BuildingMyBento

Greetings FTers,

I'd like to visit Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Kolkata, with an emphasis on the last two. Why? I like big cities. And I like food. The two often go well together.

Though, I'd like to be able to hunker down in a place for a month, and then carry on eventually to the other places on the list.

Would anyone be able to recommend a good way for a solo male traveler to find a flat to stay in for about one month? Has airbnb caught on, or are there other India-specific sites?

Or, does each of these five locations have a budget hotel chain where I can negotiate a long-stay rate?

Thanks in advance.

BmB

Keyser

all these cities have multiple budget hotels that will be happy to offer you a long term stay deal....

try http://www.gingerhotels.com/ to see what rates you can get....they have properties in most of the places you want to go to....

i've stayed in a few ginger properties in the past....their facilities are basic but comfortable & they offer unbelievable prices....

hyderago

For Hyderabad, I'd recommend Orange:

http://www.orangetransithouse.com/

BuildingMyBento

Thanks for your replies, Keyser and hyderago.

@Keyser, Tata, what a surprise...are those Ginger hotels similar to Tune hotels (are you familiar with those? They are related to Air Asia)? Seems fine, though ideally I'd like to spend no more than US$450-500 per month wherever I was. Doable at these hotels or in a flat, you reckon?

@hyderago, the copyright date on that website says 2006, and they want me to enter a "status code," (presumably a reservation number?), but sure, that looks fine too.

Now, of Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Kolkata, which city would have the largest variety of food/street food available? I eat just about everything, so no dietary restrictions in tow. Or, is that question as naive as asking when Air India will join *A? I'm hoping for a city (or cities, just as well) that offers a sampling of cuisine from throughout the country, in addition to the local area.

oliver2002

The street food in Kolkata will most certainly kill you or alternatively you will spend a few weeks in your new rented home getting used to to the viral, bacterial and other alien mulicellular inhabitants of the food. HYD, AMD and MAA may be a bit better, neither really offer a broad spectrum and are more regional.

AJLondon

The only place I would remotely consider street food, is in some of the malls in the mentors that have "street food" dedicated counters. Kind of like Haldirams in a mall where golgappas water is made with RO/mineral water.

Definitely no street food on the actual street!

AJLondon

Also OP, tenancy by foreign nationals in India involves a police verification with visa copy etc. At least all law abiding landlords should and do insist on this.

My advice would be to avoid that hassle and follow the Ginger hotels etc suggestions above.

rsh913

As much as I'd like to think India has moved on a lot of the rental properties are still handled the old fashioned way... some will not rent to single people and to non vegetarians... A good friend's wife has blogged about it actually.

http://www.whiteindianhousewife.com/...ment-in-india/

IMHO a service apartment would be a better suggestion. They are better managed and have some type of cleaning/ food available.

Depending on your budget try
http://www.d-habitat.com/

I have not tried habitat so cannot vouch for them.

hyderago

The status code is only for you to view your reservation. I don't see why you need it now. I suggest you first contact them to check availability and bargain for a long-term rate.

As others have said, I think you should stay away from street food (and perhaps even the cheapest restaurants) in India. You will still be able to find good food options at very reasonable prices. I don't have much experience with Ahmedabad and Kolkata, but I think Hyderabad is better than Chennai for your purposes. In Hyd, you will have plenty of options for Hyderabadi/Nizam cuisine, traditional Andhra food, as well as more generic South Indian/Udipi stuff.

oliver2002

Well, the main problem with renting out property (or atleast what the owner worries about) is the ability to gain back their property and not end up with a squatter who has a water tight contract and only pays a pittance of rent via the rent control. Believe it or not, rent legislation is very much in favor of the tenant in India.

The blog article is of course spruced up a little to sound funky. Both Mumbai and Kolkata are as cosmopolitan as an Indian city can get, the veggie thing is nonsense, as is the building society having a say on who lives there. As far as the opposite sex/religion/race living together in sin is concerned, everyone knows that you just pretend to be married and make sure to mention the selective truth when travelling or even renting etc. No one will ask the woman for the full details (name/religion etc). I've taken friends thru India who were unmarried but just pretended to be married, and thus shared a bed wherever they stayed including at the homes of my very conservative friends. Of course if you are frequently changing partners and go at it like rabbits and make loud related noises there may be some need to clarify matters to the neighbors

BuildingMyBento

Thanks for your replies!

I was a bit worried about renting a place to stay, particularly for such a short term, (even as a solo traveler) but it does seem that there are enough cheapish accommodations where negotiating a rate is possible. Perhaps of the four cities inquired about, Ahmedabad would be the most difficult to find a place? I really don't know, but the Ginger chain sounds plausible enough.

Service apartments- sound nice, but I certainly can't afford the usual chains, unless India has homegrown brands to learn about.

Hadn't a clue about Nizam cooking, but bhagare baigan sounds quite nice.

Oh, I'm (for some reason?) not bothered about the conditions at street vendors/budget eateries. Call it ignorant, but those are often my go-tos in other, less blatantly salubrious parts of the world (Jakarta, previous short visits in South Asia, various Chinese cities, Manila). Are there reports of foreigners dying every day from eating street food in Kolkata? Doubt it. There's only one lesson I have learned in that regard, and it's never get ice. Even if inanimate objects are sweating profusely, it's...dicey. Before long, someone is going to travel the world with the only goal to drink tap water, and it'll be a hit reality show among medical students.

oliver2002

Street food in S.E. Asia and China is far cleaner than Indian street food. You better bring a champagne cork along if you think eating on the street is cool. Take it from someone who lived in Kolkata for 6 years, even I wouldn't eat on the street. Now, there are cheap eateries I can go to, but even those are not advisable in Kolkata to foreigners. In Mumbai I would send anyone to a eatery but not in Kolkata. Visitors certainly don't die in Kolkata eating street food, but they have/get the runs, which come close to Usain Bolt

hyderago

I'm talking more about Hyderabadi biryani and desserts like double ka meetha.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyderabadi_cuisine

BuildingMyBento

Hmm, not too interested in getting into a dystopian debate about the world's least hygienic street food locales, but Jakarta is...well I really like the city, and will leave it at that! Heck, as reality goes, some unpleasantness can happen anywhere.

Also, really Mumbai but not Kolkata? Have you been to Cotton Green? That was a trip... though oliver2002, back on track, the only time I was in India was in 2006. Do you think Delhi and Mumbai (and other cities) have come a long way in terms of awareness of safe food practices? Why has Kolkata been slighted?

BuildingMyBento

Double ka meetha sounds good- is it hot condensed milk, or just hot milk? Adding saffron and cinnamon works, but where does the sweetness come into play? Gajar halwa- that's one of my favorite desserts. Very rich, like many from the subcontinent, but very nice. Also, I thought faluda was Persian?

Pretty much everything looks like good eats. Though that's just about everything in India. Someone please tell me that vindaloo is much, MUCH better than what is served out of the country...