Hi all,

First time poster, always read the messages! I am going to be travelling to India from Toronto on the 30th of April. We are a party of 3 (my sis, myself, and my bf). We will be landing in Delhi and then off to Agra-Jaipur-Udaipur, Shimla, Bombay, and Goa.

My sis and I are of Indian origin and this is our 3rd time back, but first time for my bf (he's Caucasian). Just wondering if anyone had any tips for safe trip, as well as any information about the must-see places in Delhi expecially as we will only have 21/2 days there. Also info. on Shimla would be good.

Any help is much appreciated.

Thank you!
hetal

are u flying between all places?b prepared for the heat.if u are staying at hotels it is safer to ask them to organise the airport pickups even if it casts more.cabbies can really take u for a ride otherwise.as for must sees there are alot of historical monuments in and around delhi and interesting bazaars-janpath roadside shops -bargain hard.(if u want more replies to ure message make ure title more specific)welcome to india!

Thanks Kalpana,

We're actually taking the train between all stops. Hopefully it will work out. We have a few cousins picking us up in most of the places from the train station, but its delhi and shima i'm most worried about.

what are any good places to shop in delhi (affordable since we're all students!)...

Get yourself a good guidebook to the cities and/or regions you are visiting. The places you are going to are different from each other and offer a variety of sights and activities. At a minimum, take a look at the "Destination" guide to Delhi put together by Fodors on this site, or take a look at Frommers.com for their destination guides. It is hard to tell you must sees as we don't know your interests. The Lonely Planet guide may be best for you, as it has lots of budget ideas and recs for hotels and restaurants. For restaurants, I find their "top end" to"middle" recs to be good value as well as good restaurants.

I would suggest you seriously consider flying between the Delhi area and Bombay/Mumbai, as the train trip is long, and you are taking enough train trips just in the Golden Triangle to Shimla routes. I would also look into flying from Mumbai to Goa, although a train is more doable for that trip. Take a look at Jet Airways, the private air carrier, their flights are not really expensive, and Indian Air is not expensive either. Website for Jet Airways is jetwairways.com. Website for Indian Airlines is http://indian-airlines.nic.in/ (Not to be confused with Air India, which is international flights only.)

Where are you staying in Shimla? The hotel could arrange your transport from the train station, or you could take a taxi. With regard to Delhi, I always prefer to arrange for a hotel car to meet me, as arriving late at night and jet lagged and fighting your way through all the offers of porters and transport can be tiring. A private car usually does not cost much more than a taxi, and is worth the small extra expanse, IMO, to have someone waiting to help you with baggage and take you right to the hotel. Contact your hotel for prices.

You can hike (or more gentle walking) or bike in the Shimla area, your hotel should be able to give you information.

For shopping in Delhi, here are some recommendations:

The place with the best bargains, IMO, is the state-run handicrafts emporium on Janpath near the Connaught Circus area:

Central Cottage Industries Emporium
Jawahar Vyapar Bhawan
Janpath, New Delhi
Tel. : 23725035(Direct)
Fax : 91-11-3328354

This is fixed price. They will also ship for you. They are very reliable, and they take credit cards. The area around Central Cottages Emporium also has a good bit of shopping, up to an including Connaught Place.

There are good but more expensive shopping arcades in the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Imperial Hotel, the Mughal Sheraton and the Oberoi hotel.

A fun area of town to shop in is Karol Bagh. This has a lot of local people, not very touristed at all. There are several good places to buy shawls and saris (including Pashmina shawls).

Another interesting area is Haus Khas Village, near the Qutb Minar. This is sort of the Greenwich Village of Delhi, with trendy boutiques and good restaurants. Not sure you will find bargains, but could find the latest Indian designers. Good for shopping and then lunch or dinner

Another place you might try is the Santushi Shopping Arcade. This is run by the air force wives, and is in a garden setting with little shops, very nice more upscale and expensive than the Connaught Place area. They have some interesting shops and a good restaurant. You would need to take a taxi, as it is a bit out of the main part of town.

Thank you so much for your detailed reply...i will read over everything and post any questions if i require further help!