Road trip! From Delhi to Chennai. We need tips!

[alfa147x]

Road trip! From Delhi to Chennai

Well since the whole Marine Corps thing isn't happening (Don't really want to talk about it)

I'm thinking about doing this with my girlfriend most likely wife In the next year or two. We were thinking of spending the money we have saved up for our honeymoon on a road trip instead of the just going to one place.

My grandparents and uncles live in Hyderabad but I have family Delhi, Mathura, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Chennai. Family there should be willing to let us stay a night if not more. This way we reduce cost of staying at hotels.

I'v already spoken to my uncle who lives in Delhi and he has a Honda City he's willing to sell to me. Though he sounded like he was going to give it to us as a wedding present :\... This will be sorted out.

• Route: Link
• Fly to Delhi from Hyderabad. Stay here 2 - 3 nights
• Drive to Haridwar stay one night (My grandparents apparently run a ashram that has living quarters for us)
• Back to Delhi
• Then to Agra stoping to Mathura to see family
• Jaipur, it's going to be hard trying to make it from Delhi to Jaipur in one day. Planning on staying here a couple of nights.
• Then Udaipur. Stay here a couple nights
• Then Ahmedabad. Reach at night, sightsee the next day, and then leave the next morning.
• Mumbai possibly stay more than one.
• Then to Solapur rest a night then to Hyderabad
  My parents have a vacation home there so we could rest a couple of days. then move on to
• Vijayawada stay a night then move on to
• Chennai and stay there a couple nights and go do touristy things.
  
  Here I have an uncle with a guest quarters and he's welcomed us for as many days as we want! He also has offered us car with a driver for us to use . I'll have him sell the Honda City then fly back to Hyderabad.

About: 2,123 miles

Now questions, I'll add more as I think of them:
How does one "learn" to drive in india?
Any tips? I can speak enough hindi to get around.

Clearly we have been inspired by that DRC thread (Link) Though this is WAY less risky

Thanks guys!
Alfa147x

 

[busydude]

How does one "learn" to drive in india?

First you do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGfLNqjh4j0

Then do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjrEQaG5jPM

 

[BoomerD]

See? I TOLD you that you looked too much like a terrorist!!



No input for your proposed driving trip though.

Carry lots of firearms and you should be fine...

 

[SandEagle]

Dont drink the water

 

[vshah]

holy shit, that sounds like fun. also very dangerous (due to insane drivers/traffic on the interstates), but fun. I had an interesting time getting my license in india...i'll edit this post when I'm home. the biggest hurdle was not having any form of indian ID like a voter card. my indian birth certificate wasn't enough. eventually they waived it because my dad was a diplomat, but it was an ordeal


probably easier to just bribe one of the guys standing outside the license office.

when it comes to driving in india, there are four rules:
1. bigger cars have right of way.

2.you only care about what is directly in front of you. if you are 2 inches ahead of a car to your left, feel free to cut in front of him, as you have right of way. (as long as he is the same size or smaller)

3. don't worry about motorcyclists/people on scooters. they are trained to avoid you no matter what you do

4. don't hit cows. if you do, run.


stick to hindi as much as you can, and wear indian clothes if you go sightseeing/shopping. you may be able to pass for a local and get the much, much cheaper tickets. tickets for foreign tourists to some monuments can be 10-20x the cost.

in hotels and restaurants almost everyone speaks english so you should be fine.

 

[alfa147x]

See? I TOLD you that you looked too much like a terrorist!!



No input for your proposed driving trip though.

Carry lots of firearms and you should be fine...

Haha I wonder what firearm laws are. I would love to just have one with me

 

[alfa147x]

Dont drink the water

Oh trust me I know not to do that!

 

[busydude]

Any tips? I can speak enough hindi to get around.

Anywhere south of Hyderabad, Hindi does not work. There should be no problem finding English speaking people in the city. Chennai is the worst place to be in for communicating in Hindi, English is your only mode of communication there.. or quickly learn Tamil.

 

[alfa147x]

holy shit, that sounds like fun. also very dangerous, but fun. I had an interesting time getting my license in india...i'll edit this post when I'm home. the biggest hurdle was not having any form of indian ID like a voter card. my indian birth certificate wasn't enough. eventually they waived it because my dad was a diplomat, but it was an ordeal


probably easier to just bribe one of the guys standing outside the license office.

I wonder if my parents have my birth certificate. I need to get that from them. A US Passport doesn't work?

 

[alfa147x]

Anywhere south of Hyderabad, Hindi does not work. There should be no problem finding English speaking people in the city. Chennai is the worst place to be in for communicating in Hindi, English is your only mode of communication there.. or quickly learn Tamil.

