1

The real India is all of India. Even tourist areas are part of the real India. The best way to find off the beaten path places are just to explore places yourself. Pick random towns and get off and have an adventure.

That's a pretty good budget for a year. As long as you are responsible with your money, you should be fine.

2

take a look at all the sites that are labelled UNESCO heritage sites. pick the ones you want to go to, and make a plan.

Most of the ruins are on that list. then you can make side trips to any nearby places.

3

I understand the month of June - September are summer months and the heat/rain have already been addressed...............Completely wrong !!!!!
You land in Delhi in June, temps will likely be mid 40's, you then intend to head down over the (even hotter) plains, to Goa, presumably aiming for the start of monsoon, when everything closes down. Frankly, you couldn't have timed it much worse, and whilst your budget is good, you will be forced to spend quite a chunk on AC, as you will not be able to move without it ! About the only advice I can offer, is head for the hills !

4

I agree totally with UB, Even SE Asia wont be too briliant either, Thailand was flooded out last September and Indochina was suffering the side-effects of a typhoon at the same time.

You've got a glorious year ahead of you, the best trip of a lifetime, so don't buggar it up by ruining the first 2/3 months.

I would suggest, as UB, that you delay your trip until September earliest or alternatively head for the furthest point South East of your starting point, maybe Bali, as the weather doesn't change tremendously going North until you reach Vietnam.

5

If you insist on arriving in India in June, you might want consider starting out in Ladakh or Kashmir.. I'll never forget tbe heat I experienced in Delhi in August. I have been to Phoenix, Arizona in August and would sooner be there than in Delhi

6

i might actually be able to join you for a small segment of the journey... goa up to mumbai... i intend to do it on a bike and can help you hire one as well.... pm me

if you want the real india... forget the unesco crap, everything that is on the bible lonely planet... get on the ground... make some local friends and ask and they will happily point you in the right directions.

ps: in india the locals dont travels for the sake of the journey it usually is pilgrimage or honeymoon spots... so ask for otherwise.

7

"hilltribes"? And Indians travel for many other reasons than weddings and pilgramages!

8

I think your right. Getting off at random points along the way will probably be the best way. I know where I am starting, I know where I tend to finish to grab my connecting flight, but how ow where I go from A-B is an adventure and I think it will be a good idea not to plan... Agree?

9

@grahamapoole

be also assured that i am no agent and i have no commercial interests as such. I reply to posts to disseminate whatever information i have acquired over the period.

and whats sets my english apart as "indian" - curious to know... also do mention the indian tone as you described.

I think the question was "the real india" and as far as i am concern yes everything in the LP is also part of india but then again anyone who can get a copy ends up in all those places mentioned... in effect making the place touristy. I dont think i need to mention UNESCO sites are usually tourist heaven.

though LP mentions leopold and monty's in mumbai but it never mentions where you can get a great vadapav... and the vadapav is the real india. In the same way... there is so much more to india and might i say perhaps the real india then whats in LP and that is what i was getting at.

Edited by: loneeagle

10

enjibenji - agreed

11

Why would one want to miss some of the historic landmarks of India?

12

i am not sure if i am the only one... but mate grahamapoole... you certainly have strange insights.

true india had much better adventures to offer... pre-80's or for that matter 3000 years prior to the 90's

well... i am a scientist... would you believe it? i did my UG in kenya, PG in germany have been drunk for several successive years in the highlands of scotland... have been drowned in rice wine and fine smokes in burma, thailand, indonesia, cambodia and laos. Have had the pleasures of western EU... been there and done that for most of the places mentioned in the EU-LP. Have been blessed to crisscross africa several times... and most relevant of all... travelled india inside out... spent three years here but been around quiet a lot.

from your mention of dollars and haven... it is clear you are an american... and a priggish one at that.
as i said personally i am not that much into unesco sites... too cliche for my liking... there is much more to every country and region then that. everyone wants to go to the Taj and most do as well... but how many know of the 19 other splendid tombs of mughal emperiors...? each one as interesting as the taj... in fact taj is a combination of architectural success from many of these maqbaras... ask someone in delhi and they will be happy to show you the 19... away and apart from taj. over the mughal reign each king experimented and imported architectural ideas from the islamic world... and so each maqbara is a succession of the previous... the best of the lot is Taj but it isnt the only one.

• that is the reason, i said if one wants to experience the true india... they must thread upon the unconventional path... and not the off the beaten track which is just another cliche.

btw fyi.. IR= indian railway and INRs = indian ruppees.

13

if it is maqbaras yyou are interested in, aurangabad in maharastra, and hyderabad in andhra pradesh have some nice ones. in hyderabad, look for paigah tombs, and in aurangabad, look for bibi ka maqbara.

there is nothing uniform about india, it changes every 200 kms. And if you are picking villages off a map randomly, make sure you have some place to stay and a place to eat. Man, I, for one, do not want deaths of foreigners in our country, we just want your money :)

14

You absolutely cannot compare the Bibi ka Maqbara or the Paigah tombs with the Taj. That is like saying an ambassador is the same as a Rolls Royce because they are both cars !!!!
To suggest one should avoid UNESCO sites is ridiculous, the reason most of these heritage sites have been adopted by UNESCO is their uniqueness. Places like Hampi,Ellora,Tanjavur,Khajuraho are must sees for most visitors and rightly so !!