Should I take a laptop to India?

leenaki

You're probably already familiar with these products, but I'm bringing a Pacsafe backpack http://www.pacsafe.com/www/index.php?_room=3&_action=deta il&id=67 this time, hoping that it'll make it difficult enough for anyone without the right tools

abdulMuiz

Get a PDA hehe

indiaprof

I used to think a laptop would be too much hassle, etc., and also attract way too much attention, but now I think having a laptop is a good idea.

First, you can buy DVD's relatively cheaply in India and watch movies if you're sick, or if there's a holiday, a strike, or whatever (or if it's raining cats and dogs) and you're stuck in your hotel.

Second, you can write, do work, etc., better than you can at an Internet cafe.

Third, laptops are becoming relatively inexpensive in India. I used to not bring them bacause I thought when I went to the library people would swarm me and ask me constantly to see my laptop. Last time I went, I was the nitwit toiling away with pen and paper and all of the Indians in the room were ripping through their work on their own laptops!

Is your laptop likely to be stolen? I would wager it is much more likely to be stolen in a country like the U.S. (where I live) than in India.

skk

To answer my own question about finding anchors for the security cable in hotels in India, I stayed in 5 different hotels in Maharashtra/Deccan and in every place I found a discreet way to use the Kensington locking device - to deter a casual theft of the laptop. Needless to say, it didn't get nicked either - but, of course, "correlation is not causation".

-skk

holikarang

haha funny! I agree! Indians like technology and if there is plenty of something in India is computers and mobiles, so I don't think you would be seen as an extraordinarily rich target just because you own one of these.This does not mean that you should go around showing all you have, but still I believe it's pretty safe to bring a laptop in India if you need it.

It's surely a great thing to have when you are bound to spend some days or hours in a room for some reasons, but personally I would not bring a pc along when that would be the only use.

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holikarang

indiaprof

I agree with Holikarang: unless I needed it for work, I wouldn't bring my laptop, or I would bring a really cheap one. Here in the states, whenever I stay at a hotel, I hide my laptop somewhere when I go out. I probably would do the same thing in India. It's just common sense. Still, I've seen a lot of people with laptops and all sorts of expensive, fancy, electronic gizmos staying at dive hotels, and I've never heard of anything being stolen, although I'm sure it happens.

I have a hunch that if you're staying at a low-end hotel, and you're a foreigner, the most likely potential thieves will be other foreigners. The floating foreign population of India is big enough to support a few bad eggs.

tacita

i agree with indiaprof that it's good to have. i never travel without mine. that being said, it's also very small and very light, a sony vaio, so it fits easily in even a relatively small purse. it allows me to offload and edit pix from my memory card as i go, blog (though i didn't in india), and journal or otherwise write when i'm in the mood, not just when there's an internet cafe around. of course, wifi access can be narrowly circumscribed in many places but, on balance, i've never wished i'd left it home. i'd probably feel much differently if it weren't so small and easily portable.

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westernrain

I took my laptop with me for my trip in Northern India last Feb to April; I had no problems with concerns that it might find its way into another pair of hands and it meant that I could back up all of my photos from the Nikon right away. It also meant that I could review the pics just in case there was a very special shot that I had somehow managed to mess up. I did think that carrying the extra weight in my backpack was rather annoying at times, but there are WiFi internet sites both in hotels and at the cafes in Dharamsala which made things very convenient for sending pics to make the folks back home jealous. I would have to say that if you are anxious at home about your possessions, you'll be even more anxious while travelling - so it's a trade off.

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edwardseco

Now, that is a good man!

The boss has agreed to a netbook for the next travel..

hellsbellsbaby

I've decided to take my laptop with me in November ~ my main reason for this was so I could keep in daily contact with everyone , let them know where I would be going etc .
Also to phone my family on SKYPE instead of looking for another way to do this...unless of course i can pick up a phone and sim for under 1000rups with ease and encounter no problems...what do you reckon ?

DeanMTL

I'm in Goa right now typing on my netbook.

If you get a 10 inch netbook, it weighs a few lbs and can be stored in any safe of any size. I love it, we use it everyday to check email, plan the next leg of the trip, and check up on trains and flight schedules.

