried, mostly. No one stole my baggage while I did this. Perhaps I was lucky.

They do serve passable fare on the trains, but you have to order ahead of time. They go around taking orders.


(More about that in a nother topic)

http://www.indianrail.gov.in/

In general they have a pretty good booking system. You can reserve your tickets for all travels in one place if you like.

(Maybe i should read other peoples posts before posting, Madhu has done it all anyway :-) )

I would recommend against travelling 1st class on Indian trains. If you go in 2nd class sleeper (if an overnight train) you certainly see some fascinating stuff, plus you get to have some interesting conversations with locals (like, 'what is your good name , sir'). Just lockup your bag.

There is a Train Journey planner which is available at all the big city stations. It is called 'trains at a glance'. Also they have a website

http://203.197.214.122/tag/frames.html  

Someone else has posted about this. Maybe these can give you ideas.

http://boards.bootsnall.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/448097925/m/74600414216  

moin moin !!

the lonelyplanet suggests to check
http://www.seat61.com/India.htm

this page helped me a lot to work effektivly with the indianrail.gov.in site. u might want to have a look at it too... ; )