jacketwatch

You are very lucky or constitutionally gifted. I have always gotten sick there and we've been there 5 X's.

TracyB

In 4 trips to India, i only got a little sick in Goa last month...(other than a sinus infection everytime i've been there)...But my husband got really ill for about a week in Goa..The other 3 times, he was healthy throughout..

thursdaysd

The revival of this thread reminded me of the discussion about how many Indians speak English. I'm attending a seminar on India this weekend, and one of the readings is from "Nehru and the Language Politics of India" by Dr. Robert King, of the University of Wisconsin. He writes "English is thought to be spoken by two to three per cent of the Indian population." In numbers, that's an awful lot of people, and many of them may work in the tourist industry, but it's a very small percentage.

namastefromUSA

If you are doing a tour with drivers etc., and you have traveled before, you will be fine.

It is true what people say about the things that are "difficult" about India - there is poverty, slums, beggars, street people, and the hawkers are everywhere. But you know, after a day or two that sort of grows on you even! The sights, smells, and sounds are overwhelming. It is a culture shock, but to me in a good way. It is magical and enchanting and exotic. I have been twice (I am female, white, 40 years old, American). Last March I took my 15 year old daughter. We had hotel reservations, but no car and driver, no escorted tour. We took rickshaws and tuk-tuks everywhere and managed just fine. She was as enchanted as I was.

I wouldn't miss India for the world! It is absolutely my favorite place on earth. I guess it depends on what kind of traveler you are, because I hear people say either you love it or you hate it. I can't imagine hating it. BUT, I think if one is the kind of traveler that doesn't want to be bothered to see poverty or dirt in a place, and they get tired of the "dirty poor" places and just want to close their eyes and have their cushy life, they wouldn't like India.

If you like to really see different kinds of cultures and you can take it all in stride - the taxi drivers, the noise and chaos, the beggers etc. - then you will love it. It is so beautiful and the people are so incredibly warm and hospitable. It is amazing. Please take the opportunity and go.

cathyh

I completely agree! It is also one of themost humbling places I have ever been. On one of our first trips there we went to Calcutta (as it was then - now Kolkutta) and spent most of a day in the places that Mother Teresa has spent time in, the original Mother House where she is buried, the hospital for the destitute and last but by no means least - the orphanage. That was an amazing day and I will never forget walking down amongst the cots with the little boys and girls holding out their arms to us to get our attention. It make you realise just how lucky we are to live where we do, where life isn't so much of a life and death struggle. Surprisingly people seem not to go to Colcutta, but I really loved it, particularly the Bengali people and the food was amongst the best.

nergeshb

yES, iNDIA HAS EVERYTHING THE GOOD AND THE BAD .......not always in that order though. It is strange ..... so much poverty but yet you feel much safer than in many western cities. The poor are not aggressive .... they work hard. The poor children dont harm you .....they play through the day with just things they find on the roads .... a stick becomes their cricket bat!!!! There are a number of touts .... but then it is the foreigners who seem to encourage them (or they wouldn't be there) Be street wise, don't talk to touts atall and enjoy the country!!!!!

pattyroth

Not much more to add that hasn't been said, but I made my first trip to India this February. A loonnnggg trip to get there,but I'd love to go back. I agree with jacketwatch that if you've been to third world countries, it won't be too difficult. If not....then more of a challenge. Renting a car and driving around Morocco seemed more challenging to me. But in India, we were with friends and a driver. Photos at www.pattyroth.com India photos are in the first gallery. It helped me a great deal to see others' photos when planning. By all means, go!!!

Kathie

The last two posters apparently haven't noticed that the original post is from 1996. I expect the OP has made their decision by now.

pattyroth

Ha Ha! That is so funny--no I didn't notice.Just saw it come up high on the India list and saw February!

lilypoo

My sister and I went to Northern India several years ago and had a really good time. I did all the planning and we did not use a guided tour. We did, however, hire car transportation to get us from one city to the next. If I had to do it over again I would have hired a driver for the entire time we were in Delhi instead of using local taxis. While shopping and going to restaurants etc. time and time again we would ask a taxi driver or richshaw driver to bring us to a specific place and inevitably they would bring us to a place of their choosing. It was obviously a place where they would get a commission to bring in customers. They would then out right lie and tell us this was the place that we wanted. We wasted so much time in taxis and richshaws trying to get from one place to the next. We had no problem confronting these liars but they would insist we were at the right place. We also found that many became downright nasty when confronted with their lies. This, unfortunately, did not happen occasionally but was pretty much the norm while in Dehli. It sounds like you will have a driver for your entire trip so you will not have to worry about this. Also, the driving in India is maniacal. My suggestion is to sit in the back seat and do not look forward. Drivers think nothing of going 40 mph the wrong way on a one way street with oncoming traffic. In addition they also have to dodge other people, camels, cows etc. The begging is also intense and non stop. It sounds cruel but in order to avoid someone from following, you can not make eye contact and have to pretend as if you do not even see them. The slightest bit of interest and you will have someone tugging on your sleeve until you can get away.

Kathie

lily, you also missed that this post is 4 years old.

jacketwatch

I too saw that this was posted originally about 4 yrs. ago but I must say lily's description of Delhi is timeless. I will be going there again for the 6th time in Oct. and what lily said is just how Delhi is no matter from when I first saw it in 1978 until the last time in 2005. Now of course many things have changed. You have more high rises and shopping malls, the phone service is light yrs. ahead of what it was in 1978 and the TV programming has grown similarly. When I was first there few people even had TV's or phones and even if you did there were like two channels but look at it now. Yet some things like the traffic, the hawking taxi drivers, the beggars and so on never seem to change at all. I'll be very interested to see it for myself again.

CaliNurse

I dont care how old the original post , or the followups,are...the info that follows is great and helpful and accurate. Dome of the Fodies forget that people come here for general info, not just answers to one specific person.