Looks like we're going to visit my sister-in-law who's working in Delhi for a few months (She sets up dealerships for Harley-Davidson). Looks like we'll be there for about 10 days.
What is there so see/do/visit in and around the area? I'd like to strike out from the city if possible, see a bit more. I don't do posh, I'd be quite happy travelling/eating etc with the locals, but I know diddly-squat so far!
I'd be quite happy travelling/eating etc with the locals
you can get a fast train to agra, takes a couple of hours, and do a day trip to see the taj mahal.
see man in seat 61 for details. You can book tickets online 60 days in advance which is recommended as booking them in person can be a right hassle.
pjt - That's very handy, thanks! 
We were thinking of flying into Delhi and the travelling to Mumbai (Bombay) and the train times for that are there too. Looks very cheap!
I spent two months in and around northern India. Delhi is one hell of a place - seriosuly intense and I found it tiring. The trains are brilliant though and dirt cheap.
We did a sleeper train to Mumbai from Delhi - in '3rd class' as there was nothing else available. It was a long journey but really fun none the less. Definitely recommend it, although 2nd class (2ac) is probs better as you get less crowds and air con I think. That certainly m akes a difference when its 40 degrees and youre trying to sleep. If you didnt have time for trains, Spice Jet (or spice air) are a budget plane company who will take you from delhi to mumbai for next to nowt.
Watching the programmes on channel 4 at the moment as part of the indian summer season makes me want to go back again.
Red Fort in delhi is def worth a visit. Id do a day trip to the Taj if possible as Agra is pretty much nothing apart from the Taj. If you end up staying up north, go to Pushkar - a little place which is a mecca for pilgrims. Brilliant place and I can recommend accomodation if needed.
Remember to take immodium - you will likely get some form of stomach complaint. I lost over a stone whilst trekking in nepal and living in india - I only weigh 11stone at best of times!
Im seriously jealous. Any questions, let me know!
Personal favourites are Udaipur, Jodpur, Jaisalmer, Mumbai, Hyderabad and, if you can make it, Hampi for incredible landscape. All these well worth a visit and at least one night, but you'll have to pick and choose just one or two, given your timescale. And the Taj is mint if you get up early.
I found eating in Delhi fine - eat where it's busy (street food was great and cheap) and just remember to wash your hands with that alcohol gel before and after eating. Saying that I seem to have a cast iron stomach when it comes to eating abroad.
One of my best days there was when I took the underground metro to get to this place:
Mittal Teas
Extremely clean metro when I went, lots of space - completely opposite to above ground in Paharganj! Also the machines are great for getting lots of change from a high denomination note.
The Mittal Teas tea shop was ace - old school style with every wall filled floor to ceiling with different flushes of tea. Really kind staff - the old man brewed all kinds of different teas so I could taste. Ended up buying quite a few gifts there for family and friends back home.
The metro in Delhi is pretty much brand new in prep for the commonwealth games but can be very crowded!
Delhi-very busy place, lots of people everywhere. be careful crossing streets and mind where you are placing you feet!
lots of friendly folk there but lots who are too friendly by UK standards-you may get stared at if you have pale skin/blonde hair etc. people may try to take pictures of you as you sleep on overnight trains!
A real culture shock so be prepared.
Bring immodium and some sort of fluid replacement powders etc as these are a help if you do get ill.
you may get stared at if you have pale skin/blonde hair etc.
Oops. That's me. 
Seriously guys, thanks for the info. I've lerned more from this thread and the reccommended 'Man in Seat 61' site in the last 20 mins than Google could find.
I need to go on a train to somewhere now. I love stuff like that, although we did get fined on an Italian train once for not validating our tickets!
Delhi - my favorite city. ive a home between delhi and agra. tbh id stay in the area(ish) if you are there for only 10days. sure the rajdhani express is an overnight train to mumbai but thats really two days out and imo delhi has more to offer. for ten days id say: delhi old city(just get a lonely planet and walk about), taj mahal and a few days in rajasthan. if you can get out to udipur or jaisalmer you wont regret it. a friend owns a small nice guest house in the old medina in jodhpor below the fort if your interested. also indiamike.com is a great site for all things india.
delhi is ace but like most cities i reckon a few days sightseeing and you'll have covered most things. wander around the new delhi area up from delhi gate to get a real contrast from old delhi. make sure you get lost in the mazes that are the spice markets of old delhi and visit jamma masjid - sit on the steps at the front during the call to prayer!
most people who go to delhi for a mini break do the golden triangle tourist path, which takes in delhi, jaipur and agra. i spent a month travelling around rajasthan and would say that jaipur was probably the worst of rajasthan's main hotspots. i suppose that it was because it was one of the last places in the area that i visited, but it just felt very overcrowded. but still a good place to get an idea of what the area is abuot. i would highly recommend (if you do fancy an itinerary such as this) that you carry on fron jaipur the short journey to a place called bundi. it's got a great palace there and an old fort (with lots of monkeys!!) to wander around and there are hardly any tourists. the locals that i met there seemed a lot more genuine than the ones i met in other cities, maybe because they hadn't been affected as much by tourist money. some great restaurants and the best lassi i found in the whole of india.
i'll second pushkar, as mentioned - picturesque pilgramage town set a beautiful valley.
if you really want some culture-shock get over to varanasi though, truly amazing place. it's where hindu's go to release themselves from reincarnation back into the caste system so is full of almost dead people who have travelled there to be burned and have their remains scattered into the ganges. you could get the overnight train there or fly. trains are brilliant, everyone just wants to talk to you - i had some really bizarre experiences on the trains in india.
you could also head north to jammu & kashmir. i never made it up there when i was travelling in india; it was the wrong time of year and i didn't have the right gear with me.
the problem is that there is so much to see & do there...
drop me an email if you have any questions. mrcarlpeachey(at)hotmail(dot)com
Not much to add to the above, except get good travel insurance and if you need medical assistance go to the East West Medical centre in Delhi. Can't recommend them highly enough.
One thing is difficult thouigh is getting train tickets to travel on the day, best book them all in advance.
Alse be wary of the current scams. The usual taxis taking you to wrong hotel sort of stuff.
India's fantastic and challenging and amazing! It's a great country to visit and I'd recomend it to anyone. Have a great time.
oh, and if you do use the trains only pre-book at the 'official' tourist booking office based in the train station at delhi. the task is actually finding the one which is the official 'official' tourist booking office. they should probably change the name of it to the non-official tourist booking office to stand out from the crowds!
+1 for varanasi and +1 for booking trains in advance!
Trains were undoubtedly the highlight of my india trip.The stations are a city in themselves!
PP, I have a friend who has a small taxi / tour company in Delhi. Just a local one man band thing. He can do anything from a day's sight seeing in the city to more extended trips out into the surrounding areas. His home area is Rajastan, so knows more about this than anywhere else. PM me if you want contact details.
i agree with the above comment about train booking office. there is a tourist ticket booking office in the main station in delhi. it is actually inside the station upstairs - there will be countless people outside trying to point you in the direction of various shopfronts that say "official ticket office" on them, just ignore them! As you know when you're going and will have a fairly tight itinerary i really would try and book train tickets online, much easier.
Just remember:
IT ISNT A FART!!!
IT ISNT A FART!!!
LOL!
Baldy, I might do that, thanks for the offer
I went back to India for the second time in November (and Delhi for the first).
This website is great for booking train tickets: http://www.cleartrip.com. Somehting that can otherwise be a complicated process. All you need is the reference number given at the end (no ticket needed). Consider booking trains as far in advance as possible, they can get full, particularly if there happens to be some religious festival going on.
And probably the best resource for all things Indian on the web: India Mike
Also, if you're keen, you could go to Amritsar for the day to see the Golden Temple. I ended up taking a sleeper train there and back, but it was the highlight of my trip - more than the Taj.
IT ISNT A FART!!
I think the official term is SHART?
as in "oh man, I think I just sharted!!"
Nick, I've found that Cleartrip website already via the Seat 61 website. Looks handy.
I'll check India Mike too, thanks
Agra fort is worth the visit, far better than the red fort in Delhi IMO (both worth doing).
In Delhi itself you can spend a good few days. New delhi/ the governement biuldings for some very english archtecture (Lutyens), Old delhi's bustling streets, Chandri Chawk area, the Friday Mosque, the red fort....a trip to the railwaystation to book a train ticket! Don't be a wimp, do it in person...it's part of the Indian experience!
Varanassi for 2 or 3 days, walk the ghats and dip your toe in the Gangees. One of the oldest, still in use, cities in the world. I reckon it is better to visit than Mumbai.
Pick up a rough guide to india, I spent a month out there and found the guide book very wrth while.
Oh and if you can spare the time, Bandhavgar national park, safari, with luck you'll see tigers, its probably the best place to see them but it took a day of travelling - 3 or more changes of trains to get there so a couple of days in the park will need 4 days on your itinerary.
Don't fret about the food and getting delhi belly, like others I lost over a stone in a month but it was worth it for the experience, the barghees, samozas and best of all...Lassi
I spent a month living in Varanasi, and I must say, if you have the opportunity to visit, then you really should. It is one of those places you can spend days wandering around just trying not to look to stupid as you stand in awe of everything around you.
India must be the greatest country on earth...
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