DrHeckleAndMrSnide

Er, sorry for going OT, but I just noticed that the time of posting of DeanMTL's post above display the time as Today, 15.00 hrs. It is currently 2:19 p.m., i.e. 14:19 hrs in India, and consequently, in Goa, where DeanMTL is. So is this time displayed that of DeanMTL's machine? Or different timezone?

Strangely, when typing out this post, in the "Topic Review" section below, DeanMTL's post time is shown as "Today 14:00".

EDIT: Huh! Now it's gone back to showing 14:00 even on the main page. I'm not drunk or hallucinating. It WAS showing 15:00 hrs earlier, I triple checked!! Bug in code?

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punzelle

I'm here, I'm here, and loving it again (as I knew I would)!! And I'm in total agreement about the netbook - my little blue Acer Aspire One is so great, lightweight, makes the notebooks and laptops look like behemoths to carry around!

Also, another thing I'm sooo happy I found on amazon.com and purchased was a 4-outlet extension strip for recharging your electronics every evening; with a flat wrapping cord, it plugs into one of the strip's outlets itself when traveling so is very compact. The outlet strip plugs right into the stepdown transformer (which you do need here, with electronic items from the US - bring one with you; also available thru amazon), which in turn plugs into the plug adapter device, which goes into the wall socket!

Remember, non-techies, that the plug adapter is NOT a transformer; if you don't want to fry your equipment (and possibly the outlet), use the transformer. With the four outlets on the extension strip, I can recharge my netbook, my dvd player, my camera and one other item (or plug in a light) at the same time; HOWEVER, be careful not to overload a circuit, which could happen if you use any appliance that draws or creates heat, such as a hair dryer, curling iron, clothes iron, etc. -- those should be plugged into the transformer and adapter plug directly.

Moving on to more personal items: nice big handkerchiefs! I read here on IM how handy they are in the heat, for mopping your brow (as you will be doing, if you are from a cooler climate, as I was); I bought six pretty flowered ones (guys, maybe plain would be better... all cotton of course, that wash and dry quickly overnight; you can also use them as headbands, too, and I like to put a little of my favorite cologne in the rinse water, to use them to cover your mouth and nose if necessary at times while riding in a rickshaw or other open vehicle, in defense of traffic fumes, smog (in the cities - I'm in Delhi right now), overpowering smells, etc. - works like a charm!

One other important thing to bring: your open mind and good attitude; watch life transpire before your eyes, don't judge it or compare it to 'where you live' all the time; this is India, and there is no magic "pause" button to slow everything down long enough to try to take it all in; just go with the flow, enjoy the thrill of the traffic, and the sweetness of the people (and the cows). Oh, and buy a big bag of wrapped candies to give the kids (not money -- it goes elsewhere), or pour them some water from your bottle (into their hands; they are ready for it and appreciate it). And, always have a big bottle of water with you; you need to drink a lot, every day.

- Will add more as I think of things, and any questions are welcomed; but I'm just having so much fun, I'm not online a lot right now! Namaste, everyone ~

vistet

If you are only carrying a laptop or netbook you might want to check the need for a transformer : all Macs for example are for 100-240 V , and I suspect this goes for lappies in general. The same also goes for the Apple branded USB charger.

I would obsess about a netbook or lappie without a surge protector , on the other hand.

Obviously heat is a concern , at home I use this simple hack : in paper stores there are triangular erasers that fit on pencils , I put one at each end of a pencil and place under the top end of the laptop. Gives a slightly better writing angle , and better air circulation .

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wwailer

im going to india in 2days, and I still wonder if I should take with me my macbook 13 ", i will travel around 5months as backpacker.

The thing is, when I traveled around China last year as a backpacker I had problem with log on to check my bank account online, none of the computers in China had the latest java as I need to log in to my bank account, so I was never able to check my accounts. which was pretty stupid.

so how safe is it check my accounts if i get get access to if from the Internet cafés in India?
Even in Norway where i live, they dont recommend you to check your bank account online everywhere

will it be possible and deliver my macbook to the reception in the hotel/hostels/guest house i will live? amd how safe is that?