single alone female in india??

[trg7]

hi all!
I was wondering about the safety of traveling alone as a female through india. Any thoughts or any experiences that someone could share would be very helpful. I'm thinking I'll be there for 3 weeks or so, in august/sept. in the northern half traveling from Delhi-jaipur-agra-lucknow and crossing into kathmandu from there.
any suggestions/advice/ am I completely crazy???? or is this totally doable?
thanks!

[travelpunk]

I believe Jeanine may be able to help you on this .

[space virgin]

Tony, did you just call me Jeanine???

Anyway, hello there trg7, yes, GO to India. If you do a search on India you'll find a bazillion posts on both traveling as a solo female AND all of my trip updates. On your list I went to both Delhi and Agra. You can also check out my blog (link in sig) for more detailed information. In my opinion, and that of many other seasoned India travelers, stay in Agra for the minimum amount of time possible. You will not believe the amount of hassle you'll get there from the touts.

The thing about India is that it will be a complete onslaught to all of your senses all at once. There is no relief, there is no gentle welcome to the country and there really isn't much you can do to prepare yourself-- you just have to go with it. You will also need to expect to deal with touts upon touts upon touts constantly nagging for your attention and all but dragging you where they think you want to go, and for a much higher fee than you should ever consider paying. Then there's the staring. Oh my, the staring. On the good side though, people are extraordinarily friendly, even though they come off as pushy or overbearing at first. Do not be afraid to haggle mercilessly-- or rather, it's a MUST to haggle mercilessly-- because I guarantee that prices will be jacked up if you do not appear to be Indian. It's custom to haggle for merchandise (except things like food and toiletries, and in fixed-price emporiums).

Do you have any guide books about India (and Nepal)? The ones I found myself going back to were the Rough Guide, Footprint, and Lonely Planet, in that order. If you're going to be taking trains, do yourself a favor and pay the extra money to sit in AC class. Especially since you're going during August and September. The only down side is that you will need to make your train reservations a couple of days in advance because they will likely be full. If you want to sit in regular "sleeper" class (it's not, really) then you can pretty much grab the next available train. But you will be sitting with a minimum of 13 people and seven babies on a bench designed to hold four. I am not making this up. The journey via train from Delhi to Agra is only about 3 hours on the Shatabdi Express, which in that case is doable to sit in steerage. I took a car so I didn't experience that. But if you have any train journeys that will be longer than four hours, GO WITH AC CLASS.

Um, so do you have any other more specific questions? lol

[Esterina]

And bring a good raincoat, it will be wet.

I read it was worth going during Monsoon though, because the light is so beautiful.

I suggest you read this thread, that gives good infos for women travelling alone in India.

[trg7]

WOW! you guys are awesome! I love this website Such quick responses. I was totally excited about India until... I read the warning by the US gov't recommending that women travelers don't go alone, and got scared by that. So it sounds safe enough if I can get over being completely out of my comfort zone. I think I can handle that How much time would you recommend to spend in India? I can afford up to a month, and due to the season, want to stay in the northern half for all of it. Any highlights that you would recommend? any must-sees?
is it easy to travel, and will I come across other backpackers easily enough? Are there hostels?

thanks again for such quick responses!
tammy

[freespiritz]

I haven't personally been to India, but my own philosophy is that the more time in one place, the better. I hate rushing through, it's so much better when I have time to really absorb a place - I'm sure you'll have more than enough to keep you occupied in India for a month, if you have the time!

Enjoy! I really wanted to go to India for a month this summer, but that didn't work for me so I may have to live vicariously through you.

[space virgin]

Stay a month!! Just be aware that many people run away from India screaming, so it might take some getting used to.

Okay, so about that US state dept. warning... basically, they have one for almost every third-world country for solo female travelers. The only difference with India is that you really, really don't want to go to the states of Bihar or Jammu/Kashmir (in that order). There is a reason that the state of Jammu & Kashmir, except for the far eastern part of the state known as Ladakh, is excluded from every single travel guide about India. And then there's Bihar, which is honestly probably worse with its caste-warfare butcherings and robberies. Just don't go to either of them. With your itinerary that shouldn't be a problem though.

Hostels aren't really prevalent in India since hotels are so friggin' cheap. Seriously, a decent place with ensuite bath/toilet and TV in Delhi was only $10 per night. In other places I paid as little as $2 per night but I'd say the average is about $5. Food is also dirt cheap and you won't get you sick if you follow a couple of key rules, listed below among other things:

-You've heard it before, I'll say it again... Do not drink the tap water. Stick to bottled water ONLY for drinking AND brushing your teeth. Keep your mouth tightly closed when showering. When buying bottled water inspect the cap to make sure it hasn't been tampered with (refilled with tap water). I never found one that was, but it took some getting used to when I'd crack a bottle open and it would be filled literally to the top. Made me a bit suspicious at first but they're all like that.
-Do not eat from street vendors. Sure, Indian people do... but their stomachs are made of cast-iron and they can tolerate the fly-deposited bacteria much better than we can. If you're planning to live there for a couple of months, sure, go ahead and get the over with.
-Try to eat vegetarian whenever possible (not a requirement but a good rule of thumb).
-Take malaria medication. You'll be in India during the height of mosquito season. FYI, Chloroquine is fucking useless and hardly prescribed anymore. Go with doxycycline (an antibiotic) or, if you can afford it, Malarone (which has fewer side effects).
-DEET. DEET. DEET. The stuff is nasty, but it's the only thing that keeps the little bastards off of you. Bug spray or cream with 30% DEET should be fine. Avoid 100% DEET products... it eats through the bottle and will leak and ruin anything near it anyway.
-Be aware that mosquitoes don't just transmit malaria, there's also the nasty Dengue Fever to worry about. There is no medical prevention or cure for Dengue, you just have to ride it out... and it's pretty nasty.
-Check which immunizations are recommended and get those if you can, starting now. I wouldn't worry too much about the rabies vaccine though.
-You won't need to bring much in the way of toiletries as just about anything you could possibly need is available and cheap.
-Try not to wear sleeveless shirts and short shorts (actually just shorts in general) if you can avoid it as they are considered somewhat scandalous in many parts of the country.
-Immediately exchange your larger bills-- Rs.500 and over-- for anything smaller. This can be tough sometimes!

