800 rupees a day - possible or not?

vlad

just out of curiosity, what's the deal with the elephants?

machadinha

Ouch man don't rub it in

I know I know I know.... <beats self>

I mean like, shit dude (<-- tongue in cheek --> back to serious) I came upon a Keralan beach town after a month and a half of traveling alone through the hot and dusty innards of India. I checked into a cheap place and had just unpacked and so on when the somewhat upset owner came barging in telling me that they had no permit to accommodate a foreigner, in keeping with the above. So off I trundled to find another place, there were no tourists there at all anyway, or no white ones anyhows. Anyway I found a place and it was getting near nightfall and I got up to the roof/washing area and behold... there was the sea! A sense of elation came over me that I have no way to describe, I don't understand it myself.

So off I ran through this weird backwards area of fishing industry and made it to the beach, I think I had swimming in mind even but with all the activity going on it was clear this was out of the question. Anyhow so I got to chatting with this group of fishermen who were unloading their catch and made all the arrangements to leave with them the next morning. One of them was a little overly interested in the jewellery I was wearing (nothing fancy but interesting to him apparently) and maybe this was a sign of warning to me, probably just the usual excessive interest in anything "western" I suppose.

So as described I chickened out. And yes I regret it, but no I don't know how it would have worked out.

The silly thing is I've sailed here too indeed. Oh well. It's something about traveling alone and having to look after yourself, makes you a little too careful sometimes. I mean what was my mom gonna say "ma'am your son has been killed on a fishing journey" or simply disappeared? It's stupid I know but these are the considerations that run through one's mind.

Next time I'd probably notify the hotel owners of my whereabouts and to look after my belongings probably; the thought had struck me but the place was pretty ramshackle and I wasn't sure what to make of them either.

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machadinha

Hi again Swoon,

I'd second Merchant's advice, just dive in and find a way to participate. I'd also add that not pushing yourself in and having some antlers out to see how appreciated that is would help. With not knowing the language or what is expected of you under what circumstances things can get very tricky. If you're sensitive enough it's doable though. I can promise you it won't always be fun but neither are things at home and it's no reason not to do it.

As far as the language goes, it really depends on where you're planning to go. India has dozens of official languages and hundreds if not thousands of local ones; I met a guy (a Canadian actually I think) who was fluent in Hindi and it was just no use to him in Kerala at all. Urdu will generally only be useful for the North-west I think; Tamil would be very useful for Tamil Nadu of course and probably not many other places.

Merchant

It's the opposite for me. If I'm going to die, I'd rather do it in India, out on some adventure, than to be hit by a truck in the US or waste away from old age.

I want my corpse carried by a crowd through the streets of some dusty Indian town, with firecrackers and cymbals. Maybe folks will take a up a collection to build me a pyre and splash me with ghee. Some of my new friends will say a few kind words.

It's the only way to go . . .

machadinha

Aye very romantic and I catch your drift; however these burials don't come cheaply and who's gonna arrange it for you if no one knows you? Have you seen the half-cremations of the poor for want of firewood?

Merchant

At that point, I probably won't care.

renedu

How long do you plan on travelling? While you probably could get by on 800 a day - outisde of Mumbai and Delhi, you may not want to . In the sense that you need to consider that is the point of being there to stay as long as possible or to use every minute you have there to the fullest. Keep in mind that now many sites cost 200 to 300 RS for non-Indians. For example, the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai is 300 RS. (although it includes an audio tour). Also, living on a limited budget can get old after a while - believe me I have done it and another quick point is you do need to cushion yourself a bit from the harshness of long-term budget travelling. Actually, Indians do not live like budget travellers! Where are you planning on visiting?? 800 Rs is now $ 8.40 per day.

dzibead

As spoken languages, these are virtually the same. They are just written in different scripts.

sticky

It's such a hard call isn't it!?!

If you do go, you may be setting yourself up for a fall.

If you don't, you could miss out on one of the best experiences you can have travelling.



A few years ago I was in Morocco, my girlfriend and I had hired a car, we were spending a few days driving through the oasis filled valleys in the south of the country. Against my better judgement and the protestations of my girlfriend, I stopped the car to help out a couple of guys with a flat tyre (there are warnings in the LP guide stating that this is usually a ruse – and ends up with you being forced into buying a carpet). We gave the guys a lift to the nearest town, and sure enough ended up in a carpet shop. We didn’t buy anything though, and they offered us some advice on our route, which we changed as a result to take the older caravan route as see some less touristy areas and Kasbahs.



We stopped at a Kasbah, and were shown round by a young Moroccan guy whose grandad used to be the local chieftain. He asked us for a lift back to the city we had left from when we returned in the evening, saying that there was an important feast at his parents’ house and he couldn’t get home for it.

Having already experienced one “give us a lift” ruse, we were unsure about the whole thing, besides the fact that it is illegal for Moroccans to get lifts with tourists.



We ended up deciding to give him a lift, and when we reached his family’s house, they were so happy to see him that they invited us in to join them. It was the last day before Ramadan begins, and it is one of the most important occasions for Moroccans. We had the best food, best company, and best time of our whole Morocco trip that night – they even wanted us to stay in their house. I ate things that my mouth will love me for ever for.



But then again, it might have been different.

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machadinha

That about sums it up I guess. Thanks Sticky! It's always a tough call indeed but then it's no different any place else in the world.

swoon

Here, here!

I absolutely want to do things outside of my normal 'comfort zone', try new things, be a little braver, that sort of thing. My gut tells me India's the place to do it.


[quote]As far as the language goes, it really depends on where you're planning to go.QUOTE]

Judging by the looks of things and the time constraints (can you really ever see a whole country properly in 2-3 months?), I think I will concentrate on southern India. I guess I'll need to find out what the most common language is - in the Phillipines, everyone understands Tagalog, but each have their own dialect too (so I'm told). So I was optimistically hoping that the same could apply to India. Will have to look into this properly.

I really appreciate your replies! Thanks very much

lonelyaztec

Yes

Rs. 800 per day is great budget.

U have to avoid...5 stat hotels. There are loads of good budget hotels, u must stay there.

Food is cheap. You can factor about Rs. 150 for food per day. I amnot including cost of beer here.

And..as much as possible travel by train. Air travel is expensive in India.

So, plan ur itenary in such a way...that train travel is possible.

Best of luck.

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rickshawwallah

What kind of dollars are you referring to, Renedu? Rs. 800 is about $18 US, or (in deference to Swoon in Canada) $23 Canadian. That's more than adequate for a "budget traveler" in India.

swoon

Hi Everyone -

I used the currency converter on the home page to calculate what I could do with $2000 - for 3 months, that turns into just under 800 INR/day. That's how I came up with that figure - this converter gives a rate of app. 35 INR for $1 CDN.

Sonomama - Thank you so much for the offer - only I don't have Excel on this computer...

lonelyaztec - Sounds good - you see more by train!

Cheers

phantom

Excel sheet... u really know, how to do housekeeping
If anybody is running low on budget and is stying for 1-2 months then they can also go for Paying Guests or YWCA hostels.
The rent for PG is Rs.3-4 k/month inclusive of one meal.
YWCA hostels will be cheaper ..