Hi All.

I'm new to these here "parts" and am loving the site. So cool to have discovered it. It looks like I may receive a scholarship to spend two months in India in a volunteer program and I have a great hankerin' to travel through the country following that, possibly doing volunteer work in other places as well, maybe for about a year or so. Here's the catch...

I have to pay for airfare and insurance and will need some spending money. For those of you who have travelled in India, how much money, everything included (travel, insurance, spending, etc.) should I consider in order to get by for a year?

And one other far out question: Do any of you travel without health insurance? Sort of like travelling on faith (for those spiritual seekers out there)...What are your thoughts?

Thanks!

i think i hear someone here say that it could be done for about $5000 US. sounds possible, but dont take my word for that, you would want a second opinion.

You can easily get by on $ 10 a day out here, if you take local transportation and stay in budget G.H.'s (guest houses), and don't go crazy on gifts.

As far as health insurance, I've been travelling for 16 months with out any and haven't needed it. That is one thing that seems worth it to have though, what if you do need it?

Peace.

I reckon you'd have a pretty miserable existance on 10 dollars a day - maybe you will survive but you wont have much fun!

$10 a day is a pretty princely sum in much of southern India (where an all-you-can-eat meal is less than 50 US cents) and in the far north. Actually two of us got by fine on that a lot of times without trying very hard. But it's not so much in popular areas in Rajasthan if you want to take advantage of what's around you, plus you have to factor in costs of sleeper trains if you're on the move a lot.

Having western-issued health insurance in a country like that seems like a total waste to me, unless you're getting evacuation insurance that will get you to a big city hospital. Once you're there, the cost is a pittance compared to the US, even at the nicest international hospital in Delhi. Most long-term travelers are self-insured: they just pay as they go. When it costs $20 tops for a house call, including medicine, why bother?

If your not in the real popular places then 10$ will be plenty. In some of the larger and more popular places like agra you might double that.

Yeah, $10 a day is easy. I'm not trying to prove anything out here. I eat well, really well and sleep well enough. I've had a most enjoyable time here, while maintaining a low budget.