| Q. WHAT SURPRISED YOU MOST ABOUT INDIA? A. I was knocked out by the country's astonishing natural beauty. Jungles, deserts, mountains, beaches - India has it all. Q. WHAT ITINERARY DO YOU SUGGEST? A. For an exploration of India's fabled past, visit the desert kingdoms of Rajasthan. For jungles and beaches, the southern state of Kerala. For hippie-style beaches with a colonial flavour, Goa on the west coast. For the cool, rolling green beauty of tea plantations, the hill stations of Kerala to the south and Darjeeling to the northeast. For sacred sites, the cities of the Ganges, especially Rishikesh, "the Yoga Capital of the Universe," and Varanasi, Hinduism's holiest city, where thousands of corpses are cremated annually. For Buddhist centres, Bodhgaya and Samath also along the Ganges, and Dharamsala, the Himalayan retreat of the Dalai Lama. For the centre of Sikhism, the Golden Temple in the Punjab also to the north. SEE MAP Q. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO TRAVEL IN INDIA? A. Though a tour based on luxury hotels, air travel and limousines can cost as much as a vacation in Europe, anyone who arrives in India without a prepaid itinerary can usually find a decent room with bath for $15 U.S. Indian ashrams charge foreigners about 100 rupees ($2.50 U.S.) a night for a mattress on the floor, with meals sometimes included. Motor-rickshaws offer a cheap, fun alternative to taxis. India's extensive train system, supplemented by buses, provides a fascinating and economical, albeit slow, way of seeing the country. In 1998, my 33-hour train ticket from New Delhi to Madras, involving two overnights, cost $17.70 U.S. for air-conditioned class, the most expensive. In India, even budget travelers will feel wealthy, but bargaining is usually necessary. Q. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE POVERTY AND OVERCROWDING? A. Despite its teeming cities and one-billion inhabitants, India has an overall population density only slightly higher than Germany's and considerably lower than Japan's. Though the constant demand of beggars can feel overwhelming, it's important to remember that many Indians, while possessing very little, often live rich and satisfying spiritual lives. Each traveler must find his or her own comfort zone when it comes to giving or not giving. Q. IS TRAVEL IN INDIA SAFE? A. The kindness and hospitality of the Indian people is without a Western equivalent. Families share their food with foreigners on trains and often invite them into their homes. English is spoken almost everywhere, and women are spared the macho swagger that makes travel in many foreign countries so stressful. Nevertheless, it's advisable to keep track of one's luggage and cameras; to wear money belts; to avoid the appearance of opulence; to be careful after dark on what are likely to be poorly lit streets; to be especially careful in crowds that gather at holy sites. |
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| THE ROPE IN THE WATER A Pilgrimage to India Thomas Allen Publishers, 352 pages, $32.95 Available at Canadian Bookstores or online at www.indigo.ca |