i’m not re-hashing the things i included in last year’s know before you go post, but there were a few things that came up this year that i wanted to share so i decided we needed an addendum of sorts. once again we’ll start with the general stuff and then a few place-specific things.
general
indian airports are an adventure like no other. the main thing to know is you’ll need your boarding pass [no longer just your ticket, but the actual boarding pass] and a form of id to enter the airport for domestic flights. if you have issues checking in online there are usually kiosks outside the airport where you can check in and print a boarding pass, but keep in mind that just because there are 5 kiosks it does not mean they all work. also each airport will have a different queueing process and different requirements for scanning bags, so keep an eye on what other people are doing and use your best judgment.
paper copies will be your friend. i always have physical copies of any tickets [flight, train, bus, whatever] as well as a few photocopies of my passport page and oci card on hand. india loves a printout, and you might need to provide a copy of your passport when checking into a hotel or guest house. shout out to sarah for holding on to my paper copies from last year and bringing them with her so i didn’t have to print new ones.
i might have mentioned these last year, but here are some of the websites i find helpful when researching and booking travel in india:
- makemytrip is good for looking up flights to see which airlines fly between cities and to compare prices
- accepts international cards
- i usually use this for comparison purposes and then book directly through the airline
- 12go is good for researching and booking trains
- accepts international cards
- will only book the train if there is a seat/berth available aka no waitlist tickets
- rome2rio will show you all the possible ways to get between two places so you can compare prices and travel times for various forms of transit
- i’ve never booked anything through their linked partners, but the info is pretty thorough
- redbus is my favorite for researching bus routes, timings, pickup and drop points, etc
- does not accept international cards so i will send all the info to my aunt and she will book what i need and yes i know how lucky i am to have this option
- railyatri is helpful for tracking your train, especially if you are boarding or getting down somewhere in the middle of the route
- all you have to do is enter the train number and it will show you where it is in the journey as well as future stops and estimated times
- keep in mind that there will sometimes be larger than needed estimated times between stations to give the train time to catch up if it gets delayed along the way
and speaking of travel, double and triple check dates and timings. one of the things i am most paranoid about is getting a date or time wrong for a journey. this year’s trip was especially complicated because sarah and i were meeting in bombay and then travelling onward together, we were meeting my parents and then going our separate ways and then coming back together, and then we were separating again. there were some things sarah and i booked separately and some we booked together, and then we had my parents’ travel logistics on top of that. not to mention india writes the date in the dd-mm-yyyy format and often uses a 24h clock for travel, which i use myself but still needed to remember when booking various travel and accommodation. all that to say: double and triple check before you book!
calcutta
calcutta has a metro! the oldest one in india, in fact. i’ve never actually used it though, and the best way to get around the city is by uber. the buses are old and very crowded and auto rickshaws have designated routes which they’re allowed to use, so if you have access to it uber [or ola, if you have an indian number] is your best bet. just know that your driver will call you to confirm the pickup spot, so if you have someone close by who speaks bengali or hindi it comes in handy.
if you’re there during “winter” be sure to have a light sweater or shawl as the mornings and evenings will be quite cool and there’s often a nice breeze.
another winter note — because india is one time zone [yes, really] and west bengal is on the east coast, the sun sets much earlier in calcutta. take advantage of the daylight while you have it.
west bengal is known for its freshwater fish. the one you’ll likely see most often is bhetki which we had multiple times and really loved. they’re also famous for their sweets, like sandesh, mishti doi, and rasagolla which is one of my personal favorites.
surat
in surat you can book both autos and taxis using uber, so if you have 1-3 people you can book an auto as a cheaper option.
most people in gujarat are vegetarian so while there are some restaurants that will serve non-veg, your meals will be mostly veg while you’re there. gujarat also has a lot of vegetables that are unique to the state and won’t be found anywhere else in the country, so you should take advantage while you can.
in my experience surat tends to lean a little more conservative, and if i’m venturing out i’ll usually wear loose-fitting clothing that covers my shoulders and knees.
