Advice for India

For those of you who are about to leave for India, I thought i’d give some advice on what to bring, what not to bring, things you can and cant find in India, and general tips for walking around India.

Toiletries
You can get just about anything in India, so if you’re thinking you need to bring a 6 month supply of shampoo, soap, toothpaste, or other things of that nature, you’re wrong. All of those things are available easily. EXCEPT FOR BAR-DEODERANT - they only have the spray. Also leaving these things out of your bag will significantly reduce it’s weight.

Medicine
Most medicines are easily (and cheaply) available all over india, so I would wait on getting the ciproflexin (a miracle pill that helps with diarrhea, and gets you off the toilet quicker than normal), and other drugs. Pepto-bismol is optional - i never used it, but I have friends that did. When in trouble i just took ciproflexin, but be careful taking it with your malaria medication (I had doxycycline) - I made the mistake of taking both of the pills in the same day, and ended up very unhappy.
However - i know people who don’t trust the indian brand medicines, so use your judgement about what brand-medicines from the states you want with you.
-Bandaids: I would bring a lot of these - the indian equivalent is really hard to remove once applied , and stains your skin yellow.

Things i would recommend bringing to India (Bolded items are very important)
-Camera (preferably durable - be careful in the deserts of rajasthan - my camera got fucked up twice because of sand)
-A good Backpack. Most of my friends had nice backpacking backpacks from Osprey or REI, and were very happy with them - you want something thats about 60 liters. If you don’t wanna invest in one of those, a normal backpack will do, but you want something that is very durable and has lost of pockets. Any backpack you buy in India will be shitty quality, so be careful. IF you do decide to buy a backpack in India, look carefully at the stitching all over (especially on the straps), open all the pockets to make sure the zippers work, and there aren’t holes. In short - be very meticulous.
-A Lonely Planet guide to India. I recommend Lonely Planet more than any other guidebook. It’s awesome.
-A rainjacket OR a good umbrella. I prefer an compact umbrella.
-Good sandals. This was very important to me personally - everyone on my trip kept buying sandals on the street, loving them, and then having them fall apart in a week or less. I bought some Keen river shoes in the states, and wore them every day of that 6 months - they were incredible. I even went on a 4 day backpacking trek in the Himalayas in them. I would recommend something with more support than rainbows - a heel strap is very helpful. Closed-toed shoes will a) get very wet very quickly b) will take forever to dry out c) will mold.
-A sleep sack. You can get these at any outdoor store - its like a sleeping bag but just made of two sheets sewn together. This is helpful on trains if it gets cold, and sleeping anywhere that looks questionable. My roommate and I slept in our sleep sacks just bout every night in our apartment in Delhi because it was so hot, just to have a barrier between us and the mosquitoes.
-A microfiber towel. You can get this at most outdoor stores also - microfiber is better than normal cloth because it’s really compact, soaks up a lot, and dries quickly.
-Mosquito Repellant. Our year we had a big problem with mosquitoes and Dengue fever, so I’d recommend buying some good spray on repellant.
-Mosquito net - my roommate had one of these, never used it, and regretted it. When mosquitoes are buzzing in your ear
-A multi-tool
-a long length of string - its always good to have string around, I mostly used it as a clothesline
-Shitty clothes - any clothes that you care about will be destroyed by the end - if you do things like i did, doing your laundry by hand does not get stains out very well, and clothes (especially if you bought them in India) bleed a lot, staining the entire load (all my white shirts now have a green tint).
-Condoms - if they’re from the states you can be pretty sure that they’re good quality - i wouldn’t take any chances with the Indian brands. Plus the indian brands all have severely conspicuous porn on them - a fact that you could either love or hate.
-iPod (optional - I ended up losing mine and had to make due with the original 2 gigabyte iPod shuffle, which worked out great)
-Movies are optional - i wouldn’t bring the actual DVD’s, if you can burn them onto an external hard drive that’d be the best
-Laptop (useful if you are keeping a blog, uploading pictures, or want to stay in contact with people from the states, however i know a few people who didn’t bring one and were very happy to ‘unplug’)

Things I wouldn’t recommend bringing
-your phone - you can get a cheap cell phone in Delhi pretty easily
-Shampoo and other toiletries (see above)
-Outlet adapters - they’re everywhere, and you can get them for cheap (I hear Palika Bazaar in Connought place sells them for about rs. 20 - give them that price and walk away if they try to rip you off)
-power converter

Alternative list for the minimalist
-I had a friend who wanted to immerse himself in Indian culture, and brought only 1 backpacking backpack with him. He had 2 pairs of pants, a few shirts, a few other clothes, his computer, and some electronics. Once in India he went shopping a bunch and got a full indian wardrobe. I really respected this style of traveling, and made me kind of regret that i brought a whole suitcase full of stuff i didn’t really need.

Things I always carried on me
Because i tried to travel often, I quickly developed a list of things that I always carried in my backpack that were of infinite utility.

-A few small plastic bags - these are helpful mostly for putting electronics in, or wet clothes, or for basic waterproofing
-A length of string
“” of duct tape or clear tape (usually both)
A Carabiner (usually an s clip)
A lighter
A knife
Bandaids
A small multi-tool
Backpack cover (this is highly recommended)
An umbrella
A headlamp/flashlight
Pen & paper
Toilet Paper - there is almost never toilet paper on public transport (buses/trains), nor is there ever any toilet paper in any sort of public restroom (unless you’re in a swanky club or area). So if you want to experience the real india and wipe with your left hand, then go for it! If you aren’t exactly comfortable with that, bring some tp.

General Tips
-Get a citibank card. They have a bunch of branches in India, and have deals with other Indian banks to lower the cost of withdrawing money. The extra costs of withdrawing money overseas will add up very quickly - citibank is the best way to avoid those charges.

