travel India tour India enjoy India

These are god-sent times for travelers, provided they themselves are not badly affected by the global financial crisis. [I am not talking about good discounts and other monetary benefits; these are generic and apply to all parts of the world. I am talking of India-specific advantages of undertaking a visit now.]

One, the rush is less. In the highly crowded and poorly managed tourist destinations of India, having some breathing space to get a better look at ancient monuments, laze more leisurely on the beaches, find restaurants less crowded... these are at premium. So, with international economic sentiment down and in turn fewer peopleare visiting India, you can get more quality out of your buck.

Two, the dollar-rupeee exchange rate is now hugely beneficial for dollar earners. The rate was less than Rs. 40 per $ some months back and is now Rs. 50 per $ -- a 25% gain!

Three, winters are setting in. India is good in winters as the temperature is more tolerable than that in summers and monsoon seasons. In southern parts, it is comfortably warm and in the north it is pleasant cool. This type of climate will welcome you during November TO mid-December and mid-February TO mid-April.

My acquaintances from the travel and tourism biz tell me that the number of foreign travelers to India has come down though that of Indians traveling abroad is on the rise.

Terrorists' planting of bombs in some places in September has played the biggest dampener, they say.
The other [and obvious]factor seems to be the economic problems that first affected America and has now shattered European and other financial markets. It is told that many travelers have either shortened their trips or postponed them, if not canceled their trips altogether in most cases. But, we are told, the elite traveler segment is still more or less intact.

It is in such economical times that Indian low-budget tourism might gain. One - because it is dirt cheap [though slightly costlier for Americans because of long distance and recent rise in air-travel costs], two - it is expanding fast and so many bargain deals are on offer, three - those who have a medical procedure to undergo in their home country can club cheap medical treatment in India with tourism [it is called medical tourism].

I have always been cautioning fellow travelers what not to do when traveling a strange place, whether India or elsewhere.
I found an article in the American Chronicle, posted recently, about safety tips on travel to India. These tips, I find, are useful. However, these should not let you feel that everything is scary in India. The idea is to act with abundant caution because you are in a new place.
The article is here.

India is a land of diversities: of climate and topography, of people, of languages, of cultures. It is a land of over 5000 years of history. A vibrant democracy and exploited colonial past make it chaotic in all walks of life: its systems don't work properly, people may behave weirdly, tourists may not find stay fully comfortable. This too adds to the reasons why you should visit India - once at least [of course, there are tales of people falling in love with it].

There are numerous sites on travel to India and its tourist attractions. However, many have a vested interest and thus post unreliable content. You can find a listing of a number of sites at this link:
India travel links

I also maintain some lenses on India:
India: its people, its places
India in its variety

The photo given above is of a Budhist stupa.

India is not exactly a tourist-friendly place but what it offers outweighs your difficulties. Let me explain.

It is not that the people of India are bad or discourteous or its climate very bad or it is exceptionally dirty and disease prone, but India ignored its tourism resources for far too long and this has badly impacted tourism. As a result of this long neglect, tourist places are not maintained properly and systems to facilitate tourists and are not in place. Even good hotels are in very short supply.

What India does not offer include great night-life [yes, it has started in some metros in a small way, especially Delhi and Mumbai], great quality drinks [except in expensive hotels], fresh sea food [except in coastal cities and in big hotels], casinos, sex toursim.

But don't worry. You have just to find a reliable tour operator and plan your trip well in advance. If you do that, you will sure enjoy India like not many places on earth.

The reliability of tour operator is very important. Since there was a vacuum of travel and tour operators for long, a large number of them have mushroomed in the last few years. After the advent of internet, their number has further multiplied and their dependence has gone down further.

I have started two blogs precisely to help you in finding whether you are approaching the right people and whether they are giving you the right advice. I cannot guarantee that I will be able to crosscheck all details, but I will try to check if people are misleading you.

