Off to India for a month in a little over 2 days

[Descartes]

Didn't know if anyone would be curious to know about my trip or not, but I thought I'd document it anyway for at least the benefit of me and a few others. I'll also include pictures as I can. I'll be visiting the following locations:

1) Hyderabad. I'll be there for about a week or so total.
2) New Delhi. I'll be there for a few days.
3) Agra. Taj Mahal. Just a day.
4) Jaipur. Just a day. Forts, a little elephant riding, etc.
5) Tirupati. Going to the temple. Should be just about a day.
6) Kerala. We'll probably be around there for about a week.

That doesn't exactly add up to a month, but the wife is keeping most of the itinerary. There's also one more location that I can't remember.

I'm extremely anxious about the flight. I've been on flights to Europe, but never two essentially back-to-back; total travel time will be about 22 hours with about 18 hours of in-air travel. That's rough.

Anyway, try not to miss me too much. I'll bump this thread with some pictures of what should be some interesting sites for those not familiar with the area.

 

[George P Burdell]

Originally posted by: Descartes
3) Agra. Taj Mahal. Just a day.

Are you traveling to Agra by air or road? If the latter, you must stop for breakfast at a road-side dhaba. Best aloo parathas I've ever eaten.

 

[FoBoT]

all for fun? or some business too?

have a good trip

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: George P Burdell

Originally posted by: Descartes
3) Agra. Taj Mahal. Just a day.

Are you traveling to Agra by air or road? If the latter, you must stop for breakfast at a road-side dhaba. Best aloo parathas I've ever eaten.

I love parathas, and I admit that aloo is probably my favorite. Damn they are good.

We're going by road. We're flying into Delhi, and from there it's all driving. I'm sure we'll be hitting plenty of dhaba type places. I'll be eating a lot of chat, chili pakoras and everything else I can get.

Can't wait for the food...

 

[GoingUp]

Have a good time. I'm off to Nepal in a month

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
all for fun? or some business too?

All fun. I wish I could say some business, because I don't exactly like being away from work for a month, but I think it takes about a month to really start to get the sense of something.

have a good trip

Thanks!

 

[Mahaguru]

So jealous. Aaargh.. take me along with you plz.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
Have a good time. I'm off to Nepal in a month

Nice! I'm really wanting to go there. I was talking with a Nepalese friend of mine about it, and he goes on and on about how beautiful it is there. He ended up going to some school in Sikkim, and from there to the US.

Have a great trip! I'd love to hear more about it. Where you're going, what you plan on doing, etc. etc.

 

[Crono]

Originally posted by: Descartes

6) Kerala. We'll probably be around there for about a week.

That's where my family is from (I was born here). It's very tropical there, and the backwaters are kinda like the Florida everglades. I don't know of many interesting places there, unfortunately, since I only go there every 4 years or so to visit family, but they are well known for having excellent health spas and such. They're growing really rapidly in terms of real estate development and the pervasiveness of computer technology (at least compared to 10 years ago) but not nearly as much as some of the other states in India.

EDIT: If you wanna pick up some key Malayalam phrases, watch this video

Ok, not really, but it's a funny vid, and so is the sequel (at least to me).

 

[GoingUp]

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
Have a good time. I'm off to Nepal in a month

Nice! I'm really wanting to go there. I was talking with a Nepalese friend of mine about it, and he goes on and on about how beautiful it is there. He ended up going to some school in Sikkim, and from there to the US.

Have a great trip! I'd love to hear more about it. Where you're going, what you plan on doing, etc. etc.

200 mile Annapurna trek. Going to be there 3.5 weeks. I got myself a nice SLR, taking a crash course on how to use it. I'll have plenty of pics and journal entries when I get back in April.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: Descartes

6) Kerala. We'll probably be around there for about a week.

That's where my family is from (I was born here). It's very tropical there, and the backwaters are kinda like the Florida everglades. I don't know of many interesting places there, unfortunately, since I only go there every 4 years or so to visit family, but they are well known for having excellent health spas and such. They're growing really rapidly in terms of real estate development and the pervasiveness of computer technology (at least compared to 10 years ago) but not nearly as much as some of the other states in India.

EDIT: If you wanna pick up some key Malayalam phrases, watch this video

Ok, not really, but it's a funny vid, and so is the sequel (at least to me).

Yes, I believe we're going to be doing something along the backwaters. I know we're going to be around the tea gardens, and we'll spend at least a day or so up in the hills. The rest will be near the water.

I knew about Ayurveda, and while I'm not all too familiar with it I am curious to see it from the source.

Thanks for the info. I'll be sure to post back with some pictures of your homeland

 

[George P Burdell]

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: Descartes

6) Kerala. We'll probably be around there for about a week.

