I’ll be traveling to Pune, India for at least 4 weeks on a business trip in the near future. I’ll have my weekends free and I would appreciate some ideas on what to see and do. So far the only thing I definitely want to see is the Taj Mahal in Agra, but I am not sure the best way to get there. So dopers I appeal to you for ideas to see and do while in India.
Thanks.
A vanity shout-out to even sven, who I believe has traveled there.
Trains are slow. It would take a long time to get to Agra from Pune. You’d be better flying -probably from Mumbai to Delhi and catching the express to Agra. If that train’s on time it’s only about 2.5 hours. When I caught it it was foggy and took 6. Maybe there’s a direct flight - Pune’s got plenty of rich people and Agra’s popular.
There is much more to see in Agra than just the Taj Mahal. A weekend would be a pretty brief visit.
Be aware that there are mountain regions, often sought by tourists, where it snows and winter clothing is required.
I wish I was going! Feel free to check out my travel journal from India
http://www.livejournal.com/users/jeninindia
Don’t go to Agra on your first weekend (and I do think flying might be a good plan- although in country airfares are steep for foreigners and you should take at least one ride on the world’s biggest train system). The Taj Mahal is awesome and worth it, but Agra is kind of a tough town for tourists- the hassles tourists will find everywhere in India are tripled there because it’s the first place people go when they step off the plane and have no idea what things should cost, what common scams are, etc.
Around Pune, I’d recommend going to the Ellora Caves. They are set of Buddhist monasteries (plus a few Jain and Hindu shrines) cut into caves dating from around the turn of the millennium. The Ajanta caves are also nearby and have some of the finest Buddhist cave paintings around (sadly, I didn’t make it there.) The nearest city Aranghabad doesn’t have much to recommend for itself though, and if time was tight I’d skip the caves.
If I had four weekends, and airfare was not a problem, first I’d visit Hampi- a relatively new city (1500’s I think) that was sacked by Muslims. Now it’s full of literally miles of ruins in one of the most surreal settings imaginable. It’s full of weird giant boulders and a strange river. It looks like another planet. The temple there is pretty cool and very active. It’s a relatively laid back town (though the food kind of sucks and you will run in to mostly tourists) and also offers some opportunities to take a look at village and tribal life.
Then I’d skip Agra for my trip north and go to Varanasi. It’s one of humanity’s oldest cities and the holist Hindu city…if you’ve seen those pictures of the Ganges with all these people on steps, that is probably Varanasi. The place is kind of chaotic, but it’s one heck of a city and such a trip to realize you are walking in the same city that Buddha walked in. If you are in to Buddha, the place where he gave his first sermon under the Bodhi tree is nearby.
Then I’d skip Goa and head to Kerela. The beaches there are beautiful, the backwaters are bewitching (although the famous “backwater tours” are a little embarrassing on your part) and the town of Kochi is my favorite place in India. It’s a charming colonial spice port (you can still go to the spice markets, where they ship spices just like they did hundreds of years ago) with awesome food. You can buy fish directly out of a fisherman’s net and take it to a shack where they will expertly cook it and serve it to you within minutes. The food in Kochi is amazing, the small arts scene is refreshing, and it’s a fascinating place just to walk around (stay in the fort, not the nearby city, which is more ecologically sound but loses so much of the charm). It has enough tourist amenities to be comfortable but it only takes a couple minutes of walking to get to places where the westerners never go.
Then I’d either spend my last weekend in Mumbai, which is fun but can feel too westernized to some people, Madurai if you like temples, or head up to Rajasthan and visit Jaisalmer (if you want the full on Arabian Nights desert experience) or Bikaner (if you want to see some of India’s wierder attractions like the rat temple and the government camel farm).
For general advice, the Culture Shock India book is surprising useful and accurate. I kind of liked the Lonely Planet better than the Rough Guide. All of the readings in the guide books are facinating and the Rough Guide recommended reading list is full of great recommendations (if you go to Kochi, you can pick up many of the recommended books at the fabulous Idiom Bookshop.
