Our travels in India
India is a huge country, made up of 29 states, each with its own culture, customs, and in many cases language. Whilst we were travelling in India, we utilised a number of different modes of transport. Below is a summary of where we went, the mode of transport used, the length of time the journey took, and how far it was.
| Journey | Mode of transport | Distance (miles) | Time taken | Cost per person (Rupee) |
| Almaty to New Delhi | Plane | 1010 | 3.5 hrs | 205.38 GBP |
| New Delhi to Agra | Train | 132 | 3 hrs | 170 |
| Agra to Jaipur | Train | 150 | 4 hrs | 120 |
| Jaipur to Pushkar | Train/taxi | 97 | 2.25/0.5 hrs | 90/250 |
| Pushkar to Udaipur | Taxi/bus | 175 | 0.5/7 hrs | 250/305 |
| Udaipur to Mumbai | Plane | 388 | 1.75 hrs | 3510 |
| Mumbai to Pune | Train | 120 | 3.75 hrs | 200 |
| Pune to Mahabaleshwar | Bus | 82 | 3.75 hrs | 230 |
| Mahabaleshwar to Goa | Sleeper bus | 229 | 12.75 hrs | 1500 |
| Goa to Gokarna | Local bus | 66 | 3 hrs | 108 |
| Gokarna to Murdeshwar | Local bus | 49 | 2 hrs | 88 |
| Murdeshwar to Mysore | Local bus | 253 | 10.5 hrs | 447 |
| Mysore to Ooty | Local bus | 80 | 5.5 hrs | 157 |
| Ooty to Kochi | Train/Local bus | 173 | 13.5 hrs | 270 |
| Kochi to Champakulam | Local bus | 47 | 3.5 hrs | 100 |
| Champakulam to Alleppey | River ferry | 10 | 2 hrs | 15 |
| Alleppey to Chennai | Local bus/sleeper train | 479 | 17.25 hrs | 1375 |
| Chennai to Secunderbad | Train | 490 | 12.5 hrs | 1085 |
| Secunderabad to Pokharar | Plane/Local bus | 732/60 | 2.25/3 hrs | 5327/127 |
| Ilam (Nepal) to Darjeeling | Shared jeep/bus | 107 | 7.25 hrs | 150/30 |
| Darjeeling to Guwahati | Shared jeep/train | 325 | 2.75/6.5 hrs | 150/1410 |
| Guwahati to Cherrapunji | Shared jeep | 95 | 4 hrs | 280 |
| Cherrapunji to Imphal | Shared jeep | 316 | 24.5 hrs | 1290 |
| Imphal to Moreh | Minivan | 67 | 3.25 hrs | 300 |
Accommodation
Accommodation is available to suit all budgets in India. Our experience is that you get what you pay for. Most of the accommodation we stayed in was priced in the 2000-2500 Rupee bracket. For this, we generally got a good sized room. Most had clean bed linen and towels. About half had hot water showers, the rest had hot water but only via a tap. A large bucket and jug are provided in all bathrooms it can be filled with hot water and poured over yourself.
- Hot water will not always be available. Sometimes for only a few hours in the morning.
- Toilet paper is not always provided, nor are toiletries.
- Room choices include AC or non AC rooms. We were in India during November/December and had a mixture of both. We found it was more comfortable with the AC, although we managed without, as all rooms have ceiling fans.
- Don’t expect tea/coffee making facilities.
- No matter where you stay, there will be power cuts. Some establishments have standby generators, but generally, the power isn’t off for long.
- WiFi may be advertised as being available, generally, it is, but the signal strength and quality can be poor in the rooms that aren’t close to the router.
Transportation
Transportation in India is chaotic, mad but mesmerising, all at the same time. It feels like it shouldn’t work, but it does. There are so many processes to go through to get tickets, but you get them. Despite everything, the transport in India, in our opinion, works. During our time travelling around India, we utilised a variety of different modes of public transport.
Below are our experiences with the transportation used.
Trains
The Indian railway network covers most of the country. As of March 2019, it is the fourth largest railway network in the world. Having a network of a whopping 59,640 miles of track. Running 13,523 passenger trains a day and carrying 8.44 billion passengers a year.
The longest possible journey on the Indian railway network is from Dibrugarh to Kanyakumari. The journey takes about 82 hours and 30 minutes, covering 2,680 miles. Gorakhpur Junction railway station has the longest platform in the world measuring 1,366m.
International rail links to neighbouring countries are few and far between. The train is the favoured mode of transport for locals travelling the long distances between states and cities.