What India offers is immense. It has countless monuments of ancient times, places of worship, a madley of folk art on one side, Himalayan mountains, variety of flora and fauna, beaches, sanctuaries etc on the other side and crowded bazars, colourful fairs and festivals, etc on still another side.

With your tour for entertainment, you can also combine your medical treatment in Indian hospitals. Indian government hospitals are not good but private speciality hospitals are as good as the best in the world and provide medical treatments at a fraction of the cost in Europe and America. Traditional systems of medicine/ healing, especially yoga and ayurveda, are also popular among international tourists. Again, you must do proper research before going for treatment in India.

India being a large country, you can travel any time of the year and you will have some places worth visiting in that season. However, winter months along with transitional seasons [September to April] are generally the best suited for most travellers.

PS: Today [23 July '08] I saw a piece on this blog - http://indiatravelworld.blogspot.com/ - saying 'Why to visit India'.

** As per a report issued by the Indian government, India received over 5 million tourists in 2006, out of which half visited the Taj. Other places most visited are: Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb, Qutub Minar, Jantar Mantar, Purana Quila [Delhi]; Agra Fort, Sarnath Excavated Site, Fatehpuri Sikri [Uttar Pradesh]; Charminar, Golconda Fort [Andhra Pradesh]; Bibi-Ka-Maqbara [Maharashtra]; Mamallapuram [Tamil Nadu]; Khajuraho [Madhya Pradesh].
** Cleartrip claims to be the biggest online travel agency, occupying 35% marketshare, and the first one in India to offer international air products.
** OkTataByeBye.com has launched award scheme for travel writing.
[links my not work over time if the source is changed.]

Last year, we made a trip to Almora and nearby hill stations. Almora happens to be a crowded town in Kumaon region, associated better with Kausani [where Gandhi wrote his reflections on Gita] and Nainital [beautiful hill station around a lake].
We had decided to take a detour from Almora, our base camp, then stay a day or two at the unspoilt hill town, Raniket, before returning to Delhi.
Everything went well. There are a great number of temples around Almora. In the very vicinity of the town is an old, tribal-type temple devoted to the local deity Golu. One's wishes are supposed to be fulfilled if one offered a bell to the presiding god, and so the temple bars and the trees next to the small temple have thousands of bells hanging from them. Also pinned along with the bells are petitions people have made to the deity againt wrong-doers.
There are many temples, mostly on hill tops, devoted to Goddess and those on the banks of rivers to Lord Shiva - the destroyer.
We loved Ranikhet more, because the town has been kept small and uncrowded by the Cantonement Board [the town virtually belongs to Kumaon Regiment] and the view of distant snow-covered peaks from its ridges is unearthly.
Rains played spoilsport many times, but it was very enjoyable too, in many ways: you hear the sounds of unusually heavy rain and gushing streams, you discover small waterfalls that suddenly appear on huge hills opposite you, you like to play in the clean water that springs out of the slope next to your hotel. You see rain moving along with clouds that touch you and engulf you in ecstacy.
But we got a scare of our life too! While returning, we were told of a small landslide on the way ahead and were advised to turn back to Ranikhet. But we were near Bhowali, a town nearer to plains than hill towns, and so we preferred to move on and stay in our vehicle in case the road was blocked anywhere. After a mile, we were stopped as a big boulder had rolled from the upper slope on the road. It was swiftly removed by a gang of debris cleaners and they told us that the road ahead was all right. We had moved only about a hundred yards when the driver stopped the car to a screeching halt [we were busy cracking jokes on the back seats]. It was not desirable on hill roads, especially when they were slippery, but he had done that, making us fall on the floor of the vehicle. One of us had a bump on his forehead as it hit the back of the front seat. But then, the car had not been able to stop and a huge boulder lay hanging from the slope above us and blocking part of the car's way. He cried asking us to get off and himself jumped off the door away from him. When we came back, the boulder had slipped further down and was about to hit the car's bumper. We could'nt have gone in the front of the car to push it back to safely [moreover, the driver had applied hand brake also]. In another five tense minutes, a lot of rubble had come down on the road and covered the front wheel of the car by half.
At that moment, the driver left us to think what all alongwith the car would be crushed by the boulder and drowned by the rubble,showed great alertness and went to the open door of the car. He pushed himself into the car and released the hand brake. Though there was slope, the car reversed only by a foot as some pebbled had come under its front wheels. He then went to the wheels and removed the pebbles, asking us all the time to put bigger pebbles on the road ten feet away. The car did slip back and we pulled it from behind. In ten seconds of our car coming out of the boulder's range, the boulder fell on the road with a thud and an avalance of debris made the road just disappear from the scene. The driver told us, Golu devta [=deity] had saved us.
Did I mention that all during this small resue operation, it was raining heavily and we were drenched in chilling hill rain?

