A question or three...!

Anna S

Hi there,

My husband and I are about to leave on our first trip to India in mid January 2005 - 6 weeks, concentrating on the North of India. I am reading with much interest and maybe someone has covered the questions I am about to ask, but here goes:

1. Weather - will it be humid at all, or should we expect winter (we live in Melbourne) type conditions? (We leave Jan 19th and return March 4th).In particular, we are not sure of whether to get a good pair of walking sandals or a pair of walking boots?
2. What do you do with purchases / souvenirs etc? I imagine it would be easy to buy up big - did you send / post anything back to Oz while travelling? - I imagine this to be my only option. I have bought back many items from Indonesia in the past and have used sea freight - did you use this option at all?.
3. Is it recommended to book any accommodation in advance, we will be arriving in Mumbai, and heading off to Rajasthan from there. We thought it might be wise to book a couple of nights after landing at least?

4. Itenary North India (6 weeks)

Mumbai 3
Ahmedabad 1
Udaipur 4
Mt Abu 2
Jodhpur 3
Jaisalmer 3
Bikaner 3
Jaipur 3
Agra 3
Delhi 4
Amritsar 2
McLeod Ganj 2
Varansi 3
Mumbai

We don't think we will have time to go to Calcutta should we squeeze it in?
And what about GOA?

Sorry for all the questions, but we do not know anybody that has been to India recently and really appreciate any feedback.

Many thanks
Anna S

SHIMLA

Hello Anna_S !

1. There will be no humidity from Jan to early March in North India, but it will certainly be windy and chilly!! Carry enough warm clothing. A pair of walking boots is recommended over sandals. This doubles up as a protection against the cold.

2. Do not know.

3. There is no need to book accomodation in advance, considering you'll be travelling in off-season. This is the ideal time to tour India !

4. Recommended:
Ahmedabad - 0 days, use it only as a brief stopover for Udaipur.
Udaipur - 2 days
Jaipur - 2 days
Agra and Fatehpur Sikri - 2 days
Delhi - 3 days
Amritsar - 1 day
Mcleodganj - 5 days, including visits to Kangra, Jwalamukhi and Palampur
Varanasi - 2 days

All the best !

__________________
Whoever said money can't buy happiness didn't know where to shop !

trvl_in

While I know from direct experience that what Shimla has posted is errant nonsense, you cannot assume that, so you'll need to do your own homework.

One good place to start would be the Yahoo weather service. You can enter it via any of the links below.

To see average temperatures for India see: Delhi -- 80f +

Jaipur 87f+

Varanasi -- 90+

skell

I have been travelling in Northern India for the past 2 weeks -
Delhi, Varanasi, Agra and Jaipur so far - and I'm REALLY glad I brought jeans, closed shoes and a fleece jacket. You won't need them during the day, but the evenings get quite chilly, particularly if you'll be riding around in bicycle or motor rickshaws.

Trust Shimla on this one!

janeb

Trvl In--what an arrogant and insulting response. I hope you never respond to anything I post.

bijapuri

I take both footwear, althought my "boots" look more like sneakers, which are also fine.

__________________
Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.
Barack Obama

lookit me!!!: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bijapuri/

Utube fuzzy logic:
http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=bijapuri&p =r

Baldy

have stepped in some nasty things including an open sewer in the dark in Agra - surely we have better things to discuss though ...

cyberhippie

trvlin funny you accusing Shimla of errant nonsense as it's your posts that are generally nonsense!!
Like your assertion that all hotels will supply mozzie nets.
Well I've stayed in easily 200 different Hotels of alll classes from 6000rps to 20rps
And I've had an mozzie net twice.
Your opinions are as valid as the next guys just don't run away with the idea that you method of travel is the best way to see India it ain't!!
Shimla knows what he's talking about you evidently don't!!!!!!

tstan

Hi Anna,

You raise a good question about sandals and it deserves vigorous debate.

I am very fond of North India and love walking amid glorious scenery as much as the younger members of IM. However, I note from your itinerary that you will only be leaving the plains for 2 days. Some of our regular contributors would be choking on their chapatis when they read that you were interested in North India and yet out of 42 days, you only planned to spend 2 in Himachal Pradesh!

A Melburnian, you should be able to cope with anything that the lower Himalayas threw at you, even in January.

There are sandals and there are sandals. I have just broken in a pair of leather Blundestones with a closed toe and heel ($A75 or about $US50)which can be worn without socks by day and in the mosquito biting time or in the colder evenings with permithrin soaked socks - a syringe of concentrated Permethrin yielding about 5 litres of mixture cost me $A20. The closed toe and heel are important advances over the standard beach type sandal or the sort of footwear you would use in warmer parts of the sub-continent. Socks don't look so unfashionable and the quality of the sole is good and I have no complaints after three weeks' heavy use - no blisters.

The big advantage of boots, as Shimla pointed out, is the extra warmth and ankle support, particularly if you were getting off the well maintained footpaths.

Presumably you are a backpacker and one of your principal considerations is the number of kilos on your back! So you have weigh up the advantage of having your own boots against the disadvantage of having to lug them around for most of your trip on your back!

Last year I travelled around Indo-China for 8 weeks and my excellent Rossi boots stayed in my pack except for the 3 days I was in Sapa in the north of Vietnam. I cursed them for 53 days!

On my 8 week trip in India this year, I will be in the north (Punjab, HP and Uttaranchal) for about 20 days and after a lot of soul searching have decided to leave my Rossis in Sydney.

InduBala

Hi Anna

Nice to meet you. You can make your tour comfortable for from january to March there is winter season in North India.Ofcourse you will get a good pair of walking sandals in reasonable rates.In India there are several items from clothes,electronic instruments,statues, food items,etc in cheapest and good quality.
It may be wise for you book the hotels in advance because you are arriving in the midst of tourism season in India. there may be rush in Hotels.

I would like to suggest you the following itinery.it will good enough to you.


Mumbai 3
Ahmedabad 1
Udaipur 4 (I recommend you 3 is enough)
Mt Abu 2
Jodhpur 3 (I recommend you 2 is enough)
Jaisalmer 3
Bikaner 3 (I recommend you 2 is enough)
Jaipur 3 (I recommend you 2 is enough)
Agra 3 (I recommend you 1 is enough)
Delhi 4
Amritsar 2
McLeod Ganj 2
Varansi 3
Mumbai

Glad to meet you. please feel free to ask anything with your trip .Wish you happy journey.

with love
Miss Indu Bala

Baldy

I subscribe (partially, and with caveats), to the notion that all beings partake of one consciousness. Even if I don't like some of the other soul-fragments much, sometimes, I try to make a point of engaging in fair comment. Among other things, I believe that we are best served by encouraging those things which unite us. To do so is to resonate harmoniously with the music of the spheres. Please resonate accordingly. Thank you.[/quote]

you whaa ... ?

Baldy

let me guess trv_ ... you are a school teacher? ...

Anna S

Thanks for the reply.
Blundstones eh - boots I take it? (Have not seen their sandals otherwise)
Judging from the response, I guess we will not need to worry about air conditioning on our travels?
One last Q - it sounds as if it will be more of cooler time of year (Jan-March), is there a need for anti malaria drug taking? Are the mossies that active at this time?
Many thanks

Anna