India. I have been dying to go there, and plan on it when I am 18. I have so many questions.....first off, who has gone? What is it like? Where should I go that I need to see? Where should I stay? I really want to get the magicial, enchanted feel of India........and, what should I do/see that could give me that? Also, anyone have pictures?
you fly in an airplane from jfk to new delhi or if you one of those people who gets abducted by e.t.'s, instead of having them take you home after you've been abducted, tell them to take you to india.
Hi, I'm also thinking of visiting India. I'm thinking of going there around February, 2005. I'm alittle worried about it, but I really want to go. I would recommend checking out this site: www.indiamike.com I'd also recommend checking out this site: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/indian_subcontinent/india/ There are forums at both sites. I ordered a lonely planet guide book from amazon.com on india and have been reading it. Lots of useful information. You would most likely fly into Delhi, and maybe stay in a hotel in that city for the night. Getting out of the airport city and into the mountains or smaller towns as soon as possible is a must. Then you can start enjoying all of the spiritual, and other cultural things India has to offer. If you have any other questions I'll try to answer them.
u dont have to travel india by elephant..infact i dont think there is realy any such facility where in u could travel the whole of india by elephant! lol..it ammusing how people have such "grannndde" impressions of india but if u realy want to im sure u can! theres a way to get round and do jus bout anything in india!.. u could catch a flight and get to delhi or bombay... then u could figure out where all u want to go... if ur a girl its always better if u travel with someone else rather than alone! the places u MUST visit if ur in india... leh/ladak... rajasthan.. kerela.. goa[!] pondichery,haridwar/rishikesh mumbai delhi bagnlore etc. apart from this try traveling by road wherevver possible so that u could perhaps stop over at places while reaching wherever ur heading for... because one of the best part about going to some place in india can be the traveling!.... india is waaaay to diverse so u realy would have to plan out what all u want to cover..depending on ur intrests. you should also decide what season u want to come in and be prepared to die in the heat if u plan to come in summers. anyways.. hope this would help... if u want to know anything about india ... p.s: try and get this song if u can... "welcome to india" by luda krishna and vikram m.c!! roflol
Unfortunately, I can't give you any information about India, but I could've been there next month. One of my co-workers was thinking about going there, and if she would've gone there, I would've come along. But she decided not to go to India - so I gotta wait for India.
ok first of ... u dont use elephants to travel around india.. u can ride one at a fair for like 5 mins as an amusment thingy.. we have trains, and cars and buses and bikes and planes and things. start of from a big city like delhi or mumbai and work your way around the edges.. there aint much in the central region.. a good thing to do would be start from delhi..goto shimla, manali.. come down through rajasthan and gujrat, stop in mumbai for a day if you want (big commercial boring city) go on to pune, goa, kerala, ooty kodiakanal n stuff.. tell u what.. get this book "are you experienced" by william sutcliffe.. its kinda fiction.. but lets u know how to get from where to where and what 2 expect.. alll about young 18 yr old brits backpacking india. so i think u should check it out..
I think every single person MUST visit India at least once. Somehow or other, I promise it will change your life forever. Its that kind of place. It is beautiful and it is filthy. It is the most tranquil land, yet it is noisy. It is rife with corruption, politics and gang wars, yet it is the most beautifully spiritual place in the world. I love India, its my very soul. In infinitesimal ways, adding up to everything I am, India is imbued in me, in every pore of my being, in more aspects than there are numbers to count. Save $2000. Spend half of it on air tickets. The remainder will see you through 6 months to an year easily, including travel, if you are willing to live rough. And rough is the way to see the country. You will not see the soul of india through the window of a high rise hotel. To truly experience the land you need to walk in the mud, feel the breeze of the sea and the mountains, to live with the Earth itself. Where can I tell you to go? Every stone has a story, every tree reaches unseen depths wit its gnarled roots. Be it that I ask you to visit Goa, with its hippedelic music and its moonlit beaches? Or maybe Kerala, its temples clothed in glistening green rainforests? Perhaps the sequestered silence of the Himalayas, home of saints and monks, majestic and noble, irrigating the whole country with its pure mountain waters? Possibly Delhi,searing hot, with its glorious architecture, preserving memories of kings and monarchs bygone? Maybe the banks of the Ganges Herself, cool and shady, as the river dances by, laughing, like a young girl, alive with her first youth? Shall I reccommend Madras, where every evening of every single day, the most refined of musicians sing of beautiful things, play their violins and their mridangams and the audience merges into the mood of divine musical bliss? Perhaps untouched Rameshwaram, the holy land where Sri Rama himself walked eons ago? How about the glittering caves of Ajanta and Ellora, where, painted by ancient hands, pictures of passionate lovemaking remind us of the pathetic taboos we have woven around ourselves? Who could but love the deserts of Rajastan, where rustic voices sing of freedom and pride? Shall I direct you to Brindavan, where even today the playful Lord Krishna is remembered vividly in song, dance, where even the chirping of the birds tells tales of His glories and the Yamuna flows on, smiling in memory of Him... India is too much to see in a lifetime. Its beauty is infinite. She is enchanting and those who have felt that magic cannot but return, at least in thought. I cannot reccomend any part of India. India has no parts. To one who is tuned to Her, the whole essence of India can be found in a peacock feather. One whose heart is closed to her silent music may wander for years through her lands, yet he would not feel her touch, gentle, like a mother softly caressing her sleeping baby, the evening breeze lightly kissing the farmer's tired brow. India is within you.
