Taking a walk in India soon...

Mamamia

Hi people. My Name is Frank and i'm from Montreal, canada. I'm quite new to this forum ( altough i've been browsing through it for quite a while) and i've gotta say that you're all doing a great job at helping people out planning their trip and all. I will be leaving for india in April/May only to come back in august so that will give me quite a while to see all the wonders india has to offer. I've been through a couple a trip ( 3 months in south america and 4 in Eastern Europe ) but now it's time to take it up to another level. I will be travelling alone ( went with 3 people during the others) cause i sorta want to experience something new this time.

Here's what i plan to do once there. ( will be arriving in Mumbai)
So, chronologically.

-Mumbai
-Goa
-Kerala
-Madras
-Puri
-Calcuta
-Darjeeling
* Then heading for a week or so into Nepal for a hiking trip.
-Varanasi
-Agra
-Garhwal
-Punjab
-Delhi.

Hopefully i will try to be as flexible as possible and i really i have no idea how much time i will be spending in each city. Part of the fun of going alone is to be able to do whatever i feel like.
Also i would love to go into a national park to see some wildlife.

Any imputs will be appreciated. Dangerous places? Weather ( It will be the monsoon... ) Places not to miss along the way? etc...
Also moneywise? how much should i take for 3-4 months. I was tinking about 4000$US. Too much? not enough?

Well that's it so talk to you later

iyou

Wow, you're going to have a fun trip. It does seem a bit extensive and ambitious, but you haven't said how long you're giving yourself to cover all the destinations. I'd want a minimum of three months if I was given this routing. I say "go for it". It'll be memorable.

Imput is spelled "input".

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--May a moody baby doom a yam.

Mamamia

Hi mate. Well i also think that it may be a little ambitious, but i'm willing to cut the trip a bit if i don't have the time to do it all. I'm planning to spend 3 months ( altough i can go up to 4). One thing that is bugging me is Kerala. I really want to go there ( seems beautiful) but it's kind of a detour.

and yeah "imput" is spelled input. Just tipped the "n" in error...

SitaParityaga

5 months is a wonderful amount of time to spend in Big India. Let us know what kind of things are of interest to you: are you into the beach scene... are you interested in temples....want to see tigers or endangered dolphins...want to pound down as many beers and/or bhang lassis as possible? Don't be shy! The more specific questions you ask, the better we are able to put our collective minds together to give you great information.

Its also helpful to let us know what you don't like. You've already travelled extensively, and you probably have a pretty good idea of what suits your tastes.

I like a combination of big cities and rural places. To me, you miss the "real" India if you don't settle into a small town for some time.
My only feedback about your plan is to skip Nepal. Do it on another trip.

India is the kind of place to immerse yourself in, without distractions. You'll be glad you did. There are plenty of places to take a trek in India without going there. For example: go to Nainital in Uttar Pradesh. Hike the hills there and get great views of the Himalayas. See giant rhododendron trees with huge red flowers. Hang out with the locals. You'll want to go to someplace with a little altitude in the hot months.

IM is the best place to get the most current info when it comes to planning. I have found this site immensely more useful than using just the guidebooks. When I get ready to go, I often break my questions down into specific places, and I let people know my interests.

Then, when I get back, I participate in the "community of information" by sharing my experiences, listing the hotels I visited, plastering the photo area with my amateur shots, etc.

I have received so much from the time other members have given me with their experiences, pictures in the photo section, personal experiences, etc. Someone like you, who will spend so much time in India: you will become a veritable warehouse of experience which all of us will benefit from.

Hope to see more of your questions in the threads to follow, as well as seeing your answers to other people's questions when you get back!

Mamamia

I've just realized that i made a mistake in my first post (it's now fixed) about the time that i will be staying there. I will be spending 3 to 4 months in India. ( just wanted to clear it up )

But still it's a lot of time being there and should be a lot of fun. As for interests, i like big cities as much as the more "backcountry" part of a country. What i like most is meeting fellow travelers form time to time. There was a place in Bolivia ( can't remember the actual name) that was a meeting place for all travelers and we ended up forming a bigger group to travel toguether. Is there a place like that in india? I plan do do a some partying at Gao but that would be it. ( But will still be needing my beer in the evening...)

i like historic monuments ( both on and off the maps), Great landscape, seeing some wildlife, hiking.
As for dislikes, there's really nothing except staying in big cities for too long at once. I like to move from town to town as much as possible but don't like to run too much.

Hope this helps. Thanks for the inputs. And yeah i'm really looking forward to help other people and share my experiences.

SitaParityaga

You're likely to find great fellow travelers as soon as you get to Goa. (although all the big cities will have people to join up with)

Kochi (the new name for Cochin) is spread out amongst several areas. You'll meet more fellow travelers if you stay in the Fort Cochin area of Kochi.

I've been to the north and the south in previous trips. Don't miss the south, even if you're there when its hot. There are still hill stations you can go to and avoid some of the heat.

I forgot to mention festivals. You'll definately want to see some of them. Google search Indian festivals, and try to plan around some of them. Then, once you've found one that sounds interesting, post some questions to get the details.

Mamamia

Money wise, how much should this kind of trip cost? I don't want to sleep in the cheapest hotel but don't mind to do so either. I'm 21 so i guess i can take it. (Can't be worse than that room at the center of Kiev, Ukraine... )I know this is a difficult question, but it is an important aspect of a trip. i'm planning to take a Train pass for 90 days so i'll just have to pay for hotels, meals and activities.

SitaParityaga

Don't worry too much about your budget. You'll get the feel of things once you've been around a bit. Sleep on the trains, find people to share rooms with, there are lots of wys to cut down on expenses.

Go home when you run out of money!

India will challenge your Kiev room for the number one hotel experience. Just use the IM "search" and start looking up places of interest, places to stay, and modes of travel.

Mamamia

i will definately do a search and browse along.

I forgot to say that the room in kiev was right in the middle of the bordelo and that i slept with a 2x4 in my hands all night

Debidas Banerjee

Dear friend,
Nice to see your inclusion of Calcutta. I like to exchange views in regard to Calcutta if you propose to visit Calcutta and Varanasi.