Travel Tips toIndia

भारत % िलए या*ा सuझाव

for those who have not yet visited,this is probably your point of reference...

or perhaps this...

or maybe something like this...

for us, it was all of the above and more, but...

prior to even landing to india,was an adventure in itself...

tip#oneget your visa

little did we know you needed one to even get into india. *thanks CAREY

so we had to fly from hawaii -> san francisco to the india visa office.

with a cue of about 100 people, it took

all day to process, and...

instead of waiting for hours and hours, we took a quick road trip to visit...

and slideshare spreading our aloha spirit to the entire San Francisco team!

we also had an opportunity to share with linkedin employees about slideshare! *thanks marisa

since we were in the neighborhood,we also stopped to visit our friend nancy Duarte!

we got our visas. now ON our WAY to india!

finally after waiting

all day,

but, first we had to fly all the way back to hawaii and catch our original plane!

travel TO GOtip#two

We don’t know about you, but we try to avoid checkin baggage whenever we travel

so we can save a lot of time and avoid the baggage claim.

knowing ahead of time the VARIOUS modes of transportation in india,

we only had 1 carry on and 1 bag was all we took for our TWO WEEK LONG trip.

be alerttip#three

the chhatrapati shivaji international airport can be a little crazy at times?!

right outside there are many people who can spot a tourist from a mile away.

and may take advantage of that by “taxing” you to help with your luggage.

yourself, or you can...

to be safe, do everything

befriend a localtip#four

india is home to

1.2 billion people. the 2nd most populated country in the

world!

was more than willing to show us around,

our new friend viswanathan

and explained to us a lot about india’s expansive culture, customs and traditions.

he even got us to dress up in traditionalkurta indian attire so we could blend in more.

favor in friendship.

- Viswanathan

“There is noyou can demand it.”

learn the historytip#five

the historic taj mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world!

we got a chance to meet the 17th gen artisans that helped craft the taj mahal.

still to this day they practice the same methods of cutting the various stones.

one tiny piece is made up of many various stones to form a little circle,

and here is an example of a finished piece made entirely out of marble and stone.

the gateway of indiawas built in 1911 to welcome the king and queen of England.

the prince of wales museum houses approximately50,000 exhibits of ancient india.

try the foodtip#SIX

this interesting bread & dip called chola bhatura was delicious!

*Thank you Urvashi

and you can’t go to india without having some authentic curry and naan bread!

we came across this donut hole shop called mad over donuts!

THEY MAKE SPECIALTY DONUT HOLES FILLED AND COVERED WITH YUMMY DELICIOUS GOODNESS!

just be cautious of what you eat. we recommend you don’t eat off the street.

it is not the most hygienic, but if you think you

go for it!have a strong stomach

drink bottled watertip#SEVEN

the water in india is not recommended to drink if it is not from a sealed bottle.

Photo: Carol Mitchell

THERE ARE A LOT OF FOOD VENDORS AND VARIOUS PLACES TO GET YOUR THIRST QUENCHED; HOWEVER,

Photo: Pham Truong Son

WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IS DOUBLE, TRIPLE CHECKTO SEE IF YOUR WATER BOTTLE COVER IS SEALED.

HOPEFULLY YOUR HOTEL OR PLACE YOU ARE STAYING will BRING YOU BOTTLED WATER DAILY.

*hotel Jewel of chembur did!

don t feed the needytip#EIGHT’

india has the largest concentration of poor people in the world with nearly 70% living on less than $2.00 u.s. per day.

YOU MAY HAVE A FEW EXTRA RUPEES OR AMERICAN DOLLARS TO SPARE...WHY NOT help?

because once you give to one, all the kids show up and ask for more!

photo: whereispops

many children see poverty

as a way of life and make it a career. by supporting them is only prolonging it.

do businesstip#NINE

we visited slideshare’s office in new delhi,and got to know the amazing team there!

but the main reason why we were there was to teach a 2-day presentation workshop

click to visit:

to the brandscapes worldwide team about how to design

empowered presentations!

there were a lot of laughs, fun, aha moments and design paradigm shifts!

have A GOOD TIMEtip#ten

who would have thunk that there was such a cool place thatreminded us of home.

listening to a hindi rock band drinking indian beer at the hard rock cafe was an experience.

or grab a horse and carriage ride along strand road near the gateway of india.

have a seat and attempt to draw a painting at the prince of wales museum,

or go shopping at the MODERNpalladium mall.

get a driver*bonus tip!

as a visiting tourist it may not be as easy getting from point a to point b as you think.

there are many taxis, trains and busses, but you take the chance of getting lost or taken advantage of.

having your own personal driver can savetime, energy and in some cases money too

letting you sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!

immigration*bonus tip!

so your trip has come to an end. There is still one more thing to consider which is the immigration line at the airport.

Arrive really early for your flight. make sure you have all your visas, passports and paperwork ready or risk missing your plane!

recap:

get your visabe alert

HAVE A GOOD TIME

BEFRIEND a local

try the food bottled waterlearn THE history

do business

don t feed THE NEEDY

travel TO GO

*IMMIGRATION*GET A DRIVER

’

we had an amazing time.mahalo to all our friends we’ve made. we can’t wait to return!

#EPINDIA

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