anaggie

For me to walk into a McDonlads in the USA will require some sort of miracle...in any other the world....S**t....it's just not going to happen....

travelmad478

Back to the disease thing for a minute. I wouldn't worry about dengue, but there was (is?) a quite serious epidemic of something called chikungunya in India this year, which is not a fatal disease but extremely painful and debilitating. My friend Sridha caught it this August during a visit to his family in Chennai. Apparently it was very widespread and quite infectious, not to mention no fun at all to catch. He was still in pain and limping a month later.

I have no idea if this epidemic is still a problem, but it certainly was this summer.

Jamoldo

Once again, speaking of illnesses, they can mostly be avoided (usually save for Dehli Belly) if one is smart and practical. Of course some people get bad breaks, but that happens everywhere.

drbond

i never said that i was afraid of muslims or anything assoicated with them. those are someone else's words. i have never been able to identify someones religeon by looking at them, there actions maybe.

drbond

To clarify my signature line... when traveling abroad,,, i try to use the local customs, languages and routines. i avoid attempting to voice or take any action that may be perceived as [typical american].

GUWonder

drbond,

Have you decided on a time of the year yet to visit, when the visit will be and/or how much time you have for the trip once you get there? That info and a bit more about what you and your family's interests on a visit would be could also help with formulation of what to do.

The traditional trip to India usually covers at least Delhi-Agra (Taj Mahal) and parts of Rajasthan (Jaipur, Udaipur, etc.).

SuiJuris

The saddest thing I've seen in India? The out-of-the-door lines at the Pizza Hut on Connaught Place. All that great food, and . . . sigh.

~

As to the earlier poster querying Jaipur restaurants: I'm sure that there's better food in the city, but you'll find no better service than at Rambagh Palace. The food was great, to be sure. But the approach and feel of the place was (embarrassingly, shamefully, and sadly attractively) colonial.

GUWonder

India's Pizza Huts have slightly different menus than found elsewhere. The reasons the CP Pizza Hut often gets busy (with a waitinglist out the door) are because it's in a busy area with not that many great restaurant options in the CP blocks themselves; and because people visiting Delhi from elsewhere want to check something out that they don't have closer to home. You do find a number of foreign tourists at the CP Pizza Hut too, from time to time, but not that many. There do seem to be a lot of younger Indian couples/families and student types there.

drbond

I think I can do without pizza.
I schedule everything a year out. (FF travel on DL of course)
So I am open to the suggestion of the best time to travel.
We like old sites, history, buildings, some tourist attractions,,,, not to keen on art unless it is incorporated in a building. I would not spend a day in an art gallery (Louvre excepted)

Jamoldo

You can pretty much go anywhere in India and not be dissapointed then, Bond. Have you been doing any research on the web and looking up travel reviews/ trip reports? If not, definitely spend some time and do so, it will help a lot. Lots of great advice in this thread too...

etch5895

That's convenient, since it is also my hotel in Jaipur. Since I've got three nights there, I'll try their restaurant at least once. And I've got no intent of going into a Pizza Hut over there.

Delhi Flyer

Nothing sad about that; most of these are folks who eat excellent Indian food daily and want to try something different from time to time!

I have taken to ordering a delicious Domino's thin-crust spicy paneer corn pizza at least once on every trip to India. Yes, I am using the words delicious and Domino's in the same sentence! Yes you can order their regular ghastly pizza too, but their thin crust local pizzas are mmm mmm mmm...

cj001f

You are in a much better position to judge than I; I found it amusing, in a sad way, that when I walked by a group of 50 American MBA students were exiting (I know that from their nametags)

You'll be safe in India if you keep your whits about you.

etch5895

And be prepared for beggars, beggars, and more beggars.

Beggars who don't take no for an answer. Ah, to look Indian right now would be a blessing. But, alas, it isn't to be.

painintheuk

I'm not American, but I'll also be back in India in January. I visited Delhi in April this year and loved it, but I was in a 'protected' type of situation, where I was staying with 2 ex-pats who lived there and knew the ins and outs, had their own driver, and arranged most everything. We did have delivery McDonalds for a change one night, Japanese sushi and champagne for brunch, cooked Italian at home for Indian guests, and had burgers at the US Embassy's club. Other than that it was all Indian . For me 'ex-pat' life was almost as exotic as Indian!

This time I'll be in Mumbai and Bangalore, but without the safety nets. I do have some interviewing to do, and will presumably stay at nice hotel (Hilton in Mumbai), but everything else will be on my own. I consider myself fairly well traveled (in non-FT groups!), but developing countries still scare me some I have to admit. I understand the OPs concerns. Given my short time, I'm not sure in either city that I'll wander much independantly. I may just take a 1 day city tour from the hotel. If I get time I will, though. I just won't bring my nice new camera with me .

As the time gets closer, I will read the travel-logs and books, but any suggestions for those 2 towns, including great Indian food, are welcome.

Thanks,

Dr. PITUK