Aah...Auroville I have only been there once, briefly. I remember how we sat in the shade of the enormous banyan tree, on a lawn of fragrant khus grass. The breeze that blew through it was tinged with the cool, refreshing music of the ocean. A day well spent, sheltered from the fiery summer by the divine shade of Sri Aurobindo's aura.
I spent a year in India in 1994-95. I absolutely loved it. My time in India was easily among the most powerful experiences of my (adult) life. India is intense, maybe even overwhelming, until you realize how to re-tune your perception, your cultural expectations, and even your senses and begin to experience India as it actually is. Then it becomes profoundly mind/spirit/life-altering in ways you just can't really prepare for. Of the places in India to which I have actually been, my favorites are Varanasi (there's something "different" about this holy city), Sarnath (the site of the Buddha's first sermon), Rishikesh, Mussoori, The Taj Mahal (one of the few places that surpasses any hype you have heard about it), Madras, and even parts of Delhi, like Chandni Chowk, the Red Fort, and Connaught Circle. Of course, as Bhaskar so poetically and accurately puts it, to one who is tuned to the essence of India, her spirit is everywhere, motherly, divine. When the time comes, when you know how to pay attention to the reality of India on its own terms, its spirit "emerges" and you begin to "know" the Dharma of India. When this happens, India begins to make sense in a way that America can not, or has not, at least not for me. If it weren't for the obligations I had here in the U.S. it is quite possible that I would have stayed to live there for all of the rest of my days.
bhaskar...you made me cry and smile at the same time. I think you know my soul. You spoke everything I wanted to hear about India, every sight, every noise...taste. I am enthralled now, and cannot wait a moment longer. Those places...sound...breathtaking. Are they close to each other so that I could visit them all? As for the rest of you....you are all amazing, thank you for helping. I am intrigued even more, if possible. I still have a few questions. When I'm there...is the best way to travel would be to rent a car and drive around through the country? Are the people friendly? Do the majority speak english? Is it easy to become eveloped in the culture, will it be easy for me to go into a town and soak up the culture, mingle with the natives and such?
Priye, beloved, As William Blake said, you can see the world in a grain of sand. You could spend years walking around all those places and miss them completely. You could spend 5 seconds there and experience their fulness. It is up to you. But yes, they are all accessible. I would say give yourself around six months. Thats an awfully short time, but if you use it well it can last you several births. Rent a car and drive is not the best way. Long distance travel in India must be by train. The rail travel in India is a wonderful experience in itself, just sitting and looking out your window you can connect to the very heart of the land and her people. And yes, people are friendl. Beware of the ones that are overly so. Most people speak English to some degree, you will be fine. For an outsider to mingle into the culture is difficult. I am an outsider too, in many places I go to. I am not from there, I dont have their values and their outlook, background or specific culture, so I will never ever fully fit in and be one of them. That doesnt mean I cannot love them, nor them me. It doent mean I cannot share in their experience and enrich both my life and theirs in some way. And, my beautiful one, let me assure you, you, of all people, will have a truly wonderful experience there, because you have already got love for Her in your heart. She is as a mother, awaiting her child, she will embrace you, take you to her bosom with infinite love and tenderness. If you misbehave, she will spank you. Remember, love is an end in itself. All rewards and gratifications are as dust compared to the joy of pure love.
That was beautiful. The people living in India are blessed with both the power and wisdom of their mother. It is sad however that most people among the new generations keep missing the point. Bhaskar, you are very lucky.