Goa government has decided to display prominently some do's and don'ts for tourists. Government says, these are for your benefit and just to remind tourists and locals where not to err. They say, these are being issued in the light of occurrences of problems on account of ignoring caution such as not bothering to renewe visa, drunken driving or taking drugs. Hope, police do not use them as pretext to harass people. Hope not. And hope, people do not make too much fuss about them.

One such 'don't' says, tourists should not indulge in trade and consumption of narcotics or in paedophilic activities. Any problem with that?

Monsoon time is a special time to travel to India. Of course, you have to be selective.
Wildlife sanctuaries are among the best places to visit. India has over 520 of them. Though some central parts of the country have received less rains this year, rest of the country has received copious rains. Monsoon season [June-August] revives tropical and deciduous forests and the wildlife too is in its active best. So, plan to visit south [Idukki and Periyar sanctuaries in Kerala state], north [Corbette national park, Uttarakhand], east [Manas and Kajiranga in Assam] or west [Ranthambore in Rajasthan, Gir in Gujarat]. I found this website giving good details of safaris in India: http://www.naturesafariindia.com/
A nice place to visit during monsoons is Mandu in Madhya Pradesh in central India.
Hills can be very charming in hills, especially the Ghats in Kerala, those in the north east and the Himalayas. However, you must be prepared for landslides if you are to travel by road. Shimla [north], Ooty [south] and Darjeeling [east] are connected by tiny trains, and train travel in the hills during rains is an experience in itself. Goa and Kerala coasts have nice beaches, which have quite a roaring sea during monsoons, but it is charming in being different from other times of the year. Of course, they are very hot and humid.
[photo courtesy: Himachal Tourism]

If you tend to love nature and sometimes think alone about the great creations of God, you tend to fall in love with mountains.
Himalayas are one such mountain range. These are supposed to be among the youngest mountains in the world and so, they are always rising. Scientists tell, they rise by about eight cm a year. This makes them very unstable and very steep at places. Years of mindless exploitation and urbanisation has taken away beauty and freshness from lower ranges of Himalayas. Yet, like all things natural, they try relentlessly to rejuvenate - rejuvenate themselves and the visitors.
If you have traveled to Alps and other mountain ranges, you may find Indian / Nepalese mountains of the Himalayan range similar, only more dirtied by tourists and locals alike. These will look drier and less 'maintained'.
So, if you are travelling to India and also want to have a glimpse of the Himalayas, go slightly deeper, into unspoilt places. The natural expanse, the spring water, the fresh and fragrant air - these are worth indulging in.
If you are a nature lover, you need to go further up and spend some time there, loving the place and the simple local folks, and braving the chill and hardship.
One place that I often visit is Uttarakhand. This state is only small distance from India's capital, New Delhi. There are beautiful places strewn in the hills and they turn more enjoyable the further you go. Of course, there are skiing, river surfing, pilgrimage [Hindu and Sikh] and wildlife-biosphere destinations and as many tour packages. I not was surprised to find many ad-sense advertisements on websites offering nice packages to international travelers.
Do take these packages but do steer a bit away from them for some time to enjoy Himalayas.

