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Help me pack.....off to India, for a year!

48 replies

CheeseAndFriedMushrooms · 04/09/2013 21:47

What would you take? Moving to Delhi.

I have two young ds, so need practical clothes as well as pretty clothes. Only things i have decided on so far are my Toms, converse, birkenstocks, jewelled flipflops, slippers for the apartment (marble floor) and trainers for the gym.

Would like to take clothes that i will wear regularly, rather than everything i own and bring half back unworn. With packing up the house and the kids and the everything else, i cant seem to even begin to think about what i need for myself!

OP posts:
ArabellaBeaumaris · 05/09/2013 12:39

Also, don't think that because it is India you need to dig out your backpacking wardrobe. Wealthy Indians are very dressy & if you will be socialising with Indian colleagues you don't want to be standing in your utility trousers next to te wife with the latest Dior on. I went to a party in Delhi & was very conscious of being the ONLY woman in flat shoes without a designer handbag.

CheeseAndFriedMushrooms · 05/09/2013 19:41

Min30, where's the best place to meet expats? Also recommendations for places to go with a 3 year old and 5 month old?! Have enrolled 3 year old in intellitots nursery for mornings.

Thanks all for replies. Was having a bit of a last minute wobble about going but looking forward to it again now....Grin

OP posts:
ArabellaBeaumaris · 05/09/2013 19:46

I spent 4 weeks in Delhi with a 2.5 year old. We spent a LOT of time at the Railway Museum.

CheeseAndFriedMushrooms · 05/09/2013 20:07

Yes, ds does love his trains. Half of our luggage allowance will go on his thomas take n play stuff I think 😞

OP posts:
anna1991 · 05/09/2013 20:45

Hi.
I recommend you to take a lot of underwear. But don't take white bras. They will turn yellow. Grin
You can buy some affordable T-shirts and tunics from stores like Lifestyle, Maxx, Westfield and Pantaloons. They are a lot cheaper than Marks and Spencers. And a good pairs of boots are really difficult to buy in Delhi unless you can spend Steve Madden and Aldo prices.
Also, some loose linen trousers from anywhere (primark do them for £8),your choice of skincare. A lot of international makeup brands are available in Delhi but not easy to find. Tampons and mooncup, panytliner. You can get sanitary pads easily though like Whisper,Stayfree,Kotex but they don't stick as well as Always)
I suggest you buy Indian clothes in India as they are a lot cheaper there ! You can even get a salwar kameez custom made to your liking (neckline, backline, sleeves) for less than £4.
And don't forget to pack atleast two evening dresses incase you are attending an event/wedding.

Also recommend you to get some pepper spray from any chemist shop while in Delhi. It's a must have. Best to stay safe rather have your intestines pulled out.

Scarletohello · 05/09/2013 22:22

If you dye your hair you may want to take hair dye with you. You can get lovely natural products for both hair and skin. There's a huge shopping mall in Delhi where you can buy all kinds of designer goods. Your list sounds fine, don't take too much as shopping is one of the joys of India ( but be prepared to haggle..)

Long, light loose clothes are best. If you are fair you will get stared at ( and probably chatted up). Have a great time, I loved Delhi, it was a bit like Paris with the wide boulevards and PAVEMENTS!! ( sounds odd but in many Indian cities there are hardly any pavements and walking down the street can be v tricky..)

CheeseAndFriedMushrooms · 05/09/2013 23:26

Do I really need to take boots? Wasn't planning on taking anything that wintery.... Pepper spray a good idea too, thanks all.

OP posts:
mumtosp · 05/09/2013 23:28

I'm surprised that you are being asked to carry toiletries... I'm from India and have been in the UK for the last 8 years, but everytime I visit home I'm surprised at the range of international brands that are sold in India these days... And my city isn't that big either. So I'm sure you get good quality toiletries in Delhi/ Gurgaon.

Be prepared to be stared at !! And the locals are going to be fascinated by your kids and want to touch them....
Don't take a lot of clothes from here.... Delhi is absolutely great for shopping. If you make some local friends, ask them to take you around the local markets... there's nothing like haggling for a good bargain :)
And wear loads of kurti and salwaar kameezes... as an Indian I can tell you that foreigners look very cute in them :)

Delhi can get very cold during the winters, but you shouldn't need to carry anything specific from here... You get a great range of warm clothes locally...

Definitely carry enough bras... You will not get your size...