-Don’t overpack - as i’ve said before, you can get most things you need in India

-Haggle. This is a skill you must learn - everywhere you go, people will try to rip you off. Here’s some tips on haggling: Don’t seem to interested - If you REALLY want something and show it, then they will jack up the price and refuse to lower it because they know how much you want it. It’s best to come off as only slightly interested, so you have room to haggle. Another way to show that you’re not too interested is with body language - it really helps if you seem like you might walk away at any time - they want to make the sale, and will lower the price to keep you there. The biggest haggling tip i can give is called the ‘walk away’. You walk over to the clothes-wallah, express interest in a cool kurta, and ask how much. He gives you a ridiculous price (3,000 rs), and you say, “Bahoot zyada heh!” (thats too much!). Then you walk away. Soon he come running after you and lower the price somewhat. don’t stop walking. Slow your pace, maybe listen to his new offer, but don’t engage fully. This is where you have the upper hand. Haggle at will.
When haggling, i find that its important to have a sense of humor. However, i found that haggling was a mixed bag for me - it’s important to have the ability to know how much things cost, and be able to get a fair price, but always have some perspective in the matter - what does 200 rs really mean to you, as opposed to what it would mean to the person trying to tell you something. Sometimes i let myself be ripped off because it seemed like they needed that money way more than i did.

-Carry small change. It’s always a bitch to only have a 500 rs bill, and take a 20 rs. rickshaw and make the rickshaw wallah pretend to not have change, persuade him to give you the change, or if he doesn’t have the change, make him run around to all his other rickshaw friends and make change for you. This has happened to me hundreds of times. This situation has happened to me in various forms hundreds of times, and can be completely avoided with a few small bills.
-NEVER accept bills that are ripped because nobody will accept them from you. It’s kinda like a constant money game that you’re playing - people giving you change for any reason will always try to slip in that pesky ripped bill that they got tricked into taking. Be on the lookout. It’s also a pretty cool moment when a rickshaw wallah hands you a ripped bill, you hold it up as if to say, “c’mon, im not that dumb”, and you feel like you’re actually beginning to understand india instead of constantly being that bumbling white tourist.

-Directions are ridiculous. Always ask multiple people for directions and follow the answers that most people have in common. Maybe it’s your accent, or you’re saying the place wrong, or they just don’t care, but you will almost never get reliable directions from anyone in india. Don’t get me wrong, people will be helpful and happy to try to direct you - you’ll have no shortage of friendly people trying to help, but just because they’re nice doesn’t mean they have any idea where they’re going.

-Learn to distinguish between head bobbles. The classic ‘Indian head bobble’ can mean either yes, no, maybe, i don’t know, or go away im done with you.

Agree on prices beforehand. Always. Unless you get really familiar with a place and know how much a rickshaw will cost (in which place get in the rickshaw, tell them where you want to go, and pay them the appropriate amount afterwards), it is always best to avoid the situation of you thinking you owe way less than how much you are thought to owe.

Get comfortable with people staring at you always. Usually people will do this with a completely blank face, and its easy to get frustrated and upset by the constant staring. I responded one of two ways. 1. just smile - they’ll usually smile too and it will change your whole perspective - they’re not being rude, they’re just interested. 2. Stare them down until they look away. I only used this when the girls i was with were getting stared at in a creepy way by hella dudes. For girls, this whole ‘staring back’ thing doesn’t work so well, seeing as making eye contact is sometimes considered as consent. Feel it out.

Trust Viji - he always has your best interest in mind.

Monkeys - Never make eye contact or show your teeth. They don’t like that. This will mostly be a problem in mussoorie - if you just avert your eyes and walk on by, you’ll be fine. Even if there’s a group of 20 potentially rabie-ridden monkeys directly in your path, if you follow those rules, you’ll be okay. I carried around a cane just in case and it was super comforting to have when the monkeys seem angry and you’re alone.

Don’t be afraid to be persistent and assertive. It took a month and a half to get internet in our apartment in delhi, and we had to get angry and authoritative to get it that quick. They’ll tell you someone will come by in 2 days, and have them arrive 2 weeks later. You really have to work hard to get anything.

Gather take out menu’s from places near your apt. Giani’s is a pretty good ice cream place. Every restaurant delivers, which is pretty cool.

-Bribes. Shit man, it’s india - everything goes. You might have to bribe someone to get what you want. It might work, it might not. Just know the option is there.

Places to know about in Delhi
-Jama Masjid. This is the muslim quarter of Delhi and is a street food goldmine. check out Kareems for incredible kebabs and meat dishes. Check out the place directly across from Kareems called “roasted chicken with butter”. It’s bomb. It’s also one of the only places in delhi that you can get beef. Get off the metro at either Chandni Chowk or Chowri Bazaar. it’s walkable, but you can also take a rickshaw (go for the bike rikshaws)
-Majnu-Katillah - its delhi’s local tibetan refugee area. A cool spot to get coffee, study, or get tibetan food. Get off the metro at vidhan sabha and take an auto rickshaw.
Pahar Ganj Main Bazaar - this is one of the most touristy areas in Delhi. You will inevitably find yourself here buying something. Kind of a useful place because there are plenty resources there. Transfer to the blue line and get of at R.K. Ashram Margh
South Delhi - where all the swanky clubs and malls are. If you’re hankerin for a taste of the first world, go here. Many of the clubs have ‘ladies night’ often, where ladies get to drink for free!


If I think of anything else, ill post it. otherwise, if you have any questions, email me at benizimmerman@gmail.com

Also, here’s another advice blog that i found helpful: http://roxyandjordanstravelblog.blogspot.com/