Travel India. A vivid and memorable journey through India: what an inexperienced tourist should know

Hello friends!

It's winter outside, right now the snow is falling in flakes. First wintering at -10 in the last 3.5 years. A bit unusual, but there is an opportunity to gather yourself in a bunch and do what there was not enough time on the roads for. With this article, I decided to unpack my Indian experience a little and talk about what is needed in order for an independent trip to India to pass without shock therapy.

to write about India with such pictures is the very thing

I have over a total of more than a year spent within this wonderful country. Here's a small one. Read it, there are a lot of cross-references to interesting materials :)

India is a land of conquered chaos. Written and unwritten rules work here in completely different planes, and more often they do not work at all. Everything here is ruled by the Gods and the omnipresent mad Heart. There is a lot in common with the Russian mentality. The same belief in one's own exclusivity, ingenuity and omnipresent perhaps.

Chaos and dirt are the main features of any Indian corner. But it's so cozy at the same time

It is very easy here to “erase your personal history” and become “Nobody” (with a capital letter and in the full sense of the word). Get lost, dissolve and be reborn. Among the ancient shitty streets, cows and insane ascetics with red from hashish eyes.

As a good friend of mine once said: they go to India and Nepal to heal souls.

How to start preparing for your trip?

By accepting the fact that most likely, all your planning will go to hell. In India, the very concept of time is very vague. And if the planes fly according to a completely usual schedule, then the trains may be late for a day (I am not exaggerating !!!).

A delay of 4-5 hours on Indian Railways is considered normal. Therefore, always have some time to spare.

In a typical Indian slipper

Travel planning

Despite the quite expected destruction of all the plans built, it is necessary to prepare for the trip. It's worth starting at least with tickets and visas). And let the reviews of travels in this wonderful country say otherwise)

Visa

It is possible to issue long-term tourist visas to India, for a period of up to 5 years (formally, the law was adopted, but I have not yet met real precedents). Most often it is possible to obtain a visa for 3 or 6 months. If you ask strongly, they can give a double. The cost is about $ 100.

The main thing is in the column occupation (occupation), do not indicate "photographer" or "journalist". They do not like them there :) For there is nothing to trample the holy land with your vision with a bunch of dirt, shit and crippled beggars.

In addition, Russians, Ukrainians and Kazakhstanis can now receive an electronic visa, with a duration of 1 year with a period of stay in the country = 90 days. The cost is from 80 to 100 bucks.

It is forbidden to work on a tourist visa, so if you suddenly want to get a job, it can be fraught with problems.

Tickets

I recommend buying tickets, especially for trains and buses, in advance. 1-1.5 months before the trip. And if you can get tickets for buses even at the last moment, then for trains it often happens that there are no tickets.

I have good friends who are developing routes and buying tickets for Indian trains and buses. Recommend... They have over 10 years of travel experience in India and their approach to business is very professional. They will select tickets, connections and the best route.

Lodging

Despite the huge number of accommodation in popular booking systems, you can get severely burned. In India, the concept of "quality of service" is very lame. Even in 3 * hotels, you may encounter dirty sheets and pubic hair in the pillows. Therefore, it is better to search on the spot, or else to negotiate some already checked by other places.

Cobra charmer

First aid kit

The stomach and immunity of a Russian person is poorly adapted to the conditions of a tropical climate. In India, the phrase "Don't let yourself get sick" should sound like a mantra.

Therefore, the compulsory subjects on your journey should be:

1. Activated carbon
2. Ointment for insect bites (I recommend the "Rescuer". It helps a lot to relieve itching after any vileness)
3. Pancreatin. Spicy food can hit the pancreas hard. And she, according to doctors, practically does not recover.
4. Furozolidone. A wonderful and cheap remedy for all types of intestinal infections.
5. Sun cream.

It is useless to take any sprays and ointments from mosquitoes from home. They have absolutely no effect on the Indian fauna. There are many grocery stores in India where these things are easy to buy.

It would be nice to make travel insurance. Only, as elsewhere in Asia, it does not cover possible injuries from movement on scooters and motorcycles. Be vigilant and careful.

It happens that they ask about vaccinations before the trip. I have never done them, but if you are very afraid of malaria or dengue tropical fever, it is better to play it safe. There are a lot of mosquitoes here. I once had a case with a mosquito bite, after which I had a fever for a long time.

Money

If you plan to travel with cash, take dollars or euros. Exchange for rupees can be found in almost any tourist destination: from to Kanyakumari.

There are many "ascetic merchants" here

I prefer to travel savage with bank cards. ATMs can be found even in remote villages, where such technical innovations seem completely surreal against the background of hand mills.

The best way to withdraw money is from SBI (State Bank of India) and Canara bank ATMs. They do not take any cash out fees.

Traditions you need to know to be safe

All India is conservative and traditional. Therefore, in order not to suddenly find yourself in an uncomfortable (and even dangerous) position, you need to be vigilant and know some traditions.

For women

I will highlight this point especially, because spermotoxicosis in men in a society with suppressed sexuality reaches very dangerous forms.

1. Be humble with local men. Polite, but no ingratiating smiles. Otherwise, it can be perceived as a signal of availability.
2. Cover your charms. Tight clothing and flashy makeup also send a “signal”.
3. It is better to respond to attempts to shake your hand with a bow "namete" with your hands folded at your chest.
4. It is better to avoid large crowds of people.
5. A selfie with an Indian womanizer often leads to the fact that your photo will be posted on Facebook with the caption "me and my girlfriend." This happens with enviable consistency, regardless of the state. Even more often, 1 selfie turns into a whole selfie session with everyone.

Of course, you shouldn't get paranoid, but being on the alert is useful.

Quieter in this regard are the Buddhist regions of India:, Sikkim.

For everyone else

In India, aggression is perceived as something very out of the ordinary. That is why our not the most prosperous compatriots are so fond of flaunting their "Indian victories". Hindus simply fall into a stupor, which can sometimes lead to very deplorable situations.

Don't let yourself be fooled

India is the land of the victorious heart. Here, from ancient times, they learned to sweeten the outstretched ears of novice simpletons with great talk. (here they are called "fresh chicken": literally "fresh chicken"). Therefore, there will be constant attempts to deceive. The good news is that 99% of such attempts are childishly naive and harmless.

It is better to relax immediately and, even if deception is detected, maintain a cheerful mood. Consider that this is a game, the price of which is 50-100 rubles. Agree, not a high price for a new interesting experience).

Hindus, when you catch them cheating, most often spread into a smile, shake their heads and say "okay." Like, "it didn't work, okay." You can't even take offense at them.

Indian divorce in Varanasi

However, vigilance must not be lost! Perseverance is possible and even necessary. Only, without aggression. The latter is not held in high esteem here. It is offensive and destructive.

The most common divorces are as follows:

1. Taxi in Delhi. "Is this your first time in India?" If you answer in the affirmative, there will be a representation: “oh, your hotel burned down. But I know one very, very good place. " In general, they will bring you to the place where the taxi driver will rely on a small magarych. The price will be called 2-3 times higher than the market price.
2. "The roads are blocked and there are no places." Another old-fashioned breeder, found mainly in Delhi. Usually the same taxi drivers answer that, to whom you inform that you are going somewhere to the north, like.
3. Ear cleaners. Divorce is older than Mahabharata. Sometimes these comrades can, as if by chance, "completely free", pull a horse out of your ear and half of the chicken eaten in the morning. When I saw the cleaning cleaner in the ear of a cute white girl, I realized that this divorce would live for a very long time.
4. Pressure for pity. "I have 5 children, and today I know the business ... pliz, give me the tips yourself." In general, the classic story of service personnel: from rickshaw drivers to waiters in a cafe.
5. well, and another +100 of all sorts of small divorces.

Defining a divorce is quite simple: if someone offers you their services "just like that", most likely it is not free. This is very common in tourist destinations such as Goa. I have never seen anything like this on the road and in the villages. On the contrary - only a sincere desire to help, of which I was repeatedly convinced during our and after, on the way

How to start developing an itinerary for an independent travel in India
The good news: an unforgettable trip is waiting for you, full of vivid impressions and, possibly, adventure. If you are tired of travel and think that “all European cities are similar” or “all beaches in Southeast Asia are the same”, India is the place to be. You will see a completely different country, generally unlike the countries you have visited before. Different colors, different people, different food.
I noticed an amazing feature that is characteristic only for India: this country either accepts the traveler or rejects it. In the first case, a person literally dissolves in it, in the second, everything is bad: either solid garbage underfoot, then they carry food for a long time, then beggars around. The only way out is to try to perceive everything that happens as signs, the universe clearly wants to say something. India is one of the main places of power on Earth.

Advice: We recommend that you hire a decent English-speaking driver guide for your travels in central India. The standard 4-5 days for the Golden Triangle (or 1-2 weeks for difficult routes) are quite inexpensive. Leave a request and, after confirmation, send your route for audit to your driver-guide. According to our statistics, more than half of the routes are being redrawn.

When is the best time to go to India

The climate of India is in a remarkable antiphase with the Russian one. As soon as the "gray autumn" begins in central India, it is no longer so hot, and in the seaside resorts - Goa and Kerala - the season starts. Conversely, monsoons come in May, Delhi is incredibly hot, and Russia has a wonderful spring and May holidays. The only peculiarity: if your trip falls in January, in Agra (where the Taj Mahal) there will be a comfortable temperature during the day, 18-20 degrees, but at night the thermometer drops to almost zero, and there is no heating in most hotels. There are only two ways out: take thermal underwear with you (no matter how wild it sounds), or stay in high-class hotels.

Travel to India: Exotic + sea

99% of our readers combine tours in the Golden Triangle, Rajasthan or trips to the Ganges with a seaside vacation. The starting point is Delhi. Usually, they first make a sightseeing trip, then a flight to Goa or Kerala, and then back home through Delhi.

Find Flights to Delhi

Domestic flights are quite short, they are made by low-cost airlines, so if you take a ticket as early as possible, the price will be low. The main costs are tickets to Delhi. Here are the price statistics:

Before starting the trip, we make one or two nights in Delhi, this is quite enough. There is one wisdom when choosing a hotel in Delhi. Even if you are traveling on a modest budget, in no case save on a hotel in Delhi, you will understand why on the spot. After all, it's only one night.
Really good options are mentioned in ours, you can book using the links in it, or choose a hotel on the map. Do you see a circle on the left and rays are going away from it? Ideally, you go there, and the further from there, the more extreme.

Delhi hotels on the map

So, tickets are bought, the night in Delhi is booked. If you decide to hire a driver for the trip, as the reservation is confirmed, he will help you to correctly plan your trip. Once the sightseeing route is ready, you can buy domestic tickets.

Find flights to Kerala

So everything is ready. We begin to prepare for the trip. India travel ideas, pre-made itineraries, travel guides, an overview of Goa beaches and the best Kerala hotels - all in articles written by professional SmartTrip journalists and trusted experts

Almost every tourist dreams, while not everyone succeeds in making the cherished dream come true. But you are actually lucky, because you have the opportunity to visit this glorious multimillion country without spending a lot of money. Just follow our advice and you will succeed.

So, an independent trip to India is almost always an order of magnitude cheaper in comparison with the prices charged by travel agencies. In addition, since you will carry out all the actions yourself without anyone's help, you will receive a sea of ​​positive emotions and memories.