gujarat is a dry state. a quick google search says there might be a few clubs or hotels that are permitted to sell wine, but your best bet is to just go in expecting to not have access to alcohol.
coimbatore
coimbatore is another place where i tend to cover up when i’m going out. the only exception is if i’m going out for dinner with my cousins, but even then i’m usually still dressing pretty conservatively.
for my entire life coimbatore has always been where i get the most mosquito bites. i’ll get a few in the other places, but i’ll leave coimbatore absolutely covered in bites. this year i thankfully remembered to take my super strength antibiotic cream that helps with the itching; mine requires a prescription, but if you don’t react as badly as i do you can also carry an over-the-counter triple antibiotic cream like neosporin for itch relief. as i mentioned last year i stopped taking malaria meds ages ago, but my parents and sarah all took malarone as a preventative measure.
bangalore
lots of transit options in bangalore! the metro is getting more and more connected, and sarah and i took it from indiranagar to mg road and enjoyed the adventure. you can book both autos and cabs with uber. there’s always the local bus if you’re feeling especially adventurous. and sometimes you’re better off walking because i really do mean it when i say that whoever designed bangalore’s layout was tripping on acid at the time. also keep in mind that regardless of your mode of travel, you’ll have to wait in traffic at some point so always assume it will take you longer to get somewhere than you think it will.
if you’re looking for a place to stay, i am such a big fan of st. mark’s hotel on st. mark’s road. the price is pretty reasonable, the rooms are really nice, the staff are all friendly and attentive, and you really can’t beat the location. my family and i have been staying here since 2006 and it’s always a good experience.
if you have a long layover in bangalore and don’t feel like going all the way into the city, the domestic terminal has a transit hotel inside with rooms that you can book for 3, 6, or 12 hours. i’ve used it a few times including this year when sarah and i met my parents upon their arrival. we were able to get a few hours of sleep and take showers which was so nice; the only thing to keep in mind is that once you are inside the airport you can’t leave again which we didn’t realize until we were already inside and had to adjust our plans of where to meet my parents. there will be one inside the international terminal also, but since i didn’t travel through there on this trip i don’t know if it’s open yet or not.
palolem / goa
one of the things i did this trip that i’m pretty proud of is booking our cottage for an extra night even though we weren’t staying the night. because check-out at our place was at 10am and our train wasn’t until 7pm, instead of packing and getting ready in the morning and then having to entertain ourselves all day, i booked our guest house for that night as well. we got up leisurely, had breakfast, went for a swim, took a beach nap, and ate an afternoon snack before venturing back to the cottage in the afternoon. we took our time showering and packing and enjoying the view from the porch before checking out and getting a taxi to madgaon at 5pm. it was an extra $30 per person and was totally worth it to have that extra half day of rest and relaxation. will definitely be doing this again moving forward.
guest houses are great about helping to call taxis to take you to the airport or bus stand or railway station or generally wherever you want to go, but keep in mind things in goa can operate on extra stretchable time, so be sure to give yourself ample time to travel between towns so you’re not rushing.
bombay
we’ll begin with your semi-regular reminder that bombay is massive. the city is very spread out, and depending on where you’re going and your mode of transit it might take you a while to get there. it’s a big city! you’re not going to get anywhere quickly, and if you’re not in a rush it’s part of the charm.
in bombay you again have many transit options! there’s the local train which is always my favorite and is especially convenient if all the places you’re going are along the western line. if you’re in the suburbs [bandra and north] there are auto rickshaws, and the bombay auto drivers remain the only ones with whom i’ve never fought. regardless of where you are you have black-and-yellow cabs, and although they no longer make the traditional kaali-peelis that will still forever be what we call them. and there is of course uber which you can use to get anywhere.
if you have time and a friend with a car i highly recommend going for a long drive along the coastal road + sea link or along the harbour link road. these newer toll roads have been built to ease traffic during heavy commute times, and they have the added benefit of being really nice evening and weekend drives that provide great scenery.
there is plenty more i’m not remembering or that didn’t impact us on this trip but will on future ones, but i figure this is enough for today so i’ll stop here.
happy travels!
xx
queen veen on the scene 