The perpetual chaos in the place called India has just increased in intensity.
First, we had a week of political drama. Political untouchables turned chums, foes became friends, ruling coalition partners felt nuclear deal was bigger than government, opposition thought they would deal a body blow to the deal. People say, money changed hands to buy votes in parliament. A tape surfaced showing how bribe was paid, and the next hour it proved to be doctored. A great deal of good deals.
Next, jehadis thought it fit to weave a garland of crude bombs in the western part of the country. Thanks to the indomitable Guzzu spirit, the panic disappeared in a week and things seem to be normal though you never know, they might find another couple of bombs hanging from some tree.
Then came another bout of monsoon rains, especially in southern and central parts of India. That adds humidity, waterlogging, broken roads, filth. Yes, they say, it will result in better crops though precious water will keep draining off because of no water conservation measures.
Yesterday, a prank in a temple in Himachal led to scores of people dying in stampede. A deadly, providential, prank and an unprepared administration. There are reports of a boat capsizing, a bus falling into a deep valley, a boy serial-killing other boys,...
You think, Indians will learn from such happenings?
No, but that is India.
An old joke goes like this: Somebody asked whether there is a proof that God exists. The reply was that India carries on is proof enough that God exists, becasue this can happen only if God wills that.
Come, see India in its chotic best.

Pl go to this article on how much dependable India related travel websites and operators are and advice on how to avoid getting duped.

Mamallapuram 60 kms, South of Chennai, nestling on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, was once a port of the Pallavas. The Pallavas have created many marvellous monuments with Sculptural Panels, Caves, Monolithic Rathas and Temples.

Temples in India are not only the abodes of deities, they are virtual store-house of the nation's cultural heritage. Khajuraho is one such group of temples. The sculpture there is greatly erotic, so let us only give a mention of Khajuraho on this public site. You can see a nice lens on Khajuraho here.

Mamallapuram is not as famous, and decidedly not as enchanting. But it does show a glimpse of temple architecture and sculpture during the reign of Pallavas.

If you are visiting Chennai [old name Madras], a southern city of India, you need to travel about 60 km further south to reach Mamallapuram. The road takes you further to Pondicherry [now named Puducherry], an old-time French colony where you see Auroville - the spiritual home of Aurobindo.

There is a big, Dravidian style, 1400 year old shore temple and a skilfully carved rock [called Arjuna's Penance], supposed to be the largest bas-relief sculpture in the world. Arjuna, the hero of Mahabharata whom Lord Krishna taught Gita, is said to have done penance here.

The place gets its name from 'ma-malla', meaning a great wrestler, referring to king Narasimha Varman I who ruled the area during seventh century.

Recently remains of another, even bigger, temple have been found near the shore temple.

There are also five monolithic temples, known as Pancha Pandava Rathas.

Ooty is a gifted hill destination in Tamil Nadu, one of the two southernmost states of India. However, nature's bounty has not been harnessed. In fact, it is being spoilt by an apathetic administation.

First, the plusses of Ooty.

It has very pleasant climate year-round. It has a hill train, with world heritage status. It has a lake. Its location amidst overarching hills makes it perfect for nice resorts. It has small but beautiful nature spots around, in the Nilgiri Mountain ranges. This place also has the potential to have medical tourism, village tourism and tea tourism. It can also be part of Mysore circuit.

Now, the spoilers.

Its approach roads are not wide, easy. Its roads are pot-holed, drainge system in shambles. Its roads, crossings and streets are unmanaged, crowded. The civic body excels in not doing anything worthwhile for the city and letting it decay. It is not being maintained properly as a town, not to speak of projecting it as a tourist destination. Hotels are far and few. Private investment in tourism is very meagre. The nearest airport is 100 km away at Coimbatore and the road journey is far from comfortable.
Had this place been in a western country, it would be getting a million domestic tourists and a few hundred thousand international ones.

