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Tips to Travel on a Shoestring Budget in India
India offers travelers a superb chance to stretch the dollar to its limit. As a budget traveler, I've slowly but surely noted the tricks of the trade that have worked and chances are they'll apply wonderfully to you too. Before arriving in India, create an account on Tripadvisor and visit the forums of the cities you plan to visit. You're likely to find queries to your questions already answered. While looking up budget guesthouses, try not to take too seriously members who've written only one review as they may be written by someone already working for the guesthouse! Also feel free to get in touch with a member who has reviewed a guesthouse to ask further questions you deem relevant. For example, you might want to ask previous visitors how much they paid for rooms as well as general tips about the cities you intend to visit. Touristy places and backpacker areas are a great source of real-time information that could be relevant to you since like the backpackers, you're also a visitor to a country that's known to be intense on the senses. Backpackers can help you save money, time and energy with their been-there-done-that tips. Since they have no other agenda like commissions, you can usually rely on them for honest and helpful tips. For example, if you've arrived in Mumbai, you may just bump into your co-travelers in touristy Colaba and they could offer you great tips on stuff they’ve been doing for the past few days; maybe a concert or festival that’s going on or a cool new restaurant. You could even ask them about bus routes and cheap, local transport to get around. Traveling with friends can drastically cut down your travel costs, and not just with hotel rooms. For example, in Udaipur, a taxi charges over Rs. 500 for a return trip to Monsoon Palace (a must-see), where rickshaws and buses aren't allowed. So sharing the cab ride with a few other people can lower your fare. Drivers tend to hike up the fare price if they know there are more than two passengers so as not to let them enjoy divided costs. To get around this, one person can make an initial enquiry, settle a price and then the others can join him. Go into the markets and areas frequented by Indians. Eat at their local joints. Prices are well-marked on the menu (no surprise taxes or service charges) and you're likely to pay much less than you would at a cafe serving contemporary cuisine. Hygiene levels are bound to be good too but the Udipi joints are your best bet for an authentic, cheap, flavorful and safe meal. Always remember to check your tab when you are at bars, pubs or even upscale restaurants in metros. These places sometimes add extra on the tab by charging you for seven beers when you had just three! If pasta on the menu was Rs. 350, your bill may state its price to be Rs. 450. So check, check and check all bills carefully. Haggle as much as you can but have a rough idea of the prices by asking locals. You don't want to quote Rs. 20 for something marked at Rs. 500 but it’s safe to start with Rs. 250. It's a good idea to befriend a local, maybe a waiter, the corner shop guy or a curious student. Ask them about approximate taxi or rickshaw prices and local bus routes, and you are sure to avoid being duped. Rent a motorcycle in places like Goa where the taxi mafia will empty your pockets with outrageous fare charts like Rs. 300 for going 3 km! Instead, pay the same by hiring a motorcycle and gas. If you need to catch up on email or work on your laptop, avoid going to Internet cafes. Instead, head for the nearest coffee shop where you can use their Wi-Fi for free. If you need to call home, buy a calling card and a cell phone with a prepaid connection. Chances are you'll be paying less than what you'd pay at an ISD booth. Besides, mobile service operators clearly mention international call charges on their websites. A good idea is to drop by a cybercafé that has Skype. Take night trains and buses if you want to save on hotel costs. Most hotels let you deposit your baggage in a safe room even after checking out so you can pick it later. If you are okay with paying a few extra rupees, request them nicely to let you check out by night. Try booking a three-tier AC ticket for comfort and peace of mind. It's not too expensive - you save on hotel costs and get to your next destination safe and sound. As far as lodging is concerned, pick a hotel or motel near the city center so you’re close to everything you need. Traveling in the off-season can mean ridiculously low prices on rooms. Also check out bed & breakfasts to save on costs. Finally as trivial as this may seem, learn some Hindi or local words of the state you plan to go visit. Indians will never frown coldly upon mispronounced words but will instead laugh or correct you. A little effort goes a long way. While you're bound to feel tested beyond the limits at some point, remember you're not just seeing what your eyes saw from the window of an air-conditioned coach of a five star hotel. Budget travel often forces you to immerse yourself into the ‘Real India’ with its quirks, touts, exasperation and wicked joys. In the end, you'll find yourself coming away with riches of the head and heart. Editor's note: Most articles submitted to Chillibreeze go through a selection process. Only 30 percent of submitted articles are accepted for publication on the Chillibreeze.com featured article list. All accepted articles are edited and proofread for glaring errors of punctuation and grammar. Sentence structure is changed in certain cases and sometimes, entire sections are rewritten. If you notice any errors that have slipped through the cracks, do let us know! (Email us at info at chillibreeze dot com). Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in April, 2012. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time. More on Chillibreeze.comRelated links: Goa on a Shoestring Budget Other popular articles on Chillibreeze: Five Tips for Writing a Good Literature Review
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