Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Morgen]

I'm looking kind of far ahead here, but I'm thinking of spending a month in India later this year and wondered who has been and what you've loved/hated. I've done (well, am doing) the research so I'm just looking for personal experiences really. What you loved or what felt like a bad acid trip.

Also, is getting the visa from here pretty straightforward, given that I don't live in or near Seoul? Would it be worth taking a side trip to Nepal (say, a week) assuming that this is my first trip to India but I'll be back within the next year or two?

[barneygumbell]

it really depends what you're interested in but if you had a month i would recommend maybe a loose circle of calcutta-darjeeling-katmandu-varanasi. they're great places and will give you chance to see the plains and the mountains. and there are good places to visit in between. travelling times can be long though so don't try to rush it.

[D.D.]

I just got back from India, and as the person before said it depends on why you want to go. I went to meditate so I went to specific places. If I was just a tourist I would go to Goa, Hempi and Varanasi and possibly Kerala.

[sara210]

I spent 3 months in India and it is a fabulous place, but id get a clear idea of where you want to go as its a huge country! What sort of things do you like to do? Do you like visiting temples? Or outdoorsy, hiking, rafting etc?

I would definately recommend going to Nepal but this is going to cut down your India time, and it will take you a day to get in and out of Nepal and travelling time, and a week isnt really much chance to see any of the best bits!

Are you planning on taking just trains, or will you fly between places?

If you have a month and fly into Delhi i'd suggest maybe Amristar/Chandigargh/Manali/Varanasi/Jaipur/Agra/Delhi/Jaisalmer...not it that order though...just some places to think about!

But if you let me know what sort of things you are interested in ill happily give you some more info!

[Morgen]

Thanks for the advice.

I'm mainly interested in this as a cultural trip; if I have time to fit in some trekking I'll be happy, but if not I won't miss it. I'm not really into meditation retreats of any kind. If I could, though, I'd eat Indian food 5 or 6 days a week. I'm not bothered about being able to say I went bungee jumping in India or whatever, but I'm really looking forward to exploring the cities and visiting temples and cultural landmarks.

The more I think about it, the more I don't think I can resist a week or so in Nepal, probably in and around Kathmandu and Pokhara, but I think I'll be able to stretch the trip to five or six weeks total. I'm thinking of flying into Kathmandu and out of Delhi or Mumbai, or the other way around, so I don't have to make that trip twice. It's all just very overwhelming, I have a list of about 50 must-sees and obviously only time for like six of them. I'm definitely interested in your experiences from your trip.

[catman]

To those who have been to India, how did you respond to all the poverty that surrounded you?

[barneygumbell]

yea the poverty is pretty full on...india in general is full on in every way. but it's no reason to be put off because the poorest people are oftentimes very happy and smiling.

i hope you have a great time...oh and don't go to chandigarh, that's a strange recommendation...it's pretty boring.

[oldtactics]

Keep your schedule fluid, especially at the beginning - everyone I know whose ever been there got sick during their first week, so try to keep that in mind - you might need to take a few days off about a week in. Other than that, I'm sure you'll have an incredible trip!

[sara210]

Nepal is amazing so it definately a must see if you have the extra time. pokhara and KTM are two VERY different places, and if you want to trek i would do it in Nepal, try something in the Annapurna region, theres lots of shortish treks you can do, we did Annapurna Base Camp in 6 days, and i can recommend an amazing guide!

Pokhara is a really pretty town and well geared towards tourists, theres some tasty steak houses, and lots of fake outdoor clothes shops, you can go rafting/trekking etc from there. You can also take a trip to Chitwan where you can go on safari and go elephant washing (the highlight of my trip).

Chitwan takes about 5 hours from Pokhara, and i believe you can carry on from Chitwan across into India.....id have to check my lonely planet though.

KTM is a totally different experience, really busy and built up, but theres nearby Patan for some amazing temples, and a guided temple walk in the lonley planet which is good, theres also the monkey temples, and the general craziness of Thamel ( which is where everyone stays). Again its very touristy! I can also reccommend nearby Daman which is about 3 hours from KTM i think, and its an isolated hill village but a real local experience, we had a whole house to ourselves for the night for a mere 100 rupeees.

What i would do seeing as you're short of time is KTM, then bus to Pokhara which will take a day ( try the mountain route...you may end up riding on the roof, so if the weather is bad beware but the views are amazing) . Btw the roof is a viable seat in Nepal, and you will pay the same price for the "upside" as well as the inside....also always pays to have a padlock and wire to strap your luggage on the top (never fall for the trick of paying someone else to do this for you).

Its advisable not to take an overnight bus from KTM to Pokhara as its fairly dangerous and bus crashes are fairly regular....im sure you would be fine.. but....

Then you could spend some time in Pokhara, theres the world peace pagoda.... i can also reccommend a good place to stay if you like. And if you decide the email address of a guide, theres a UK family who's brother Rajendra does treks they will really look after you!

Then maybe do a few days trekking see some of the Himalayas, Poon Hill or Base camp, the treks are a really good experience as you will get to interact with locals along the way, and you will learn some Nepali from your guide.

Then maybe you could go down to Chitwan, do some safari, some elephant washing then head out to India....

That would be the quickest way to see all the best stuff ( in my opionion) of Nepal, but it doesnt get you much off the beaten track.

Then you could head down to Varanasi...which is a must culturally as its just a crazy crazy city! Im not sure which route you'd take out of Nepal, but the most used border crossing is Sunauli, which is dirty and grotty as, then you have to take a bus to Gorakphur station and from there you could get a train to Varanasi.

And head across to the north or the west of India from there..

Id probably suggest flying out of Delhi if you want to go to Nepal as well as it will just cut down your travelling but if you really want to see Mumbai then you can get an overnight train!

You dont say whether you are going alone or not....

ALWAYS pre book your trains www.irctc.in i think....is amazing and you can prebook everything there, trains get booked up so far in advance, you can cancel them quite easily but i think you lose about 10% or something!

And one thing about travelling India and Nepal is remain flexible...the more laid back you are the more things will go your way, or at least thats how it seemed to us!

I could go on forever about tips and hints! So ill let you reply and if you have more questions and answer from there!

[sara210]

Nature's Graces Lodge- Amazing place to stay in Pokhara! And ask for the guide Rajendra!

[chris_J2]

[scott]

space

[D.D.]

6 month visas take about a week. 5 year and 10 year visas are almost impossible to get these days. I have many friends who live in India on these visas but they can't get them anymore

[scott]

space

[gaffe]

It also depends WHEN you want to go. I might be going mid-Sept and I'm thinking Leh, Dharamsala, Rishikesh, then Sikkim and Assam. I highly recommend IndiaMike.com for planning.