Train classes
There are, to the best of our knowledge, 8 different types of classes available for travel.
All of these classes will not be available on every train. Some trains will only have one class, others up to five classes. The composition of a typical train will have four unreserved carriages. Two located at the front and two at the rear of the train.
There will be a luggage carriage somewhere on the train. The remainder of the carriages will be made up of a mixture of the other classes, depending on the route.
Toilets are available on all trains. The cleanliness varies from train to train and carriage to carriage, deteriorating as the journey progresses. Generally, there won’t be any toilet paper.
Train classes are as follows:-
- AC First Class (1 AC)
- AC 2 Tier Class (2 AC)
- AC 3 Tier Class (3 AC)
- Sleeper Class (SL)
- Executive AC Chair Class
- AC Chair Class
- Second sitting Class
- Unreserved
AC First Class (1 AC)
The most expensive class for travelling by train. Carriages have 2 berth and 4 berth compartments. Each is spacious, and compartments have air-conditioning, carpets, lockable doors and come with a hand basin. Showers and toilets are available at eachend of each carriage. You are provided with sheets, pillows, blankets, and towels.
Berths are allocated and displayed at the station an hour prior to departure. Couples are usually given preference for 2-berth compartments, families and passengers travelling alone are usually allocated berths in the 4-berth compartments. We didn’t use this class when travelling on trains.
AC 2 Tier Class (2 AC)
This class of carriage is found on almost all long-distance trains. Carriages are air-conditioned with sleeping berths, arranged in open compartments consisting of 4 berths. 2 berths facing each other on each side of the compartment. An Upper berth (UB) and a Lower Berth (LB). The lower berth is the seat for both during the daytime.
On the other side of the aisle are the side berths. A Side Upper berth (SU) and a Side Lower Berth (SL). Luggage is generally stored under the Lower Berths. All berths are provided with curtains and individual reading lamps. Toilet facilities are available at either end of the carriage. Sheets, pillows, and blankets are also provided in the evenings. We didn’t use this class when travelling on trains.
AC 3 Tier Class (3 AC)
This class of carriage is found on almost all long-distance trains. Carriages are air-conditioned with sleeping berths, arranged in open compartments, consisting of 6 berths. 3 berths facing each other on each side of the compartment. An Upper berth (UB), Middle berth (MB), and the Lower Berth (LB). The lower berth is the seat for all three during the daytime.
The middle berth is folded flat against the wall as a backrest while sitting on the lower berth. The upper berth remains as a berth permanently and can be used for sleeping even in the daytime. The middle berth is returned to its berth position at night. On the other side of the aisle are the side berths. A Side Upper berth (SU) and a Side Lower Berth (SL). Luggage is generally stored under the Lower Berths.
All berths are provided with curtains and individual reading lamps. Toilet facilities are available at either end of the carriage. Sheets, pillows, and blankets are also provided in the evenings. We used this class for travelling overnight. We both had the upper berth in the same compartment. Before attempting to climb up into this berth, watch how the locals do it, as there is a knack to it.
The carriage was warm, even though it had air conditioning. This allowed us to utilise the blanket provided as extra padding on the berth. Due to the open nature of the compartments, there is no privacy. A comfortable and affordable way to travel overnight.
Sleeper class (SL)
This is the most common carriage class. With ten or more SL carriages to a train. A prior reservation is required for this class. No air conditioning is provided, only fans. Seats are grouped into open compartments, consisting of 6 berths. 3 berths facing each other on each side of the compartment.
An Upper berth (UB), Middle berth (MB), and the Lower Berth (LB). The lower berth is the seat for all three during the daytime. The middle berth is folded flat against the wall as a backrest while sitting on the lower berth. The upper berth remains as a berth permanently and can be used for sleeping even in the daytime.
The middle berth is returned to its berth position at night. On the other side of the carriage are the side berths. A Side Upper berth (SU) and a Side Lower Berth (SL). During the day the Side Lower Berth converts into two seats facing each other. Luggage is generally stored under the Lower Berths.
We travelled in this class on daytime trains only, never using it overnight. On one occasion the compartment area designed for 8 passengers, actually had 18 passengers sitting in it. Having said that, all of the local passengers respected our space as foreigners, so we were comfortable in our seats.
Executive AC Chair Class
This class is only available on premium super fast passenger trains running between major cities. It could be likened to an airlines business class. Carriages have only two seats on each side of the aisle. This makes them less crowded and provides more legroom and luggage space. Food is also served. Well maintained, clean, and pleasant carriages. We didn’t use this class when travelling on trains.
