your FAVORITE and LEAST FAVORITE place in India

jennifericous · Sep 15th, 2005, 00:37

machadinha,
when we arrived in varanassi it had been raining for five days straight. water was knee deep, and it was really filthy and smelly (more so than anywhere else, ever, as you can imagine with all that rubbish) also i got a lot of hassle there, like being called a whore, and having men shout lewd comments at me, something that never happened anywhere else in india. I didnt like any of the food there (not sure why) It was the last week of our trip and we were ready to go home. our health was deteriorating a bit, and we were quite poorly. because of the monsoon you couldn't walk from ghat to ghat, which i hear is a big part of the varanassi experience.
It was just one of those places i wasn't that into. i might go back a different time of year. i feel like i missed something, i just didnt feel that varanassi magic.

Casey · Sep 15th, 2005, 04:45

For those who disliked/liked Puri, can you elaborate a bit more. I am planning on stopping off there this journey and would like to hear about your experiences.

rangss · Sep 15th, 2005, 05:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casey

For those who disliked/liked Puri, can you elaborate a bit more. I am planning on stopping off there this journey and would like to hear about your experiences.

Puri is a dirty crowded town with no regards to sanitation. But beach side Puri is really nice and the very reason why some people liked it. there are some good resorts and the beach itself is a good place. The temple at Puri is grand but dirty and teeming with touts. I am a Hindu but hate visiting such temples apologies to all my Oriya friends...but I prefer Bhubaneswar's Lingaraja temple and the surrounding little temples any day).

I come from a sea side town myself and could'nt care less about Puri's beaches. However, your experience might be different.

rangss · Sep 15th, 2005, 05:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by rahul__rahul__

haha, one of my favorite places...Ladakh..is like that. Old buildings...arid, barren mountains.

Man! Dharmabad has no mountains.... there go 80% of the marks. It is nothing like Ladakh!

Nick-H · Sep 15th, 2005, 06:00

Favourite place: somewhere near a backwater in Kerala. Haven't found the spot yet, but when I do I hope to go live there

For now I'll make do with Mylapore, Chennai.

Least favourite place: Kanyakumari --- but I think it was just a bad day.

Otherwise, any flat, barren, dry and dusty outskirt of Chennai, especially the industrial ones.

machadinha · Sep 15th, 2005, 07:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by jennifericous

machadinha,
when we arrived in varanassi it had been raining for five days straight. water was knee deep, and it was really filthy and smelly (more so than anywhere else, ever, as you can imagine with all that rubbish) also i got a lot of hassle there, like being called a whore, and having men shout lewd comments at me, something that never happened anywhere else in india. I didnt like any of the food there (not sure why) It was the last week of our trip and we were ready to go home. our health was deteriorating a bit, and we were quite poorly. because of the monsoon you couldn't walk from ghat to ghat, which i hear is a big part of the varanassi experience.
It was just one of those places i wasn't that into. i might go back a different time of year. i feel like i missed something, i just didnt feel that varanassi magic.

Yes I see where you're coming from. Do give it a try again on a next trip. I visited twice shortly after another and the one time was very different than the other, liked it both though. Even the layout seemed to have changed! No kidding, you know with those alleys and the points you use for orientation and you think you know every nook and cranny, well the second time there were all these temples and shops and alleys that I'd never even noticed before. Weird, like someone had reshuffled the scenery. Ol' Shiva himself one presumes, no disrespect intended.

Funny, I have to agree on the food, never found much to rave about. I was rereading the ol' LP on it some time ago and there must either have been some great eateries that I managed to walk straight by for a week or two, or ol' LP had it wrong, not unlikely given their culinary record. Oh well.

Thanks for the elucidation anyway. Sorry to hear about the harassment, not very nice at all.

Padma · Sep 15th, 2005, 07:53

Least favourite is Patna train station (where I lost it and punched a guy for grabbing my crotch, it was a crowd pleaser but not a good day).
Favourite is a quiet little place in the hills of sikkim, which I'm hoping might stay that way a little longer. I'm hoping to find many more, hopefully without going through patna.

Anywhere can be great on a good day and hell on a bad one.
Padma

somnath · Sep 15th, 2005, 11:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casey

For those who disliked/liked Puri, can you elaborate a bit more. I am planning on stopping off there this journey and would like to hear about your experiences.

Rangss is right

. Puri is a nice place. Though it is crowded and almost 80% of those tourists are from West Bengal

. But I like it. I was in Cuttack (Orissa) for one year and used to visit Puri in weekends and I can recommend Puri as a beautiful destination.
Lingaraj is great and I am sure you will love to see Konark and Dhawalgiri

. if you like to stay away from the touristy area you can try some resorts, one of my friends has a good experience with Toshali Sands ( http://www.toshalisands.com/resort/ ).

- Somnath

iwanttogoback · Sep 15th, 2005, 12:03

favourite - mumbai for the awesome buzz, jodphur for the fort and the blue buildings.

least favourite - varanasi, just did not get it at all. probably the only place i have been where you can walk over plastic shopping bags containing human faeces.

guerik · Sep 15th, 2005, 12:13

I'll second the departures lounge as the least liked - everywhere else seems to have some kind of redeeming feature.

Favourite places: Almost everywhere I've been in India! Rajasthan, Kerala, HP and Uttaranchal particularly.

aurovon · Sep 17th, 2005, 07:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casey

For those who disliked/liked Puri, can you elaborate a bit more. I am planning on stopping off there this journey and would like to hear about your experiences.