As it stands, Ooty [official name, Udhagamandalam] gets a poor rating and may be considered only as part of a circuit tour if you arrive in India at Chennai and have exhausted visits to other places.

If you want to see India beyond its history and natural diversity, you will need to go to smaller cities and villages and live with the natives.
A better, more rewarding, way is to visit India during festivals. Oh yes, India celebrates a thousand festivals all round the year and no part of the year would be without a festival taking place somewhere in the country. However, it is the big festivals that bring the best [sometimes the worst, in the form of communal clashes, unbearable crowds, ugly happenings, now even terrorist threats].
The top festivals are deewali, the festival of lights; hole, the festival of colors; dushera and durgapuja, festive season known for burning of Rawana effigies. These festivals are celebrated in different ways in different parts of the country. For example, during Janmashtami - the birth of Lord Krishna - Mumbai and nearby cities have special pitcher-breaking celebrations. Besides, there are very colorful local festivals that have a local lore behind them, such as Ganesh chaturthi in Mumbai, Dushera in Kulu [Himachal Pradesh], Durga puja in Kolkata, Bihu in Assam... Of course, Indians celebrate festivals whose roots are in age old customs and different religion, people of all communities participate in the main festivals.Among main non-Hindu religious festivals, Eids [two in a year] are celebrated with gusto in Lucknow, Hyderabad and other Muslim dominated cities; Moharram processions are taken out in all Muslim centres; christmas of Goa is a treat; guru parab is celebrated by Sikhs with utmost devotion, especially in Amritsar.
This is not even a glimpse of what lies in India in terms of mirth and variety that Indian festivals offer. So, do include a festival in your India visit; you will cherish it life-long.
I have linked some youtube videos on this lens to give you a feel of Indian festivities.

I have given my thoughts on the subject in this article. The link in the article are in the context of Indian sites and tour to India. The article is based on my long experience of travel and some research.

I would be grateful if visitors share their experiences, especially with ad links.

I have some experience, direct or through my friends, of these and other sites. For relative strengths of over 100 travel-tour sites relating to India, pl visit this blog
Of the sites that provide good guidance and service, I would give makemytrip a slightly higher ranking, though cleartrip seems to be the market leader.
It is all subjective. Then, none is perfect.

There was a report, quoting a recent survey [as of 2008], that Indians have started traveling abroad in large numbers and the rate of increase in their numbers is quite high.
While this will not help the foreign travelers visiting India directly, this will definitely make Indians more cosmopolitan in outlook. Till some time back, majority of Indian travelers abroad used to be either very rich people or those allowed official visits abroad. Now that the international travel rates are within the reach of middle-class Indians, more members per family are earners, and the packaged tour industry is growing, commoners too are going places. Such travelers are likely to demand similar facilities in Indian destinations too, resulting in creation of more such facilities and in turn such facilities getting more commonplace and less expensive.

Taj is but a mid-sized monument, not maintained in a perfect manner, surrounded by a crowded-dusty-unmanaged-unclean city. The tourism department has done hardly anything to make the life of tourists, including foreiners, comfortable.

Yet, it is one of the seven wonders of modern ages and thousands of travelers from across the globe visit it every year. Taj is unparalleled in its beauty and grace, captivating and mesmerising with its simple and pure architecrue, bringing alive the love-story of Shah Jehan and Mumtaj Mahal.

Much has been written about Taj, a few million pages are thrown up on searching for Taj on internet, travel agents and tour operators in major cities the world over have a package on Taj. So, what I am doing is nothing but paying a tribute to Taj, because I happen to have the Taj as the photo of this lens.

In the 17th century, there was a mightly emperor, Shah Jehan, who ruled a large part of India. He loved his beautiful wife Mumtaj very much. It is said that he promised to her that he would build the most beautiful monument in her memory should she leave to the heavenly abode before him.
So, he built Taj, on the bank of river Yamuna. It took skills of architects and craftsmen from India and abroad, 22 years, thousand elephants and labour of 20,000 workers to construct the monument. He wanted to build another, equally enchanting, monument on the other bank of the river, but that was not destined.