Can't comment on tampons... I never used them... But my mum did and that was ages ago. So i don't see why they are hard to find.... Unless it's just Delhi that doesn't sell them...

If you do get gropped in a crowded area, don't hesitate to make a big noise about it... You'll be surprised how many people come to your aid once you make some noise...

Carry some comfy shoes as I wouldn't recommend walking in high heels on Indian roads. Once you are there, you can buy expensive as well as cheap footwear from local markets...

If your DS are still in nappies, the one thing that you will miss are decent changing facilities.... They jist don't exist once you step out of the international airport !!

HTH.... Have a great time :

mumtosp · 05/09/2013 23:30

*just

CheeseAndFriedMushrooms · 05/09/2013 23:30

Hadn't even considered nappy changing facilities Shock

OP posts:
NotAsTired · 05/09/2013 23:41

Don't forget it gets cold in the winter (obviously not like here) evenings/mornings and houses/apartments can get quite chilly.

dontyouknow · 06/09/2013 08:04

I have spent a lot of time on various occasions travelling around India and have had three trips to Goa with a young child.

I seem to be in the minority but I have to say I always thought it looked a bit odd, pretentious even, when westerners were walking round in Indian clothes, especially in a big city like Delhi where more Indian women would be in western clothes. I wore a Salwaar Kameez (sorry cannot spell it!) in Pakistan but would wear thin loose trousers and a top in India. If you have any clothes that you find work really well when you are out there you can get a tailor to make you a couple of copies really cheaply.

My daughter is blond and blue eyed and gets sooo much attention in India. She was 3, 4 and 5 when she went. Hopefully Delhi won't be so bad but in Goa people constantly wanted their photo taken with her. Fine if it was some children or even a woman but sometimes it was a man or group of men so we said no as it just seemed wrong. People did try to stand next to her and take a photo without asking us which really pissed me off and I would have a go at them. DH noticed it more than me and being quite big would stand in the way - he reckons there are lots of disappointed people with photos of his arse!

In Goa I felt fine to wear (long) shorts and a t-shirt or a beach dress. I still wouldn't go as far as the tiny shorts and strappy vests that lots of people were wearing. In Delhi I would keep more covered up.

Toiletry wise I would take a year's supply of tampons and decent high factor children's sunblock and buy everything else out there. Not sure about buying nappies in India - the closest I have had is Malaysia where there were pampers for a huge price and local brands which were terrible and rustled loudly when she walked. I imagine you might have various visitors staying with you for a holiday - you could always tell them they have to bring a couple of big boxes of nappies if they want to stay! I agree changing might be a problem - I wouldn't want a child of mine being on the floor, even on a changing mat, in a lot of the toilets I have used in India!

mumtosp · 06/09/2013 11:22

Don'y bother taking mappies... You'll get them in Delhi...

dontyouknow · 06/09/2013 13:27

mumtosp - We are thinking of going back to Goa at easter. DS will be almost one. Any recommendations for local nappy brands? or are Pampers reasonably priced? Even a fortnight's nappies takes up an awful lot of suitcase space.

Re read your earlier post and was interested that you think foreigners look cute in Indian clothes. I got lots of comments in Pakistan that it was nice that I was wearing local clothes. As more people wear western clothes in India I didn't think it would be well received but I seem to be wrong!

OP - you haven't mentioned pushchairs. I would personally take a lightweight one, like a mclaren. Pushing something heavy on uneven pavements, or where there is no pavement, would not be much fun, not to mention carrying it up and down steps where there are no ramps.

Min30 · 06/09/2013 18:02

GurgaonConnections and Gurgaonplaygroups I think they are both Yahoo groups, they arrange coffee mornings, playgroups and other functions. It would be great to get on these before you go, my info could be a little out of date as we left 2 years ago...

Do you know where you will be living in gurgaon? Will you have a car and driver? I only ask as it is the norm and it could be a little difficult to get around without one. I used to do my shopping at a place called Arjun Marg, there is a smallish supermarket there that sells a lot of imported stuff plus all the day to day necessities. I always bought pampers but I think they where actually from Thailand?? can't remember but they where about 700Rs for a big pack and available virtually everywhere, both of my children were fine with them. I only took toiletries when I had a specific brand I preferred not available in India, strawberrynet.com also ships there for free. All the big brands are there though so I wouldn't really worry. When I was there, there where ELC's and Mothercare everywhere but not sure if still the case.

