Hey guys, I'm sure some of you are from India or have at least visited family there. I'm in Delhi this weekend and I'll be heading to Pune tomorrow. Yesterday I took the obligatory trip down to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, which was a lot of fun. I'm probably going to go around today and see some of the sites in Delhi. I'll be in India for the rest of the most, so I was wondering if there are any can't miss hotspots? A friend of mine may take me down to Goa, but for the most part I'll be in Pune or maybe Mumbai after this weekend in Delhi. Thanks!
I was in india for 2+ months, it was awesome... be sure to check out guragaon... pretty nice, also in delhi, check out places such as palika bazaar and stuff.
I was in India for almost two months last year. The one tourist site that I would recommend the most, by far, would be the Meenakshi temple of Madurai in the south.. Simply awesome, and worth the trip. My experiences in India were very mixed -- on some counts it was the worst place I've ever been, on others it was the best, but that's what every one says. Bombay I did not like v. much but then I didn't know anybody there. Anyway, in all seriousness I enjoyed the far south the most, especialy Tamil Nadu and Kerala, you should go to either if you get the chance. Have fun.
Did you visit Tirupati temple on the moutains in Andra Pradesh? Walking up the mountain took about 4 hours, and I passed many agitated monkeys wanting to steal my hat. I have found the South of India to be more relaxed than places in the North. The South tends to have more history and more temples to see. Goa is a nice place also. Very tropical, and very laid back. Alot of Euro tourists there, so if thats not your thing, you might want to avoid.
Check out India Gate and the government offices, the building where the prime minister lives is on a street full of monkeys. Go to the state run emporiums, you can get good deals on marble and cashmere goods.
No I did not make it to AP, but I agree as to the south being a lot more easygoing than the north. When I was in Agra I thought I was going to go insane. Nice sites but I absolutely hated that city and will never go back.
Also go to Old Delhi and check out the Red Fort and Jama Masjid. Take a stroll around connaught place and do some shopping, there's a big gurdwara there as well, gurdwara bangla sahib.
i hated agra, it wasnt worth the taj mahal. the red fort there was pretty nice, but agra sucks... Go check out Hyderabad...
Just curious what about Agra did you not like? I've never been personally but I'm curious to know. And as AdeelSiddiqui said, Go to Hyderabad. It's flowing with IT/Biotech money like Bangalore but it hasn't completely sold itself out into a consumer mega-haven and actually still has some culture left in it. I've always had fun when I've been there. There is some decent architecture around there to see as well.
It represented the worst of India - dirty, polluted, smelly, lots of hawkers/harassers/tourist traps, and frankly quite ugly aside from the historical sights. I also got marooned there and couldn't get a train ticket out but HAD to get to Dehli the next day to catch a plain so i took a bus. It was one of the worst bus trips of my life, what ended up happening was the scammer travel agent - instead of sticking me on a regular bus, got stuck riding in the back on the floor of a bus full of pilgrims that took something like 11 hours (it should be driveable in 6, but there were two lengthy unexplained stops along the way, as lwell as the mandatory "kickback" stop at the roadside dhaba for a needless 11 pm dinner) and ended up dropping me off way north of the Dehli train station at 2 AM, nowhere near where I needed to be. In retrospct I should have illegally stowed aboard the train and just paid the fine.
