India Travel Thread

[Sharma Ji]

Ok then, here we go again. A thread to showcase India to anyone who may be interested in traveling here. I'll be posting pics, videos (both in English as well as in Hindi) and articles from a variety of sources. The idea is to showcase all of India, the good and the bad, the 'string budget' stuff, the luxury leisure stuff, and everything in between.

The islands and atolls of Lakshadweep. The name literally translates to '100000 (laksha) islands (dweep)'

Explore Lakshadweep: Exotic tropical holidays at half the cost of Maldives - A comprehensive tourist guide

Explore Lakshadweep in our guide: Discover serene, budget-friendly Indian paradise, ideal for tranquil escapes away from crowds.

www.punenow.com

A Guide To The Majestic Islands Of Lakshwadeep

Escape to the distant reefs and explore the pristine islands of Lakshadweep

www.outlooktraveller.com

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other Indian destinations coming up in subsequent posts.

@Paitoo @vsdoc @Joe Shearer @Guru Dutt @Nilgiri et al .. please feel free to post pics and reviews of Indian destinations you favor, add a few pics of your own travels and share tips on how to go about planning a trip and so on.

 

[vsdoc]

Superb. This is where all my bike stuff will go.

Cheers, Doc

 

[Paitoo]

Ok, not an Indian travel post, but I am Indian, and the current hot topic is Maldives, so here is my own click from Maldives, about 11 years ago. Damage is done, as the money is already spent .

The place is beautiful, but I doubt I can spend more than 3 days there. Each island is a resort and once there you are mostly stuck, unless you take expensive side tours to local islands. It cost me 30K a night for a water villa. Was my honeymoon so I splurged. Now I don't spend that kind of money. Outside the resort islands, Maldives is pretty conservative, with women wearing hijab all the time. I also didn't find the locals friendly. Our boatman clearly had some axe to grind against Indians. Much of the staff in our resort were Indians, Lankans and a fair mix of Europeans (to cater to the gora tourists). We went in peak winter and the place is hot and humid. It burns your skin if you stay outside too long. Won't be visiting again. Very boring.

 

[Sharma Ji]

Superb. This is where all my bike stuff will go.

Cheers, Doc

Great idea, road tripping ka bhi daalo. Route planning, bike/car maintenance, travel gear (panniers etc), cameras, drones, highway dhaba gems.. fulltu, total, comprehensive, all encompassing.

You planning a Leh adventure this summer, right ? Tell us about it.

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Goa is pretty khali khali rn just post the x-mas and new year rush. Hospitality people, trade associations etc have been grumbling. The upside is that there's some great deals on stays to be had, plus, if you're like me and don't like crowds.. all the better

 

[vsdoc]

Great idea, road tripping ka bhi daalo. Route planning, bike/car maintenance, travel gear (panniers etc), cameras, drones, highway dhaba gems.. fulltu, total, comprehensive, all encompassing.

You planning a Leh adventure this summer, right ? Tell us about it.

-----------------------------

Goa is pretty khali khali rn just post the x-mas and new year rush. Hospitality people, trade associations etc have been grumbling. The upside is that there's some great deals on stays to be had, plus, if you're like me and don't like crowds.. all the better

I plan on doing just that.

Hands on touring tips seat of the pants stuff. Picked up over 30 years of riding the length and breadth of the country.

Cheers, Doc

 

[Sharma Ji]

n1, doc.. first I'm seeing a dirt bike mod on a bullet. Go in May, then June on it gets a bit slushy and very tricky in patches, I'm told.

 

[Sharma Ji]

Hardcore India, rough cheap travel in the cowbelt hinterland.

 

[vsdoc]

n1, doc.. first I'm seeing a dirt bike mod on a bullet. Go in May, then June on it gets a bit slushy and very tricky in patches, I'm told.

This was a common mod by us in the 2005-2010 era. To lighten our bikes (about 15 kilos lighter ... which is great in the mountains), by replacing a lot of the heavier tin work with plastics. Put on a nice free flow Goldie (BSA Goldstar exhaust copy, fabricated in Poona by Shakeel), and pair it with a free flowing K&N paper element cone pod filter or a oiled bi-foam dirt motocross style UNI pod filter (from dune buddy racing applications).

Fly mudguards. For mud clearance in slush (Rohtang onwards ... those days it was the Wild West. No roads. Just snow and slush and rocks and raging torrents of snow melt. And black ice!). My mechanic (Rafiq mama) and I retrofitted a Yamaha FZ ka back end mudguard/licence plate/tail light/indicators cluster to the Bullet and it came out beautiful! She was one of the best modded Bullets in the country then. Shes back to stock now.

@JaneBhiDoYaaron @Guynextdoor @indushek

Cheers, Doc

 

[Sharma Ji]

 

[Sharma Ji]

 

[vsdoc]

Hardcore India, rough cheap travel in the cowbelt hinterland.

On a business trip up north once, a colleague (who is majorly spiritual etc) took a day off to visit Vrindavan (Krishna ji's birthplace for the bad Hindu).

Man that is really not my scene. I thought I was going to die. I kid you not.

Cheers, Doc

 

[Sharma Ji]

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The old folks went last year, apparently they really have done a good job cleaning up. Remains to be seen kab tab maintain kar skte hain.

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this guy is hilarious, please watch all of his India travels, I'll post a few here to get you started.

 

[Sharma Ji]

ek vo sdarji ni hai jo apni Hayabusa le ke gaya tha ?

 

[Sharma Ji]

found it, big youtuber, millions of subs.. jason 'paaji'

 

[vsdoc]

Small brained American.

Wonder why that sounds familiar.

Cheers, Doc