Be warned, travel in India is amazing. Every day you will see something absolutely amazing. But it can also be a pain in the butt. People will lie to you and try to scam you. People will beg in extremely aggressive ways (I’m talking like one beggar following you for two hours). People will harass you. People will try to extort you. It can be tough to get accurate information, things run at a much slower (or at least weirder) pace. Things are very different.
Even a simple bus ride can be difficult. Usually the bus waits until it is full before leaving, and if it doesn’t fill up, it won’t leave at all. Or maybe it will be smuggling whiskey and avoid traveling on the paved government roads- extending your trip by six hours. Or maybe it will just roll around the city for an hour and then make everyone get off and drive off into the sunset with your money. Or maybe your rickshaw driver will take you to an empty lot and say “there are no busses” and say “but my friend here is a taxi driver- he’ll take you!” Anything can happen and often it will be a big pain in the butt. All of those things happened to me- and more. Just be ready to go with the flow, be flexible, and try not to get too worked up about things or you’ll have a bad time. The key is to not worry. Twenty bucks is a fortune there and you can fix nearly anything for less than that. No need to freak out or worry.
General advice is make sure to take your malaria pills for a test week to see if you can tolerate them (I discovered I couldn’t a week in to my trip!), don’t drink the water, dress conservatively, eat as much varied food as possible and make sure to go to a ‘meals’ joint. Don’t let the touts get to you. Try out McDonald’s there- it’s really different. go see a movie and don’t worry if you can’t understand it- the plots are rarely all that hard to understand. Buy mosquito repellent (their “odomos” is excellent). take trains and avoid video busses at all costs. Avoid “multi-cusine” restaurants, which are always yukky. But do try the “chinese” food, which is very uniquely Indian. eat the yummy little potato chips they sell in plastic bags. buy lots of stuff to bring home (I redid my home like a sultan’s palace for like $50.00). Talk to everyone. Don’t hand out pens or money to kids or they’ll harass you and every white person they see forever.
And Have Fun! If you have any questions about travel or specific places, let me know.
If you do use the trains, go 2nd class A/C. It’s cheap by western standards and quite nice really.
In Delhi there is a special “foreigner’s office” at the train station, it’s upstairs and the staff are quite helpful and efficient. However, if you venture even slightly off the beaten track they’ll try and persuade you to go elsewhere. When we were buying tickets from Delhi to Sholapur, the city nearest to the hospital where we were working and absolutely the middle of nowhere, the guy at the station did a whole “oh no madam, no tourists go there, Rajasthan is very nice at this time of year!” spiel.
It took us 24 hours to get from Delhi to Sholapur, and 12 from Sholapur to Mumbai to fly home as a rough guide to how long journey’s take by rail. Our trains were on time and pretty nice though, and I like trains, so I did enjoy the journey.
I’d agree with even sven and say you should fly if possible.
I liked Mumbai and stayed at the YWCA on Colaba Causeway, and because I was on my own, didn’t venture much further than the gateway of India- being a single female traveller in India is just a little bit more scary than I would like- “Eve-teasing” being the charming local habit of goosing and fondling women as you walk past them, which isn’t exactly fabulous if everyman you walk past does it. Still, I had 3 days of buying books, drinking beer and shopping at the fabric shops and government emporiums, so apart from that it was quite relaxing.
The YWCA, by the way has basic double rooms with en suite and cable TV for £11 a night, this also includes breakfast and dinner (which are quite edible) if you’re looking for a cheap but reasonable sleep in Mumbai.
If you do go to Agra, try and get an organised tour, the organisation we were travelling with arranged ours. It’s about a 3 hour drive from Delhi to Agra, but it was worth it. You might have to spend time in various carpet factories and jewelry shops though, as the drivers get commisssion from the shop owners if they take you there.
Thank you everyone. There is a lot of good info here. I will definitely head down to the Ellora Caves. I really want to go to Agra, but I may not have time. If I do I will most likely fly.
