Looks like I will be going to india May 23- June 11. My daughter has a short job in Chennai, then we'll spend two weeks traveling. This will be my 5th trip to india, my daughter has traveled through a lot of India country too, so we're looking for something a bit off the beaten path this time.

After starting with a trip to mamabalipuram, we are debating several options:
1) work our way by train across to Mumbai, crossing via Bangalore then visiting the caves at Ajanta & Ellora,
2) Same thing as above, but go via Hyderabad
2) fly up north ( Leh or Dajeeling) to avoid the heat,
3) travel by land up through 0rissa to Calcutta

0ne issue is where the monsoon will be during our visit. I remeber that someone posted a great map of its paths a few years ago. I can't find it here now.

Any ideas for our trip? We don't want to be jumping all over the place, but are fine with some domestic flights and then trains within a smaller area.

Thanks!

lcuy,

As you know I've never been but here are some maps and am topping at the same time

http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/indi...estmonsoon.htm

http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/indi...ticregions.htm

http://www.mapxl.com/indiamaps/monsoon-onset.html

Fifth time? Jealousy is starting its evil grip,lol

Aloha!

You lucky ducky. Ditto on the jealousy creeping in. Last year the monsoons were very atypical. It just rained a lot all summer - at least in the Delhi/UP area and it kept the temps from getting scorching hot.

Make your best guess plans based on what SHOULD happen and hope for the best (and keep an umbrella with you just in case!).

Leh is really really nice when it's so hot everywhere else (and it seems that May is...) Just acclimatizing takes some time, but there's a fair amount to see and do. One of my drivers in Leh, though, thought Srinigar was the ultimate, but I'm not sure that you'd want to visit there at the mo'. Here are some Ladakh pictures (I was centered in Leh, but visited around) to get you thinking: http://travel.webshots.com/album/565330061LhhkWk

My umbrella gets constant use in India..protects me from the sun and the rain!

That's a great map site Peter. It also has some nice train maps and guides in there too. Thanks! PS:Are you turning the same shade of green I do when I read your trip reports???

And thanks for the photos of Ladakh, Amy. Is your trip report here? I'd love to see some of your travel details.

we are of course jeleous!!! see you in LA

We are jealous also - but will live vicariously through your reports...

Why, here 'tis, lcuy...and thank you for asking!

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...rip-report.cfm

Chennai, Mamabalipuram and the south east coast of India has a different monsoon pattern from the rest of India, so if you are going in May and June you will not have rain most likely in that area. They get the winter monsoon on the fall months. If you WANT to have the monsoon, or see it break in the south, you have to go to the west coast in June. If you want to avoid the rain, then just stick to the south east coast (i.e. south of Chennai) for the whole trip. Very lovely and lots to see and do.

For cooler places, I would probably pick Leh over Darjeeling, as the latter actually gets a lot of rain during the monsoon, but Leh does not as the mountains block it. (Called the “shadow effect” I believe.) I don’t think that Darjeeling would be that much fun in the rain, I am thinking cool/cold and damp. (I have not been there in the monsoon, but that is what I think about when I think of cool temps and lots of rain, sort of like summer camp in the rain). Also if it is raining you won’t get Himalaya views. Both are quite interesting, IMO, Leh has the more unusual culture and geography. Darjeeling is more charming in the Raj hill station way, but has some lovely views and some good walking (again possibly not in a downpour).

I think Hyderabad is quite interesting and not really that much touristed from what I can see when I visit. I would certainly pick it over Bangalore (unless by Bangalore you mean a trip down to Mysore instead, which is quite interesting, but Bangalore itself whilve very pleasant, does not offer much for a tourist IMO.) I also understand that Hyderabad it is only place in India where you can take studio tours and actually get inside the studios, so that might be interesting as well. I believe you will find it beastly hot, but that is what you are going to find in most places you are going except high elevations. As it is not your first trip to India, and you know what to expect generally, then the heat will just be something new into the mix.