After the death of Mumtaz, Shah Jehan turned weak physically and emotionally. In the meantime, one of his sons, Aurangzeb, grew desperate to capture the throne. He killed his brother and imprisoned his father. Shah Jehan lived rest of his life partly in a dingy, lonely prison and partly on the other side of Yamuna, looking at the Taj from the balconies of the royal prison.

Taj Mahal stands on a huge white marble terrace which in turn rests on a raised red-sandstone base. The main structure is topped by a dome and is flanked by four tapering minarets. The entire structure is built with white marble and the walls are intricately decorated with inlaid glasses, gems and metal. Within the dome lies the jewel-inlaid cenotaph of the queen. The soothing symmetry of Taj is broken by the casket of the emperor which was built beside the queen's, probably as an afterthought. [to continue]

In Sanskrit, the ancient Indian language, this one word is spoken thrice at the conclusion of almost all religious and other ceremonies. The word is 'shanti', meaning peace. So, the last wish is to have ever-lasting peace. In some mantras, ie verses, it elaborates further: peace with the earth, peace with the sky and the universe, peace with gods, .... peace with everything.
Peace, and in its Sanskrit connotation of harmony with surroundings close and far, is what is the ultimate that we can achieve, isn't it? The foremost, but among the most difficult, would be to be in peace with oneself.
Geeta, sometimes described as the celestial song, is one such scripture. It is a part of epic Mahabharata, in which Lord Krishna gives worldly and spiritual directions to the great warrior Arjuna. In cleaning Arjuna's mind of cobwebs caused by dilemmas, the Lord explains how He is the ultimate and the whole world is an illusion. The final result is everlasting peace shorn of good-and-bad.
Oh! I seem to have deviated too far from the theme of this blog. Let me come back. If you happen to sometimes analyse things like creation,life and god, a visit to India may prove immensely fulfilling. You can, of course, use the internet and libraries to scan the oriental wisdom about such issues, a part of the fulfilment lies in experiencing 'the faith' as it is practised by people. India being a highly religion oriented society [which leads to many social problems, for different reasons] you will sure have a new revelation, experience of a completely new way of thinking about god and life.
The best places and people to visit would be some well-known ashrams [old-type community places] situated in Himalayas, the Auroville in Puducherry and a visit to Varanasi and Haridwar- cauldrons of Hinduism in its myriad forms.
However, be forewarned! Do good enough research about the places and people you will visit, so that you are not cheated by fakes.

India, as I said earlier, is a cauldron of humanity. It was not with a pride about being Indian but telling the reality, and a lot of it is not something one can be proud of.

And that makes India a place to visit if you are not interested in nude beaches, clean-clean museums, manicured golf courses, hot night life, casinos, stylish-modern-well-managed mega-cities, et al [of course, these are also there to some or more extent in India, but not its forte].

Interestingly, Indian and foreign tourism people have started selling what India can offer the best: its poverty and all the filth and misery that it creates. So, if you want to have photos of children and lepers begging, families living in drain pipes, half a dozen people hanging out of a ramshakle three-wheeler, India is 'the' place.

But then, if you are interested in village life, the type that used to happen in a slightly different ways in Europe a century back, you can find that in India, and dozens of travel agencies have a package on that.

If you want to see faqirs and saints in all hues, in streets, in temples and in Himalayan hills, India is the place to visit. Some who have left the world to know the ultimate, and those who have put on a saint's mask to enjoy all the thrill of life. You will encounter the most ingenuous cheats among them and, if you do the right research, the wisest. Together with it, you can see the mind-boggling variety of religious rituals associated with Hinduism.

A new, highly rewarding, tourism that India is offering now is medical/health tourism. World-class treatment is available in recognised hospitals in India at a fraction of the cost in which it is available in Europe or the US. So, one can have a nice tour for the entire family and the treatment in India in the cost of a medical procedure in these countries. There are age-old and highly effective alternative systems of medicine including yoga and ayurvedic treatments. You enter a cynic and come out a believer and rejuvenated.