When I spent a month in Budapest the Culture Shock Hungary book was definitely worthwhile, so I’ll look for the India version also.
Thanks everyone.
I’d love to hear your experience, cblackhand, and others. I’ll be travelling to Pune in December for the Indian part of my wedding and as a honeymoon.
I’ll be in Pune for a week to meet my new extended family, de-jet lag and get married (again), then I was hoping to go to Delhi or Agra and end in Goa for the honeymoon part.
I’m gonna dissent on the AC second class. AC cars are often chilled to subzero temps, and (most distressingly) have nearly opaque windows which let you see ntohing of the countryside, and are full of nothing but grumpy businessmen. I found regular second class to be a comfy and safish (chain up your bags, don’t accept food from strangers) experience.
In Ellora, definitely spring for a ticket to the rock cut temple that charges seperate admission. Sometimes World Hertiage sites can be frusterating because they charge absurd rates for basically the same thing you can see for 1/10th the price a few feet away. But the site in Ellora is spectacular.
If you need laundry done, train tickets bought, or other small tasks, guesthouse owners are usually glad to do it for you for a small (100 ruppee- $2.00) fee. This can be quite useful for avoiding India’s famous beuracracy. Don’t bring clothes you like to India. The laundry method involves taking your clothes and beating it against a rock- which gets it cleaner than it’s ever been but wares things fast. Memorize your passport number because you will have to write it on a form every time you check in to a hotel. Busses are extremely dangerous and uncomfortable, but no matter where you are and what time it is, there is a bus to where you want to go. When negotiating taxi/rickshaw rates, hide somewhere and let your Indian friends do it.
I’d disagree on skipping Goa but I’m biased because I’m part-Konkani. My family is from Mumbai so I don’t know what the deal is with Pune but they’ve built the Konkan railway to go through to Goa so it’s a pretty convenient deal (I guess this also depends on how much you have to work-it’s a one hour flight from Mumbai). The beaches are wonderful, the food is unique, and you catch some of the interesting temple architecture (the Portugese tore down the original temples so when they were re-built over the hills they were built half-European stye/half-Indian…unlike anything else in India). The temples are surrounded by moats and look like little temple castles!
I’ll give a shout-out to my ancestral temple which is supposed to be the most elaborate of them all although you really can’t tell at the angle in this pictureMangeshi, Shanta Durga (this is my mom’s ancestral temple but since we trace descent through our fathers, I don’t spend a lot of time there), Moat around Mangeshi.
You would probably need a taxi to get there but I think it’s worth it. We see plenty of American tourists around there all the time.
I couldn’t find any pictures of the interiors but they all have chandeliers, marble floors, paintings and inlaid silver everywhere (at least Mangeshi).
I’m jealous. I worked in India for six weeks during med school and saw much of Pondicherry, Vellore, Kerala, Chennai (Madras) and Goa. If I go back, I’d see places I missed – like Rajisthan and Jaiselmer.
Get the Lonely Planet “India” guide book. Very helpful and informative.
You need to get certain immunizations in advance. Definitely malaria and consider hepatitis A/B, typhoid fever, etc. Talk to your doctor, or visit the cdc or who websites.
The advice about going by plane or train is good. The video buses aren’t something you’d repeat more than once. Train travel is cheap, flying less so.
Be prepared to eat vegetarian cuisine if the meat looks dodgy.
You’ll be gratified to know that English is a lingua franca in India – most newspapers and much advertising is in English. The selection of English books is astounding and the prices of books and quality crafts are very low. India would be the place to stock up on English technical books – I bought many cheap books for med school. You might also stock up on good Indian writers like Gita Mehta, VS Naipaul, Arundhati Roy, etc.
Let us know how things go. You’ll see something unbelievable every day.
Some of the traveller forums at Fodor’s or Trip Advisor might help you.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g297654-i5706-Pune_Maharashtra.html
http://fodors.iexplore.com/res/d.jhtml?destination=India&type=Where%20to%20Go
Pune’s a nice city.
