places to stay in india???

[The Enlightened One]

any ideas where to crash in india?

[Esterina]

...would you be more specific please ? India is a biiiiiig country !

[space virgin]

Yeah, it's kinda like asking which hostels to stay at in the US or Canada or Europe.

Hostels are NOT common though, there are to my recollection one or two in Delhi and maybe one in Mumbai. Small hotels are pretty much your only choice. Prices will depend entirely on where you're at and what time of year it is... sometimes you'll be able to find things as cheap as $1 per night, other times it may be more like $20 to $30. But there are a lot of amenities that we Westerners take for granted that will not be in Indian hotel rooms, such as hot water and flushing toilets... many times you'll be squatting over a hole in the ground and you'll "flush" with buckets of water sitting nearby. At some nicer places you may have a "geyser" which is from what I can tell a very, very rough version of a bidet [read: garden hose].

Make sure you've had all your proper vaccinations before you go. Try to avoid swimming in lakes and rivers... if you absolutely can't resist jumping in the Ganges in Varanasi with everyone else, at least make sure that you scrub yourself clean afterwards and try not to get water in any orifice. Tangent: The Ganges River is extremely important in Hinduism, especially in the city of Varanasi. They've just recently implemented a law banning funeral pyres on the riverbanks and subsequent dumping of bodies/ashes into the water to try to control "pollution".

Keep in mind that bus travel in India will most likely be a hellish experience. Trains are marginally better but as previously stated, India is a HUGE country so if you're planning to see a lot of it, you'll spend hours and hours and HOURS on trains. Or you can fly, but obviously that's more expensive.

[amansac]

somewhat true !

stay in hotels instead of hostels.. (hardly any to come by anyways)
hotels in any major city like delhi and mumbai will cost u anything between 25 $ to 30 $ wth all facilities that u mentioned above.. i mean u get a clean place with clean westernized loos, clean sheets in these kind of hotels.
let me know what are the places u visitings and probably i can help u with the hotel list. (atleast for delhi, bombay and puna i can)

travel by train as i always say .. avoid the buses... and if u can strech the budget a bit .. try flyinf cheap no frills airlines to cover longer distances.

[tumblezweedz]

My aunt stayed at ashrams on her first trip, and in a medical clinic on the second (look out for speeding motor scooters!) Kinda funny, she went in search of a mystical Indian experience, and ended up being nursed by Catholic nuns. She loved India...

[Canadian Bacon]

Reviving this thread.

Going to India in, like, a week.

I know hostels are rare in India. But how do you find hotels that you can meet backpacker-minded people?

CB

[Diorama]

Nice to hear your going to India. I just came back from India in November Well India has a well worn backpacker route. There are definate backpacker enclaves. For example like McLeod Ganj and Rishikesh. I did go with a friend but honestly we always had at least one other travel hanging around with us. We used the Lonely Planet to guide us to popular places. Even if we didn't stay at the accomodation listed sometimes they had a restaurant and we would hang out there to meet other travelers. Have fun

[jasonkenny]

It sounds good that you are going India. According to me Goa is a best place to stay in India. India is a very big country and there are many mega city but if you want to feel comforts then I prefer first Goa. Lots of stuffs in Goa that you want to enjoy like Casino, Beach, Night Life etc.

[Canadian Bacon]

Places to stay in Goa:

Anjuna Beach - Evershine Guesthouse (one of the few proper hostels there... great place)

Palolem Beach - Seaview Guesthouse (you can rent a hut on the beach for 10-15 dollars)