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Saturday, April 23, 2011

How to Travel in India and Still Enjoy Yourself | Travelling .

How to Travel in India and Still Enjoy Yourself


Getting to India has never been a problem for me. I start out in the sterile confines of Dulles Airport, go from its clean, air-conditioned, safe atmosphere straight into a stuffy, crowded, air conditioned plane, sit on the plane for approximately 20 hours while the pilot does the flying, and then all of a sudden I’m landing in Bombay! My troubles only start after landing in India. Even the transition from the cool, dry airplane to the hot, muggy, smelly, bright Bombay airport reminds me that I’m now in an entirely different world—a magical world full of sights to see and things to do, but also a world of crowds, traffic, bargaining, pollution, and confusion. There’s much in India that you have to see if you visit—the Taj Mahal in New Delhi, Swami Vivekanand’s temple in

Trivendrum at the southernmost point in India, the hill stations in the Himalayas, and more. But unless you know the tricks necessary to travel in India without losing your money, your bearings, or your composure, your enjoyment of India’s beauty and culture may be tainted.

Last summer I went to India to visit relatives, something that I do every two or three years, but instead of going with my family as I had in the past, I went by myself. The idea of my travelling alone in India worried my parents and sister. Before I left I was bombarded with instructions: Keep your money in several different places. Act like you know what you’re doing and where you’re going at all times. Don’t speak unless absolutely necessary—you’ll give yourself away as a foreigner. Watch out for slimy men on trains and buses. Dress in traditional clothing whenever you travel. The stream of advice was endless, and I got on the plane to India scared that before I returned to the U.S. I was going to lose all of my money, be harassed by multitudes of men, have my luggage stolen, and go crazy trying to travel alone in India as a small 19-year old woman. And just think—I had traveled in India with my family seven times before I went alone. I can only imagine how daunting the idea of travel in India can be for a first-time visitor.

But don’t worry! There is hope! As I quickly learned by talking to friends and relatives who have traveled extensively in India, you can minimize your risk of having bad experiences and maximize your enjoyment of your visit to India if you just keep some simple tips in mind. I did this even though I was traveling alone in India for the first time. If I could do it, then there’s no reason why you can’t! All you have to do is…

Stay Healthy

Equip yourself with preventive medicines and basic first aid equipment before you leave home. Having these supplies will save you the trouble of going in search of a doctor or drugstore if you get sick.

Always carry a water bottle with you. Either boil your own water, or make sure to buy bottled water from a reliable distributor (Bisleri, Yes!, etc.). Indian drinking water contains many forms of bacteria that cannot be filtered out by using a simple filter. If you have to drink soda, avoid bottled sodas since they may be watered down with the same contaminated water that you are trying to avoid.

If you eat on the street, consume only fresh fruit or food that is boiled or fried. Food that hasn’t been cooked at high temperatures could make you sick. The one time that I decided to eat out and didn’t take care to make sure that my food was fresh and properly prepared, I ended up in bed for four days with a bad case of diarrhea—you don’t want this.



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