What advice would you give me as a first time traveller to India?

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Total Jackarse

India is such a marvellous place with such a rich cultural heritage, it's a pity that travellers will only get to see a few.

bathing in the river ganges might be interesting (it's said to wash away all sins, and the river itself is said to have descended from the heavens)

there are a variety of monasteries and temples that you could go to if only to admire the architecture.

Oh, and I must warn you to never use your credit card in small shops in India, they scam tourists big, BIG time. I know, I've been going there for the summers for the past eleven years, but my skin colour is brown, so I'm pretty desi as they get.

It's a great country, and it all depends on where in india you will be landing, there's a little bit of history in every corner of India, i suggest you do some hardcore research and shortlist the most spiritually enlightening places that you would like to visit.

Kudos to Sa for mentioning bugspray. I must warn you, the mosquiotes come at tourists by the hundreds, I swear to god they f8cking eat you up if you forget to use your commercial product.
The beggars are a foul sight, forgot to mention that. They steal if you take out a purse stuffed with cash, so just keep 100 ruppee bills in your pocket, that's about 6 dollars right?
And just look away if they come at you like zombies from Resident Evil, they do that when they see tourists.

bring sunscreen and OFF!- the insect preventing cream thing because there are many mosquitoes.

thirumal

the call taxi or auto driver may trick u,
beware of it

YOU WITH THE FACE!

In the cities, be wary of the terrible traffic and pollution. Don't miss out on going to some of the nicer small cities like Mysore in south India and DEFINITELY Cochin, Kerala. People tend to focus on Agra and Mumbai and miss out.

likn my life

Get all of your shots, don't drink unbottled water, and either bring antibiotics with you or learn the names of some and what they are for because they have much different sanitation standards than we are used to.

cpt falcoln

LEAVE....no im just kiddin

Nishant P

All parts of India are beautiful except big cities. I love places which are full of trees and which have fresh air to breathe unlike the polluted roads full of traffic.Well... I say that the best place to get air and trees is a quiet place like Kerala or many hill-stations. The best place with the best climate is Bangalore. If you want a hot climate, you should surely go to Delhi and if you want a really cool climate, then go to Ootacamund ( Ooty ) If you like old monuments, you can go to Kolkata, Delhi, etc. If you want beaches and seashores go to Karwar, Chennai, etc. The best hotels are The Leela Palace, Bangalore, The Royal Orchid, Bangalore, places in Mysore, Kochin, Ooty, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, etc. I'd better warn you to avoid small slum villages because the people will try stealing the money and stuff. Don' t drink unbottled water even if somebody tells you that it is Mineral water. If you have kids, you surely should go to Wonder La water amusement park on Mysore Road ( NICE Road )

gfrog82

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=502344

This might help you out, good luck