Handy tips before visiting Incredible India
If you are interested in travelling to India, you are certainly aware that India is immensely diverse, bringing together the modern and traditional, poor, and rich, chaotic and serene. In this land you will get to experience spirituality, Indian architecture and culture, shopping, festivals, yoga, wildlife, art, food, music, dance, the chaos, hospitality, and, of course, Bollywood. To describe it with the usual clichés and stereotypes is impossible! And, hence, the planning and packing can be confusing.
Here is a detailed guideline to make life simpler before your trip.
PLANNING
India is a huge country, the climate too is more diverse and changeable than you might think. The best time to visit India is from October to March. The Himalayas stop cold winds from reaching most of India, so winters remain warm to mildly cold and summers can get very hot. The majority of India is tropical and has three main seasons; summer, winter and monsoon. The Himalayas have a different weather pattern to the rest of the country, and summertime is best to visit the northeast. It is best to have a rough itinerary covering accommodation and transport, giving you enough room for inevitable Indian mishaps and adventurous detours.
BEFORE YOUR TRAVEL
If you are not an Indian national and do not hold an OCI card, apply for a visa well in advance of your planned trip. The rules could be different for citizens of different countries. Visit the official site – indianvisaonline.gov.in – and fill in the application form carefully.
If you purchase a comprehensive health insurance plan. India is majorly a tropical country and that means tropical diseases are unavoidable. It is essential to plan your first trip to India well in advance so that you can take the necessary vaccines such as boosters for diphtheria, polio and tetanus.
WHAT TO PACK
It is okie to pack light. Go local. You are likely to give in to temptation seeing the range of clothes and footwear for relatively low prices in India. You can buy everything there, but pack along some basics for example a first aid kit, essential medication, mosquito repellents, hand sanitizers.
TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS
If you are travelling for the first time, contact a travel agency. Book your tour only through the Ministry of Tourism or Government of India recognized travel companies. You can head to the Indian Association of Tour Operators (http://www.iato.in) for more options.
It is best to book accommodation in advance. You will have a lot of options to stay in India. A mid-budget (CHF 50-60 per night) to luxury accommodation (up to or more than CHF 1500 per night) is always better than staying low-budget.
As for the language, with 20 official languages and English still continues to serve as a common language.
Some useful apps that you could download are:
- Google Maps – they are not 100% accurate. I recommend that you pre-download google maps.
- Uber/Ola – a couple of taxi services that you could use in bigger towns and cities
- Swiggy/Zomato – Food delivery apps that you can use when want to order food to your room.
In the next post, we would discuss what we do when we are in India. Stay Tuned 🙂