Ready-made tours offer almost nothing new, and apart from visiting a few main attractions and selfless relaxation, nothing else will shine for you. Whereas, acting on the principle of "his own master", you will get incredible freedom and plunge into a real adventure, which will become story # 1 for you among your friends.

A little about the geography of the region. Given that India is home to over a billion people, you can imagine what a huge territory there is. In addition, climatic features, standard of living and many other fundamental factors are so different here that having visited only one, you definitely will not know all the features of the region.

As a rule, the most popular holiday destination among Russian tourists is the one that is most suitable for the European way of recreation. Sunny beaches, clean ocean, dozens of hotels and almost a native attitude towards foreigners. Which, in general, is not surprising, because earlier this state was a Portuguese colony.

Unlike other regions of India where you know people follow strict rules, you can walk in short shorts or even bikinis here. But, you cannot call yourself a real tourist who has visited India without visiting at least a few places. Well, now let's talk about how you can organize your trip to India on a budget.

Purchase of air tickets

The fastest and most comfortable way to get to India is, of course, by plane. There are also options for traveling by bus or even by train, but as a rule, the most desperate tourists agree to this, because it will take at least ten days to travel one way.

While for people with a short vacation, an airplane is most suitable. The average cost of tickets to India is about three hundred euros, moreover, such routes take into account several changes and imply the purchase of tickets at once in two directions.

Most of the flights depart directly from Moscow or St. Petersburg, in the case of choosing the country of residence of Russia, as well as Kiev (in the case of Ukraine) or Minsk (Belarus). Other smaller metropolitan areas also have a choice of flights to India, but their cost and availability are not always popular with tourists. Please note that the cheaper the air ticket to India costs, the longer it will take you to fly. In general, the fastest methods involve the cost of a plane ticket from 330 euros.

It will be most profitable to buy tickets to India on the website of the cheap tickets search service Aviasales. It is here that you can compare various offers for buying air tickets from several companies at once. Thus, you can save not only a large amount of time, but also a rather large amount of money. For everything about everything, as a rule, no more than 30 minutes are spent.

Finding accommodation in India

When choosing a vacation home, this site can save you a significant amount of time, which you can then spend on more useful things. Alternatively, you can still rent an apartment or a house directly from local residents. This option allows you to plunge headlong into the Indian cultural flavor and live like a real resident of India. Of course, the quality of housing differs from the level we are accustomed to, so we always recommend carefully studying the photos in advance.

Required documents

So, in order to get to India, you will need to present your passport, as well as a visa. In some cases, health insurance may be required (depending on the state of India where you go on vacation). In fact, treatment in India is very expensive, so, of course, it doesn't hurt to get insurance for yourself. Just in case.

On the territory of Russia there are 3 centers for issuing visas to India, located in Vladivostok, Moscow and St. Petersburg. In addition, this can also be done via the Internet. On average, the cost of a visa is about $ 60, while its processing time takes no more than four days.

To obtain a visa, the following documents are required: a valid passport, a completed application form at the visa center (purpose of the trip, etc.), a photograph, a mandatory confirmation of the reservation of a hotel room or a rented apartment. In general, the list of documents is subject to change, so all relevant information can be found on the website of the Indian Embassy.

List of top attractions in India

Given the size of the country, there are so many really worth seeing places to be found here. But, anyway, wherever you plan to vacation, it will be very difficult to build a travel itinerary for sightseeing throughout India. The only thing in this case I would like to tell about the most famous sights of the country.

• Dudhsagar
• Stupa in Sanchi
• Mahabodhi Temple Bollywood
• Taj Mahal
• Delhi National Museum
• Humpy
• Fort Aguada
• Qutub Minar

It is worth noting that it will be most convenient to get to attractions located in different parts of India by car. Of course, such a trip will have to spend at least a couple of days, but you will get a great variety of impressions.

Of course, if the budget allows you, it will be possible to use domestic services to travel around the country. Moreover, there are a lot of such companies here, and buying a ticket for them will not pose any problems.