That's where my family is from (I was born here). It's very tropical there, and the backwaters are kinda like the Florida everglades. I don't know of many interesting places there, unfortunately, since I only go there every 4 years or so to visit family, but they are well known for having excellent health spas and such. They're growing really rapidly in terms of real estate development and the pervasiveness of computer technology (at least compared to 10 years ago) but not nearly as much as some of the other states in India.

I spent a few days here. Nice place to unwind and relax.

 

[jai6638]

The drive from Delhi to Agra is pretty good and you should reach Agra within 2-3 hours. If you're into spiritual stuff, check out Mathura ( which is on the way to Agra ). Its located on the banks of the river Yamuna and they have a "aarti" every day around sunset.. Have fun!

 

[Linux23]

Have a good trip and post some interesting pics.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

Hyderabad is starting to get ridiculously hot. Enjoy. :evil:

I went to Goa this past December and it was pretty good. If I was into drugs and exotic hookers, that place would be a 365-day-long Black Friday.

 

[Jassi]

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
Hyderabad is starting to get ridiculously hot. Enjoy. :evil:

I went to Goa this past December and it was pretty good. If I was into drugs and exotic hookers, that place would be a 365-day-long Black Friday.

:shocked:

Do elaborate.

 

[cliftonite]

Originally posted by: Descartes
Didn't know if anyone would be curious to know about my trip or not, but I thought I'd document it anyway for at least the benefit of me and a few others. I'll also include pictures as I can. I'll be visiting the following locations:

1) Hyderabad. I'll be there for about a week or so total.
2) New Delhi. I'll be there for a few days.
3) Agra. Taj Mahal. Just a day.
4) Jaipur. Just a day. Forts, a little elephant riding, etc.
5) Tirupati. Going to the temple. Should be just about a day.
6) Kerala. We'll probably be around there for about a week.

That doesn't exactly add up to a month, but the wife is keeping most of the itinerary. There's also one more location that I can't remember.

I'm extremely anxious about the flight. I've been on flights to Europe, but never two essentially back-to-back; total travel time will be about 22 hours with about 18 hours of in-air travel. That's rough.

Anyway, try not to miss me too much. I'll bump this thread with some pictures of what should be some interesting sites for those not familiar with the area.

I spent many summers in Hyderabad growing up and have been to all of those places except Kerala. Have fun

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: Descartes
Didn't know if anyone would be curious to know about my trip or not, but I thought I'd document it anyway for at least the benefit of me and a few others. I'll also include pictures as I can. I'll be visiting the following locations:

1) Hyderabad. I'll be there for about a week or so total.
2) New Delhi. I'll be there for a few days.
3) Agra. Taj Mahal. Just a day.
4) Jaipur. Just a day. Forts, a little elephant riding, etc.
5) Tirupati. Going to the temple. Should be just about a day.
6) Kerala. We'll probably be around there for about a week.

That doesn't exactly add up to a month, but the wife is keeping most of the itinerary. There's also one more location that I can't remember.

I'm extremely anxious about the flight. I've been on flights to Europe, but never two essentially back-to-back; total travel time will be about 22 hours with about 18 hours of in-air travel. That's rough.

Anyway, try not to miss me too much. I'll bump this thread with some pictures of what should be some interesting sites for those not familiar with the area.

I remember you posting about this before. Hope you have a great trip. Was it you who mentioned your wife is Indian? Or are you Indian? Or neither? Not that it makes any difference I just thought I remember you mentioning it in a previous post.

Edit: No it's not you

 

[erub]

I'll try to hold down the fort here in the ATL while you are gone. enjoy!

 

[pradeep1]

Have fun on your trip. The road trip from Delhi to the place you mentioned in north India are pretty easy and comfortable. If you have not been to Tirupathi, then that is an experience. Be prepared to be crushed by the mass of humanity wanting to see Lord Venkateshwara in the process. Make sure to scream "Govinda" every time you feel the crush of humanity pushing you forward.

 

[dugweb]

Last week i did a little over 16 hours of flight time, one 13 hour flight. I've done the Europe flights too so that's all i had for reference. I want to sound encouraging, but that flight really stunk. It's SO long. Just make sure to get up and walk around in between every movie at least.

If there is any good that will come of a hugely long flight, it makes others feel so short by comparison, which is kind of nice.

 

[thedarkwolf]

If I had to go to India, I wouldn't go to the bathroom the entire trip.

 

[monk3y]

Remember to get Biryani from Hyderabad (though it's good wherever you get it).


And have a Haywards 5000 for me :beer:

 

[Inspector Jihad]

have fun buddy...dont mind the bums bothering you for money cause you're white

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
If I was into drugs and exotic hookers, that place would be a 365-day-long Black Friday.

:shocked:

What was the name of that place again? :laugh: