india itinerary building help...for next week!
 

first, thanks in advance -- this board is fantastic as far as general ideas. have decided for several reasons to take advantage of time off and relatively cheap fares to head to india with a friend who has family in calcutta. here's all i've got so far:

NYC-Calcutta: 1 week
Calcutta-?: 10 days (that would in theory, not to take me that far away from the north since i have to meet my friend in delhi about 10 days later)
Delhi/Agra: 5 days
??-Delhi: 5 days
Delhi-Dubai: 4 days
back home...so the question is what do i do with the rest of my time (including suggestions on how to get there and where to stay)? i was even thinking of heading north to nepal since i hear there's overland crossing from calcutta but not sure how much sightseeing i could get in before i head back down to delhi.

also, how realistic is rajasthan, perhaps by train?

any and all itineraries and ideas would be most appreciated! thanks...

Hi,

No replies, I suspect, cos your question is most confusing.

It gives no idea of how much time in India you have, nor how much of that is promised to friends/whatever. Doesn't say where you arrive, from where you depart, how long you have to spare, or what you want to do.

You could try again.

Happy travels.

thanks for the feedback, chimani. here's what i have for a more cleaned-up version. i leave this sat, april 14. what i'm looking for is suggestions on what to do on my own during the periods that aren't already set. looking for safe, interesting accomodations at ~$80 and options that don't require driving or hiring a car. any help would be most appreciated!

calcutta April 15-22
calcutta-? April 23-28
delhi/agra April 28-May 4
??-delhi May 4-May 9

and in case it isn't clear, the periods marked with question marks are the chunks of time i don't have allocated with friends.

there are tons of sights in delhi but getting around is a bit difficult...
you need to buy or get a guidebook from your library...

lots of guesthouses around in delhi also but others will have to answer that...prices are very steep generally

You might consider taking the toy train up to Darjeeling instead of spending so much time in Kolkata (Calcutta). Take a look at www.sawdays.co.uk for places to stay. Consider the Windamere if you go to Darjeeling and the Fairlawn in Kolkata. Another possible trip from Kolkata is Orissa for the sun temple at Konarak. For my visit to all three places see www.wilhelmswords.com/asia2001. Don't your friends in India have suggestions?

thanks to everyone so far...to answer thursdaysd's question, my friend's family in calcutta (i know they prefer that spelling :) is on the older side, s(t)olidly middle-class and don't seem to understand why a young woman would travel by herself. so in our correspondence, they've advised me that i should spend my entire visit with them and that 'maybe' we'd take the toy train up to darjeeling together, so we may well do that during the week in cal. also, i am there for a wedding so that seems to take up several days that i'd committed to. i'm sure some of this stems from the fact that i'm ethnically indian but have never visited india before...