Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

To be desperate to go to India?

134 replies

malificent7 · 14/02/2022 07:01

I went to Nepal as a teen and was besotted and so am used to the culture/ poverty.
I am now 43 and am desperate to travel to India. We gave 2 teen girls...13/14 and i would love to take them too.
This is more of s tell me your stories of travelling round India but posting here for traffic. Post pandemic...is it safe atm?

OP posts:
DuchessOfDodo · 16/02/2022 10:16

I have

a) lived in India/Delhi as a single woman for 18 months about 4 years ago
b) travelled to Nepal while I was there

In my experience, the two are not comparable. I loved aspects of both but Nepal is a totally different environment to India. That may well be because my experience of one is living there but my experience of the other is as a tourist, but I found Nepal to be a more relaxed and comfortable place to be.

There was much about India that I loved, but some aspects that I didn't:

I was a target for everyone who needed money. I understand why, my own wealth must seem astronomical to some people (though it isn't in the UK) but the impact of that is that, everywhere I went, I could see people may a bee-line for me to sell something, offer something etc. And the price is always inflated (something an Indian friend of mine called "skin price"). If you are not comfortable with saying no or haggling hard, you will be parted with your money very quickly.

I was often a source of curiosity. I am white, blond, blue eyed and was often alone. I was stared at everywhere I went and, in many places I was approached - often for nothing more sinister than strangers wanting to take pictures of me, or with me. But again, if this makes you uncomfortable then it can be unpleasant .

There are considerable restrictions to your freedoms because of safety concerns. You cannot just jump in any old taxi at the end of a night. You cannot walk alone in many places (especially at night) and you need to be vigilent during the day. Which ends up feeling a bit 'guilded cage' after a while.

The Empire and it's influence on India is still apparent everywhere, and not in a great way. I often found myself reminded of the comedy sketch with Mitchell and Webb in which they, dressed as German soldiers, started to question if they were the BAD guys after all. This is both good and bad: it is uncomfortable but it opens your eyes to how the world may view ritain and why.

All that said:

There are some stunning things to see in India. Kerala was beautiful, the Taj Mahal is genuinely stunning, the Golden Temple equally so, the Wagah-Attari border ceremony is a great spectacle.

Lots of people - like anywhere - are genuine and friendly and I have rarely laughed so much and so hard as in India, both with friends and strangers.

I agree with others, you want to book everything (travel, accomodation, even eating to some extent) with an agency that you 100% can trust. It will make all the difference.

TheOrigRights · 17/02/2022 08:23

@Carpediem15

I would leave it for a while - the visa procedure at the moment has changed - you have to go to a visa centre in person, they send you the passport later and it is limited to 30 days tourist which starts on the day of issue.
Can you point me to information about this. I know that normally short-term visas usually only start on the day of entry to the country. Starting from the day of issue for a 30 day visa really makes planning tricky.
Carpediem15 · 17/02/2022 10:21

Here it is.

visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/deu/apply-visa

TheOrigRights · 17/02/2022 10:43

[quote Carpediem15]Here it is.

visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/deu/apply-visa[/quote]
Thanks. Is that page specific to German citizens?

I have also found this visa.vfsglobal.com/one-pager/india/uk/visa-services/english/index.html#tourist

Tourist Visa Duration update:

A Single entry Regular Tourist Gratis visa valid for a stay of up to 30 days will be issued as per the latest visa guidelines from mission, which will have to be utilized within a period of 120 days from the date of issue. This visa will be issued on a gratis basis for a limited time once in a year.

Carpediem15 · 17/02/2022 10:47

German - no this is the page my UK friend gave to me after she had done her application and it was about £70.

TheOrigRights · 17/02/2022 11:21

@Carpediem15

German - no this is the page my UK friend gave to me after she had done her application and it was about £70.
OK. It seems odd that it references Schengen all over the place.
Stokey · 17/02/2022 19:02

I thought they have just opened up visas and removed the quarantine requirement for UK citizens - literally this week.

I'm thinking of going with my children. We have friends there and I lived there when younger and have visited a lot. I don't think you need a tour guide but it depends what you want to do. We'll probably go for 2 weeks and try and just visit 2 places, pretty chilled and avoid cities other than to fly in and out of.

TheOrigRights · 17/02/2022 22:18

That's good to know. We are not planning to go until Xmas time, but as you know these trips take a long time to plan.

outdooryone · 18/02/2022 15:47

I've a lot of family who have lived and been born in India. More recently some of my family were evacuated as Covid took hold in summer 2020 by the Foreign Office.

They have not yet returned, and Covid is still rife at present. They are not intending to return in a hurry and have taken UK jobs for now.

An amazing place, I am keen to return for a visit. But I won't be in a rush.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread