i guess i missed the part about curve going in December. Yeah, that definitely rules out Ladakh; and unless youre planning on packing winter clothes for your trip to india, it probably rules out some of my other suggestions as well. thats too bad
I really enjoyed Karnataka. Especially the Bangalore area. But this was before it became really crowded though. Not sure which part this was filmed in, but it brings back great memories: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/35gOFY21Iak"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/35gOFY21Iak" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
Wow - thanks guys for all the advice. Just got in to Delhi, and you're right -- it's crazy. Not much to do besides the various attractions, but I'm glad to get away. Heading to Agra and Rajastan tomorrow -- I'm planning to bunker down in Rajastan for a while before heading south. Everything I've heard about Kerala has been good, so I'll head there -- will also look into Tamil Nadu and a couple of other places mentioned. One question -- is it easy to reserve train tickets in India? I mean, how far in advance should I reserve train tickets? And are the long distance buses good (good here is relative, where Brazilian/Turkish is the top dog and for me so far, China is pretty bad). Thanks again! Cows on the street! Beggars tugging on your sleeves! Smog to take years off your life! It's great!
LOL, the train station can be REALLY confusing, there's like 38 different windows, (one for "freedom fighters"), basically what you do is go to the one "information" window (I think it's towards the right side of the main Dehli station office) and get the little "chit" and fill out what train you want and when, ,then you just wait in one of the lines and try to buy a ticket if they have any. Do NOT listen to anybody who tries to tell you to "follow me to the special foreigner booking office" or to cab drivers who say "the booking office is closed today". There is no such thing, and the ticket offices are almost never closed, it is a scam. Long distance buses in India (with which I have a LOT of experience) are absolutely awful, maybe the worst in the entire world (though they are cheap) and dangerous. I took a lot of them because I went through a lot of mountainous regions w/o train service, and do yourself a favor and either take the train or fly.
