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More health discussion:

Five threads from the Health branch that might be of interest:
  - Health info to get you started
  - Has anyone gone without vaccinations?
  - homeopathic malaria remedies FAQ thread
  - Homeopathic anti Malarial: Has anyone tried this out?
  - mossie power!

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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Useful links for Sri Lanka:

For all Sri Lanka visa requirements visit http://www.immigration.gov.lk/html/visa/fees.html
For all Sri Lanka tourist information visit http://www.srilankatourism.org
For post tsunami Sri Lanka fact file visit http://www.bouncebacksrilanka.org/facts.htm

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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Some useful travel tips while visiting India:

India is a vast country and different customs are followed in different parts of the country, which are entirely different from the western world. However, Indians are hospitable people and usually people will accept your different ways as a foreigner. Nevertheless, there may be certain situations where your not following the accepted customs will be seen as sign of disrespect. Here, we have listed such situations along with other dos & don’ts to make your travel in India enjoyable and hassle-free-

· Do not encourage beggars & street urchins by giving them money or other articles. In most of the cases they beg, as they have become habitual of easy money.

· Don't ever enter a temple, tomb, dargah or Gurudwara with shoes on. Leather articles are forbidden to be carried in Hindu & Jain temples. Do not wear black clothes while visiting a Jain temple.

· Dress conservatively at a place of worship. In a Gurudwara or Dargah, one should cover his/her head with a cloth. Parikrama or walking around the sanctum sanctorum should always be in clockwise direction.

· Taking photograph of the deity in a temple is normally not permitted.

· Public show of personal affection is generally disapproved of, particularly in smaller cities and villages. Avoid it.

· Try to avoid shaking hands. Greet people with a 'Namaste' (hands pressed together at chest level as if in prayer). You will be appreciated for using the Indian style of greeting.

· Shorts, minis, and tank tops are unadvisable unless you're on a beach. In small towns and cities especially, people may tend to stare if you expose too much skin. Safe clothing would be trousers, peddle pushers, skirts, tops and shirts.

· Be careful of cultural and social sensitivities of the regions. There is no single rule for that, the best way is to observe and follow.

· It is advisable to cover yourself with travel insurance for thefts, loss and medi-claim.

· Carry proper maps of the places proposed to visit in India, as signboards are often absent. In any case avoid persistent touts and taxi-wallahs at airport/stations/bus stands to help you find your hotel. Always use tourist assistance desk for proper advice.

· Women traveling alone in certain deserted places should avoid walking at odd hours.

· Do not checkout of the hotel in hurry. While checking out it has been noticed in some hotels, the extras are unreasonably charged which the guest hurriedly pays without crosschecking.

· Do not leave your cash and valuables in your hotel rooms. Keep your cash divided in different pockets.

· Take care of proper disposal of your rubbish always whether you are exploring desert, or Himalayas or beaches or anywhere else.

· Export of most wildlife and their products, antiques more than 100 years old is either banned or strictly regulated. Selling and buying “shahtoosh” shawls and Ivory is a crime.

· Buy at genuine shops only. Bargaining is a popular practice in India and necessary too. While buying an article, make sure that the entire transaction is legal and transparent so that you may claim later if dissatisfied.

· Don't eat anything offered by fellow travelers on train or road travels. It might have sleeping pills. Always travel reserved class in trains.

· Always chain and lock your luggage under your berth in a train. Don't keep anything valuable near the window. Always carry plenty of water, fluids in trains. A lone woman traveler may request to be accommodated near other women travelers.

· Do not visit places, which encourage orthodoxy, social injustice and inhuman practices (like visiting a sati temple).

· Don't photograph women without permission. Taking photos at a death ceremony, or a religious ceremony or of people bathing (in baths or rivers) may cause offence.

· Don't accept offers of visiting anyone's home unless you are confident of the person.

· Always use strong suitcases/baggage, as mishandling is common at airports/stations.

· Giving tips is customary but not mandatory. Don't tip unreasonably and unnecessarily in a hotel. The NEWS soon spreads in the hotel and by the time you checkout there will be a group of them saluting you to expect something.

· While traveling, don't act confused. Keep a posture of a person known to the region.

· Drink only bottled water. Buy it only from respectable or known outlets. In restaurants insist that they bring a sealed bottle to your table.

· Exchange money only through authorised banks or moneychangers. Insist on Encashment certificate while exchanging money. These certificates will be required to reconvert the unused money on departure from India.

· Keep the serial numbers of ticket and cheques, and a photocopy of your passport and birth certificate in a separate place. If you have a Web mail account (Hotmail, Yahoo, Ekno, etc.), send all the important information to your email box (as attachments in the case of photocopies), along with rescue phone numbers. This will help you in case of any emergency.

· Plan and obtain necessary immunizations and malaria prophylaxis. Travelers should get properly inoculated against Yellow Fever if coming through infected regions. If, planning for a long trip, consider having a complete pre-departure health check-up.

