General Tips

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• Canadian interac bank cards generally do not work at Indian bank machines; even the ones that have the "plus" symbol. I have only found one bank - HDFC which works with any of my bank cards. Most bank machines will accept VISA or MasterCard - if you don't know your PIN (like myself), call your bank before your departure and have them send you a PIN. To avoid interest charges on credit card cash advances, transfer money onto your credit card and carry a postive cash balance if possible.
• The hotel booking office as mentioned in the Lonely Planet at the Mumbai airport is a complete rip-off! You are better off to take local transport to the area you want to stay in, walk around and look for a place.
• Room prices are often negotiable; like everything in India! It doesn't hurt to ask.
• Do not pay more of an advance for your room than the actual room rate - you may not get this money back.
• Always carry a selection of coins and small bills - this way you avoid the likely situation where your taxi driver or seller has "no change" and you are stuck paying more than you want.
• India has a huge plastic waste problem - minimize your impact by purchasing large bottles of water, such as 5L or at minimum 2L instead of smaller bottles. The ideal solution would be to carry a water filter (such s the Katadyn Combi) where you can filter almost any kind of water to a safe level.
• A good phrase to know - "Oi! Chelo!" - Stop. Go away!
• Taxi drivers and auto-rickshaw drivers will really try to cheat tourists as much as possible. Their initial fare offering is at least 2-3 times more than what you should be paying. Ask a local what the ride should cost to get a reference point. Ask a number of taxi/rickshaw drivers. Bargain and then walk away if you don't like the price. There are prepaid taxi/rickshaw stands at numerous locations. It usually works out to slighly more than you could possible bargain for, but at least you know you are not being fleeced! I have found the meters on the auto-rickshaws to be quite fair. When possible, use auto-rickshaw's versus taxi's as they are cheaper and often quicker. The meter on the auto-rickshaw's is often fair. They start around 10 rupees and then charge about 5 rupees/kilometer. Know how far you are going and figure out before hand what it should cost you. Confirm this with the driver before getting in.
• If you like chocolate - I have found that Cadbury Dairymilk chocolate bars are usually not melted. Many of the others have melted and then solidfied again - not good for a chocolate bar!
• Almost 100% of the time when a street person comes up to you they want to sell you something. Almost 100% of the time they will try to cheat you. Be cautious! If you want to purchase something, go to a store/market/stall - it will be cheaper! If your guidebook says that something should be a certain price but a tout tells you otherwise, trust your guidebook!
• Buses - many different kinds! In order of comfort/cleansliness (from least to most): Express, Semi-Deluxe, Deluxe, Rajahamsa, Luxury, Volvo AC.
• If you are on a shoestring budget, traveling by passenger train - unreserved second class - is extremely cheap! A six hour train ride can cost you as little as 50 rupess ($1.25CDN).
• Avoid paying for train tickets by credit card if there is a remote chance that you may want to change your ticket. Large cities have credit card facilities, but the stations in medium and small cities/towns do not have credit card facilities. To change a train ticket you actually need to refund your ticket and purchase a new one. As there are no credit card facilities in the smaller places, you will not be able to refund your ticket. If you are caught in the situation with a ticket that you paid for with a credit card and need a refund at a small station - there is a way. A very complicated way. One that will consume lots of your time. You need to apply for a TD (ticket deposit) receipt, submit your unused tickets at the train station and then send your ticket deposit receipt along with a letter to the nearest larger station for a refund. They will process your refund application and this may take up to three months.
• You can pick up a comprehensive train schedule guide at almost any train station - they cost 30 rupees.
• What do the ubiquitous STD/ISD signs stand for? Standard Trunk Dialing and International Subscriber Dialing.
• Don't keep any cash or valuables in easily accessible clothing pockets! Pick-pockets are lightening fast - this comes from first hand experience! You do not have to be paranoid, but especially at train stations and bus stations pay extra attention.
• Be very careful what you drink and eat. It's way too easy to become sick! Of course, never drink unbottled water. Be careful when ordering fruit juices as these are often watered down. Avoid eating fruit which you cannot peel.
• If you enjoy reading; don't bring them from home. You can purchase almost any book in India for half or a third of the cost they are back in Canada.
• Do not liberally disperse goods such as school pens, chocolate or money to street people - you are not doing anybody a favour!
• Bargain. Always bargain. Try to keep the costs of things to an equitable level for all. Paying the over inflated prices for goods or transport will only aid the continuation in price increases of these items.