1.) “DO NOT DRINK TAP WATER” it is not meant for drinking, even I will get sick if I dare to,
Boiled, filtered or bottled water are the only means of water that is safe for drinking.
Bottled water can be bought at any retail store or Malls, the most preferred brands I recommend would be Bisleri, Aquafina, Himalayan and QUA, to be sure about quality.
if u buy other brands be sure to check the seal.
2.) Travel – depends on budget and distance , trains are generally cheaper but longer (I Mean atleast a days travel )
a. Train – (all are govt. operated , u can book online through https://www.irctc.co.in/
U need to register online, book a ticket which is called an iticket (online) or at the reservation counter ,take a print and travel….u can also check availability through www.indianrailways.gov.in )All trains in India are sleeper trains mostly , there are 3 classes generally
I. SL – Sleeper ( NON AC, the cheapest but I wouldn’t recommend , only
use thisoption when ur absolutely broke , have to go somewhere and no
tickets can be found , generally very busy average and lower middle class
Indians use this mode, u have people playing music, playing cards , babies
screeming , kids playing around, hawkers running up and down selling all
kinds of stuff , no barrier to enry, the windows are open and there are
chances ur stuff might get stolen as well so be a little careful.
II. 3 AC / 2 AC – (U don’t see all the crazy things that happen above
but u get the occasional hawker or train staff selling food and
magazines operated by the govt. )
3AC has three sleep berths on one wall in the center,
2 AC – (10 Euros or 12 dollars more expensive than 3 AC , has two seats ,
very calm and nice, if ur looking for a good sleep, and u might generally end
up having a good conversation in English with ur fellow passengers. )
These are still half the price compared to a flight if u time is not a
constraint.
OH yes I forgot to mention u will get a bed kit, blanket, pillows and 2
bedsheets these are the only pic good enough pics I could find ..( the
middle seat needs to be lifted during night to sleep in 3rd AC if u get the
middle seat.
b. FLIGHT ..I wont elaborate a lot
LOW cost airlines – SPICEJET , INDIGO ,
Regular – KINGfisher (if it doesn’t go bankrupt), AIRINDIA, Jet
Airways
Others- jetlite, Air India express
You can book through – yatra.com, makemytrip.com, cleartrip.com
Also and u might end up saving some money on deals they keep running through the year. You could also book hotels. ( I recommend Yatra , very easy to use)
3.) Major Banks HDFC, ICICI (These 2 are private banks accept all Visa and master cards)and State bank of India(SBI) (govt. owned so almost everything takes double the time but relatively cheaper transaction costs, these guys also use MAESTRO …).
4.) All major establishments accept VISA and MASTER card ,generally not true for MAESTRO
5.) Places to visit would depend on taste
a. People want night life and booze must visit GOA(no alcohol tax) also
for the beaches other preferred destination would be Bangalore,
MUMBAI, Delhi, Kolkata in the ORDER RESPECTVELY!!! ,u would most
likely find hardrock café in all these cities.
b. Nature and beauty – Kerala( houseboat and kerala, seafood cusines
…love the shrimps ,lobsters ,crabs there), Andaman Nicobar and
lakshwadeep islands (pretyy beach and scuba diving), Agra(Taj
Mahal), JAIPUR, Rajasthan (forts and castles and dessert rides,
unique food and culture), leh and ladak, darjeeling, Shimla (hill
stations relief from the heat…..generally around 15- 20 degrees so
is much colder than any indian city 35-45 degrees during summer)
6.) MAJOR malls would be BIGBAZAR, LIFE STYLE and STAR BAZAAR, PANTALOONS(only clothes), SHOPPERSTOP(Clothes and accessries) and BANGALORE CENTRAL( clothes and acessries) …u would find all major brands..u want to find…
http://www.lifestylestores.com/storelocator/storelocator.html
http://www.shoppersstop.com
http://bigbazaar.futurebazaar.com/indexBigBazaar.jsp (cheap stuff here, brands and local ones sold in every section)
CHEAP SHOPPING streets
a. MUMBAI fashion street
b. Delhi sarojni market
c. Kolkata Park street , New market.