India travel cost

It all depends purely on your personal preferences. For some, 800 euros will be enough, while others will not be able to have a good rest even for 8,000 euros. So everyone here chooses the level of rest for himself. This is the beauty of such travel. As a personal example, I suggest you familiarize yourself with a 10-day vacation in Goa for two people, taking into account the departure from Moscow.

• The cost of plane tickets for two cost 900 euros round trip
• Accommodation for 10 days cost 500 euros.
• Meals for two - 200 euros.
• Travel costs around the resort - 50 euros.
• Visiting attractions - 50 euros.
• Souvenirs and various travel expenses - 250 euros.
• Visa and insurance registration - 80 euros.

In total, almost 2 thousand euros came out. Of course, you could have a rest much cheaper, or much more expensive. The main thing is to know that a vacation on a budget is completely real.

Savings options on travel to India

I bet that if you take into account some of the basic travel tips for traveling in India on your own as a “savage”, you can significantly reduce your line of expenses. For example, we recommend that you use the roomguru.ru service to find cheap hotel rooms

In this way, you can save some of the money without losing anything in terms of comfort level. Also pay attention to the choice of a resort for a vacation, because, for example, Goa and Agra have almost the same conditions in terms of recreation, only in the first case you will have to pay twice as much.

Another tip for booking hotel rooms or apartments would be to recommend making a reservation a couple of months before your visit, so you can get up to 20 percent of the total cost. Some, of course, may agree to stay in a hostel, however, such an offer is not suitable for everyone due to the practical lack of comfortable conditions.

In the case of choosing a time of year for a vacation in India, it is recommended to choose directly the off-season, because during this period the prices for accommodation will be an order of magnitude lower. In general, now you know how you can relax on your own in India. Use the acquired knowledge and buy air tickets to India now. Happy travels.

It so happened that we arrived in the small, relatively secluded town of Rewalsar in the Himalayas already quite late, so late that it was hard for small, sleepy and lazy provincial hotels to bother with our settlement. The innkeepers shrugged their shoulders, shook their heads and waving their hands somewhere in the direction of the night, slamming the doors in front of our noses. But we were willingly, though not free of charge, accepted into a guest house on the territory of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery on the shore of the lake.

As is often the case for Tibetan places, a Hindu was engaged in our meeting and accommodation, since Tibetan monks should not be engaged in monetary and worldly matters. In addition, the monastery had been immersed in darkness for several hours, and the monks should have slept so that early tomorrow morning they had to go to meditation with a cheerful and full of piety face. A Hindu who gave us the keys to a hotel room told us about this and other sorrows of the world, and in order to somehow console himself, he insistently recommended that we attend this event at seven in the morning.

The main topics below are: buses and trains, airline tickets and visas, health and hygiene, safety, itinerary, hotels, food, budget requirements. The relevance of this text is spring 2017.

Hotels

“Where will I live there?” - this question is for some reason very strong, just terribly annoying for those who have not traveled to India yet. There is no such problem. There are a dime a dozen hotels. The main thing is to choose. Further we are talking about inexpensive, budget hotels.

In my experience, there are three main ways to find a hotel.

Spiral

Usually you will arrive in the new city by bus or train. So there is almost always a great mass of hotels around them. Therefore, it is enough to move a little away from the place of arrival and start walking in a circle with an increasing radius to come across many hotels. Lettering "Hotel" in a large area of ​​India, it marks a place where you can eat, so the main landmarks are signs "Guest house" and Lounge.

In the zones of mass idleness (Goa, the resorts of Kerala, the Himalayas), the private sector is developed, well, like we have on the Black Sea coast. There you can ask the local population about housing and be guided by the signs " Rent"In Buddhist places one can live in monasteries, in Hindu ones in ashrams.

The further you go from the bus station or railway station, the lower the prices, but hotels are less and less common. So you inspect several hotels that are acceptable in terms of price and quality and return to the chosen one.