Text

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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Emergency, Hospital and Gynecologist Addresses in Lahore Pakistan:

Gynecologist in Lahore : the man worked in the US many years.
Dr Nasir Khakwani
Obstetrics Gynecology

Clinic at 144 Zafar Ali Road
Lahore
tel : (042) 575 7331

Hospital : Surgimed
same road as above : zafar Ali Road
You can pop in without appointment to see a doctor

FYI : Zafar Ali road is in Gulberg V (V for 5)

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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Volunteering in Dharamasala:

I have put together this list of useful websites for volunteering in Dharamsala. I know people who volunteeer and study at all these schools. The information on the websites is accurate and the organizations are trustworthy.

The Dogga School: www.dogga.org
Multi Education Centre: www.tibetmec.org
Louisana Himalaya Society: www.lhainfo.org
www.volunteertibet.org has lots of useful information about volunteering in McLeod Ganj (Dharamsala) as well as volunteer positions available.

You can live in Dharamasala comfortably on a budget $10 US a day. You can easily live on less. Even better live on more! Basically $150US a month and up including rent.

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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Hotels in India:

Delhi:
In Delhi, once can get nice accommodation in Paharganj for a variety of prices. for example, the star palace lists its prices on its website as rs 375 for a non-AC double (with attached bath, with hot water, with satellite TV and phone). rs675 will get you AC. the star palace is clean, has room service, etc. cheaper accommodation can also be found --- and, of course, always bargain!

Bombay:
Bombay is more expensive than Delhi and it can be hard to find budget accommodation. last time, I splurged and stay at Shelley's for rs 1440.

Other Towns:
But in smaller towns or cities you can find accommodation equivalent to Delhi or much less. for example, in 2002 i paid rs 250 for a triple at the Green Hotel in Rishikesh with attached bath. basic otherwise, but fine.

Splurging on a double room in the old palace in Orrcha, with bath, hot water heater, dressing room and amazing view, was rs 590.

Hotel Chitra in Madikeri was rs 220 for a single with TV and bath.

The tibetan monk-run guesthouse in Karnataka was rs 125 with bath.

The SCVDS Hotel in Mysore (highly recommended!) was rs 250 for a spotlessly clean single with TV and bath.

Nimmu's Guesthouse in gorkarna was rs 150 with bath.

Afonso's in Panjim (highly recommended!) was rs 300 for a very clean double with bath and hot water.

Up in the mountains, double in Kalpa, Kinnaur was rs 220 with bath and hot water heater. Same at the Monastery Guesthouse in Tabo was rs 250. Kibber was rs 200.

In Rajasthan, my friend and i splurged all the way. rs 1015 at the Amit Haveli in Udaipur got us a gorgeous room with a sitting room, a beautiful bath (hot water, of course), lovely bedlinen and a lake view. In Bundi, rs 1200 at the Haveli Braj Bunsharjee got us a beautifully muraled and atmospheric room with bath (hot water, of course).

Lower end places will often not have hot water heaters, but you can get them to bring you a bucket of hot water for a small charge or sometimes free. but since you are often in hot places, I often just shower in cold water. Guesthouses up north more often have hot water heaters in the bathrooms.

Cockroaches are a fact of life, esp in hot countries. You don't want them to be running all over your room (this happened to me once in haridwar) but the occasional cockroach is inescapable even in clean places.

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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Indian Visa from the Indian Embassy in Bangkok:

As of July 2005 the Indian embassy in Bangkok has decided it needed to make things more difficult. It now takes 5 working days to get visa plus they make you come back twice on the day of visa issue .

For detailed info about getting visas from this embassy refer to post tiled "GETTING A VISA FOR INDIA WHILE IN THAILAND" posted by WINDAISY . STEVE252 has provided a link to this post on the Frequently asked questions thread on top of the Thailand branch .

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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Some more information on the weather in India:

1. Climate normals in important Indian cities.
2. The weather this week in India..
3. Indian Met. Department.

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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Staring - How to handle it with children:

Having travelled through India a number of times my wife and I are used to people staring. You simply ignor it. Don't get offended, it's a cultural thing. Just smile and carry on with whatever your are doing.

However, it's not so easy for some people to do this, especially young children.

When travelling with our five year old daughter a few years back in a remote part of India, we were surrounded by maybe 100 staring onlookers who crowded around us while we waited at a bus station. We had a number of hours to wait with no place to escape to and could see that our daughter was really uncomfortable. We tried explaining that all the faces were kind and smiling but she just wanted them to go away. So we invented a game. We picked one staring face and both looked back into his eyes without flinching and the first person to turn away was the looser. Always the onlooker would continue to stare at us but slowly became confused when he realised that he was the center of attention and eventually averted his eyes and smiled. Then we laughed and chose another onlooker. This became a game which the crowd gleefully participated in and we all ended up laughing at each other and enjoying the game. It was really amaising how shy the crowd really was. Ever since my daughter has enjoyed staring crowds and, provided there is no malice intended, it always works.

