India Part 1: The North — TheRealDestinations

Rooftop view from the picturesque hilltop town of Jaisalmer. © TheRealDestinations 2014

There are few destinations that are as polarizing as India among travelers, and it's easy to see why. You could easily have a fantastic time or an awful trip here depending on just a few factors. This is not a country for clean freaks, people bothered by not only dirt and grime, but also environments that are messy and chaotic. How strong is your stomach, generally? What time of year are you visiting? How much experience do you have traveling in developing countries? Any trip to India hinges on these key questions.

To be fair, India is a perfectly accessible place for visitors. Well connected by air externally, relatively safe and welcoming for foreigners, with amazing sights and cultural hallmarks (like its food, obviously). But there are real challenges when it comes to visiting here that you should be aware of, and while they can be mitigated with the right preparation, they can never be fully sealed off from your experience here without sealing yourself off in a bubble.

You're left then with a place that shows humanity, and a reflection of human society itself, at its extremes.

United MileagePlus: [Direct: United or Air India.] or connect via: Turkish Airlines, Swiss, Asiana, Lufthansa, Air China, Air Canada

American AAdvantage: Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, British Airways, Finnair,

Delta SkyMiles (good luck…): Aeroflot, China Southern, China Eastern, Korean Air

An oasis of calm and green from the always honking motorbikes and trucks outside, the courtyard of a historic Heritage hotel outside Jodhpur. © TheRealDestinations 2014

The Good:

The sights are amazing, from the monumental Mughal architecture that combines Islamic and Indian influences to the ornate fortress-cities of the Rajput kings towering above the surrounding landscape.
Rich cultural traditions that's fully present in the local cuisine, both highly familiar to anyone who's had a good curry back home, and yet presented with far more variety and preparation. From omnipresent Bollywood music playing in the background to exquisite handmade crafts from authentic stores, there is a rich legacy here.
Extremely affordable prices, from accommodations to transport to dining and entertainment. This includes unique Heritage hotels that are scattered throughout the region, with centuries-old royal and noble estates converted into memorable hotels, some at highly accessible prices.

The Bad:

The extreme poverty is still fully apparent to any visitor, especially in less developed regions like Rajasthan. Sanitation, the sheer amount of litter on the streets, and even food and water sanitation are all negatively impacted as a result.
The air quality can be some of the worst on Earth among cities in the dry north. The prevalence of older diesel vehicles, crop burning, trash burning, and smoke heavy scooter engines all contribute to stinging pollution, especially walking on the streets.
Aggressive sellers and even scammers are hard at work, especially nearby train stations and major tourist attractions. On top of that, a deeply rigid bureaucractic tradition is all too apparent from the moment you work through the paperwork needed for a tourist visa (things might have improved since 2013) all the way to the inevitably disheartening lines for anything related to the government, like the train system.

the Summary:

There's something uniquely authentic about seeing human society, with all of its strengths and flaws, in its raw, unfiltered state. That being said, there are a few simple precautions that can make for a far more pleasant journey. This might not be for beginner travelers, but India's certainly worth visiting once you've got some travel experience in the world.

In such a large and densely populated country, most visitors, at least for a first visit, focus on the iconic cities of the north. The Mogul rulers of their era combined Islamic and Indian influences to produce some of India's most spectacular monuments, including the obligatory Taj Mahal. That being said, it is definitely worth a stop, as it's sheer size amplifies the awe of its ornate design. There may be little else in Agra, but this monument is worth the stop given its proximity and frequent fast train service to/from Delhi.

Jaipur and Jodhpur are the go-to stops in Rajasthan, along with Udaipur farther south. Jaisalmer, with its extraordinary walled hilltop fortress/village farther west in the desert, is definitely worth a trip if you have the time.

Traditional players on the (well kept) streets of Jaisalmer. © YC 2014

The longtime steward of the Heritage hotel outside Jodhpur, once owned by a close relative of the Maharaja. © YC 2014

Jodhpur's iconic blue facades of the "Blue City". © YC 2014

Pro Tip: Uber is one of India's biggest markets. Instead of open air auto rickshaws that require haggling, you can instead book a private vehicle at low cost that's shielded from the noise, pollution, and hassle of navigating the streets.

Pro Tip: Some of the world fastest-growing discount airlines now connect India's cities, often at very cheap prices. With no true bullet trains and few true limited access highways connecting cities, air travel can be an easy and time saving option.

The vast walled fortress town of Jaisalmer sits on the edge of India itself at the edge of the Thar Desert. A choice hotel built into its walls itself makes for fantastic views from the rooftop lounges. © YC 2014

There is an eas(ier) way to see Northern India, the details not always obvious until looking back in hindsight. This approach minimizes many of the challenges for foreign visitors.

Not getting a stomach bug. This is highly dependent on the individual, and obviously can't be guarantees on any trip. However, for India in particular, one goes with the following precautions: Don't use tap water, even for brushing your teeth. No environment is actually completely sterile. (Just look at all the floating particles in the air itself when a bright beam of sunlight shines on it from an angle.) Wait until you've had a several days to acclimate to the local microbiome, before having any street food OR mango lassi. (My mistake there.)
The pollution and general sanitary conditions. This is not Paris or Kyoto. India's major cities and even smaller towns are not the most walkable places to take in the neighborhood ambience, (with very specific exceptions). Poverty, sanitation, crowding, scooters with smoke spewing two stroke engines and lack of general historic architectural preservation at the neighborhood level mean it's best to spend the time in and around historic areas preserved in specific properties and compounds. Many of these, like Taj Mahal, Red Fort, and Rajasthan's hilltop forts, are actually quite large compounds that can easily take hours to walk through.
Trains, crowds, and bureaucracy. Buy your train tickets in advance, online, using surprisingly easy and accessible third party booking sites. Do NOT attempt to do this at the stations, it's just not worth it.
Go during the right time of year. Heat and smell are closely related, and the right time of year is far more pleasant.

There is an even more extreme way to see the country, made possible by the extremely affordable prices in India. You could fly from city to city instead of taking the trains. Use Uber (see tips for staying connected) to go straight from hotel to restaurant to attraction and avoid walking in the streets entirely. Eat only at the high-end restaurants, ordering the most popular dishes. While this is a possible way to go, and maybe help ease into the country, it's not recommended to maintain such a drastic level of disconnect for the whole trip.

When to Visit

For Rajasthan, winter—definitely winter. It's not cold, and this is the dry season, so the sun will be out. The smell from the multitudes of animals sharing the streets and an overburdened sewage system is minimized. Daytime temperatures are perfect for mid-day walking about.

Language Barrier

English is quite prevalent among many of the more educated people here, to a conversational level. As a legacy of British rule and the lack of a fully national language understood in all corners, English is a de-facto second language.