What I am giving here is no great advice. Some experience sharing on how to make the bucks last longer while travelling in India. This will suit if you take all the routing precautions that foreigners should take in a strange place.

1. Use travel packages only as much as necessary. Vanilla packages will be very cheap as compared to 'all-inclusive' packages. Yes, as you will be new to India, the package must contain initial airport transfer, hotel for the first destination, and sight seeing for the first few days [till you are familiar with the place]. After that, you can check for the best rates for local sight-seeing, inter-city travel, hotel, etc.

2. Go by private / government buses for local sight seeing tours. They are very inexpensive and take you round the city in one half/full day. First try the government one; in many places, private operators do not give sufficient time to see monumetns and shorten the trip to save time.

3. Use train rather than flight for mid distances. For very long distances, train travel will be time consuming, but for distances ranging upto 5-600 km [3-400 miles], take a train. Some fast trains take you this distance in 5-6 hours and the timings are also better than flights. Moreover, airports will most likely be away from the city.

4. Look for International Youth Hostels, YMCA/YWCA facilities, state guest houses and raiways guest houses for cheap, safe and not-too-uncomfortable stay.

5. Whether staying in a star hotel or a small guest house, most of the times, food at local restaurants will be cheaper than that in these places. However, do not take food from road-side restaurants and those not looking clean. Avoid water served in hotels and restaurants; take bottled water.

6. Take circuit rail tickets if you are going to visit a number of places linked with rail. These are quite cheaper than the total of such tickets.

7. You can buy very cheap clothes in India. Even international brands are cheaper in India than in the western countries. However, be aware that if you are buying from an unbranded shop, the international brand before you may be a fake.

8. Electronic goods are also quite cheap, but at this time, perhaps not cheaper than in China and East Asia. Again, beware of fakes.

9. In big cities, bed and breakfast concept is catching up. So, if you are in India for a long time and will remain in and around a central place, go for a rented accommodation with bed and breakfast facility. If you can cook, do that as local grocery and vegetables are very cheap. Also buy ready-to-eat packets [snacks, cookies, etc] in good quantities if you are in a non-metro town. You may not find a good restaurant when you need it the most.

10. Within cities, use auto-rickshaws [=three wheelers] instead of taxi-cabs. Use shared auto-rickshaws, which ply between fixed locations and are quite cheap per head. In metro cities, pre-paid taxi service is available from airports and railway stations to all over the city. It is safe and reasonably priced. But do not take taxi/auto or any other exclusive cab for strange places, especially at night.

11. Use mosquito-net instead of spending money on mosquito-repellents.

12. Back-pack instead of carrying big, hard boxes. Porters might tend to fleece you, knowing that you are a hapless foreigner.

I being an Indian and living in India will have low credibility if I say that things such as law-and-order situation or bombing incidents get highlighted out of proportion and hence create an undeserved scare among tourists.
So, when I found the following article, I thought let me share it with my visitors to assure them that things are not too scary in India. Besides, India is a large country - as large as many European countries put together. So, if something happens in a small country, does it mean you avoid all the countries in the neighbourhood?
The final decision to visit or not to visit India will be yours. But, pray, do decide after taking into account all the factors dispassionately.
The article is here:U.S. State Department travel warnings. Useful or useless?

I am collating representative photographs of hill stations of north India at this lens on India's people and places.

I have compiled a long list of travel and tour links and am adding one or two every few days. I will be grateful if anybody provides feedback on these sites, because I am very crudely ranking them, but I intend to keep my rankings genuine and useful to visitors.
The list is at this travel-tour ranking blog.

SquiDirectory - A categorized Squidoo directory featuring an interesting variety of different subjects ranging from arts and literature, shopping, and eco friendly tips, to vehicles for sale, travel, and everything in between.