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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Changing Money in Manali:

The State Bank of India in Manali stopped changing travellers cheques and foreign cash some time ago . Foreign exchange has to be done now thru private money changers . The PAUL MERCHANTS office (2nd story office on the left hand side of the roundabout as you come from the main street) probably has the best rates of these.

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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Darjeeling Treks:

According to the Darjeeling Tourist office trekkers are no longer allowed to walk alone to the trekking areas near the Nepal border such as Sandakphur and Phalut . Locals say this is mainly because of presence of Nepalese Mao Wadi fighters in the area . There is Indian police and army presence too , according to some reports they have turned back solo trekkers.

Some locals in Darjeeling are also saying the opposite , that the new rule has nothing to do with Mao Wadi , but was instead introduced to increase employment of guides . There is also mixed opinions about whether the rule requiring tourists to take a guide is actually binding.

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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E-Tickets from Indian Railways:

Indian railways now has an e ticketing facility. Book your ticket, pay using Visa or Mastercard and simply print the ticket or ERS (Electronic Reservation slip) on your own computer.
Carry it with you along with your stated ID and you're on the train!!

IR accepts the following as valid ID

Voter Identity Card

Passport

PAN card

Driving License

Central/ state Govt issued Photo ID card.


As yet this is a limited service but hopefully this will be extended as thing progress.
At present only confirmed / RAC tickets can be booked through e-Reservation,

Below you'll find a list of the trains you can book via e ticketing as well as the cancellation rules from IR

For more info see here E-Tickets

To book you'll have to register here Online Booking (tip : the online booking form demands a zip code and will only except a 6 digit Indian type pin code, make one up or copy from the net, it works no problem just a glitch in the booking form)

To find your trains you'll need this Indian Railways Online

This service is presently available on these pairs of trains.

2005/2006 – New Delhi – Kalka Shatabdi Express

2011/2012 – New Delhi – Kalka Shatabdi Express

2013/2014 – New Delhi – Amritsar Shatabdi Express

2029/2030 – New Delhi – Amritsar Shatabdi Express

2031/2032 – New Delhi – Amritsar Shatabdi Express

2017/2018 – New Delhi – Dehradun Shatabdi Express

2001/2002 – New Delhi – Bhopal Shatabdi Express

2003/2004 – New Delhi – Lucknow Swarn Shatabdi Express

2015/2016 – New Delhi – Ajmer Shatabdi Express

2035/2036 – New Delhi – Lucknow Shatabdi Express

*Cancellation of e-Tickets *

e-Tickets can be cancelled on Internet at this website till Chart preparation of the train .Cancellations are not allowed at face to face Railway Counters. If the user wishes to cancel his e-Ticket, he can do so till the time of chart preparation for the train (which is normally 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train from the train originating station). He can log on to www.irctc.co.in and go to "Booked Tickets" link and select the ticket to be cancelled and can initiate the cancellation by selecting the passengers to be cancelled. However if the Identity Card holder in the original ticket is selected for cancellation, all the passengers in the ticket would have be cancelled and a fresh reservation will have to be made, duly including the ID particulars of another passenger. Cancellation would be confirmed online and the refund would be credited back to the account used for booking as for normal Internet tickets. If there is any partial cancellation of ticket, please ensure that a fresh e-reservation slip (Electronic Reservation Slip) is printed separately as done for the original ticket. To take you step by step and familiarise you with the procedure for cancelling of e-tickets, please click HERE
For any claims on e-Tickets to be cancelled after the preparation of Reservation charts, the user has to send an email at the earliest possible time to etickets@irctc.co.in giving full details of the ticket and stating the claim, which would then be processed by IRCTC with the Railway administration offline and refunds as sanctioned by the Railway administration would be credited back to the user's account.

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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Sikkim Tips:

Permit for Sikkim can be obtained quickly at Siliguri but they require a passport photo, no photos are required at Darjeeling . Permit can also be obtained on arrival at Rongpo.Permit extensions can be obtained in 10 minutes on the spot at Gangtok Foreigners Registration Office, don't have to fill out any forms and there is no need to have wait until 2 days before original permit expires. You can do it any time.

Travellers thinking of going to Singhik (70 km of Gangtok) may be better off staying at Mangan 4 kms below. There are restaurants at Mangan but no places to eat at Singhik except Tourist Lodge and Friendship Guesthouse. Tourist Lodge restaurant has no menu and is not always open. Friendship Guesthouse provides only over-priced basic food and is run by just one woman who can only speak Tibetan and few words of hindi , she cannot be trusted to make up a fair or accurate bill for meals taken there.

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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More on E-Tickets:

From this week, the e-ticket facility is extended for some shatabdi and rajdhani express trains from Mumbai on the Western railways as well. The next plan is to start them on all such premium expresses and hopefully before we know it, the old que system will be a thing of distant memory.

Edited by: Irene_Adler

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Thought to add some info after answering re this topic for several times.

Registration on Indian Railways Online Reservation site

There is a script on new user registration page, that works properly only if India is selected as a country of presence. So, to be able to register, select India as your country. Later you will be able to amend your profile.