AC Chair Class
AC Chair Class is normally found on daytime intercity trains. There are a total of five seats in a row. Three on one side and two on the other side of the aisle. All passengers must be seated in this class of carriage. Air conditioning is provided. We didn’t travel in this class. We did however see it and it looked comfortable.
Second sitting Class (2S)
Second Sitting has ordinary carriages. No air conditioning, only ceiling mounted fans. The seating arrangement on cushioned bench seats, either side of the aisle. Each bench accommodates 3 passengers.
Reservations are required for this class.
We travelled in this class on a couple of occasions. The carriage did fill up with passengers who did not have reservations making it rather overcrowded. Also, limited luggage storage in overhead racks, so if you have a lot of luggage, you could struggle to find somewhere to store it.
Unreserved (UR)
The cheapest and most basic class of travel on the Indian railway system. Passengers who haven’t been fortunate enough to secure a ticket in Sleeper Class will usually travel in this class. Reservations aren’t required and major overcrowding is the norm. There’s sitting or standing room only. Any spare space will be occupied by someone.
Most seats are simply wooden benches, some trains do have padded benches. We did not travel in this class and we would not recommend travelling in this class. Train travel is not expensive for travellers, so leave this class for the local populace who cannot afford the higher classes.
Tickets
Reservations are required for all long distance journeys. Arriving at the station and just getting on a train isn’t an option in India. Bookings open 120 days in advance of departure. Tickets can sell out weeks or even months in advance. So you should make your reservation as far in advance as possible.
We didn’t have a fixed itinerary for our travels in India. As we were there over the Christmas holiday period, on more than one occasion we struggled to get tickets for our preferred train, as it was fully booked. But, there are a few tricks to still being able to get tickets for a fully booked train.
More about that later.
The options for purchasing train tickets are:-
- An online reservation.
- In-person at the ticket counter of a railway station.
- In-person at a travel agency.
During our travels, we used the online ticket reservation system and the purchase tickets at ticket counters of railway station options. We found that purchasing the tickets at the ticket counter was best for us.
This was because we could discuss alternative options with the person at the counter, who had all the train information available on the computer in front of them. If you have a fixed itinerary, then booking online in advance would be simple.
Online Reservations
These reservations can be completed in a number of ways.
Firstly, by using the Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website. Alternatively, travel booking portals such as Cleartrip.com, Makemytrip.com, 12Go Asia, and Yatra.com now offer online train reservations. These websites are easier to use than the IRCTC website. However, they do levy a service charge, which can be huge. They don’t always display all of the train services either.
From our experiences, we would advise using the Indian railways website. Create an account and pay the foreigners registration fee of 118 Rupees. It’s simple and easy, despite what some websites say. We booked our first couple of train journeys through the booking portal of 12Go Asia. We ended up paying a 900 Rupee booking fee for a journey that only cost 170 Rupees.
Using the IRCTC website
You can book a maximum of 6 train journeys per calendar month using this website, each booking for up to 6 passengers. Once an account has been created. Log on to the IRCTC website click on the “Services” tab on the left-hand side of the menu at the top of the screen. Select “Foreign Tourist Ticket Booking”. Enter the required train details. Select e-ticket and click “Submit”.
Complete the electronic reservation form. Then scroll down to the “Payment Option” at the bottom of the page. Paying by international credit or debit card, select the ‘International cards power by Atom’ option under ‘Payment Gateway/Credit Card’.
Each transaction will be processed and a booking confirmation will be provided, print this out and take it with you when you travel.
When booking online you will notice that there are a number of different quota options available. The General (GN) quota is available to anyone, many important trains will also have a small Foreign Tourist (FT) quota available only for foreign tourists.
A train that is theoretically fully booked may still have FT berths available within a day or two of departure. This is to allow foreign travellers to travel around at short notice. Tickets from the Foreign Tourist Quota can be booked online but only use this option if General Quota tickets are not available.
This is another good reason to purchase tickets from a ticket counter. The assistant can check all quotas available and may be able to get you tickets that are not available online.
It doesn’t end there. When the train becomes fully booked, some tickets are sold as “Reservation Against Cancellation” (RAC). When all these places are gone, “Waitlist” (WL) tickets are sold.
With a RAC ticket, you are booked on the train. If offered a RAC ticket as your only option, take it. Usually, a confirmed passenger will cancel prior to departure resulting in your ticket being changed from RAC to CNF with a confirmed seat or berth on the train. Should nobody cancel you are still allowed to board the train, being given somewhere to sit in a carriage of the relevant class.
