[GPGT] North India Backpacking :)

[majormao]

[GPGT] North India Backpacking, 56k modem not recommended :)

Hi all, decided to share some pictures for my backpacking trip in india. I quit my job and decided to go for a 1 month vacation packed with a bit of adventure and excitement. This is my first time travelling alone and i've no idea whats in store for me. I've decided to plan about 3-4 days itinerary (adv booking of hostel, train tickets etc) and leave the rest of the journey on a free and easy, day to day basis. Ok should not talk so much and let the pictures do the talking

Malaysia airlines flight. Transit to KL before flying to Delhi.

Reach my hotel in new delhi, Paharganj area at about 12am local time (sg time 2.30am).

Room is very small. Notice the way i took the picture, thats the max distance i can take the picture from far. One more step back, i will bang myself against the door. Price is about sgd $18 which is way over price for such a room. But well at least its clean, guess i shouldnt complain.

Work up in the morning to grab some free breakfast. Met 2 Europeans ( Uk & scottish) and decided to tag along and visit Dilli Haat for about half a day.

 

[majormao]

cute sneaky little one haha

 

[majormao]

We separated after a few hours cause i need to catch my train to varanasi. Decided to explore the Paharganj area for a little bit since i have some spare time.

 

[majormao]

Time to catch the train to varanasi.

Realise i reach there too early. Decided to try out their lounge. Its very clean and quiet. A welcome respite from the chaotic streets & touts outside

 

[majormao]

Time to really catch the train.

Reach varanasi the next morning. Took a richshaw to Dasaswamedh Ghat. Paid 60 rupees after some haggling. But realise afterwards its too much, actual price shld be around 30- 40 rupees. Took a walk along the ghats, soaking in the atmosphere while finding my hostel at the same time.

 

[majormao]

 

[majormao]

 

[majormao]

Reach my hostel. Its call kautilya society and located just near dharbhaga ghat. You need to climb up the steep stairs near the ghat and there is also a temple sitting right on top of the stairs. cost about sgd $8 per night and its tonnes better then the one i stay at delhi which is sgd$18 per night.

Ok thats it for now. Need to go sleep. I will upload more pictures by tml.

 

[Bak_Chor_Mee]

very nice photos! i always wanted to backpack India. care to share your total expenses?

 

[majormao]

hi thanks. total cost is about sgd 1700 . definitely can be cheaper, cause towards the end of my trip, i blow alot of my budget on last min air tickets. my mas ticket cost about 500+ 2 way. I also spend 300+ on last min domestic flights within india.

a cheaper alternative is to take budget air (airasia, tiger) and start your journey in south india (chennai, bangalore, hyderabad). You can go literally anywhere with trains from these places. Trains are very cheap too, cost me about $9 sgd avg on a sleeper class to almost any destination. More info on their trains here:
Train travel in India - a beginner's guide |* How to buy tickets online

 

[majormao]

a cheaper alternative is to take budget air (airasia, tiger) and start your journey in south india (chennai, bangalore, hyderabad). You can go literally anywhere with trains from these places. Trains are very cheap too, cost me about $9 sgd avg on a sleeper class to almost any destination. More info on their trains here:
Train travel in India - a beginner's guide |* How to buy tickets online

To add on, the website suggest booking the train tix very very early in advance. For me i did not encounter any problems booking trains 2-3 days before the journey. I book through those travel agency where you can find lots in the streets. Only need to pay them around sgd $2 to ask them to book for you.

 

[bugmenot45]

just out of curiosity - were you travelling solo? are you a guy/gal?
did you go to kolkata?

 

[majormao]

yup im travelling solo but most of the time i dun really feel alone cause i met alot of interesting people along the way haha. im a guy. Nope i did not go to kolkata, i focus mainly on the northern part since i've limited time.

 

[majormao]

Morning view of the Ganges River. Simply awesome!!

And a cup of chai

Decided to grab some breakfast along the streets. Cost me less then sgd $1 for all these food =)

 

[majormao]

Back to exploring

 

[majormao]

 

[majormao]

Met this jap guy over lunch and we decided to explore varanasi together for 2 days. Turns out that he is just staying beside my hostel, what a coincidence haha.

We took a boat ride crossing the Ganges river, just to see what was on the other side. Each of us paid 20 rupees for the shared boat .

 

[majormao]

 

[majormao]

Weighing balance for wood use to burn the bodies along Manikarnika ghat. Its big business. A lot of Indians took their relatives and families for cremation here. You can roughly judge they are well off or not by looking at the burning process. Well to do families have money to purchase enough wood (there are also different quality woods if i'm not wrong) and you can see that the cremation process is smooth due to the strong fire. The fire is not that strong for not so well to do families, and sometimes you can still see a little bit of unfinished burning of the bodies.

 

[majormao]

lunch at japanese restaurant. Food is awesome, prepared by a jap lady. There is alot of koreans and japanese here, so its not uncommon to have jap restaurants here. My jap fren is so relieve to find authentic hometown food after 3 months in india, and i will feel the same just after 2 weeks in india!!

Dessert at the famous blue lassi

Exploring the galis of varanasi