Puri is one of a kind IMO. I was born there. Whenever I go back to India, everytime I gotsta go to Puri(okay maybe bc my grandma resides there) but I still love it. You should def go there if you have not. It might not be what you expect, but thats the beauty of it. Whenever you go to the beach there will be ppl selling "Jhal Mudhi" they will be screaming out those words..you will see them carring a big box thingy around their neck with food stuff and if its night they will have like a fire going on top of the box(so they can see when they make it for you) its sooo goood. Also you gotta try the 'chicken roll' at the main restaurant..i dont know its name, but im sure if u look around you will know what I am talking about. Okay bye!

Chandra · Sep 19th, 2005, 19:12

Two short comments:

1. I'm totally in love with the place, but it's not a secret: the food in Varanasi (well, the budget food, anyway) sucks!

But there are a few decent exeptions. And the barfi is heavenly.

2. I love Puri. I'm not a beach person, so that's not the reason, but I like the atmosphere and the slow pace (some places, that is...), the many different "scenes" of the city.

Billy H · Sep 19th, 2005, 20:05

I have to say Agra is some shithole........but the Taj Mahal is breathtaking.

My favourite place in India though is the Keralan Backwaters, and my favourite city by a mile is Bombay

shakthi · Dec 19th, 2005, 11:14

International departure lounge is indeed the worst part; I had been stuck in Delhi airport for five hours before boarding at 3 a.m.!

Kolkota is much cleaner than expected, culturally rich and vibrant.
Among the Orissa triangle, Konarak and Bhubaneswar are WAY BETTER than Puri.
Varanasi is great to experience in holy festivals, only if the lanes in the old city were cleared of cow-dungs.

Sree · Dec 19th, 2005, 18:28

I am just returning from Vijaywada, a small toun in Andhra. It is simply great, surrounded by small hills in one side and the river Krishna on the other side. I liked the place verymuch.
Other than that, Darjeeling is one of my favourite places. there are more to add in this list, but for that I have to visit the places first

.

Sep 15th, 2005, 06:00	#50
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 26,757	Favourite place: somewhere near a backwater in Kerala. Haven't found the spot yet, but when I do I hope to go live there For now I'll make do with Mylapore, Chennai. Least favourite place: Kanyakumari --- but I think it was just a bad day. Otherwise, any flat, barren, dry and dusty outskirt of Chennai, especially the industrial ones. __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

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Sep 15th, 2005, 00:37	#46
jennifericous Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: IRELAND Posts: 190	machadinha, when we arrived in varanassi it had been raining for five days straight. water was knee deep, and it was really filthy and smelly (more so than anywhere else, ever, as you can imagine with all that rubbish) also i got a lot of hassle there, like being called a whore, and having men shout lewd comments at me, something that never happened anywhere else in india. I didnt like any of the food there (not sure why) It was the last week of our trip and we were ready to go home. our health was deteriorating a bit, and we were quite poorly. because of the monsoon you couldn't walk from ghat to ghat, which i hear is a big part of the varanassi experience. It was just one of those places i wasn't that into. i might go back a different time of year. i feel like i missed something, i just didnt feel that varanassi magic.

Sep 15th, 2005, 04:45	#47
Casey Maha Guru Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 636	For those who disliked/liked Puri, can you elaborate a bit more. I am planning on stopping off there this journey and would like to hear about your experiences.

Sep 15th, 2005, 07:53	#52
Padma Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Australia Posts: 77	Least favourite is Patna train station (where I lost it and punched a guy for grabbing my crotch, it was a crowd pleaser but not a good day). Favourite is a quiet little place in the hills of sikkim, which I'm hoping might stay that way a little longer. I'm hoping to find many more, hopefully without going through patna. Anywhere can be great on a good day and hell on a bad one. Padma

Sep 15th, 2005, 12:03	#54
iwanttogoback is sorry Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: perth Posts: 1,570	favourite - mumbai for the awesome buzz, jodphur for the fort and the blue buildings. least favourite - varanasi, just did not get it at all. probably the only place i have been where you can walk over plastic shopping bags containing human faeces.

Sep 15th, 2005, 12:13	#55
guerik Maha Guru Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 1,038	I'll second the departures lounge as the least liked - everywhere else seems to have some kind of redeeming feature. Favourite places: Almost everywhere I've been in India! Rajasthan, Kerala, HP and Uttaranchal particularly.

Sep 19th, 2005, 19:12	#57
Chandra Compulsive India traveller Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Oslo/Trondheim, Norway Posts: 195	Two short comments: 1. I'm totally in love with the place, but it's not a secret: the food in Varanasi (well, the budget food, anyway) sucks! But there are a few decent exeptions. And the barfi is heavenly. 2. I love Puri. I'm not a beach person, so that's not the reason, but I like the atmosphere and the slow pace (some places, that is...), the many different "scenes" of the city.

Sep 19th, 2005, 20:05	#58
Billy H Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ireland Posts: 21	I have to say Agra is some shithole........but the Taj Mahal is breathtaking. My favourite place in India though is the Keralan Backwaters, and my favourite city by a mile is Bombay

Dec 19th, 2005, 11:14	#59
shakthi Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: California Posts: 4	International departure lounge is indeed the worst part; I had been stuck in Delhi airport for five hours before boarding at 3 a.m.! Kolkota is much cleaner than expected, culturally rich and vibrant. Among the Orissa triangle, Konarak and Bhubaneswar are WAY BETTER than Puri. Varanasi is great to experience in holy festivals, only if the lanes in the old city were cleared of cow-dungs.

Dec 19th, 2005, 18:28	#60
Sree Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Kolkata Posts: 113	I am just returning from Vijaywada, a small toun in Andhra. It is simply great, surrounded by small hills in one side and the river Krishna on the other side. I liked the place verymuch. Other than that, Darjeeling is one of my favourite places. there are more to add in this list, but for that I have to visit the places first .

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