India

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For sure the most impressive country we’ve seen so far. India is a must-see destination for any world traveler. We have three words that describe it: incredible, surreal, magical! It is a so strong culture and so unlike anything we’ve seen that you feel transported to another dimension.

The country is very dirty and very chaotic … After all it is the second most populous country in the world. India is three times smaller than Brazil in size, but has more than four times the number of inhabitants! OMG! But there are so many interesting things to appreciate that the negative parts become secondary. And in the end, if it were not like this it wouldn’t be as incredible as it is. Also it is one of the cheapest countries in the world to travel and you will be able to enjoy a lot.
 
But get ready for grueling trips. All transports are slow there. We made from north to south in 40 days, but it is madness! At the end we were exhausted. And you can be sure… You will love and be impressed with India, but in the end it will let you tired. The experience is magical, but it is energy consuming.
 

What was worth it: Magical Hampi by its mix of nature, temples, village and people, the impressive Ellora Caves, Rajasthan loop and the holy waters of the Ganges river in Varanasi.
What was not so paid off: Aurangabad (the city is horrible and we were only there to visit Ajanta and Ellora Caves, but there are other options around that might be more interesting). Jaipur (for sure the less interesting city of Rajasthan and too touristy. For us was really cool only because we did couchsurfing in a local family and had an amazing experience!)
What we wanted to do but we didn’t: to participate as an extra in a Bollywood movie, exploring the northern mountainous region (Darjeeling and Dharamsala), relax on the paradisiac beaches of the Andaman Islands, spend a week doing yoga and meditating in an ashram, visiting the capital New Delhi.

A few tips:

• TRAIN TRANSPORTATION: Moving in India is easy, but super tiring. Any 200 km will take 6 hours! It is usually possible to travel by train everywhere, the problem is that often the long-distance/night trains are crowded and you need to book in advance, which can block a little your trip. Classes: for an overnight train you can get the sleeper class (3 beds on each side, with no blanket or pillow, no privacy and noisy, because the windows are open) if you want to save or if you want more comfort the 3AC class is enough (also 3 beds on each side but with more privacy, air conditioning and they offer clean sheets and pillow).
• BUS TRANSPORTATION: If you want flexibility perhaps the best option is to travel by bus because you can buy the ticket on the same day, the trips usually take the same time as the train and there are many comfortable buses (semi-sleeper and sleeper). And attention, whenever you buy a bus ticket if you have a choice VOLVO, buy this one. It will be more expensive but is much better (especially if it is a night journey), because it means that the bus has suspension system and you will not travel bouncing like a popcorn. We made many trips by bus and we had no problems.
• TICKETS RESERVATION: You can book and buy bus and train tickets through the internet (http://www.makemytrip.com/) but it requires a certain work and you have to pay with credit card. In Brazil, international purchases occur in IOF rates, which is not advantageous. Therefore we found it best to book through agencies, they usually charge less than 1USD for booking and they know much better the options. If you find a trustworthy operator they can always help you finding the best solutions if what you are looking for is sold out. When buying tickets at the station if your train is already full, ask the desk to check the tourist quote. They never offer you this, but if you ask many times there is availability.
• WATER AND FOOD: The most important thing you have to care is the water. The sanitation conditions are poor and the leading cause of infection of tourists comes from inadequate water consumption. So, drink only mineral water in sealed bottles and use even for brushing your teeth. With respect to food, meat can also be a problem, because it easily gets bacteria due the lack of adequate refrigeration. So we decided to make a vegetarian period while we were there and it was a nice experience. The only problem is that the local cuisine is very spicy and if your body has problems about that your life will not be easy. The famous traditional Thalis at local restaurants are made in advance and they can hardly control the level of spicy. But if you go to tourist restaurants and ask no spicy usually they can control better the dose. But even taking care of the food you eat your body will still be surprised and diarrhea becomes something normal. So it’s good to have with you some medicines to help control your intestines. If you want you can also try the local options from ayuverda pharmacy, which are natural and super effective.
• DRESS CODE FOR WOMEN: Every woman in India feels a little uncomfortable. Just as they are exotic to us, we are too exotic for them and the men there have no discretion when it comes to staring at women. They look at you as if they were eating you with their eyes. Therefore, to avoid problems, try to follow the same standards of local women: do not show your shoulders, no cleavage and bare legs. If you do this it will help you a lot.

Our itinerary (40 days)

We flew from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Trivandrum, in southern India, and from the airport we went straight to the train station to take a trip of 3 hours to Alleppey in Kerala. The next day we did the boat ride in Kerala Backwaters, passing a night there, and when we returned we took a bus to Kochi, where we went on a night bus to Mysore. We walked the morning in Mysore and already got another bus in the afternoon to Hampi, arriving there at 1 am. After 3 days we left for another long trip, taking a night bus to Pune to then change bus to Aurangabad, where we visited Ajanta and Ellora Caves. After 3 days we made another long journey, going by night train to Mumbai, where we sightseen during the day to catch later a 17 hours bus to Udaipur, in Rajasthan. And from there we started the famous Rajasthan loop, going to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Pushkar, Bundi and Jaipur (all by bus). Then we took a bus to Agra and from there we went by train to Orchha, Khajuraho and finally Varanasi, from where we left by train to Gorakhpur and then bus to the border with Nepal.

The best of the country