INDIA - a country of many diversities

“India is a country you would either love or hate.” This is what I used to hear, whenever I mentioned visiting India one day. Well, I can now finally say, I am certainly one of those who LOVES INDIA. This is despite of initially encountering many difficulties and ‘what the heck!?!’ moments.

This story is not going to be about the best places to visit, without stating the obvious, such as visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra, Jaipur in Rajasthan state, and Mumbai is a must. I believe that the readers will find more value and will benefit from a less pleasant experience to plan better on what to do or not to do, what to avoid, and areas to be more vigilant to make your travel experience in India safe and way more enjoyable.

Yes, I still stand by saying, I love India, despite situations where I was driven into a narrow dark street by taxi drivers, being frightened only with the intention to get more money out of me. You soon realise these people work together (sometimes against each other) but if they take you to places, it is only to sell you a tour, hotel or transport tickets. They use different tricks, leaving you later to wonder how you could have fallen for that.

It took me few days as a solo woman traveller to grow a thick skin and grasp the concept that I had to leave this naïve tourist from Europe behind. In spite of research and hearing stories before visiting, I still could not believe how freaked out I was and the number of times, I was scammed. Always bear in mind, anyone working in tourism or shops will set the highest price, and will not be afraid to ask for more money and even another tip, already on top of the initial tip, lol. I very fast realised that anyone who would start talking to me, thinking they are being friendly and wanted to help a tourist, had their own agenda, even if they say, they just want to practice English. It would always turn up to be a rickshaw driver, a tour guide or a shop assistant. These people work together, and taxi drivers will take you to a tourist office to “help you”. Even if you think you finally negotiated the final price after a tiring haggling and you get to the payment, there is all of a sudden “plus tax” being added on top of that. You know you are being taken for a ride, especially if you pay by a credit card, and the tax payment is ‘cash only’. Seriously, I was in such disbelief and fuming at which point, I just had to refuse. If you are on a budget, or even on any budget, your budget can be very quickly sucked out of you before you realise it. I was quite surprised to later find out when you book a hotel online and pay at the hotel while checking in, even at this stage you can try to negotiate a better price. All my Indian friends told me, they never pay an initial price. You always negotiate.

Best time to travel to India

I travelled to India at the end of December and left India in mid-January. The 'Golden Triangle' is worth it. It is a trip from Delhi to Agra to see the beautiful Taj Mahal, then to move on from Agra to Jaipur, and from Jaipur back to Delhi. January may not be the best time to visit Agra as January is still quite cold and foggy. It has its own magic, but the top of Taj Mahal on all my photos is covered by fog. Besides, you want to get there early in the morning at the opening to avoid crowds but then there is a risk of the fog, which can last for hours if not all day.

Check organised trips from Delhi to Agra and Jaipur

Planning ahead

Booking flights and hotels is nowadays super easy and there are millions of options, but in terms of visa and train tickets, that can be a bit of a challenge, given these state or government websites look like from the 80s.

Train tickets

Oh dear, booking train tickets is a challenge. My plan was to arrive in New Delhi and spend one and a half days in Delhi (which was definitely not enough), then to visit places so highly recommended, Agra; Jaipur, called Pink City and the capital of Rajasthan state. But both of these places are around 250-300 km southeast and southwest of Delhi and require a few hours to travel to these destinations. My first days were very intense and time-constrained. I had to plan the hotels and transportation before leaving for India to ensure I had a seat on trains between Delhi to Agra, Agra to Jaipur and then Jaipur to Rishikesh. The only issue is these can get booked very fast, and many websites are not available for users outside of India, and impossible without having an Indian mobile number. There is however a website for international travellers: IRCTC Next Generation eTicketing System https://www.irctc.co.in/nget/train-search where you can register, pay a small fee to receive and send a text to any international number and book your tickets. There are many different classes, the best is to opt for the First class, of course, which is very affordable. A big NO NO and to avoid is ending up being on a 'WAITING LIST'. These tickets are sold in case someone does not turn up or cancels last minute, but the chances are you will not get onto the final list, which is finalised shortly prior to the departure. The best is to ask for a refund (if you can get a response) or to look for alternatives.

Visa to India

At the time of writing, it seems that 99% of the countries in the world with the exception of Nepal, which has freedom of movement with India, will need to arrange some kind of visa ahead of travelling. Most countries are on e-Visa arrangements, but you need to check this ahead of your trip. For short tourist trips, you can only apply 30 days before travelling, but the visa was granted relatively fast. The official website for the e-Visa application is:

https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/

Just to give you an example, I applied for a 30-day short-trip tourist visa as soon as I could, one month before travelling, i.e. on 29 November. I was planning to travel on 29 December to arrive in India on 30 December. The email said to enter India only prior to 30 December (not sure what would happen if I entered one day later), but the visa stamp I received at the borders showed my visa to expire on 28 January. That was not 30 days! The reason why I am using this example is to make you aware that you can apply for a visa a bit closer to your trip, 1 or 2 weeks before your planned and not to be robbed of extra days :)

Prices vary and it is so not clear. I have paid $25 for a 30-day short tourist visa, but I have seen posts where people stated different prices, $75 or €40. I am just advising on the fees, I paid.

Buying a SIM card

I decided to buy an Indian SIM card only after one and a half weeks of already being in India and I regretted having not done it at my arrival. It’s not too expensive and it will make your life easier from day one. Hardly anyone nowadays uses paper maps, so being able to use a map on your phone is for sure a plus. You definitely want to be connected and communicate via WhatsApp with your tour guides, and hotels or use it to book taxis, Uber, or Ola. You do not need to transfer your WhatsApp number to the Indian number and lose your chats with friends and family. The best is to buy a SIM at the airport upon arrival. Some people said it cost them 600 Rupees, whereas it cost me 1,100 Rupees. Again, buying it in a shop. The SIM is registered to your visa and to your stay in India, so do not be surprised like I was, when they take a copy of your passport and visa details. In many cases, you would need a contact or a friend with an Indian number for them to send a PIN to activate your SIM. You will get a daily limit of data, but each day it gets renewed and the data I had was quite sufficient.

Food

We all know that Indian cuisine is one of the best. Indian cuisine is well known for its predominantly vegetarian/veggie options. Being a vegan, who absolutely loves spicy food, I have enjoyed its variety. Funnily, I haven’t found the food spicy enough, but I certainly left India with many new ideas for my vegan high protein and fibre cooking. Just as India is known for its diversity, the cuisine varies from the north to the central and to the south and it leaves you amazed.

Last few thoughts

India is such a large country and has so much to offer. The places you can visit are endless.

If you have any friends in India, you are lucky, because your friends are the best people in the world. They want to help, to show you around and you will feel well taken care of.

India, a country of many diversities, varies from place to place, from city to city. Mumbai is a very cosmopolitan city in comparison to other places, even to the capital Delhi. People in Mumbai are used to tourists way more than in any other place. You will notice the difference straight away from being less stared at or being asked for a selfie way less.