India

[zigackly]

By the way, Palolem beach in Goa was fucking boss in 2004. Not sure what it's like now, but it was paradise when we went there, not really druggy like Panjim, and they were not allowed to build any permanent structures within sight of it, so it was completely different to the usual Goan experience. If you just want to lie on a beach and enjoy a cocktail then I would look no further, as long as they haven't built any hotels there yet.

[Redder Lurtz]

Nice one Zig, I'll check both those places out.

[zigackly]

I concur with Lee about the Old Monk rum, but whatever you do, do not drink the Kingfisher brandy. I had what I believe was the worst hangover of my life in a divey apartment off Varkala beach after drinking a bottle of that and smoking a load of weed with these people we met in the pitch black street trying to find our way back to where we were staying. I swear my skin was actually cracking from dehydration because the electricity stopped working for half the night, hence no fan. I ended up sitting in the shower for four hours trying to get some moisture back into my body because I was too fucked to walk down to the beach and get some bottled water. Happy days.

Edited November 24, 2011 by zigackly

[Redder Lurtz]

Zig what are the visa requirements? Can it all be done online?

[Lee909]

I think it can be done online. If nothing has changed in the last couple of years it is not done at the embassy anymore.They contracted it out in London,they are easy to get but it's manic in the office.I didn't trust them with my passport so went in to do it.Seems a bit of a shambles in the office,no direction about anything but it will get you ready for India.

Where are you going to?

[Lee909]

Try this

Gives you a list of offices and a online application

 

http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk/yourapplication.html

[Redder Lurtz]

Cheers Lee. Either Goa or Kerala, not really arsed. Just want to laze around eating curry 3 times a day and maybe take in a trip or some shit. All pretty short notice.

[Lee909]

Kerala

Goa has gone downhill badly.

I work with a lad who knows loads of locals over there and they say the north has gone downhill since the Russians have turned up.

If you want to go there head to the south where the all inclusive resorts are.

[navbasi]

Went to Jaipur last month for a wedding, amazing place, if you can make a trip there then I would highly recommend it. The internal airlines are cheap, about £50 for a round trip from Mumbai to Jaipur.

 

I flew with Jet and have to say that I was pleasantly surprised, I was expecting a shit version of EasyJet but actually turned out be on par with a BA flight to Europe. They cover most of India so if you wanted to see other bits then try them.

 

Jet Airways UK - Jet Airlines UK Online Booking to/from London Heathrow

 

There are other internal flights available as well from:

 

Go Air

Go Airlines (India) Ltd.

 

IndiGo

IndiGo - On Time, Low Fares, Courteous, Hassle-free, Low Cost Airlines, Online Flight Ticket Bookings India & Abroad, Discount Airfares, Domestic & International Airline Tickets India, Fly Abroad - International Destinations - Bangkok, Dubai, Singapo

 

So you can shop around for the best deals.

[Redder Lurtz]

Cheers Lee. Fucking Russians are ruining Turkey as well.

 

I don't know if I'll be up for doing much travelling around when I get there, Nav, I'll only be there a week so it'll mainly be feet up. I don't intend this to be my last trip to India though so it's good to know it's easy to get around.

[Lee909]

It is really easy to travel over there.

The same mate as mentioned above says jet airways are superb,as are the over night trains if you go 1st class(still cheap).

You can get a overnight train from Goa to Kerala apparently,just get your head down and your there first thing.Ive not been to Kerala yet though its very similar from what I have heard.the major difference is the backwater rivers.

I loved the time I have spent over there and can't wait to be in a position to travel round a few more places over there.The people are fantastic and outside the major cities the pace of life is slow.

Get up early and a wander down to the beach to see the sunrise and enjoy the morning and a bit of lunch before a afternoon nap and shower and back out for dinner.

[Redder Lurtz]

It is really easy to travel over there.

The same mate as mentioned above says jet airways are superb,as are the over night trains if you go 1st class(still cheap).

You can get a overnight train from Goa to Kerala apparently,just get your head down and your there first thing.Ive not been to Kerala yet though its very similar from what I have heard.the major difference is the backwater rivers.

I loved the time I have spent over there and can't wait to be in a position to travel round a few more places over there.The people are fantastic and outside the major cities the pace of life is slow.

Get up early and a wander down to the beach to see the sunrise and enjoy the morning and a bit of lunch before a afternoon nap and shower and back out for dinner.

 

Fuck me, that sounds so good about now.

[Lee909]

Tell me about it

I'm not going to be able to get away for another year.Cant wait to get away again.

[Dr Nowt]

Cheers Lee. Either Goa or Kerala, not really arsed. Just want to laze around eating curry 3 times a day and maybe take in a trip or some shit. All pretty short notice.

 

Spent a month in Goa in 2008 during 4 months travelling India. Palolem has an amazing horseshoe beach but for me was rammed and fairly corny; umpteen bars blaring out the latest teen pop music at night, could have been anywhere so we left after a couple of days. We asked the guys at the place we were staying and were advised to give their sister establishment on Agonda beach a go, which is a resort up. There were more cows on the beach than people and it had a really decent laid back and friendly atmosphere, various eccentric types who were open and welcoming hanging out in the guest houses, bars and restaurants which are all accessible from the beach. Stayed for 3 and a half weeks and took a massive effort and repeated reminders we'd come to see more of the country before we could muster up the enthusiasm to leave.

 

If you were so minded you could just catch a cab or tuk tuk to Palolem for the busier night life, but enjoy a much quieter beach in the day and a more chilled out place to hang drinking or the like on those nights you don't want to deal with Benidorm of the sub-continent. Only thing is, it was nearly 5 years ago already and like the Thai islands, I got the impression all the resorts which start out understated quickly become "Party's over here" type hotspots, and are within no time the same as the busier resorts they'd become the option of a refuge from. The people we met who had been there before all seemed to agree this is what had happened in the North of Goa and gradually spread down.

