Hey all I'm sorry if im repeating any threads here...if so kindly redirect me toward them. I'm leaving for India within the next few weeks..already given up work (Whooo Hoooooo) and have no concrete plans other than to see as much as i can,and feel as much as i can. I have no real time frame to adhere to,just gonna get a 12 month visa,and see where the wind blows me. I just wondered what you guys who've been there found the average cost of living out there to be. I know average is a tricky word.....depending on where you stay etc... Still any help appreciated
First off you're very wise not making concrete plans! Any plans will probably go out of the window very fast (for me it was on the first day!). Average cost of living is tricky because India's so VAST and diverse. I've only really been around the north west. As a general rule of thumb though I think £10.00 (about 18 bucks US) a day worked well for me. 100 rupees got me basic budget accomadation. Food depended on whether I was in a tourist location or if I was buying it from local joints. Local food is usually good and costed about 20-50 rupees for a decent meal. Tourist resturants you should probably expect to pay x2 to x3 more for the same meal, and more still for (most often poor quality) western food. Transport is also dirt cheap (I can't remember exactly what I was paying). I think I paid about £10.00 to get from Gorakpur to Hyderabad which is an awfully long way (36 hours on a 2nd class sleeper train). These are only ball park figures though. A lot of how much you spend depends greatly on how well you can haggle for items. A good general rule of thumb is to start with 1/3 the price of what they asking but don't be utterly ruthless or get agressive because it just wont work and this is unacceptable behaviour. I find that a sense of humour during bartering greatly helps with a better price and is also fun! Also it depends on how much you travel around and what method you use; If you dont mind buses and 2nd class sleeper trains and if you sort out tickets yourself rather than going through an agent (which I usually do because i'm lazy) it'll work out DIRT cheap even for long journeys. Basically i'd say between 500-700 rupess a day including food, accomadation and short distance travel. It's all relative though; Some days I was just hanging in the same place and eating local food and just relaxing. For example; Srinagar on a houseboat (incl. breakfast) plus local food, plus a rickshaw and boat ride here and there I was probably spending 300-400 rupees a day. Then again sometimes I moved around a lot in a short space of time which could well bump it upto 1000 rupees with the long distance travel. My recent 6 month trip across India, Nepal, Thailand, Lao and Cambodia cost me just under £3,000. This included; All flights; London to Delhi, Hyderabad to Bangkok, Bangkok to London. All transport; 2nd class sleeper trains, local buses for short distance, tourist buses for long distance. Rickshaws/tuk tuks, very occasional taxi Travel insurance; (which I used during a 2 week stay in hospital!) £120. All Visas and taxes. Budget accomadation with the very occasional mid-range place. Food; an even mix of tourist-geared food and local food. One or two beers a day. Clothes, medicines toiletries etc. Various courses and extra activities such as 2 treks (plus guide, food etc) in Nepal and Lao, 6 weeks Thangka painting lessons, meditation/yoga courses, and retreats (most are donation only). Presents for everyone! General rule of thumb for India, 700 rupees a day just to be safe! Hope this helps! Pete PS I can give you a rough guess from memory on how much I was paying in the places I went to in India if you want (Himanchal Pradesh, kashmir, Ladakh).
Thankyou VERY much peterness... Every thing you said was helpful(not to be too general..lol) . Taking into account your figures,it looks like ive allowed myself just right...with a little to spare for emergencies...which hopefully there'll be none of! And those 36 hour sleeper train journeys...wow....but i guess its a good way to get your head down Anything more that you'd like to tell me would be greatly appreciated,and one little thing i wondered...What did you find to be the easiest way to access money,and exchange it....? Have you got any more plans to take off again....or has the money run out for a while,and forced some more work upon you? I only ask because i got a real feel for how much you got out of your trip,from what you said. Thanks again for your time.....keep well,and see ya soon.
Accessing money: I used a mixture of travellers cheques and my simple ATM cash card that is on the cirrus network. I also had a small supply of US dollars I think totally about 200. This worked out really well. You'll be really surprised what places now have ATM's that are on the cirrus network. Delhi, Agra, Japiur, Mcloed Ganj (Dharamsala), Hyderabad and even Leh all had cirrus ATM's and I had no problem whatsoever drawing money. The only problem I encountered was that I couldn't see my balance on screen...It was the same in all the countries I visited so maybe get someone at home to get your bank statements and e-mail it so you can keep track of your cash flow...Infact try to set up an internet bank account, I wish i'd done this now it wouldve saved so much hassle. Exchanging money is very easy in the cities and in tourist areas but wont be necessary if you have your bank card and travellers cheques. Travellers cheques are usually easy to exchange in the big cities (but not all, one that really caught me off guard was Hyderabad...) and in touristed areas but if you go to more remote parts then dont rely on them and instead draw money out of an ATM or exchange before you venture into less vsiited areas. I recommend a mix of the 3 because if you lose your card you have your travellers cheques and stash of dollars to fall back on. And if you lose your TC's they are replacable and you'll also still have your cash card and dollars to fall back on. So if you use ATM'S and TC's evenly and try to keep the dollars for emergency use or at the end of your travels (dollars also come in handy if you plan to take a side trip into nepal as many people do as the visa is only payable in dollars) it should work out very well. Just don't overuse too much of either and balance it out. Hope that makes sense. As for me yes the money has run out for a while...Infact i'm totally broke, unemployed and back at my parents! woohoo! But i'm planning to do a TEFL in Saigon in October and i'll stop off in india and nepal breifly on the way...After the TEFL hopefully i'll find work in SE Asia, save enough to continue travel, then everytime my money runs low teach english to top it up...I'll definitely be back in India within a year...even if I have to start dealing crack. Anything else you want to know, feel free to PM me. If not, best of luck with your trip! Pete
Thanks again Pete.....you've helped a lot. Just getting my course of jabs sorted,and i'll be on my way. Hope that the crack dealing works out profitably for ya.. And cheers for the pm offer.....if you see a stupid name in your inbox in the near future,don't be too surprised!! Hope that your TEFL is a s good as you hope,and i'll catch ya soon mate.
Sure...no problem mate...i've got one in my back pocket now...lol.... Tell you what though....if i win the lottery on Saturday...you'll be the second to know....
I was able to go for about $10 a day while on a 3month trip to India. I didn't buy lots of souvenirs and tried to go cheap when I could. This also included a three week stay on the beach where I averaged probably $5 a day (no lodging, just food and hash). But definitely plan on what Peterness recommended. I always budget on the higher end, that way you don't have to cut your trip short. Have a blast. I'll be there next winter, so maybe I'll see you around...
India is cheap, I got by on between 200-400 rupees a day everywhere bar Goa where I spent about 700 because I was drinking and living it up). It all depends on your standards of room and whether you're on the move alot of staying put in places for a while. I tended to stay in places awhile and when you're doing this you spend less money. It's a lovely country, I hope you've a great time there. It'll be an amazing experience. I miss dhaba food. I'd love a good thali now. My Indian food isn't near as good and my chiapattis are pathetic!