A WL ticket is different. Travel is not permitted unless you are promoted to RAC or confirmed as having a ticket before departure. This may happen with a low-numbered WL ticket.
With these possible changes taking place in the 24 hours leading up to departure. Checking the status of your booking for WL and RAC is essential.
This can be done at www.indianrail.gov.in/pnr_Enq.html by entering the PNR number shown on your ticket. When the reservation chart is produced on departure day, unsold tickets in various special quotas are released. WL passengers getting promoted to RAC and RAC passengers promoted to confirmed. If all options are sold out then there is what’s known as the Tatkal quota, see below.
Railway station ticket counter reservations
Big city and tourist centres have an International Tourist Bureau. These are where foreign travellers can book trains away from the crowds and queues of the normal booking offices. Having said that, we still experienced queues when using the counter at New Delhi. Waiting for about 45 minutes to be served.
The process of buying a ticket is long winded and can be different from station to station. In New Delhi and Mumbai, it was straightforward, but in Chennai, we had to present a colour photocopy of our passport and visas at the counter.
No matter which station you are purchasing your ticket from, you are required to fill in a Reservations Form. There is usually a box of these sitting around somewhere in the booking office. Just watch where the locals go and get them from.
One side of the form is in Hindi and the other is in English. Take your own pen, as generally there won’t be any there. To fill the form in you will require the following information:-
- The train number and name. This can be found on the IRCTC website
- Date of journey
- Class you wish to travel
- Number of seats/berths required (up to a max of 6 per booking)
- Station at which you are boarding
- Station at which you are alighting
- Mobile phone number
Don’t miss the section where you are required to fill in the applicants name, address, and signature. It is located under the Onward/return journey details section on the form.
Armed with this completed form, you are ready to get your ticket. All of the staff we had dealings with were very helpful. If a train was fully booked or the class we wanted wasn’t available, they advised us of our options. If all options are sold out then there is what’s known as the Tatkal quota, see below.
Tatkal Quota
- To allow travel at short notice on trains that are often fully-booked weeks before departure. Indian Railways introduced a system called Tatkal (Hindi for “immediate”).
- Tatkal tickets can be booked over the counter at a railway station and on the internet at the IRCTC website.
- Ticket booking opens at 1000 hrs the day before the train is due to depart for air-conditioned classes. For non-air-conditioned classes, it starts from 1100 hrs.
- Unsold Tatkal tickets are released to passengers with WL tickets. A Tatkal ticket can be canceled, but no refund will be given. The extra charge for a Tatkal ticket will range from 75 to 300 Rupees per ticket.
A Premium Tatkal quota is also available. Booking times are the same as those for the Tatkal tickets. Premium Tatkal ticket prices change dynamically. The greater the demand for tickets, the higher the premium tatkal fare. It is advertised that Premium Tatkal tickets can be purchased only through the IRCTC website.
We managed to purchase Premium Tatkal tickets at the International Tourist Bureau at Mumbai station. It might be possible to obtain tickets under Premium Tatkal hours after the opening time. Tatkal tickets sell out within a few minutes.
Eating on trains
Set meals are provided onboard most long-distance trains. At meal times the caterers come through the train asking if your preference is for the veg or non-veg option. The veg option has no meat and the non-veg option has meat.
We experienced this on train food on the NJP to Guwahati train, a 6-hour 20-minute journey in AC3 class. The tickets were purchased under the tourist quota as the general quota was sold out.
The food provided consisted of rice, meat in gravy, and a couple of rotis together with a bottle of water, all followed by ice cream.
About 2 hours later the caterers brought the afternoon tea tray. This consisted of a veg sandwich, samosa, a sachet of tomato sauce, a packet of peanuts, a cake, and a cup of tea.
The food quality wasn’t that of a Michelin starred restaurant, but it was perfectly acceptable and edible.
If you don’t want this option, there are now alternative food delivery services such as Travel Khana and E-Catering, the official website of Indian Railways, and IRCTC to book food on trains. Order your choice of food in advance from the website and it will be delivered to your seat when the train stops at your specified station.
Food and drink are always available from the many vendors that make their way up and down the train throughout the journey. It is also possible to buy food on the station platform when the train stops. If you have any special dietary requirements, it would probably be best to take your own food with you.
Tips for travelling by train
- On a sleeper train, beat the rush to the toilet in the morning. It will be far cleaner and fresher.
- Take your own toilet roll, there won’t be any.
