Hi I am going to India-Delhi. I am travelling with 4 other people and we are all on a tight budget. I was wondering if anyone could tell us where we can find cheap but clean places to stay. I've been told you can find accommodation for $10 a night, is this true? We also want to buy some material and jewellary, if anyone knows of some good places your help would be very kind.

Thanks Anney

Well, the areas for cheap accomm are Pahaganj near New Delhi Station, and Connaught Place which is closer to the 'centre' of the city - ie, downtown in the commercial sense. Personally I prefer Pahaganj but it's noisy and busy because it is a real working area where locals go about their daily business - but it is also well set up for budget travellers so in some ways it is not real at all. Loads of places there that are cheap and clean - can't recommend any in particular tho have prob stayed in at least 5 different ones over the years. If you don't want to arrive completely unprepared, and just go into the ones you like the look of and check out a room, then get a good guide book out of the library (LP or the Rough Guide) and earmark a few beforehand.

I can't help with hotels, sorry. The gold (hi karat, 22-23) will be market price but silver should be fairly cheap. Don't forget to bargain if you did not know that already. Also, have you looked into shots? Usually malarial and typhoid prophylaxis are recommended at the least. What month are you going?

I am leaving tomorrow, June 1st. Thanks for the advice about the accommodation. We also just organised to work in an orphanage for a week in Goa. What are some sites we should see there? Aslo i read that there are monsoons this time of year in Goa is that true? Thanks again.

Good luck! Delhi will be scortching so drink plenty of bottled H2O, pace yourselves, wear a hat (wide brim style with aeration) and light colored, cotton clothing. Also bring a good pair of sunglasses.

Greetings, Namaste. Yes, as the other posters have noted, the cheapest accomadation in Delhi can be found around Parhaganj, across from the new Delhi railway station..This area is known as main market, (although it is not exactly the main market), as there are so so many markets in Delhi..This area of Parhagnaj is bustling, noisy, a little chaotic, colorful, and a faave with backpackers....However, it is not calm or clean by any means, and can be a little intense. However, you can find decent cheap places, in the $5-15 range..Another area of cheap accomadation in Delhi, a bit less frenetic, would be Karol Bargh. This is but another market area in Delhi, kind of a middle class neighborhood and market..IN this area you can find accomadation in around the $10-20 range, and not the backppacker scene. If you can afford a bit more and would like to stay in a beautiufl neighborhood of Delhi, then try Sundar Nagar area..There are a few guesthouses in this very green PEACEFUL area of New Delhi, as well as a nice arty market, just across from the oBEROI hOTEL...The guesthouses go for about $40-50..

Try the Master Paying Guesthouse - about $10 per night. Very clean and convenient. Address is in Lonely Planet.