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Packing tips and information for India

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could anybody please help me with some packing tips and information for a tour of India in January?
15 years ago, August 7th 2008 No: 1 Msg: #44694  
N Posts: 3
Hello all,

I think this forum is fantastic! So many informed travellers! I am a female traveler and wondering if anybody could please give me some tips for how to pack for my upcoming trip to India. I am doing an intrepid tour through Delhi, Rajasthan and down the Ganges in January for two weeks. We are camping for three nights and I don't really think the hiking/walking will be too tough.

My questions are:
Can you please spare me some advice about essentiel basics that I will need to pack?
Can you please give me any advice on clothing and shoes - what kind of shoes are recommended?
Can you please give me a rough idea of how to pack the bare minimum?
Also, could you please tell me what type of weather I should expect?
Lastly! I am spending 6 days in delhi afterwards - could you possibly suggest some fun things to do??

Thanks for your time and advice!
SuzieQ Reply to this

15 years ago, August 7th 2008 No: 2 Msg: #44696  
N Posts: 4
Hey Suzie ,

Following are the responses to yr queries::


Can you please spare me some advice about essentiel basics that I will need to pack?

- The season in which yu are planning to explore India , is apparantly cold. So please do carry warm clothes.
- i also sugest you to carry heavy duty battery for your camera (incase you are carrying one) just to avoid last moment battery drainage 😞.
- Do carry some canned food from your domestic country. Though the food here is exotic, you might be able to digest it, as it is very spicey..

Can you please give me any advice on clothing and shoes - what kind of shoes are recommended?

- do carry extra pair of sneakers...
- warm clothes (jackets etc)

Can you please give me a rough idea of how to pack the bare minimum?

- warm inner ware
- canned food

Also, could you please tell me what type of weather I should expect?

COld by indian standards
inbetween 3-8 degrees celsius

LAst 6 days in delhi....

Lots to do!....shopping, Monument seeing, palces to visit, trekking, Clubbing...


Do get in touch with me for further info...

mail at
Ciao!

Kunal
Reply to this

15 years ago, August 7th 2008 No: 3 Msg: #44733  
Hello Suzie 😊

Lastly! I am spending 6 days in delhi afterwards - could you possibly suggest some fun things to do??



Delhi is just a few hours train ride away from the Taj Mahal, the Ganges and Khajuraho where the temple with the famous erotic statues are.

Mel
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15 years ago, August 8th 2008 No: 4 Msg: #44757  
N Posts: 4
Rightly said, Mel..

Also places like Rishikesh, Haridwar, Agra etc, can really be good for 1 day ghettos

kunal Reply to this

15 years ago, August 8th 2008 No: 5 Msg: #44824  
B Posts: 212
without meaning to contradict Kunal, (Kunal, not sure if you are an Indian native?) - I would say you don't really need to bother with canned food. Yes the food is spicy in India - it is also delicious! And if you're going with a tour, you will most likely end up eating at the places which have a good repuation for good hygiene standards, minimising your chances of picking up bugs etc. If your stomach doesn't sit well with spicy food, you can still generally get stuff to eat in India like toasted sandwiches, omelettes etc - specially in the places you'll be visiting, there will always be some kind of limited range of that kind of stuff. And many places in India will also prepare food 'less spicy' if you ask - not in the basic Indian canteens, but other places. Cans in your rucksack will only add unnecessary weight.

As for taking the bare minimum - I didn't travel in northern India during those months, so as Kunal suggests, go with his advice. My only advice would be, only take what you need - like not loads of duplicates of things - a couple of changes of clothes should be enough - apart from when you're camping, you'll stay at places that have laundries (there are ALWAYS laundries in India) which will wash and dry your clothes, sometimes on the same day, depending what kind of places you're in.

Essential basics - basically just your clothes, shoes, a good torch (there are lots of power cuts in India, so always comes in handy), a shawl for visiting temples (well you'll be wrapped up at the time of year you're going, but handy if in Rajasthan you might visit mosques). If the sleeping bags for your camping are provided already, then take with you a sheet sleeping bag, this is handy for staying in places where you don't quite trust the cleanliness of the sheets/mattress provided.