If you are traveling in a group, then one or two people can be sent light to find a hotel, while the rest are waiting at the station with their belongings.

If the hotel is refused and they say that the hotel is only for Hindus, then insisting on check-in is practically useless.

Ask a taxi driver

For those who have a lot of luggage or just look lazy. Or you want to settle near a landmark, for example, the Taj Mahal, and not at the station. Even in large cities there are places of traditional gathering of tourists: in Delhi it is Main Bazaar, in Calcutta it is Sader Street, in Bombay it is also called something, but I forgot, that is, in any case, you have to go there.

In this case, find a rickshaw or taxi driver and set the task of where you want to live, in what conditions and for what money. In this case, you can sometimes be taken to the desired hotel for free, even shown several places to choose from. It is clear that the price immediately rises, bargaining is pointless, since the price already includes the taxi driver's commission. But sometimes, when you are lazy or in the middle of the night, it can be very convenient to use this method.

Book online

This is for those who like certainty and guarantees, more comfort and less adventure.

Well, if you book in advance, then book hotels of better quality and not too cheap (at least $ 30-40 per room), because otherwise there is no guarantee that in reality everything will be as beautiful as in the photographs. They also complained to me that sometimes they came to the booked hotel, and the rooms, despite the reservation, were already occupied. The owners of the hotel were not embarrassed, they said that a client had come with money, and the client with cash did not have enough willpower to refuse. The money was returned, of course, but it's still a shame.

Finding, checking in and staying in inexpensive Indian hotels can be an adventure on its own, a source of fun and sometimes not so fun memories. But then there will be something to tell at home.

Settlement technology

• Free yourself from the presence of "Hindu helpers" and barkers, their presence automatically increases the cost of settling.
• You go to a hotel that seems worthy of you and ask how much it costs and decide whether it is worth living there, at the same time you manage to appreciate the interior and helpfulness.
• Be sure to ask to show the room before check-in, show your discontent and indignation with your whole appearance, ask to show another room, most likely it will be better. This can be done several times, achieving all the best conditions for placement.

Those who are interested in the energy of Osho and Buddha, meditation and India, we invite you all to travel to the places where the greatest mystic of the 20th century Osho was born, lived the first years of his life and found enlightenment! In one trip we will combine the exoticism of India, meditation, absorb the energy of Osho places!
Also, the tour plan includes a visit to Varanasi, Bodhgaya and possibly Khajuraho (upon availability of tickets)

Key travel destinations

Kuchwada

A small village in central India, where Osho was born and lived for the first seven years, surrounded and cared for by his loving grandparents. There is still a house in Kuchwad, which remained exactly the same as it was during Osho's lifetime. Also next to the house there is a pond, on the banks of which Osho liked to sit for hours and watch the endless movement of reeds in the wind, funny games and flights of herons over the surface of the water. You can visit Osho's home, spend time on the shore of the pond, stroll through the village, and soak up the serene spirit of rural India, which undoubtedly had an initial influence on the formation of Osho.

In Kuchwada there is a fairly large and comfortable ashram under the patronage of sannyasins from Japan, where we will live and meditate.

A short video "emotional experience" from visiting Kuchwada and Osho's house.

Gadarwara

At the age of 7, Osho moved with his grandmother to live with his parents in the small town of Gadarvara, where he spent his school years. By the way, the school class where Osho studied still exists, and there is even a desk at which Osho was sitting. You can enter this class, sit at the desk, where our beloved master spent so much time in childhood. Unfortunately, getting into this class is a matter of chance and luck, depending on which teacher conducts classes in the class. But in any case, you can walk along the streets of Gadarvara, visit the primary and secondary school, the house where Osho lived, the beloved river Osho ...

And most importantly, on the outskirts of the city there is a quiet, small and cozy ashram, where there is a place where, at the age of 14, Osho experienced a deep experience of death.

