More Than You Can Stick a Shake At

Oooooo, that looks way cool! (And I can't help with advice as I've never been to Asia at all, and haven't been off this continent in about a decade (really? yes, 2002, I think..... hmmmm).)

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i'm really excited (when i'm not panicking about leaving myself just shy of 2 months to deal with visas & vaccinations and such)!

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That looks super awesome.

I've made it to India a couple of times for work - definitely worth the in-depth trip. Only done the obvious things in Delhi / Agra. A lot of it will be familiar and generally easier to get around than my recollection of your last trip in the area. :) Can't remember if you're particularly vulnerable to car-sickness, but India's about as bad as it gets for that if you ever find yourself in a cab.

As far as cell service goes - your folks may know enough to ask, but I'm assuming they'd believe you if you just told them "no." In all seriousness, I've had a harder time getting local SIM cards in India than other places - you might be better off going with Skype and hotel WiFi (probably just as convenient with time changes)

Otherwise, make sure you have an awesome camera and have a great time!

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i've got some links about phone stuff from Smithsonian that i'll look into, but given your experiences i may choose to deal with intermittent internet access. (not that i intended to travel with a computer...)

my camera has served me well for the past 2.5 years (10MP, 10x zoom), so i'm thinking it will continue to be fine as long as i bring enough batteries for it.

and thanks for the tip about the cabs. carsickness isn't usually a problem, but the more you know... Plus this tour sounds like it will not be leaving all that much free time for exploring, so it may not ever become an issue.

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That is SO AWESOME.

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isn't it though? ;-) i mean, i've been thinking about doing this for so long, and then finally decided so quickly, that this doesn't even seem real yet!

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Wow, that looks just insanely cool!

Nothing worthwhile to add regarding advice, as I haven't been anywhere like India, but had to add my congrats on booking the trip! I do have ideas on great camera options...

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my current camera (only 2.5 yrs old) is a Canon PowerShot SX120IS (10MP, 10x zoom), which I expect will continue to do me fine just as it has on all my domestic vacations. But hey, if you have thoughts, i'd love to hear them.

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It's hard to believe that a trip like this isn't impetus for more tech spending. it's like you don't look at the world the same way I do!

Some really nice compact cameras out there now (Sony RX100, Canon S100) - I learned my lesson when we were in Nepal. Big cameras with lenses are awesome, but not worth traveling with all that weight.

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Most excellent. The advice I've gotten from my parents who have been a few times is that you'll be mostly fine if you eat the local food (which is cooked to oblivion) and not the 'americanized' stuff in the hotels (which will be possibly uncooked vegetables and salad). And don't drink the water, obviously ;)

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One food tip if you get a chance - Chinese food in India is a hoot. Definitely tastes different than in the States (or China.) Lots of curries, etc.

That said, I don't think the restaurant/food scene is all that exciting. Good, but nothing to blow you away. Probably won't match up to the best Indian food in, say, London.

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ooh, interesting. sorta like one of the best pizzas i've ever had was in Switzerland. :)

I'm just glad i've spent so much time eating India food with Thicky that my spice-tolerance has gone way up. i mean, plenty of things are still too hot for me, but I think i'll have more leeway than i would have years ago.

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bottled water is my bestest friend ever. :)

funnily enough, the packet i got from the Smithsonian says to stay far away from all street food and only eat in the hotel restaurants! I tend to lean towards your folks' way of thinking.

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Oh that is sooo coool!
Have you tried contacting Shob?? She's on FB - I forget if you've friended each other.
I am very excited for you!! :o)

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haven't facebooked the news yet, but will definitely have to tell Shob!

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I've eyed trips like that for years, too. If you'd like to do another in a year or two with a companion, let me know. I would just need a good amount of lead time to budget for it.

I tried to get T-Mobile to set up my phone so I could use it in London and that didn't work, but that's my only foreign cell attempt. I wonder if picking up a pay as you go phone over there might be a simple way to go if you really want/need to have a cell. I also bet the tour folks know something about the options.

Kassrachel has been to India once or twice, and Yao has been a number of times, so they would be good people to consult.

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i would love to do something like this with a cool friend like yourself. :-) so yes, let's start daydreaming about places!

from what i can tell so far (using the sites Smithsonian recommended), my phone won't take a global sim card, but i could buy an international phone for $20-90 with rates from (i think) $1/min to $5/min. i still need to do more looking at this.

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I have no advice since my success rate in leaving the country is pretty low at 50%. The trip sounds amazing -- have a great time!

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hee. :) i'm currently looking at travel insurance and trying to decide if i really need trip cancellation coverage. thinking about you and Amy, suddenly it seems less silly.

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I'm glad we got the insurance. Without it, we would have been given vouchers instead of a cash refund , and when we finally rebooked our trip, we would have been forced to use the same vendors. While we stayed with the same cruise line, we switched airlines and I don't think British Air flies to where we ended up going.

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