Place to buy regular pillows

lakittee

We will be traveling around India mostly via train and car and want to know if it should be easy to find "regular" (type you sleep with) pillows in smaller places like Jodpur (whis is our first stop). Not intersested in decorative pillows -- just need something for extra comfort in car and on trains.

Are both down and synthetic ones available? how much should they cost?

Also is there a convenient place by New Dehli Train station where we can buy them? We might have an hour before we catch the train...

seventies'hippy

Oh Heck,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Do you really know what It's like around New Delhi train station!,,,,,,,,

You're not to far from the Connought Place shops but It's more involved than just walking a couple of blocks along the sidewalk,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Happy Travels

mira4bai4

Might I suggest that you buy what you want before you leave, put it in a strong plastic bag and with the vacumn cleaner suck the air out, squish it down and with packaging tape seal it into a small package. It will have minimal weight, minimal size and save so much hassle for you later if you try to purchase one in a hurry.

lakittee

seventies'hippy: No - I have no idea what it would be like near New Delhi Trainstation -- this will be our first visit.... but we were going to book a car/driver to pick us up from the airport to take us to the train station so I thought there may be some place to stop on the way... We need to stop to pick up some food for the train anyhow... so any ideas welcome !

mira4bai4: That is a good idea -- might consider it -- but with probably take an older down/feather combo pillow that I don't mind giving away at the end...

crvlvr

i think you will more than pillow to make your travel in india comfortable.

seventies'hippy

I really don't know where to start as I feel ( I may be wrong) that you really can't comprehend the hussle, bussle, hassle and general overwhelmingness that you're going to experience once you get there compared to california,,,,,,,,,,,

lakittee

Trust me, I don't expect "california" everywhere I go and for the record, I didn't vote for the chimp either(http://www.lifeisajoke.com/pictures154_html.htm). I have lived in the middle east, recently traveled to SE Asia so chaos and crowds don't bother me... nor do I scare easily -- I was mugged in Rio at knifepoint, and instinctively I yelled out and grabbed some of my money back (wasn't carrying much) while my travel partner froze on the spot ---In Guatematla I had the pleasure of being picked up by a "hotel driver" which I booked since I was arriving late and travelling alone -- and the driver just happened to be drunk and I got out that safely too ---

I assume there will be hassles and stares though this time I will be traveling with my husband and in-laws === but chances are, I will be the one handling any situations should they arise

Nick-H

It sounds like India will be blisss, compared to your other experiences!

And it'll make a great start to your travel book, "Our first task was buying pillows..."

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Mandsaur

Definitely bring the pillow from the US if you can. Maybe you can find fluffy western-style pillows but everywhere I've gone in India (both in hotels and private homes) the pillows tend to be flat and hard. I ended up stuffing clothes in a bag for a makeshift pillow on my last trip to give myself a little extra comfort...

Yetijuice

I bought my pillows at a department store in Bangkok. The pillows were vacuumed packed in a plastic bag which made it easy to get a half dozen into a duffel bag.

I used to shop at the Central Department Store in Bangkok. That was before Gen-Gen (a retired Thai Army Chief of Staff) ordered three arson fires at Central Department Store branches. According to The Bangkok Post's "Column Nine" someone at CDS had secretly taken photos of Ms. Porntip, a former Miss Thailand, performing fellatio on Gen-Gen. The photos were then sent to 200 prominent people in Thailand. Ms. Porntip got all upset and to placate her Gen-Gen ordered the arson fires at the three Central Department stores as well as the Mah Boon Krong building near Siam Square. The MBK fire occurred the day I arrived in Thailand. I believe this happened in 1996.

I had to find a new department store to shop in because the Central Department Store and the Mah Boon Krong building were closed. I suspect that Gen-Gen probably owned stock in one of the newer department stores. The Mah Boon Krong building was open in October 2004 when I was most recently in Bangkok.

dzibead

Don't even think about spending one nano-second shopping for a pillow in India. If you have particular tastes/needs for a certain kind of pillow, get it in the U.S. and take it with you. If it's down, it will squish down (no pun intended) in your luggage anyway, but if you want to save maximun space get one of those compressor bags they sell in travel gadget shops. It's like a big zip lock bag with one-way valves on the other end. You put the item in, zip it shut, then flatten and roll it to get all the air out. The bags come in different sizes. I actually used a big one to take a full-length synthetic sheepskin coat to India last month - no, not part of MY traveling attire - it was one of those "please take this to my little niece in Dharamasala" deals. There's only so much air you can squeeze out of synthetic sheepskin in the best of circumstances but with the compressor bag the coat took up only about a third of my bag instead of half of it , so imagine how small you could make a down pillow. Also, you could try the small travel pillow made by Thermarest that's filled with some kind of synthetic down. REI sells them, and I'm sure there are other sources as well. Or you could get a baby pillow, which would be easier to carry that a full-sized one.

wonderwomanusa

If you travel 2- or 3-tier AC, the railroad will supply bedding: 2 sheets, a towel, a pillow, and a thick blanket. There were always clean ... and much more convenient than carrying my own.