You WON'T need purification tablets for water, in case anyone like your doctor has advised this. Bottled water is widely available everywhere, and though people argue for tablets because of the plastic waste issue in India, it's really much easier to just drink the bottled water. Chemists (medical shops as they're sometimes called, they're sometimes kiosks) are also in all major places and lots of small towns too, so don't get too worried about medication - but obviously advisable to take some basics like plasters, antiseptic cream, pain killers, rehydration salts - just so you feel you have stuff on you in case of anything.
Once you're there, carry loo paper with you - you can pick some up in Delhi as you can't always get it in small towns. all public Indian toilets don't have loo paper, so unless you want to go native and use the hose, or jug of water, loo paper's an essential.
Probably futile to say this as you're not really going in mosquito season, but also DON'T take a mosquito net - there's rarely places to hang them up, and most guest house rooms which aren't sealed will have them already there. I chucked mine out within weeks as I couldn't use it and it was just taking up space and weight in my rucksack.
If you're taking a mobile phone, get an Indian SIM when you're there, in Delhi - it's much much much much much cheaper to send texts and make calls (international calls are really cheap even from a mobile if you have an Indian SIM). You'll need a couple of passport photos and some copies of your passport (including the page which has your Indian visa on it) plus your actual passport. India is afraid of terrorists so requires all this for providing you with a SIM. I'd recommend Airtel as a good network which has wide coverage over India - it's not perfect, but it's pretty good on the whole.

What else? I wouldn't worry too much - most things really are available in India! Have a great time 😊 Reply to this

15 years ago, August 9th 2008 No: 6 Msg: #44843  
N Posts: 3
Thank-you very much for all you're wonderful advice! It is very much appreciated!! Reply to this

15 years ago, August 28th 2008 No: 7 Msg: #47152  
Hey Suzie
I LOVE INTREPID! I did my tour of Northern India with them, but I know the tour you are doing. My stop in India was a part of my rtw trip. When I left the states for Australia, I was so overpacked NOW it is comical, mind you once I sent 7 boxes back, I still ended up traveling with 45kilos! The only pair of shoes I used were Keens Newport H2. When I got to Oz, I had packed about 7 pairs (go ahead and laugh) but ended up only keeping a pair of Nike hiking boots and the Keens. I think I wore the boots on 3 hikes. The Keens are good for light hiking, they are waterproof and practical. I used to were Tevas but alot of your foot is exposed, with the K's you have this protection over your toes which makes them the perfect shoe. I wore them 99% of the time of my year trip and if cold you can easily slip on a pair of socks with them. Also there is a book out written by Beth Whitman of Wanderlust and Lipstick about Women's travel to India, you should pick it up. Her first book A Womans guide to traveling solo is the rage of all of my young students traveling around the world.

If I were going back to India, I would not take very many clothes, you can get great clothes for next to nothing and being a big woman, even having things tailored was reasonable. I always wear long sleeves and long skirts, partly because you don't have to worry about what you are wearing and because I was not covered for all of India with immunizations, it kept me from the mozzies and the sun. Plus you really want to dress modestly because one thing that is over whelming is the ratio of men to women. That is very unnerving, plus it's hard enough not to get felt up and if you are dressed with everything hanging out, it can be worse. Don't invite trouble.

OH YEA GINGER, GINGER, AND MORE GINGER. I am a fan because I am a SCUBA diver who gets sea sick but I found in India, it saved me from Delhi Belly. My friends in Oz, said just used to the idea, everyone gets it, so no worries and everyone in my group did....BUT ME! I had a cold so I was taking some ginger lozenges, so they saved me.

Have a great time and enjoy this amazing place. Reply to this

15 years ago, August 30th 2008 No: 8 Msg: #47272  
N Posts: 4
Yeah Debbie,

I agree!.

Any one who seeks more info, feel free to get in touch..being a native indian, i might be of much help!

Ciao! Reply to this

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