India

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[edit] useful links

[edit] from http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog/archives/001052.html

My wife and I recently moved back from living in Bangalore. Here's a braindump:

  • Get a good driver. I can't stress that enough. Best bet would be to call Adiga Travels (Ph: 6611856, 6601993, Mobile: 98450-30234) and ask to work with Ramesh. He was our driver for a year, and will teach you Kannada, talk about the culture, keep you out of trouble, and show you where to eat authentic food safely.
  • Don't skimp on the hotel. If you stay at The Oberoi, you never have to worry about the water (while in the hotel). You can literally drink from the tap. The same is true of the Leela Palace, but I wouldn't take any bets on any others. I believe The Oberoi is right around the corner from the Yahoo office.
  • Have someone take you to SKR market on the appropriate market day. Feels like something out of a movie. You probably won't buy anything, but it's worth just walking around.
  • If you see a lot of people eating somewhere, it's probably safe. Specifically, look for parents with their children. They won't take kids somewhere bad. This worked for us for a year and a half.
  • Get out in the country side. If you don't have much time, just have your driver take you outside the city limits. If you have an afternoon, go to Nandi hills. If you have a couple of days, go to Bandipur. It will take about 5 hours to get there, but you'll see wild elephants, bison, board, langur monkeys, bears, and possibly tigers. You can stay in beautiful forest hotels there for dirt cheap.
  • Here's a list of some of the tastiest, safest restaurants:

- Mavalli's Tiffin Room: South Indian near Lalbagh (you'll need to take a kannada speaker with you, but it's GREAT) - Royal Afghan (Windsor Manor Hotel) - Dakshin: South Indian (Windows Manor Hotel) - Queens: North Indian, church street - Tandoor: North Indian, MG Road

  • Take lots of pictures and post them here. We really miss it there. :)
  • Go to the old part of the city and just walk around. You can start near The Majestic theater.
  • Beware of fresh fruit and vegetables...unless you can peel them yourself.
  • Even if you sound like an idiot, if you say some words in the local language, you'll blow people away and make friends for life. The local language is Kannada. Lonely planet's South India book has a small phrase book. You really won't need it in most situations, but it's a great way to close the cultural gap. If you want a really good book on Kannada, you can go to Gangaram's bookstore and get "Conversational Kannada" by ND Krishnamurthy (http://ndkinstitute.com) -- he was our Kannada and Hindi teacher.
  • You can get Low Priced Edition computer books for very very cheap. Plan to spend a few hours in either Gangaram's or Sapna book house one day. Don't plan it on Sunday--they're not open.

[edit] from http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog/archives/001052.html

Bangalore is pretty boring, and fairly western as far as India goes. As Chad recommends above, get out of the city, and check out some of the nearby places. Mysore is much more interesting, and Mudumalai National Park is nearby, and a great out-of-the-way park with the Tigers, Elephants, and Veerappan, Oh My!

If you're stuck in Bangalore, don't just stick around in the upscale areas; get out to the south of the city (there's a market near a bus station, I can't remember what it's called, but it's west of Lalbagh gardens). Just don't spend your whole day walking there; take an auto-rickshaw instead!

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