Video from Osho Ashram in Gadarwar

Jabalpur

A large city with over a million inhabitants. In Jabalpur, Osho studied at the university, then worked as a teacher and became a professor, but the main thing is that at the age of 21 he gained enlightenment, which happened to him in one of the parks of Jabalpur, and the tree under which it happened is still growing on old place.

In Jabalpur we will live in a quiet and cozy ashram with a magnificent park.

From the ashram it is easy to get to the Marble Rocks - a natural wonder, where Osho loved to spend his time during his stay in Jabalpur.

Varanasi

Varanasi is famous for its cremation fires that burn day and night. But there is also a surprisingly nice promenade, the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple, boat trips on the Ganges. Near Varanasi there is a small village of Sarnath, famous for the fact that Buddha read his first sermon there, and ordinary deer were the first listeners.

Bodhgaya

Place of Buddha's enlightenment. In the main temple of the city, which is surrounded by a beautiful and vast park, a tree still grows in the shade of which the Buddha found enlightenment.

In addition, in Bodhgaya there are many different Buddhist temples erected by followers of the Buddha from many countries: China, Japan, Tibet, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma ... Each temple has its own unique architecture, decoration, ceremonies.

Khajuraho

Khajuraho itself is not directly related to Osho, except that Osho often mentioned tantric temples Khajuraho, and his grandmother was directly related to Khajuraho.

Prologue. Fees.

To begin with, our trip to India was planned long before departure. I like to plan everything, in connection with which I have chosen flights, hotels, and also built routes with particular care. We are not one of those travelers who travel around the world all year round with backpacks on their backs, for whom it costs nothing to wave to the other end of the planet, and who spend less time in their homeland than traveling. We are completely ordinary people ("white collars", "managers", "office plankton") who decided to spend two weeks of the cherished vacation to see India with our own eyes.

Naturally, when planning a trip, a lot of information was processed on the Internet, a large number of feature films, documentaries and amateur videos were viewed, and books were read. Now, perhaps, I will pass to the main point. Here is a list of criteria compiled by me, under which you should not go to India: - you intend to go on a trip with a small child; - you are afraid (or you are very unpleasant) insects; - you are poorly guided by the map and in unfamiliar places; - you do not tolerate hot weather; - you will not be able to live a day without comfort (good car, beauty salon, gourmet food, etc.); - you experience significant discomfort when there is a lot of noise, people, dirt around; - you are very sick in transport. If you (like any normal person) love comfort and cleanliness, but at the same time are ready to endure a couple of weeks or a month without manicure and fashionable restaurants for the sake of new, incomparable sensations, then you really need to go to India.

Registration of documents.

To stay on the territory of India, citizens of the Russian Federation must have a visa. There are several types of Indian visas, the most convenient, easy to apply and suitable for us turned out to be the so-called electronic visa. I will not dwell on it in detail, since everything is written in sufficient detail here, but there is even a video assistant for filling out a questionnaire for this visa. For a tick, I will note that when receiving a visa, we paid $ 60 visa fee and another $ 2 for something like conversion. So ... The bags are collected, the documents are completed, the heads are full of horror stories about unsanitary conditions and wild animals. We are ready for vacation!

Part 1. GOA

For two weeks of vacation, we decided to see EVERYTHING. Initially, we did not plan to go to GOA. We purchased air tickets Moscow-Delhi-Moscow (19 391 rubles. Aeroflot), but, finally disappointed in the summer of 2015, I really wanted the sea and the sun. No matter what. We purchased tickets Delhi-Dabolim-Delhi for 9607 rubles. (Airline Aei India).

Aerofolot took us to Delhi without incident, where we went to the local flight hall, bought a bottle of water (20 rupees) and settled in the waiting room until we were invited to board. It is worth noting that Delhi has a large, modern, clean and spacious airport. The first feeling that you are in India was on the plane. A beautiful Air India flight attendant in a bright red sari asked: “VEG or NO VEG”. We asked for NO VEG. rice, vegetables, chicken, nothing foreshadowed trouble ... But one spoon was enough for everything inside to catch fire. Unaccustomed, my eyes began to water and a runny nose "broke through". We were ready for this.

