Travel Tips- India; more specific tips in the posts.

Although most tourists prefer to select from a choice of package deals offered by travel agencies, the following guidelines may still help; these are travel tips for India, but they do generally apply to other countries as well:

Avoid trips to India in the summer and monsoon rains-March to September; the best time is the Indian spring and winter- mid October to February.

Please travel after the necessary inoculations you need, consult your doctor.

Ask to see the "ratings" of the hotels; and restaurants display their ratings at the entrance. Tips to waiting staff is generally appreciated.

Prefer bottled mineral water or soft drinks- Coke, Pepsi, Sprint, etc.

If dining out in a lower rated restaurant, avoid Scotch; it may not be genuine.

Before traveling in a taxi/rickshaw, make sure the rate meter is activated by the driver; in all cases the meter is "outside" the left front door. If the driver refuses to activate the meter, then bargain the charge. Be prepared to reach destinations by longer routes, more miles covered-more costly the taxi fare; when more familiar with a place, tell the taxi :"take me to ........, through ........." mention some landmarks or names and the driver will know you wont be fooled easily!

Do not tip a beggar/mendicant .......more will surround you!!!

Do not encourage a person if he approaches you and talks about his needs, qualifications and circumstances. (don't be taken in by sob stories-my father is dying back home, all I need is the train fare!)

Most tourist sites have inadequate or no toilet facilities; make sure you remember this before leaving your hotel for touring.

Ask a guide to show his membership card, and also show the official rates; or bargain his charges.

Carry one of those voluminous guide books, by Lonely Planet or similar publisher.
Don't let a guide distract you to go shopping unless you want to, they get commissions from the shops!

Drink lots of water, Indian climate can be very tiring. Most definitely use sunglasses.

At the airports, the customs officials are well trained and helpful, a little cooperation from you will yield positive results, and quick checks.

Be prepared for flights, trains and buses running behind schedule.

Good car rentals are available in all metro and major cities-Hertz, other international and Indian choices.

If traveling trains- second-class (this is the previous cheap third-class), especially night journeys, carry a device, like a lock-chain to lock your luggage/bags to your seat.

In some places you are asked to deposit your cameras at the check gates and charged for this service.

The Taj Mahal and some other sites are closed on a select day each week for maintenance, make sure you know the day beforehand. Start early and be at the gates amongst the first arrivals, otherwise be prepared for along queue !

Avoid night travel on inter-city roads/expressways-highways.

Where charges for entry etc are payable, please insist on a receipt.

If you are driving, it is right hand drive.......some road traffic circles and intersections may be controlled by the traffic police, look for their hand signals; traffic signal lights may be closed for some part of the day.....then look for an orange blinking light or a signalling policeman ; drive cautiously. You will soon learn that some people (and animals) consider the roads their right of way and walk accross roads where it suits them!!

Carry a torch, most cities and towns have electricity outages/shutdowns at some time every day, with a shut down at night whilst you are, for example, walking to your hotel, you will be thankful you have a torch.

Don't be surprised with the sudden appearance of a procession, religious, or workers union groups , these would normally be peaceful, with the police watching their actions . If the number of people are very large then change your route. You can ask an accompanying policeman what should best do.

You may get 'elbowed out' at bank, post-office and shop counters, do not be discouraged by the lack of queue etiquettes-you should also assert yourself......some places, ladies can have a separate queue; at airports, airlines offices and foreign exchange counters and ATMs you can expect proper queues.

Where you opt for bus travel, or have to travel by bus, choose the state run buses which run on schedule, not private buses; some states have choice of luxury buses on major routes.

Its wise to dress "modestly," females wearing shorts or very closely fitting jeans or low neckline are likely to attract stares or lewd comments-this especially if you get "lost" in non-tourist or non-business district areas of towns and cities.

English is spoken in all regions of India; Indians are very helpful for showing directions, although these may be vague or inaccurate sometimes....carry a map, these too may be "behind" in some cases.

Link to more travel advice/tips : http://www.travel-budget.com/india/india_holiday.html (this link is for those who stay longer.) or some more info: http://djanetsblog1203.colossi.se/2008/05/04/tour-india/
and a very useful link for bookings etc : http://www.icicilombard.com/app/ilom-en/personalproducts/Travel/Guide.aspx

alphabetical list of Embassies in India: http://www.icicilombard.com/app/ilom-en/personalproducts/Travel/Guide/foreign_embassies.aspx

list of Indian Embassies in various countries: http://www.icicilombard.com/app/ilom-en/personalproducts/Travel/Guide/indian_embassies.aspx

and for adventure travel : http://www.adventure-travel-advice.com/