- There will be at least one loud snorer in your carriage, so take some earplugs for a quiet night.
- Book your tickets as early as possible to guarantee a seat/berth.
- If you are lucky, you may be near a working electrical point.
- Have a comfortable change of clothes to wear onboard (tracksuit, shorts, and T-shirt).
- If you like lounging around, book an upper berth. The middle berth of AC3 and sleeper class will be folded against the wall, with the bottom berth used as shared seating during the day.
- If you do have a top berth, there is a knack into how to get up there. Just watch the locals and learn.
Buses
There are many different classes of buses available for travelling around India. We have all seen the photographs of the horrendously overcrowded buses. Those photographs made us vow never to travel by the State local buses. That was a vow that we broke, travelling on the State local buses on many occasions. Having the most wonderful experience doing so.
Bus Classes
There are 29 States in India, each one operating its own State bus service.
Loosely speaking the type of buses available are:-
- Local
- Semi deluxe
- Deluxe
- Super deluxe
- Sleeper
We travelled in 3 of these classes. The first bus trip that we did in India was in a Super deluxe bus. It was comfortable with reclining seats and air conditioning. We had a horrific journey on a sleeper bus, travelling from Mahabaleshwar to Goa.
By far the most enjoyable was travelling in the many State local buses. These local buses look as though they are unroadworthy, but in all honesty, they are just very basic and well used.
Travelling in any class of bus is noisy and bumpy. Buses are the “Kings of the road”, everyone gets out of the way when they are coming along the road. To sit in the front of one and watch the driver hauling the bus round the corners, whilst spitting his Paan out of the window, is a frightening experience in itself.
On many of our local bus journeys, we had to get multiple buses to get to our final destination. Every multiple local bus journey that we took in India was really easy. Despite us not being able to pre-plan any of the local bus journeys, timetables are not available online.
All of the staff at the bus stations were really helpful and knowledgeable about their bus network. Turning up at a bus station. We would just tell them our final destination. They would tell us that we would need to go to “whichever” bus station first to get a connection. Waiting time for onward connections was never long. The local bus network of India may look unreliable, but it worked every time for us.
Tickets
Going into any travel agent in India, you will be able to book a bus. It will not be possible to book the local bus, only the “better” buses or the sleeper.
Alternatively, a booking portal can be used. The likes of Paytm.com, Yatra.com, Makemytrip.com, and Redbus.in all offer the more luxurious buses, covering most inter-city routes.
The State local buses run between towns and cities in the surrounding area. Should you be embarking on a longer journey, you will have to change buses. These changes are always done at bus stations. This is great because it gives you the chance to go to the toilet and get refreshments as well.
Tickets for these buses are purchased on the bus, from the bus conductor. The added beauty of these local buses is that when you arrive at the station. If the bus is too full, a short wait and the next one will be there. We never had to stand on a local bus. The longest we had to wait for one was about 30 minutes.
Luggage
The “better” buses and sleeper buses all have luggage storage underneath. In our experience, this was safe and we were not required to pay any additional fees or bribes for using the storage. Our luggage never went on a roof rack on a bus.
There is no Luggage storage under a local bus, nor is there a roof rack. So whatever luggage you have goes on the bus with you. In most States this was fine. We would generally sit at the front of the bus. There is a single seat, which has a space in front of it, that was large enough for our 70 litre and 45 litre backpacks together with a further 20 litre daypack.
This worked out perfectly throughout our travels. In Tamil Nadu State, we were required to pay 25% of our total fare for our luggage, even though it was stored on the floor and not taking a seat. It only worked out at about 50p so wasn’t worth worrying about.
On one other occasion in the State of Uttar Pradesh, we were on a bus that was really busy and the only place we could put our bags was on a seat. This caused a bit of an issue with one particular local. Easy answer, we just purchased an additional ticket for the seat the luggage was on. Again the cost was minimal and it resolved what could have become an issue.
Tips for travelling by Bus
- Bus travel in India is manic, and noisy with all the honking of the horn that the drivers do. If you are a nervous traveller, or suffer from bad nerves, it may be better to travel on the more luxurious buses or even the train. Local buses are not for the faint hearted.
- We recommend a maximum of 4 hours of travel a day on local buses. This is for no other reason than to ensure that all of your internal organs remain in their designated position and are not redistributed in your body through the bumpy journey.
- Usually, on local buses, the first 3 rows of seats behind the driver are for women only.
- Don’t be surprised to have a child put on your lap if the bus is crowded.
