Originally Posted by
SpiderFlyerTX
Thanks for all of those that have responded. A couple of clarifying points:
1. My international travel experience is pretty limites at the point -- Australia for 6 months and short trips to Ecuador, London, Paris, and neighboring NA countries. However, I am traveling to Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines in March as well as my week in UAE in May.
2. Having not experienced non-Western cultures (outside of Ecuador?), this is something that is really intriguing to me. Based on airmotive's comments, India would be the perfect place to push my limits. I guess here the question is, am I ready to experience this?
4. Thanks to deniah for bringing up the visa requirement for Vietnam. Something I had not considered.
5. For India, I discussed with a colleague and he suggested Delhi->Leh->Srinagar OR Delhi->Jaipur->Jaisalmer->Jodhpur (are one of these the triangle?) since it will be cooler this time of year compared to having my base in Mumbai.
If you are already going to Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore, you'll have a taste of the climate, economy/style of life, and delicious food of SE Asia (in no way implying those are a substitute for vietnam)
in which case, go for India, as it offers a distinction and another end-point to your travel sampling.
and its cheap.
just try to hook up with a fellow traveler, book a tour guide, or the like. because it is a lot to take in as a solo traveler.