Some tips:
http://www.airdeccan.net
http://www.jetairways.com/
http://www.spicejet.com/
http://www.airsahara.net
http://www.flykingfisher.com/
http://indian-airlines.nic.in/scripts/index.asp
http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/acs_welcome.html
What hotel are you staying at? I could tell you what’s nice around there.
If you have specific questions, feel free to email me.
Normally, I’d recommend a side trip to Nepal; I went there for a couple weeks and it was absolutely fantastic. But with although the Maoist uprising in the country isn’t half as bad as either the US or Nepali government would have you believe, it might be better to give Nepal a pass. If you do feel adventurous, though, you can see some gorgeous views of the Himalayas from Pokhara, which is a big city and relatively safe. There’s more historical and religious interest in Kathmandu, and if you go there, stay at the Kathmandu Guest House- it’s inexpensive compared to the anything in the US and beautiful.
Definately get the Lonely Planet guide; those give very candid information. You will run into a lot of beggars on the street, especially children; I think the current wisdom is to give them pencils for school; any money will go directly to their parents or the adult who runs their “orphanage” (think Fagin from Oliver). Don’t give them candy, because they get so much candy from tourists that they wind up with health and teeth problems. Finally, if you give to one of them, you will have to give to all of them or they won’t leave you alone.
In a lot of the local markets you will see guys running cool little juice bars where they crush pomegranets or whatever and mix the juice with ice. Don’t drink them. I speak from harsh personal experience here. :eek: I think the ice is made from tap water and the effects can be pretty hellish.
I spent a week with some Indian friends there a few years ago. They are nice people but spent waaay too much time worrying that I would get hold of some local food and poison myself. (I did)
Regards
Testy
I live in Poona, but I’m not there at the moment. Drop me an e-mail, and if I’m in town at the same time you are, I’ll buy you a drink! If I’m not, at least I can tell you the best places to go to.
Air travel is fairly cheap, and crazy cheap if you book about a month in advance. Air Deccan and Spice Jet are the cheapest, but don’t fly everywhere. Indian Airlines do. Train journeys can get interesting, more so in the non-ac 2nd class, but if you’re travelling long distances, I wouldn’t reccommend them, only because they take too long.
Further to the bottled water/ fruit drinks thing: many places will make drinks like lassi with bottled water if you ask. If you don’t trust them to, are you really comfortable eating there anyway?
Making bookings through agents/ hotels is a pretty good idea, because they usually come with someone who’ll take you to the station/ airport and show you where to go, as well as wait with you if there’s a delay.
The only part of xash’s advice I’d quibble with is asking for mild food. In my experience very little food in India is hot. It is spicy, but there’s rarely the sort of chilli hotness you get with, say, Thai food. Some Sth Koreans I met in Chandigarh complained at length about the blandness of Indian food. Do try the food the way it’s meant to be until and unless you find it’s too much for you.
I’ll also recommend trying to purchase train tickets or other bookings through your hotel or guesthouse. It’ll save you a couple of hours, you won’t have to worry about getting fleeced, and it’ll just make it so much more pleasant - all for about Rs. 100 extra or less.
As said before, air travel is getting cheap here with all the new low cost airlines. GoAir hasn’t been mentioned above. Sahara and Jet not LCCs, and they are more expensive (and in fact, are merging). Note: Indian Airlines is the domestic goverment run airline. Air India is the international domestic run airline. Avoid Air India at all costs.
Right now is the big season for Goa. I was there for Christmas/New Year’s, and it was just insanely expensive. I’m sure it’s calmed down a bit now, but don’t expect it to cheap.
I’m going to also recommend 2nd class A/C. Even if you have a reserved ticket in 2nd class (non A/C) and for some reason you’re travelling during a heavy, heavy rush, be prepared for lots of people to cram into the open standing room. But they can’t do that in the A/C bogies. But as Even Sven said, you don’t really get to see the countryside.
A little money will make headaches go away. And as one of my taxi drivers once said: “In India, anything is possible.”
Hey, I was told that by a street kid in Mysore. Hmmmmm.