India – A Survival Guide

After spending nearly two months feeling our way around various parts of India, big and small, we have done some reflection on some of the tips and tricks we picked up along the way and summarized them into a handful of “survival tips”. Should you find yourself on your own journey through this magical land keep these in mind and hopefully they will ensure your journey is as unforgettable as ours.

…..For your budget; Negotiate your price FIRST. To save yourself the trouble of either paying way through the roof for a ride or having to face an uncomfortable negotiation after the fact, always agree on a price for a bus, taxi, rickshaw, etc. BEFORE taking the ride. If you are going to get ripped off for something in India, it will be a ride. This is especially true if you are taking any sort of transport away from a train or bus station, where the touts are literally waiting for you as you are stepping off. Before your feet even touch the platform you will hear nothing but “you need ride, you need taxi, you need rickshaw”.  They have absolutely picked up on that fact that if you arriving by bus or train you are likely in need of somewhere to stay or go, and more than likely have your bags so need a ride and they are ready to quote you extremely high prices to take you even a short distance. Before you arrive in a place, try and get an idea for how much it should cost to get around, ask some locals on the train, ask other travelers, etc and then you will have a benchmark of what you actually should be paying. If you really have no idea how much it should cost to get from point A to point B, ask how many KM’s it is an then you can judge from there based on other rides you have taken.

Our very first Rickshaw ride

…..For your hygiene:  Toilet paper…always have it on you! It is not very common to find toilet paper supplied in many establishments, some  hotels may provide a tiny bit, but even those are few and far between. So unless you want to find yourself in an “oh crap, now what…” situation, always keep a roll stashed in your purse or daypack. For those of you wondering “what do Indian people use??”, they have a process that involves their left hand and a hose. This is why you will also always find that the bathroom floors are wet.

…..For your stomach: Try and eat at places that are busy, and even better busy with local people. Indian food in India is AMAZING. So delicious and so flavourful that it would be a shame for you to avoid trying to eat it, but let’s face it those of us landing in India from the western world don’t always have stomachs that can handle how some of the food is prepared right away.  Because of this it seems as though some people’s tendency is to avoid Indian places and head for places that serve “continental food” – translation, gross pizza and bland pasta. People…. Continental food is NOT their speciality in India…..INDIAN FOOD IS.  So what we found worked for us was to fight the urge to go to some of the more quiet looking places to eat and go to the local busy spots. This theory works for 2 reasons; 1) if Indian locals are eating there then the food is probably authentic and really good, 2) if it is really busy then they are turning over food often and what you get will be fresh, hence limiting your chances of getting the dreaded Delhi Belly. I make no guarantees, but after 7 weeks in India neither Jonny nor I had any really stomach issues to report.

Delicious Alu Gobi.... one of our favs

…..For your itinerary:  Find yourself a good local travel agent to help you out. This tip is more so for those who find themselves in India with limited time but hopes of seeing lots. If you are in India for a long time, half of the fun is trying to fumble your way around this massive, complex country and its equally complex system of transportation. But if you only have a limited time to get around India and her many amazing landscapes, travel can be complex and figuring out how to get from one place to the next can be overwhelming and time-consuming, especially since the train tickets can book up so far in advance. What worked for us what using a combination of both, in some areas of India we did all our own research and booked our own transport, but for some of the longer journey’s or those were we had a fixed date we often used a travel agent, our man Shafi at Destination !ndia, who saved us much hassle and helped ensure we got where we wanted, or needed to be. Good local travel agents know this countries transportation system inside and out, so they can tell you about routes you may have not even thought about, but they can also get you access to train tickets  called “tourists tickets” that are not available at the station. These are tickets that are reserved for foreign travelers on various trains in various classes, but must be booked through an agent. Yes, it may add a little bit to the price of the ticket since they will take a commission, but we are talking a handful of dollars to save you a heck of a lot of hassle if your time is limited.

Riding the India Rails

…..For your sanity:  Follow your gut and trust people! To find your way around this marvelously strange land you will absolutely need to really on the kindness of strangers. It may be for a ride, a room, or even just some simple directions but it would be impossible to do it without some locals helping you out along the way. So try and avoid the urge to think that everyone is out to get you or scam you that comes from listening to too many exaggerated horror stories or reading too much into the lonely planet warnings section and talk to some locals.  Use your gut to help guide you on this and it should help you pick out the harmless and helpful strangers from the inevitable touts you will meet along the way.

Happy Travels!

OOO_Talia and Jonny