Here's some pics from my trip to India. More India pics soon and pics from Nepal!! http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbMmzFu3YsWLko
haha, haven't seen a chai in a while, nice pic!! I was in Harayana, Punjab, UP, Uttaranchal, Himachal, Jammu, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & Goa. Where are you from in India?
I don't take many pics of myself, there's a pic of me in the Member photos section though. There might be a pic or two of me in the other photos I have from my travels, I'll see.
I'm landing in Kolkatta, taking the train up to Darjeeling, spending a day there, and then jeeping up to a village in the Kanchenjunga forest... doing a homestay in a remote village there for 5 days, then going on a trek for 5-6 days at around 12-14000 feet. I'm going with a group of 5 other youth with two leaders... we've spent the last 6-7 months fundraising somewhat more than $20 000... and I'm leaving on Feb. 27!!!
Nice one! Calcutta is a great city! Haven't been up to Darjeeling but I hear there and Sikkim are beautiful. I was up in the Himalaya in Nepal and the other side of India. Best of luck, and let me know how you got on when you come back!
Right on-- I will let you know. I'm trying to get around to making a thread about it.. so maybe you'll see that soon. Do you have any tips for travelling in India or Calcutta specifically?
Calcutta Airport is having a major workers strike right now No flights landed yesterday http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4292484.stm Maybe it could clear by the time you land Your lucky to be doing so much travelling when you are only 17. You gotta be prepared for a culture shock.... All the best Enjoy your visit....
I had spent over 8 months travelling before I go to Calcutta so I was used to poverty, if you fly in to Calcutta the poverty could be overwhelming. There are just poor people everywhere. The best place to stay in Calcutta is Sudder St (it's where all the backpackers stay) I stayed in the Paragon hotel just off Sudder st. To get from there to the airport is 200 Indian rupees. Don't know what else there is to say. If you have any specific question let me know. It is amazing though that you are getting to experience something like this at such a young age.
Hey thank you so much for all this information, guys. I really hope the strike isn't happening by the time I go there :S Speaking of culture shock--I've been told I'm diving into the deep end of the world, and it's going to be tough in the way of culture shock, not just going there, but also coming home. I went to a remote island for 3 days and went into cs... this will be something I'll try to mentally prepare for because it won't be easy.
Yeah when you come home you get reverse culture shock. It's hard lucking at greedy, complaining, very well to do westerners after seeing so many poor and destitute people, but it's all part of the experience.
I don't think the Airport should be a problem... I didn't see that you had mentioned your arrival date as 27th Feb and assumed that you are coming now.The airport problem will be solve in a few days..... Well I don't know much about Calcutta but I think you can visit Mother Teresa's mission and some churches if they interest you over there.... If you are looking for sensational stuff in calcutta .... Then you could visit the graveyards to witness the worship of Goddess Kali(Goddess of death). There is a famous spot I do not know its name near calcutta where Kali worship takes place.... http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/5229/kali/kali.html Though you will need the right contacts to get there and also the stomach to digest something as bizzare as this... Also if you are going trekking in the himalayas I suggest you try and visit Varanasi, Haridwar or Rishikesh... These places are considered to be holy hindu cities and you will find it very interesting,most foreign visitors make it a point to pass through at least one of these cities... At the end of the day your India experience will be anything but normal, It will be in the extreme's You will either hate it or love it.... BTW One stop website for all info on travelling in India - http://www.incredibleindia.org/
Spacer how did you manage your budget ? Since you stayed for a long time here did you work while you were in India to supprot yourself ? How much did your entire trip cost ?
No I didn't work at all. India is so cheap. In my trip I was in Varanasi twice first time for 18 days and second time for 10 days. Each time there my daily costs including room, food and cigarettes was only RS200. Some places were a little more expensive, like Goa but in general it was really cheap. I just saved money for a year before I went. In India €300 a month would have you easily living like a king and I got by on much less some months.