The most common street food
Are
I. Samosas
II. Kachoris(a type of crust with a filling of spices …interesting with chutney(a sweet and hot sauce))
III. Pattis(type of croissants with different type of filling)
......a. Paneer(tofu kind of ..a delight of vegies in India)
......b. Aloo( potato)
......c. Chicken/mutton(lamb)
IV. Chat ( India speciality—a small evening snack..with sweet, spicey and different chutneys and spices)
V. PANI Puri ( a famous among indian women , a tangy sweet and spicey thing)
VI. Street food ….try in recommended places only where u know the water is good, mostly in good restaurants and hotels.
and avoid trying it on the street even if it smells intoxicating and delicious.
7.) FOOD …one of the most important concerns………
………………
OKAY u guys can find SANDWITCHES, PIZZAS and COFFES at
easy to find CCD's or CAFÉ COFFE DAY, since I realized that there a lot of coffee drinkers among us…..( unfortunately the teas aren’t that good..since I alwys drank CUTTING CHAI(tea)…..but who knows u might enjoy it…
Next never order anything that says MIRCHI(means Chilly) or KOLHAPURI (the hottest stuff or food preparation style from western part of India).
Next easily available joints in all major cities
(EXCEPT bhubaneswar -
pizzahut found)
Dominos, Pizzahut and macdonalds u might bump into ocasinally at SUBWAYS and SMOKIN JOES...
Good Bakery stuff can be found at a joint called Monginis
U can use BURP.com to check http://mumbai.burrp.com/
restaurant,pub and disco reviews and enjoy ur meals…..
Bookmyshow (also for events and shows), Inox , PVR for Movie ticketing
And as for Bhubaneswar ,
CCD was next to the campus(3 years back ..i hope it has not hut down), there were 2 bigbazaars nearby ……
Next most important problem ,that u guys might face are TOILET paper !!!!
Yes u herd me….its still a luxury for most Indians , it would cost around 250 RS that means a meal in Indian terms the wage of 5 Daily wage laberors in One Day !!....
So mostly u will find them only in Malls
8.) Lastly hygiene
Eat hot food only, avoid salads, drink bottled water, and carry common cold tablets , stomach upset tablets just because of the number of spices and not because it is HOT.!!
I had a lot of problems because of cheese and stomach was upset for whole first month ..i am pretty sure u guys are also gona face some troubles in adjusting to the type of food.
U will miss ur Ham,beef,pork Wine ,cheese and Olives !!!!
9.) Lastly …..Bhubaneswar is calm small city ….not a lot of things happening….
… So might get bored easily, places to go nearby would be Puri beach and Konark temple
10.) Temple : Most Indians are Religious or Spiritual …either ways they respect their culture.
Some temples might not welcome foreigners and even prohibit them, e.g Puri Temple.
Remove shoes before entering temples, Sometimes u might need to remove ur shoes before entering a temple or even someone place.
If food is offered…..might be considered impolite and if drink is offered(mostly would be tea or coffee)…… well in case of youngsters it is going to be either Beer or whiskey….depends on individuals ……….there is huge majority of hard liquor drinkers and Beer drinkers ….u might find a few fellows among new friends….
Namaste – hi/hello /greeting
Haso – smile
Aap Kaise Ho ? = How are you
Main Acha huun = I am good
Good = Acha
One = EK
Two = Doh
Curd/ Youghurt = Dahi
Milk = Duudh
Cream = Malai
Lastly
Tandoori Chicken/ Paneer
Or
Chicken/paneer Tikka Masala == ( Awesome taste!)
I hope all this helps if u have any further questions ..feel free to ask….
Hope u guys enjoy ur stay….I hope to help u guys out to my best ….
Travel tips( to be continued, initial draft )
Have a good Day
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