- Forget about any personal space ideals you may have when on local buses. It will get up close and personal when busy.
- One of the local buses that we got on our journey from Gokarna to Murdeshwar was a little on the old side. Actually, we thought it was just an abandoned bus at the bus station. Without any doors and the whole thing looking like a wreck, both inside and out. It started on the button though when the driver got in and it completed the journey without having any problems. In fact, there are countless buses in India, most have seen better days, yet you don’t see them broken down, despite the dreadful road conditions that they have to deal with.
Shared jeep
Some parts of India are not suitable for buses, for example, the mountainous regions around Darjeeling. In these situations, transportation is in shared jeeps. These are 4WD vehicles that are better suited to the road conditions. They do get full and overcrowded.
Most of the shared jeeps that we used were designed to seat 8 passengers and the driver. Not in India. The 8 seater vehicles will have 11 passengers in them, plus the driver. This makes it a bit of a squeeze and uncomfortable for westerners on long journeys. Most peoples solution to this problem is to purchase an additional seat. Again they are not expensive and if you would like to be able to walk when you get to your destination, we would recommend doing this.
Another thing with shared jeeps, is they don’t have a timetable. Leaving when full. This can mean an hours wait prior to departing. We had a situation when we were departing Darjeeling to catch a pre-booked train at NJP station. The shared jeep just didn’t fill up. To prevent us from missing our train and wasting the train tickets. It was cheaper to purchase the empty seats, with an immediate departure. We just caught the train.
Tickets
Shared jeep tickets are usually purchased directly from the driver. In some towns and cities, there is a central booth for ticket purchases. Always ask the price before committing to travel in a shared jeep. The drivers are just as bad as taxi drivers, putting the fare up for tourists.
Luggage
With so many people in the jeep, there is definitely no space for any luggage. This is put on the roof rack. Ensure that you clip your backpack onto the roof rack yourself. You will watch it bounce off the bonnet and onto the road in front of you, as we did on one occasion if you trust the driver to tie it on. Luckily nothing was broken or damaged.
Tips for travelling by shared jeep
- Allow plenty of time to get to your next destination, it could be up to an hour after your arrival before it leaves.
- Tie your luggage onto the roof rack yourself. You could otherwise watch it fly off at some time during the journey.
- Purchase an additional seat between two of you if you want any sort of comfort during the journey.
- Don’t be surprised if there are passengers travelling on the roof.
Taxis and Auto Rickshaws
Taxis and auto rickshaws are the most convenient ways to travel around. The drivers of both will do their very best to overcharge you. They think that because you are a foreigner and travelling thousands of miles away from your home you can afford. Always travel by the meter, no matter what they say, believe us when we say, we were told some amazing stories as to why the meter couldn’t be used.
If you are not travelling on the meter, agree to a price before you travel. Don’t be afraid to haggle, but be fair. Of course, it is entirely up to you how much you end up paying. With us, it was the principle of overcharging tourists that we didn’t agree with. We always gave a tip to the genuine and fair drivers, for being just that.
Getting around the larger cities is cheaper using the app-based taxi services of Uber or Ola. Both cars and auto rickshaws can be booked through these. No arguments over the fare and cheaper than ordinary taxis and Auto rickshaws.
The destination is entered at the time of booking. So no difficulty trying to explain where you want to go. The process of getting one can take a bit longer than just flagging a taxi on the street.
Scooter
A good way to see the local area is by renting a scooter. We hired a scooter a number of times while in India. Already having ridden scooters in other SE Asian countries, we were aware of the pitfalls of scooter hire and use.
Hiring a scooter in India is easy, everywhere you turn, someone will be renting scooters out to tourists. Follow some basic rules to help you stay safe.
- Only rent from either your hotel or a reputable local firm.
- Ensure your travel insurance includes cover for you renting and riding the scooter.
- You will be required to leave some form of deposit. Most places will ask for your passport. Think twice about just handing over your most valuable travel possession. Check where it will be kept and that it will not get into the hand of anyone else.
- Always wear a helmet. Check the helmet provided fits correctly and is undamaged.
- When you collect the scooter it could already be damaged. Point this out to the person renting it to you and then take pictures/videos of the entire scooter for when you return it.
- Use the horn when overtaking. It lets other drivers know you are there.
- Always be prepared for the unexpected. All traffic will pass you on both sides. When driving on the left and turning right, be prepared for something to still come hurtling past you on your right.
- Secure the scooter when it’s left unattended. Preferably with your own lock. You don’t know who else has a key to the rental supplied padlock.