Itinerary- ok, I give up

karuna

I just can't work out what what I'm going to do. I've got months and months, I know, but I love thinking about it. Advice from IM sages very welcome.

Flying in and out of Delhi, Dec 17th 2006 - Jan 4th, 2007.

The initial, impulsive desire to go to India was based on going to Dharamsala* and it was only when my boyfriend said "What else could we see?" that I started thinking and researching far too much. Thoughts so far have included: Haridwar, Rishikesh, Amritsar, Dalhousie, Chamba, Bharmour, Orchha, Bharatpur and Vrindavan. That's not an itinerary, that's just a list of places I thought about going to.

So I throw it open to you, the experts.Where should I go on my first trip to India?!

One question i really would like answered: where's a fun place to spend New Year's Eve? And Christmas Day, come to that?


Extra info if you can be bothered to read it!
This is our first trip to India- I am daunted by the prospect of pushy touts and culture shock, so don't plan to spend any time in Delhi on arrival and would prefer more laidback destinations.
We are on a medium low budget- up to Rs500 a night is fine and we can afford train travel and maybe one internal flight.
Our priorities are staying away from crowds, seeing mountains (him) and holy places (me). Don't mind towns that are set up for tourists (in fact I think it's probably a good idea first time round), but if it's peak season we'd hate it. Don't need any wild nightlife and would prefer not to be on the move a lot- it would be great to find 2 or 3 places to base ourselves with day trips in the area.

If you read all that, thank you! All replies appreciated.




*not strictly true- I've ALWAYS wanted to go. It was the Dharamsala thing that was a sudden desire, I don't know where it came from. I had always planned to visit Bodhgaya and Varanasi.

New-South-Welshman

You might wanna try Gurgaon, the 'Millenium City'. Delhi ain't that bad of a place to travel. I loved it. I'm going to spend a solid week in Delhi next time I go, and take day (or two) trip to Agra, Gurgaon and Jaipur.

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karuna

Thanks!

Any recommendations for New Year?

SHIMLA

You can follow this route:

Delhi-Amritsar-Chamba-Dalhousie-Dharamsala-Mandi-Shimla-Kasauli-Delhi. This can be comfortably covered in the 19 days you have at your disposal; and you'll be welcoming the New Year at Shimla, hopefully to the first snowfall of 2007.

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cyberhippie

Or You can Try Delhi, Rishekesh, Mussoorie, Bharatpur (with side trips to Fatehpur Sikri and Deeg, Ranthambore, Bundi And Chittor

karuna

Thank you all! I will investigate....

lindakka

Namaste Karuna,

I thought I would just write about things that have been important to me while planning and travelling to India.

First off, accept the fact up front that you will be overwhelmed the first days in India. Your body is jet-lagged. The smells and sounds of the country will be strange. Rather than think......what in the world have I gotten myself into?..Consider that inside the stinky part of India is a country that is very hospitable to strangers. I learned this early on when I left the States to run a relief agency for destitute children. Upon visiting different villages, I saw a pattern developing - that in every place, I was given the seat of honor, always given food and drink. That was back when I was 22 years old. Now I am 50 and still crazy in love with India. I will be going back in January for my 14th trip.

* Take things slow - don't worry if you don't see everything all at once.
* When you become overwhelmed, change your environment. For example, go into a coffee bar and just relax for 30 minutes.
* Carry with you several bandanas (large handkerchiefs). These come in hand when handling small cups of HOT chai. The bandanas also help when your bowels do not agree with you and you find yourself with diarrhea in the middle of town. Toilet paper is not always accessible.
*Be very careful of your bags while shopping. Make sure you are aware of those around you. - this goes for any country!
*Read, read, read, read, and read some more. Know the difference in tipping,
*Respect the customs. Couples should not show affection in public. Women should keep themselves in appropriate clothing - no halter tops.

I wish you well on your journey to my second home. You, like most of us, will get back home and start planning the next trip immediately. Be patient with India and you will do fine!!

Peace,
Lindakka

Rothrock

I'm in a similar boat to you. I'm planning my first trip and every day it is a new, "I could go here or go there? Oh, that sounds great I have to do that." and so on.

You mentioned that religious places would be important to you and that is the kind of thing I would like to see myself. You also mentioned Orchha which isn't all that far from Khajuraho.

I think I'm planning on going there and have heard good things bout it. Of course it is quite a ways from the mountains.

karuna

Glad to know I'm not the only one, Rothrock!

I'm finding that all these ideas are exciting and frustrating at the same time (probably much like India, in fact!). Last week I finally settled down a bit and reminded myself that I can always go back, I don't have to see 25 places in 3 weeks. In fact that would be pretty crap.

I don't think we have time to get to Khajuraho, it's just too inaccessible from where we will be, which is a shame. But then that's the same for Gangotri, Sarnath, Bodhgaya...the list goes on. Keep in touch- we can share newbie tips!

Sama

From one linda to another, great advice! I've only been to India twice (so far!), but can relate to the advice. Bandanas are invaluable.

what I also found invaluable on my second trip was a foot brush and an exfoliating scrub. My brush had bristles on one side, pumice stone on the other. The foot scrub ("apricot scrub") was a cheap brand for less than $2 that people usually use for faces. In yoga school I walked around barefoot 12 hours a day, longer if I visited temples that day. Every night in the shower I would take care of my feet, then apply a foot creme. The bottom of my feet looked better in India than they do here....well, almost.

take care of those feet!

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dhans

It's better to see one place with a 1000 eyes, than to see a thousand places with one eye (old chinese proverb).

That having said and the fact that you only have 3 weeks and this is the first time in India I would suggest Rajasthan, Jaisalmer, Ajmer, Pushkar, Jaipur, Agra and maybe varanasi. The 500 rs a night is fine outside Delhi, but remember that travelling fast will cost you.

Have Fun!!

Hans

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Tweety

Hi..
If you are planning to travel anywhere near the himalayas I think you should try and find out how the weather is at that point.. With regards to snowfall and just the general temperature levels.
Can't give you much inputs on that since I haven't travelled there during the winter season.. But those places are absolutely gorgeous. You should definitely visit them sometime if not in this trip. Since you have enough time on hand to plan, you can definitely work out a fine itinerary based on your priorities and inputs from people on this forum.

karuna

I have no intention of visiting Rajasthan this time. It'll be peak season and some of those areas are famous for touts and hassle. I really do want to make this as easy as possible and come back to the tougher areas later when I have a better idea of what to expect and how to handle things.

The weather issue does bother me with Himachal. It seems impossible to know whether there will be snow or not, so I don't know whether some places will be inaccessible. I was reading a great article online about people being trapped in Mcleodganj due to snow. I can think of worse things than that!