newlifeinphilippines wrote:Starchild, im thinking its best to land by airplane from U.S to New delhi since that is the capital and probably the main hub for international flights in terms of cost and convenience. Plus it would let me go all in to the culture of india right away by being right into the capital so id get the culture shock right away
without wasting any time im thinking maybe then go to Nagaland and depending on how i like that i would stay there for a long period of time and maybe only see goa and kerala on the way back to new delhi anyways (even though its out of the way to the south) or if i dont like nagala too much i could explore goa and kerala even earlier and then decide if i want to stay there or go back to nagaland again. Nagaland looks like the best place FOR ME and my goals so i want to go there first. Im not interested in seeing some of the sights in other places outside these regions cause they are out of the way and frankly i didn't come to india to look at a hindu statues or ride camels and elephants all day or dip myself into a dirty river thats not the purpose of my trip. LOL
Starchild how much does it cost by train (air condition) to go from bottom of india to top of india? Im thinking to keep costs low on a long trip id probably take advantage of train? Is bus viable option? Do you recommend this or is plane not much more expensive? Since ill be bouncing from hotel to hotel which will be a daily rate plus eating out a lot ill have to keep expenses lower in other things (no domestic flights, cheap international flight) if i want to stay for awhile to keep the costs down more. What about ATMs and phones? Is it as easy as the philippines?
Delhi is the hub, but you have direct flight from America to Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata etc...If you want to go to Nagaland directly from America...You should land in Kolkata as its near Nagaland.
Delhi is the capital but not the hub of culture in India or anything. Its rajasthan...which is close to Delhi...You will find India's history in Rajasthan more..Its still preserved and not influenced by modern culture.
You need to adapt....You can't survive in India with a Christian point of you
.You need to expand your view point on humanity. Goa and Kerala are like opposite side of Nagaland....You are going to a place where no one usually goes. Nagaland is way way too remote for a tourist. Yes. It has Christians, but if you looking for peace and tranquility, you can try Himalayas trekking and go to Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh state.
If you liked Nagaland, you should go, it would look more beautiful in real. The whole East India is very beautiful, more Christians and they have Chinese like facial features, are more down to earth also, speaks better English than rest of India.
India is very very cheap....You can travel by train from top to bottom on less than 50 USD and cover 2000 miles in train. India has good railways connection, and if you book first class first A/C, Second A/c, 3rd A/c..You will get a Air Con coach with nice bed.
Plane would be around 100 USD< if you book early. With train going to Delhi to Kerala...You will be able to see entire Indian landscape in 2 days time...Its good for travel experience. India is very very diverse..You have snow fall plus desert in a 500 mile distance plus you go further and you have ever green forest.
There are plenty of ATMs but for mobiles, you have to register, it wont be that easy, but you can get it. India is way cheaper than Philippines, Money wise you don't have to worry. You will never run out of money in India if you have dollar, its very cheap.
India is a functioning society. You can get around the places, easily.
When I went to Europe, I didn't think India deserved so many negative reviews. I felt Europeans, Americans are way too arrogant from the place they came from. Europe is only like 30% better than India, when you include cheap food, good climate, etc..Its not that bad as what Europeans complain.
Golden rule is...In India..Whenever you can...try to Spend more and live in a good place..travel by Air con train and your journey would be great...Do not go to India on backpacker budget....if you spend a little bit more...you can travel in luxury here...