What you might do is look at or for major festivals in any of the above and plan your trip accordingly. I know that there is a major Durga festival in Calcutta, I believe it is generally in the fall, but check guidebooks and websites, I could be wrong, and perhaps it would coincide with your visit and that might make your plan for Orissa and Calcutta the most attractive one. Personally, to go see the monsoon break in south India is something that would be very interesting to me, but you really have to be able to time this, and you may not have the ability to wait around for the clouds to roll in if the break occurs late.

Personally, I have been in Mumbai during monsoon, and feally it is not a fun place. It floods quite a bit, including sometimes your hotel. Perhaps to fly out of Mumbai, OK, but I don’t know that spending any time there when streets are flooded is that much fun. Traffic is even worse that usual. IMO for a tourist, smaller places are better than huge cities with bad infrastructure that can’t handle the rains. The caves at Ajanta & Ellora are a fine idea. There is a hill station for Mumbai called Murang which might be an idea, could also be a bit damp in monsoon, but less prone to floods. But with only 2 weeks, I think you will have enough with the east coast and possibly Leh or other areas.

The map I really like for the monsoon is the satellite map and info put out by the Indian Meterological Department, see http://www.imd.ernet.in/section/satm...sector-vis.htm.

Thats a great monsoon site, Cicerone!

I never thought about actually watching the monsoons arrival, but it sounds very appealing to me. Where do you think would be the best place? Kerala? or would we have the same drama in someplace inland like Murang or Mysore.

We don't plan to stay in Mumbai at all...only fly out of India from there, rather than go back up to Delhi if we decide on a southern tour. Bangalore would only be for a brief (one day?) visit as my daughter has some friends from when she stayed there in 2005.

I'm beginning to think maybe we should not do Leh...such a long way to travel and while I'd love to go there, maybe we should save it for another trip and stick to south india or else the Channai to Calcutta trip. Seems like both areas will have enough to interest for 19 days, and I do have 9 years left on my visa.....

According to Alexander Frater’s excellent book <i>Chasing the Monsoon</i>, the place you really want to be is Trivandrum in Kerala. That is the very tip of India and where the first monsoon raindrops hit the subcontinent. This books is quite inspiring IMO, even if years old, and if you do a trip during the monsoon, I would suggest that you read it. I think part of the drama of going there is watching the big clouds roll in from the sea. I have seen similar sights in the Maldives and Singapore, and it is dramatic when the big thunderheads come in, they fill the entire horizon and change the water colour; I don't think you would find nearly the same drama from points inland. Also the thing with the seeing the first rain is that it is a forecast of how good the moonsoon season will be for the rest of India, which is a huge deal for farmers and generally for the economy of India. But even inland you will find celebrations when the rains come. People go out and get soaked in it.

Hey lcuy, I'm on the road [Mumbai right now] so I haven't been able to attend. Here's a random thought. You both would appreciate this place:

www.ahilyafort.com

You're there in off season, rates are 50% off. This is one of the great India experiences and, even tho' I don't know you, I have the feeling you'd enjoy.

Fly Mumbai - Indore, add in Ujjain, Mandu, Omkareshwar - mmmm - mmmm, you want off the beaten track? Here it is. Any more info, if you like - I'll give you.

This message sponsored by Dogster's Secret Places for Special People. You'll be my first customer...

I remember seeing this web site before. It looks very interesting, so I've e-mailed them for rates. Gotta go get my map and see where it actually is now!

I'm open for any SP4SPs, dogster! Your commission will be delivered at either the LA or Boston GTG!

Check out Rashid Kothi, the Indore homestay you'll find on the website as well. The family are a real find and the city tour by the patriarch is pure bliss. If you go it's a MUST add-on. Ahilya Fort is for the afficionado; a minimum three days and that's not remotely enough - to go into Ahilya space you need to settle, not breeze thru. Who knows who else might be staying? - it's a very interesting clientele.

lcuy, understand if I disappear on this, O.K? I'm outta internet range in a day.

Lcuy, does Basel need a dogsitter while you're away?