INDIA • TRAVEL

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Total km biked: 32132
Days biked: 25

Bottle water is everywhere in India and a 1-liter bottle costs about 10-12 R.S. (about US$0.25). Some hotels and restaurants use filtered water from a system such as AquaGuard, which is usually safe to drink, but you need to know your own stomach.  Street food is usually tasty, but often times very oily.  Fresh fruits is everywhere, but beware of pre-cut fresh fruit, since it is often doused with water to keep it shining.

We always slept in hotels and guesthouses in India, unless we camped on the grounds of a tourist hotel complex or in someone's yard/garden.  People are everywhere, so it would be really hard to have any sort of privacy when you are in a tent surrounded by 50 people, plus we felt as though we would always have to worry about things being stolen (though we never had anything stolen during our entire time in India). You can find a double room in a cheap guesthouse for 100-150RS (US$2.50-$5.00), but accomodation can actually be more expensive out of touristy areas, since there is less competetion for hotels.  We felt like accomodation could sometimes be expensive.

In India, after cycling through Rajasthan to Mumbai, we took a train from Mumbai back to Delhi. The train was clean, on schedule, and our bikes were able to go on the same train as us in the luggage compartment for a reasonable fee.  It is key to know that major train stations in most cities have something called a "foreign quota" for securing seats on long distance trains.  Basically four sleeper class seats are held on each train for foreigners only.  All you need to do is figure out which station in the city (in Mumbai it is the Churchgate Station) that has the foreign quota office.  Once you arrive, all you need to do is show your passport and pay the cost of the seat, which varies depending on the duration of your ride.  We went the same morning as our trip and had no problem getting a seat, but this might not always be the case. 

We also took a sleeper bus in India, which was okay, but in our opinion it probably isn't worth paying the extra money for the sleeper bed and just ride in a normal seat, since the bus bounces around so much you can't really sleep anyways.  Maybe it was just our location over the back wheel, or the route we took (we serious had to look out the window from time to time to see if we were off-roading), but it was a bouncy ride!  The good news is you can flag down a bus anywhere and they will usually stop.   One time Meredith's back wheel was out of whack, it was getting dark and we were still 25 kilometers away from Udiapur.  After waving at a couple of buses, one pulled over and let us on.  They put the bikes right in the ailse, but they will put them anywhere...the roof, the underside carrier, but for a fee, of course. 

In cities, the most common form of transportation is the cycle/auto rickshaw.  Since we had bikes, we didn't take many of these and they seem to be a real hassle for backpackers and other tourists.  We met multiple people in New Delhi who had their luggage stolen by an auto rickshaw driver.  As they were unloading their bags, the driver just sped away. They also are famous for taking you to all sorts of shops and hotels where they get commission.  We don't know about any of this first-hand, but we heard enough from other people to believe it is true.  You also have to bargain pretty hard because they usually always tell you an absurd price, unless they know you have been around the area for a while. We did have to take a couple of auto rickshaws to the Embassy area in New Delhi, since we had to go there so often and it was a little bit far to ride everyday for a week.  We found it best to just ask a local that you know how much it should cost and tell the driver that is what you will pay, take it or leave it.  Usually after a while, they will just take it, rather than sitting around, but we guess it depends on how many tourists are in the area. 

Most people we met thought we were crazy cycling in India (we only met a couple other people on bikes who were actually cycling while we were there).  The traffic is a bit wild, and we did get driven off the road up to 15-20 times a day, especially in the Uttar Pradesh area, but we think it is actually a better way to see India than with a backpack.  This is only our opinion and observation, but India is known for people trying to rip you off and being right in your face trying to coerce you into their hotel.  Since we had our own transportation, we missed all this action at the bus and train stations.  This is where the hustlers hang out.  As soon as a tourist bus stops, it is swarmed by people selling souvenirs, handing out business cards and offering you a free ride to their "friends" hotel.  We were able to just cycle up to the place we wanted to stay and negotiate a rate.  We also missed most of the rickshaw action, which we hear can get very tiring after a  long day. 

Other than always having to bargain for everything and being patient enough to visit four or five places before you agree to purchase most things, India for us was really enjoyable.  The history was amazing and we really met some nice people who welcomed us into their homes, expecting nothing in return. 

Some specific highlights were riding through the rural desert of Rajasthan, Jaislmer, Udiapur, visiting friends in Surat and Mumbai, the rural area of Uttar Pradesh right over the Nepalese border, visiting the Jamea Saifiyah Arabic University, Manali and meeting One Two at the Green Hotel in McCleod Ganj. 

We would also suggest dressing modestly if you are a female in India.  Foreign women seem to attract a disproportionate amount of attention, usually inappropriate.  Most of the time it is verbal, but women are also "grabbed" quite frequently by ignorant Indian men.  They are really giving themselves a bad reputation.