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Travel
Tips
When traveling to India, review these tips for a more enjoyable
stay.
Hotels
For the level of luxury they provide, hotel rates in India are
very reasonable – around $200 per day, inclusive of all
taxes and breakfast. The hotels offer all the standard amenities – swimming
pool, gym, sauna, hairdresser, massage, pedicure, nails, gift
shop, etc.
Carretek can recommend a number of world class hotels, comparable
or better than the Four Seasons chain in the U.S., for your stay.
Hotel staff will typically go out of their way to meet your requests.
There are hairdryers in the rooms, and laundry/dry cleaning,
pressing, and shoeshine services are standard.
Ground Transportation
Charges for a rental car are reasonable – about $50 per
day (including driver) for normal use. Additional per-mile charges
apply for excessive use. U.S. model renter-driven cars are unknown
in India, and not recommended in any event.
Food
All major hotels will generally boast 3-4 restaurants offering
different cuisines – Indian, Western (referred to as “continental
cuisine” in India), Chinese, etc. – and a 24 hour
coffee shop offering a sampling of all three cuisines. DO NOT
EAT ANY UNCOOKED FOOD ANYWHERE. Uncooked food includes salads
and fruits (unless you have washed and peeled the fruit yourself
using bottled water).
Cooked food is safe to eat, BUT ONLY IN THE FOLLOWING PLACES:
- Your hotel
- At a private home, should you be invited to any
- At all Mastek organized events.
If you have a taste for it, you may be tempted to over-indulge
in Indian food, of which a tremendous range will be available.
Try to avoid that if possible.
Drink
DO NOT PUT ANY TAP WATER IN YOUR MOUTH, FOR DRINKING OR EVEN
BRUSHING YOUR TEETH. While the water is quite potable for Indians,
Western constitutions seem to have trouble dealing with it. The
hotels all supply complimentary bottled water in the rooms – ask
for more if you need it. Make sure the bottle is sealed and you
opened it yourself. If invited to a private home, they will be
happy to offer you bottled water/sodas, etc. The hotel bars (and
in-room mini-bars) all offer the full range of cocktails (ask
for any specific brand of liquor you prefer), beers (the Kingfisher
brand of Indian beer is highly recommended), but a more limited,
though generally adequate, range of wines. DO NOT HAVE ICE WITH
YOUR DRINK. Ask for the chaser to be chilled, and if your preferred
chaser is water, ask for your drink straight up, with bottled
water on the side.
Internal Airline Flights
First class seats on domestic carriers are not much more expensive
than coach, so if seats are available, it is recommended you
fly first class. While there are several carriers, the best of
them all is Jet Airways, which will compare quite favorably with
the best airlines in the world. If Jet Airways is not available
or the flight timing is inconvenient, then the next choice is
the government-owned Indian Airlines. This is OK, but nothing
to write home about. The other carriers are unreliable (frequent
cancellations, etc.). All Indian domestic flights are alcohol
and smoke free. No photography is allowed at any Indian airport.
Security procedures are very, very stringent with 100% (no exceptions)
multiple hand searches of carry on baggage. All booked baggage
is X-rayed and sealed before being accepted at the check-in counter.
Weather
Temperatures all over India in early October are likely to be
in 80-85 degree range, though nighttime temperatures in the North
(Delhi/Jaipur) could dip into the low 70s. Mumbai on the coast
of the Arabian Sea will likely be humid. Outside of private homes,
air conditioning is as common as it is in the US – hotels,
cars, shops, airports, etc. In private homes, the middleclass
and above will have window units, at least in the bedrooms. The
chances of rain anywhere in India in early October is slim to
none.
Clothes
When attending business meetings, check with your host for the
appropriate attire. For daytime excursions, casual dress is acceptable – jeans,
T-shirts, shorts, “summery” type dresses, etc. – and
for the nighttime entertainment events, upscale casual is typically
OK. (Again, check with the host for special events).
As a general rule, it is best for the ladies to avoid very “provocative” dresses – very
short, too low cut, too much mid-riff - although bare arms, and
bare legs are fine, even shorts. Open toe shoes, sandals, slippers,
etc., are fine too. Swimsuits, including bikinis are accepted,
as are sweat suits for exercise and light walking shoes. It may
be too hot for heavy sneakers. Hotels will generally provide
his and hers terry cloth robes and cloth slippers.
Vaccinations
You should consult your healthcare provider, particularly with
respect to Hepatitis A or immune globulin (IG).
Medicines
Please carry adequate supplies of all your regular medications.
See if you can get a small supply of quinine tablets. Half a
tablet every two days will keep all possibility of contracting
malaria, remote as it is, at bay. In addition, you may wish to
carry OTC medicines for headache, upset stomach, diarrhea and
common cold. Also carry your favorite sun block lotion. While
equivalents are available at local drug stores, usually under
the same brand name, it is simply easier to have them with you.
Appliances
Power is 220 volts, but some hotels offer a 110 volts outlet
as well. Generally speaking, however, US appliances will not
work unless they are dual voltage, or you have a step-down transformer.
Please check whether your laptop charger is dual voltage before
plugging it into a 220 volts outlet. All hotels now have built-in
universal plug points and telephone jacks in their guest rooms.
So if you can take the 220 volts, your US, British, European
or whatever plug and telephone cord will fit. Ask the hotel about
high-speed or modem Internet connectivity, and for adapters in
the unlikely event that you should need one.
Other
The first floor in the US is the ground floor in India. Don’t
let the elevator (known as the “lift”) buttons confuse
you. The currency is the rupee (roo-pee). One US$ equals about
46 rupees, but for quick convertibility divide the rupee amount
by 5 and move the decimal point one place to the left. So 100
rupees divided by 5 is 20 and moving the decimal point one place
to the left gives us 100 rupees = $2. Tip the bell hop 20 rupees
(which will make him very happy) and you have tipped him 40 cents.
100 rupees is a good tip for your driver when you let him go
in the evening. Acceptable percentage gratuities in restaurants
are the same as in the US.
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