 

Can drop you a few things we really enjoyed on our trip if of any use. Backwaters in Kerala is absolutely stunning by the way, and can agree with the other guy regards Varkala offering a good time by the beach. Drinking ban in force there supposedly as it's a dry state, but the bars serve booze up to you surreptitiously in teapots, which I think is more a kind of charming attempt to make people think they're doing something subversive than down to genuine necessity. We never failed to get served anywhere there and one night even sat getting mangled with a local policeman, who was placated by the bar not charging him for his drinks, and roared past on his motorbike weaving all over the road waving and shouting as we walked home. As ever, 'bakseesh' rules the day.

 

Hampi would be a good place to check out if you fancy a trip, but depending on how long you go for might not be one you would want to factor into a few weeks beach holiday as a day on the train and you want to spend a few days there to really do it justice. Spectacular though, 20 odd square miles of Stonehenge style rock formations and ruined monuments - described as a backpacker's paradise where lots of people just spend a week or two smoking and climbing rocks to look out over stunning views at sunset. Well worth a Google.

[Redder Lurtz]

Cheers Terry. Looking more and more like Kerala. Can't be doing with having to avoid dickheads. I have to do enough of that here.

[Harry Squatter]

I went in 2004 to Agra, Dehli, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur. Dehli was a massive dump and had to bribe a copper there to not arrest me for being driven round without a seatbelt. Udaipur was lovely and I had dinner and cocktails at the Lake Palace where Octopussy was filmed. The only downside was the constant hassle and everyone who talked to you just wanted money from you.

 

With regards to visas, I paid a firm in Newcastle 40 quid to do if and it came back within 3 days. I was going to go the embassy in Birmingham and get it myself but I would have been there til Bommy night.

[Dr Nowt]

No worries mate.

 

Kerala even has a completely modern, clean and slick airport. It's where we started out, purely through luck rather than design, but in retrospect it ensured a nice gentle introduction to the country. Can't remember the details now, but read a book while there on modern India and it outlined how the usual counter-productive culture of bribes and Government job for life corruption was avoided during the building, a Vegas odds long-shot apparently.

 

We flew in and out of 8 or 9 airports across India and Nepal, and Kerala stood out like a sore thumb. The rest were for the most part like landing into fucking chaos.

 

Re Visas, we used someone called The Visa Company and for around £50 they guarantee to have it all back to you in the post within a set period of time (pretty quick turnaround as I recall). No going to embassy's or getting a number in the queue like at the end of Beetlejuice or any of that. Do it from the sofa, handy if you're getting close to departure time as we were.

[Dr Nowt]

I went in 2004 to Agra, Dehli, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur. Dehli was a massive dump and had to bribe a copper there to not arrest me for being driven round without a seatbelt. Udaipur was lovely and I had dinner and cocktails at the Lake Palace where Octopussy was filmed. The only downside was the constant hassle and everyone who talked to you just wanted money from you.

 

With regards to visas, I paid a firm in Newcastle 40 quid to do if and it came back within 3 days. I was going to go the embassy in Birmingham and get it myself but I would have been there til Bommy night.

 

What did you make of Agra? I thought the Taj Mahal being there was more out of place than hanging an original da Vinci on the wall of a festival shithouse.

[Harry Squatter]

What did you make of Agra? I thought the Taj Mahal being there was more out of place than hanging an original da Vinci on the wall of a festival shithouse.

 

It was a complete and utter shithole, the only things I remember was that it was foggy all day and people constantly setting fire to things. Nearly got twatted in the street by a runaway cow. Everyone was having a shit by the railway track when we travelled there by train.

[Dr Nowt]

It was a complete and utter shithole, the only things I remember was that it was foggy all day and people constantly setting fire to things. Nearly got twatted in the street by a runaway cow. Everyone was having a shit by the railway track when we travelled there by train.

 

Yeah, people were openly shitting in the street when we were there. Had the worst hawkers I've known anywhere in the world as well. An epic achievement.

 

All the tourist money the Taj takes goes straight to Central Government funds apparently, and then...well. First place I've known that's essentially being pimped out and paid pennies on the pound if it's lucky, probably not as romantic as Shah Jahan originally saw it.

[Remmie]

Thinking of going next year as it's my girlfriend's dream to go to India. It's her dream but she doesn't know or care where she goes as long as there is a beach. I'm currently thinking of doing 2 weeks - 1 in Varanasi and 1 in a beach area, maybe Kerala or Goa, this thread is definitely making me lean towards Kerala. I'm also tempted to go to Sri Lanka as well, so maybe that will be my beach part.

[Tj hooker]

Never fancied India to be honest but after reading this thread might add it to my places to visit list

 

Sent from my C5303 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Remmie]

Anyone who has been, do you have any advice on transport links between Varasani and a nice beach region or maybe another jungle/mountainous region and the beach/preferably Kerala? So far it looks like 2 changes by plane to get from Varasani to Kerala which isn't ideal...

[Harry Squatter]

Probably the only way to doing mate, wouldn't do the train unless you are one of these people who want to experience what the locals do. Travelling by road is a bit of a nightmare as a lot are undeveloped, I travelled round Rajasthan on a bus and you feel like it goes on forever. Maybe do a train back to Delhi from Varanasi then fly from Delhi to Kerala? That way you get to experience a bit of everything. You could always go to Goa after flying into Mumbai?

[Harry Squatter]

If you are willing to pay a bit more you can pay a taxi to drive you long distances, my mate did this from Udaipur to Jaisalmer and I hired a guy to drive me round Sri Lanka from Colombo to Siguriya and Kandy for about £200