Uh, there's more but I'll have to come back with it later...

[Esterina]

Namaste !

All the above applies to Nepal as well.

In addition to space virgin's fantastic tips (hi jeanie ), I'll say to only eat raw vegetables in TOURIST restaurants, elsewhere the vegetables are washed in unboiled water so... Cooked vegetables aren't a problem.



As for meeting other travellers, although you'll be in the country during the off season, India is such a popular destination that that should be very easy.

Other tips for India and Nepal, both of hinduist religion:

- when invited to a private house, leave your shoes outside. In hinduism, the foot is considered the lowest part of the body (not only physically !), because it touches the soil, it represents the opposite of the soul, what's dirty within us;

- in that same spirit, do not point your foot toward somebody;

- a woman shouldn't touch a man's leg (don't remember why). If you do, nothing bad will happen, but the guy will do some sign with his hands.

[trg7]

thanks again for such great info! I feel much better about going now, athough the mosquito thing scares me more than the locals .
One last question (for now)...
I'm trying to figure out my flights.... I can't decide if I should go with an around the world ticket, or buy an open jaw tix where I'll just fly into spain and out of nepal, and then figure out the internal flights when I get there.
any suggestions?? airline suggestions? where should I fly into in India? I figured Delhi, but any other recommendations? either way, its gonna be a damn long flight home!

thanks again for your suggestions!

[space virgin]

Well, if you're primarily going to India just as a starting point for Nepal, flying into Delhi would be better. You could also fly into Mumbai if you wanted to check out some of the south. Flights are pretty comparable price-wise for both cities.

[Esterina]

Originally Posted by trg7

I'm trying to figure out my flights.... I can't decide if I should go with an around the world ticket, or buy an open jaw tix where I'll just fly into spain and out of nepal, and then figure out the internal flights when I get there.
any suggestions??

I think you must contact two or three different agencies and ask them for quotations. In my opinion, flying home from Nepal will be very expensive. I'm convinced that the cheapest option is to get a ticket to Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur and from there fly home. But as I said, do contact an agent and have him/her do the search for you.

I spent six months in Asia, and flew into Malaysia, from there to Laos then traveled overland to Vietnam, flew to Bangkok and after to Kathmandu. All tickets were bought in Asia (except Kuala Lumpur-Laos). Inner Asia flights are relatively cheap, but Nepal has no direct connection to Europe that's why it's too expensive to buy your full return ticket there. And there are a limited number of international flights from Nepal so they book up quickly. So if you do buy your return in Nepal, to ensure your place, buy the ticket during your first week there. I met people who had to wait up for a seat to Bangkok !

As for flying into India, I agree with Jeanie to start West (Delhi or Mumbai) because to get to Kathmandu overland, you'll have to first reach Kolkotta in the East.

[space virgin]

^ Kolkata? But that's pretty far south... I thought you can get to Nepal overland through Uttar Pradesh somewhere.

[Esterina]

You're right, it is farther east, but still in northern India though, but I meant it's the nearest important city to get to the check point leading to Kathmandu is Kolkotta (Kolkata?). So in responde to her question, going to Kolkotta after Delhi is better than the other way around.

If Tammy isn't interested to see this city, then I believe Patna would be the transit point between Delhi and Kathmandu. There are two other possibilities to enter Nepal, but they are either leading to Pokhara (beautiful and worth seeing by the way) or entering by the very far east of Nepal. And Tammy wants to trek to the Everest base camp, that's why I'm suggesting she goes direct to Kathmandu.

[travelpunk]

Originally Posted by space virgin

Tony, did you just call me Jeanine???

Yo, sorry babe. That extra "n" was not intended . Either I was slammed during my day of multi-tasking or it was in the wee hours in the morning.

[space virgin]

I figured it was just a typo.

[Kassandra13]

I know this thread is ages old, but I wanted to thank space virgin and everyone else for posting such great info. I'm a female planning a trip alone to India this August. I'll be meeting friends in Kerela for a wedding, but other than that, I'll be traveling alone most of the time - and to be honest, I'm a bit nervous about it. I've traveled alone before, but only in Europe - and India just seems like a whole different ball game. Right now I'm at the stage of reading guide books religiously - can't wait to just get out there!

[space virgin]

I am in India now at this very moment. Alone. Personally I don't find it scary at all, but this is my second trip and I've been here over a month now.

Kerala is wonderful, you'll really enjoy it. Be prepared for rain-- I think August is in the middle of one of their two monsoons. Be warned that you CAN and WILL get a sun burn (or tan) even in the rain! The sun is very strong in Kerala. It rained almost every day I was there and I still swam and got a tan. The humidity ain't for sissies either.

There's a link in my sig to my blog where I'm posting trip details. Have a great time!