Hmmm. Well good thing I just need to get to Chennai...

 

[busydude]

A serious warning:

India has the highest rate of deaths related to road accidents in the world.

AVOID DRIVING at NIGHT at any costs..there are numerous accounts of truck drivers dozing off behind the wheel and causing havoc and destruction.

Also, most drive with High beams ON, which is fucking annoying.

Driving in India is extremely risky and should only be done if you are confident enough.

I have driven in India for 6 years and never had a pleasurable drive.. unless I am driving very late at night in a low traffic area.

 

[vshah]

I wonder if my parents have my birth certificate. I need to get that from them. A US Passport doesn't work?

nope, you need indian issued ID. at least that's how it worked in delhi. the good news is the license is valid for 30 years

 

[alfa147x]

A serious warning:

India has the highest rate of deaths related to road accidents in the world.

AVOID DRIVING at NIGHT at any costs..there are numerous accounts of truck drivers dozing off behind the wheel and causing havoc and destruction.

Also, most drive with High beams ON, which is fucking annoying.

Driving in India is extremely risky and should only be done if you are confident enough.

I have driven in India for 6 years and never had a pleasurable drive.. unless I am driving very late at night in a low traffic area.

We have decided we are driving between 6 am and 7 pm the latest.

 

[alfa147x]

nope, you need indian issued ID. at least that's how it worked in delhi. the good news is the license is valid for 30 years

Hmm I wonder if it would help if I listened to mother and got that dual citizenship thing she's been nagging me about :hmm:

 

[vshah]

Hmm I wonder if it would help if I listened to mother and got that dual citizenship thing she's been nagging me about :hmm:

OCI? do it. it's pretty painless, and then you have guaranteed admittance to either country for life. you can also own land in india with it, and you don't have to register with immigration authorities if you're there for a long period of time. I did mine as soon as I got my US citizenship.

 

[alfa147x]

OCI? do it. it's pretty painless, and then you have guaranteed admittance to either country for life. you can also own land in india with it, and you don't have to register with immigration authorities if you're there for a long period of time. I did mine as soon as I got my US citizenship.

Ah yeah that's what it's called. I guess it can't hurt. Plus FUCK visas!

 

[vshah]

Ah yeah that's what it's called. I guess it can't hurt. Plus FUCK visas!

agreed. although technically, it is a lifelong multiple entry visa. :sneaky:

 

[dud]

OP, you must have a death wish. Driving on those roads is dangerous as (fill in the blank).

 

[Inspector Jihad]

as others have said, get an OCI...makes your life much easier.

Your trip looks good, you're going thru many different parts of the country...lots of different foods and things to try. Good luck...I hope to do a similar trip at some point in my life.

 

[The Stigenator]

First get the OCI, makes life so much easier (I know, I have one) . Secondly driving in India is not for the faint of heart, I may have a license to drive in India but I rather not. In most main cities its a pain, highway, it depends. One thing I'll say do not stick to that ridgid a schedule, remember your driver needs rest. 8 hours of driving in India = 16 hours of driving in the US. Do not schedule more than 8 hours of driving per day. Prepare for the worst, carry emergency supplies and money.

I would rather take the train instead of driving but its your call. Some of the route you have drawn are tricky routes, especially the western Ghat section. Do not drive at night or twilight time.

Good luck.

 

[vshah]

as Stigenator says, i also think train would be much more enjoyable. and not too expensive either.

 

[alfa147x]

More and more I look into this trip the better taking a train sounds...

 

[busydude]

One thing I'll say do not stick to that ridgid a schedule, remember your driver needs rest. 8 hours of driving in India = 16 hours of driving in the US. Do not schedule more than 8 hours of driving per day. Prepare for the worst, carry emergency supplies and money.

This too.. if you are driving in the city, keep in mind that average speeds are in the range of 20-30 KMPH.. or 15-20 MPH. Also, are you OK with driving a stick? Is you Uncle's car auto or manual? cos 90% of cars in India are stick.

 

[alfa147x]

yeah I'v had cars with manual transmissions before

Damn the whole driving part of this trip seems to be falling apart

 

[zinfamous]

Hmm I wonder if it would help if I listened to mother and got that dual citizenship thing she's been nagging me about :hmm:

well, the guy in that Top Gear video that was posted says that you can just send 500-1k rupees to an "out of state agency" to get a valid license.


If you're lucky, that's only ~250 jars that you need to smash if you find a lot of those red rupees.