New Delhi

[superdog]

Will be heading there (with my CSO) in the relatively near future.

It’s a business trip with a slight bit of site seeing. We will have “handlers” assigned to us and a full time driver.

As I’ve mentioned before, I prefer to not fly if I can avoid it. (Just did my 3rd Miami drive this year). But clearly, no choice on this one.

Curious of any advise/thoughts/tips from travelers to the area. I’ve asked to make the Taj Mahal a priority and they confirmed that it’s no problem. Otherwise, hoping to take a local yoga class and just see some of the culture.

Pretty certain I’m wearing my DJ41. Maybe I should be worried about that, but I’m not. Any particular advise about the area would be appreciated. I do have a few Indian born engineers on my team, and they have given me some tips. But one can never learn too much.

Thanks in advance.

[samson66]

Never been there so I can't really offer suggestions. One common thing I hear from people coming back from India is how crowded everything is. Like people everywhere. Claustrophobic almost.

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[macrowatch]

For first time traveler to India:
-Only five star hotel
-Only bottled water (including for brushing teeth)
-Only food from five star hotel (kitchen standards, not about taste or quality)
-No salads/uncooked vegetables
-No street food even if it smells tasty
-Visit Jaipur as well nearby if already doing Taj
-Pack anti-diarrhea medicine

Basically, do everything possible to avoid getting Delhi Belly your first time there.

[superdog]

Originally Posted by samson66

Never been there so I can't really offer suggestions. One common thing I hear from people coming back from India is how crowded everything is. Like people everywhere. Claustrophobic almost.

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I have heard the same. Not a good thing for me.

[superdog]

Originally Posted by macrowatch

For first time traveler to India:
-Only five star hotel
-Only bottled water (including for brushing teeth)
-Only food from five star hotel (kitchen standards, not about taste or quality)
-No salads/uncooked vegetables
-No street food even if it smells tasty
-Visit Jaipur as well nearby if already doing Taj
-Pack anti-diarrhea medicine

Basically, do everything possible to avoid getting Delhi Belly your first time there.

This is helpful. Thank you,

Can you elaborate on Jaipur?

[Thug]

Might want to consider converting some USD to rupees stateside. I was at a five star and while the front desk does do it they didn’t want to convert more than $20 at a time.

The tour guides will also try to sell you on everything. Multiple times on different tours I was led to a store where they claimed everything was hand made in the the shop right there but the designs of all the trinkets in there are the exact same as one from a different tour

There’s a lot of poverty, especially on the way to the Taj.

[JasoninDenver]

I had a political science professor in college whose speciality was Indian politics so he would spend 6-8 weeks there every summer. His advice was book the first four days at a four star hotel and then immediately go to the closest street cart and ear what the locals do. Then dont leave your room for the next three days.

[AK797]

When we went to the Taj Mahal we also saw the Red Fort which is nearby and has a lot of interesting Mughal history, and also Jaipur the pink city.

I had terrible food poisoning once, think I got it from eating food at a temple alas but not the Golden one, and it was free, and so be careful and take some medication with you, my cousin was a doctor so saved me from losing two days. Also if you have asthma then be careful as air was not good in Delhi when I was last there but that was over ten years ago.

[Knappo 1307]

With all the advice you are getting, I think I would pass on this Business trip Seth...

[macrowatch]

Originally Posted by superdog

This is helpful. Thank you,

Can you elaborate on Jaipur?

If you google Jaipur tourist photos, you'll have an idea if you find it interesting enough to visit. It's less well known compared to Taj for Americans, but worth the extra day IMHO. My opinion is simply you don't like to fly, if flying from east US it's a far, far flight. You don't mind car time, so you might as well visit many places in India that are nearby via car now that you have taken the very long, very painful flight.

[Goatrope]

Try not to arrive at your departure airport too early. Or at least, confirm how early you are allowed entry to the departure airport.

I made this mistake, thinking that traffic would delay getting to the airport. Traffic wasn’t as bad as expected, but then we had to wait outside the airport a couple hours because the policy was not to allow entry earlier than two hours prior to boarding.

This would have been less of an inconvenience if it had been earlier in the day, but at night, we were assailed by prehistoric-sized mosquitoes. Not to mention, there was no place to sit other than on the concrete curb.

Safe travels!


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[superdog]

Originally Posted by Knappo 1307

With all the advice you are getting, I think I would pass on this Business trip Seth...

Dude. I wish I could.

Oy, this sounds terrible.

[Trailboss516]

One of my family members went once, also for biz. Once was more than enough.

Bon voyage!!!

[superdog]

Originally Posted by Trailboss516

One of my family members went once, also for biz. Once was more than enough.

Bon voyage!!!

Smh

[Mifune]

can you bring me back a RUDRA VINA?

[Chewbacca]

I asked my Indian friend about this. When he finished asking me why ‘your friend doesn’t leave Delhi when he lands or just go to Mumbai instead?’ 7 times I just told him to give advice.

He said;

Take a couple boxes of Snickers and bookmark YouTube videos on field dressing for broken ankles or feet.

Buy appropriate materials.

When you land in Delhi let the first bus you see drive over your foot.

Dress the wound yourself.

Stay in your hotel for a week.

[MrGoat]

Seth, my man I hope you have a great trip. I’ve never been to India but I’ve heard it is quite the cultural experience. I would say take what you’ve learned in this thread for while you’re in country and chalk the rest up as an experience while pushing your boundaries a little. Don’t focus on the things you’re uncomfortable with, just try to focus on the new experiences you’ll make and you’ll be fine.


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[GB-man]

Zoom.


Jokes aside I was invited to a wedding in chennai once but declined. I’m sure it’s beautiful but I don’t travel well. Don’t particularly like heat, crowds, stomach issues etc I’m a boring boring man.

[Star Ferry]

Originally Posted by macrowatch

For first time traveler to India:
-Only five star hotel
-Only bottled water (including for brushing teeth)
-Only food from five star hotel (kitchen standards, not about taste or quality)
-No salads/uncooked vegetables
-No street food even if it smells tasty
-Visit Jaipur as well nearby if already doing Taj
-Pack anti-diarrhea medicine

Basically, do everything possible to avoid getting Delhi Belly your first time there.

Agreed with everything. India can be rough. It’s much more comparable to sub Saharan Africa than it is to mainland China

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by MrGoat

Seth, my man I hope you have a great trip. I’ve never been to India but I’ve heard it is quite the cultural experience. I would say take what you’ve learned in this thread for while you’re in country and chalk the rest up as an experience while pushing your boundaries a little. Don’t focus on the things you’re uncomfortable with, just try to focus on the new experiences you’ll make and you’ll be fine.


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I appreciate your post and hope Seth has a great trip as well

[Redfoot]

Read the book Shantaram and use that as a guide-(just kidding- book is about a westerner who moves to India on the lam and becomes an underworld figure)

I just finished it- really good book and new movie on AppleTV, I have yet to watch it though.

Other than that, the responses above echo anything I have heard form others traveling to India.

[superdog]

Originally Posted by MrGoat

Seth, my man I hope you have a great trip. I’ve never been to India but I’ve heard it is quite the cultural experience. I would say take what you’ve learned in this thread for while you’re in country and chalk the rest up as an experience while pushing your boundaries a little. Don’t focus on the things you’re uncomfortable with, just try to focus on the new experiences you’ll make and you’ll be fine.


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Originally Posted by brandrea

I appreciate your post and hope Seth has a great trip as well

appreciate you guys. thank you.

[superdog]

Originally Posted by Redfoot

Read the book Shantaram and use that as a guide-(just kidding- book is about a westerner who moves to India on the lam and becomes an underworld figure)

I just finished it- really good book and new movie on AppleTV, I have yet to watch it though.

Other than that, the responses above echo anything I have heard form others traveling to India.

I started this on appletv. so far I like it quite a bit.

I might enjoy it more if I read it first.

[Old Geezer]

I traveled to India on a quarterly basis for several years up until I left the workforce in 2019. Macrowatch's tips are spot on. You really have to be careful with where you eat and drink. I sometimes strayed from my hotels for meals and thankfully never got sick but it's risky.
I found it to be a fascinating country and I'm sure you will too. I enjoyed seeing some of the small temples and markets in the areas I frequented (mainly Mumbai, Chennai and Lote). Unfortunately, you will observe a lot of poverty, squalor and in many places crushing crowds.
If your travel ends up being in the June to Sept timeframe be prepared for epic rainfall and pack gear to stay dry. This is the monsoon (rainy) season. It can be non-stop 24/7.
I got a good laugh from the movie "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" after visiting India a couple of times. I could relate to some of the absurdness depicted on screen.

[scarlet knight]

We had four good friends go there, three got stomach illness, one hospitalized. Be careful!

[Pw92676]

How long is your trip and what months?
I have been about a dozen times, as a tourist, throughout my life. For me I recognize what India is, and what it isn’t. I would by no stretch of the means say it’s my dream luxury destination. However a trip to explore and see another part of the world will be a memory that last forever. Your sig line is perfect: happiness is a state of mind.

Don’t drink the water. Enjoy the food. Have a great trip :)

[scarlet knight]

My last message was a downer, but whenever we traveled to challenging places (Cuba,Russia, Japan, South Korea, Jordan), they were always the most memorable. Soak it in, enjoy yourself and make memories!

[Old Expat Beast]

I've been to Delhi multiple times, both as a backpacker in the 1980s (staying at cheap guesthouses) and as a reporter in the 90s and 2000s (Grand Hyatt, luxury private homes, etc) and it can be a tough place to visit, especially on bad-air days, which are getting worse.

Go to YouTube and search travel in delhi and you'll find many recent videos filmed by tourists and travellers on the ground there giving you a pretty good idea what to expect, and how to prepare.

[Trailboss516]

Allow me to be the first to request a dedicated photo thread of your journey. While I certainly wouldn't want to be on the trip I'd love to see a photo documentary of your journey unless all the photos are of inside the hotel bathroom!

[emersm]

Can't wait to see the pictures, Seth.

Be safe and have some fun!