Intellitots is great I had heaps of friends who sent their kids there. I made the daily trek into Delhi for my daughter to go to school and I wished we had sent her there instead:-) You will meet a lot of mums there it's all very friendly and someone will be sure to take you under their wing:-)

The railway museum is great and there is also a aircraft museum near the airport which I thought was good, both would not be advisable in the summer though...way too hot! You may have to adjust your expectation a little though, they are not quite to the same standard as you may be used to but still a lot of fun.

All the big shopping centres have indoor soft play areas, Ambiance mall just near the Delhi/Gurgaon toll is fantastic and the other ambiance mall (can't remember exactly where but someone there will be able to tell you!) has a nice outdoor play area with a big wooden pirate ship.

Your children will definitely get a lot of attention, my children are very fair with big blue eyes (as am I) and it was fairly constant. I always thought getting upset about it was a bit of a waste of energy. It is normal in India to give children a lot of attention and also for men to give the kind of attention to children that we would only expect from women, I know it feels a bit weird but it was mostly innocent and harmless. I appreciated it when people at least asked if they could take a picture and when my children where old enough I asked them if they were ok with it and if it was no then it was no. We are in another asian country now and they are actually a bit more aggressive about the photo taking and touching. Unfortunately due to having been hassled for their pictures for their whole life my children now hate having their picture taken by ANYONE!

I could go on about India for ages, as I said we really enjoyed it and I am actually a little jealous of you:-)

WowOoo · 06/09/2013 18:06

I am sure you've made your packing list by now.

If you're still undecided on jeans, I'd take them.

For airports - especially when returning to UK, nights when it can get quite chilly and when we stayed with a friend in a heavily air conditioned house.

Enjoy!

CheeseAndFriedMushrooms · 06/09/2013 23:31

Can I ask what you guys did about car seats? We are getting a driver, was thinking taking a booster seat for ds1 aged 3 but tall for his age, buy what would you do about 5 month
old?

Someone mentioned pushchairs, we were going to take our quinny buzz, we have another stroller but its a cheap mothercare one, and we used with ds1 when he was around eighteen months... You think I should get something else instead of taking the quinny?

My brain is about to explode. Hmm

OP posts:
HollaAtMeBaby · 07/09/2013 16:10

Do you have a sling for 5mo? Pushchairs are OK for shopping malls but there are many parts of town where the pavements are broken/missing bits etc.

www.indiamike.com is an incredible helpful website for all things India-related and has a big discussion forum.

Winsantdotcom · 08/09/2017 10:25

Delhi is mostly hot and humid and for an outsider it some very hot place. So try and pack loose cotton clothes like trousers and cotton shirts etc.

there are many websites that has great collection on offer

www.myntra.com
www.jabong.com
www.amazon.in
www.winsant.com

besides delhi is shoppers paradise. It has many markets and malls where you can everything from cheap to the best brands in the world.

While ind delhi don't feel shy to bargain hard. Delhi sellers are notorious for quoting exuberant prices.

Do share your delhi story for us forum members.

NC4now · 08/09/2017 12:34

Delhi is nuts! I loved it though.
I lived in harem pants, vest tops and scarves but we were in quite a touristy area. I took tunic tops with sleeves too.
Bought loads of scarves and accessories there.
The smog was really bad when we were there. It hurt my lungs. Felt like I'd been chain smoking for days. On the last day I was covering my face with a scarf but some people wore face masks. That might be worth a buy.
I didn't have problems with unwanted attention. It was hassly but not in a sexual way.

ZaphodBeeblerox · 08/09/2017 12:57

I don't have anything useful to add beyond what's said above. Delhi / Gurgaon have changed a lot and you're much more likely to find pretty much everything you can on Oxford St there in the malls.

I just find it funny since in a decade of living in the U.K. I've never bought underwear or face cream here. I always buy it on trips home to India or get it brought over when family visits. I swear by Forest Essentials (especially their gold infused day cream) which is fantastic for my skin. It's hilarious how I feel like I can't get exactly what I want anywhere except back home Grin

Good luck OP hope you have a fab time. Also take some warm sweaters and things because Delhi gets cold in the winter and many places won't have heated interiors.

SandBlue · 08/09/2017 13:09

ZOMBIE ZOMBIE ZOMBIE

The posting started nearly 4 years ago.
I suspect the OP us back, or getting off somewhere else by how!

ZaphodBeeblerox · 08/09/2017 14:04

Dang it! What's happened to the MN zombie warning!!!!

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