September in GOA - the end of the rainy season. We went at random and we were lucky. For 4 days spent at the resort, it rained 1 time, and that was early in the morning. Of the advantages of being in GOA out of season: tranquility, clean white sand, the absence of any kind of hucksters, drunk holidaymakers. Of the minuses: strong waves, you can only splash near the shore, going into the sea up to your waist, for those who like to swim far is not an option; the color of the sea is not as azure as in the season; the excursion bureaus are closed, I really wanted to ride the elephants, but, alas, it was not possible. And, most importantly, the beach restaurants are closed, and I was counting on them very much.

4

2

In GOA, we chose the Alagoa Resort hotel, the beach, respectively, Betalbatim. The cost of a room per night for two in this hotel is about 1,000 rupees / day. The hotel is not the best, but quite suitable for an overnight stay. A taxi to the hotel was ordered at the airport, to our hotel the cost was 600 rupees. Although there was a restaurant in the hotel, I personally did not like it. In search of food, we forgot about safety measures and went in search of it. Not far from the hotel, "by the smell" we found something like a "shawarma" for the locals, where we took noodles, tortillas, rice with vegetables. It was unsafe, of course, but sooooo delicious. From that moment we learned that we love Eggs noools.

And the next day we found a wonderful cafe “Monte Carlo”, which was also located not far from our hotel. The food there is simply wonderful, the prices are loyal. It's good in GOA: sun, sea, white sand, incredibly tasty fruits, especially pineapples! But this is not India yet, far from India. The food here is not so spicy yet, and the rickshaws are not so rabid.

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Part 2. First meeting with Delhi.

We flew to Delhi from GOA around 4 pm. As in GOA, we issued a taxi to the hotel at the airport, the price of a taxi: 1300 rupees. We drove from the airport to the hotel for a very long time, collecting all the traffic jams along the way. We settled in the popular tourist spot Main Bazaar. You shouldn't be afraid of this place at all! The Internet is replete with stories about how creepy this place is, with which I disagree ... I like the word "colorful" more. But this is now. In the first minutes, being in a taxi and pushing between a huge number of people waddling along the street, merchants who tried to shove some goods, rickshaws and completely amorphous cows into our car window, I was in a state of complete shock.

Like any resident of a metropolis, I don't like the crowd, I don't like being in the center of the crowd, I don't like it when my personal space is violated, I don't like being pointed at me, after all! In India, the concept of personal space is absent in principle, and if you are also "white" then even, on the contrary, everyone passing by is trying to touch you just out of curiosity. But ... back to Main Bazaar. There is a bazaar in any Russian city. So Main Bazaar is the same bazaar as the collective farm market in our native Kazan. And, living in the Main Bazaar, you live, by and large, in the middle of the collective farm market. The whole street is a market. But as soon as you go to any hotel, you immediately forget that there is this very market outside the door. This place is convenient because it is within walking distance of the metro, the railway station, travel agencies, shops, souvenir shops, exchange offices.

A night at a hotel on the Main Bazaar for a double room is about 1,000 - 1,500 rubles. We stopped at Hari Prioko. I liked the hotel: clean linen, quite comfortable room, helpful staff. I will not hide, after we unpacked our things and decided to go out into the street for shopping, dinner and tickets in Manali, my heart beat and was ready to jump out, torn by a feeling of uncertainty, a little fear, shock and curiosity. After 5 minutes of being on the street, all fears disappeared. On a noisy, dirty, dark, crowded street, we felt quite comfortable. We walked (yes, we walked around the bazaar. This is India, guys, okay), made the necessary purchases, bought tickets for the Volvo Bus to Manali.