Visas:
Traveling to India when you are coming from a more developed country can be very overwhelming at first. First things first, once you book your flight to India, make sure you get a visa. No one told my husband and I that we would need a visa to come here (we moved from the U.S to Hyderabad) and the first time my husband tried to come he was turned away.
Medications/shots:
-Before you travel to India you will need to see a licensed travel physician that can tell you exactly what shots and medications you need (especially since things can change every few months, you want to have updated info). Unfortunately most insurance companies don't cover this with health insurance so be ready to fork out some serious cash.
-You should go to a physician at least one month prior to travel to ensure you will have to to get all of the necessary shots.
-You will need malaria pills, there are weekly and daily pills you can take. The weekly pills are the easiest. The main concern with malaria (contracted by mosquito bites) will be in rural areas with a lot of standing water. This isn't such a big deal in larger cities like Hyderabad, but it is still recommended you take the pills.
-Other shots that will need to be up to date are you Hep A and Hep B series, rabies (stray dogs), polio, and typhoid. Typhoid is VERY necessary as this is contracted through drinking water.
-Bring cipro for spells of diarreah.
-The CDC web site has helpful information on what is needed:
Other Helpful Things To Pack:
Plenty of Purell to wash hands constantly to avoid illnesses such as pink eye (very common in India). I also bring my own toilet paper when I travel as most places only have little hoses to rinse but not toilet paper. Other things that I find useful are wet wipes, Advil or Ibuprofin, neosporin, band-aids, hydrogen peroxide, pepto bismal, sunscreen, chap stick etc. Getting things like this in India are not that easy so I carry a little power pack of everything I need.
Drinking Water:
-Do not drink any water that isn't bottled. When you go to a restaurant make sure you ask for bottled water and check that the ice cubes in the drinks are also made with mineral water.
-The water is very contaminated and can make you very sick, a lot of people also brush their teeth with bottled water.
Eating:
-Don't eat food off the street, it normally is not cooked properly and is cooked on unclean surfaces.
-Use your best judgment when choosing restaurants, if it doesn't look clean then you should leave. I always cut my food thoroughly and check that it is cooked all the way through as well.
Street Smarts:
-Before you go anywhere with a rickshaw driver or cab negotiate the price beforehand. Foreigners are like walking money signs so everyone is going to try and hike up the price. Ask more than one driver what the cost should be.
-There are going to be beggars everywhere you go in India. They will tap on your car window, tug at your sleeve and follow you around. Expats get hassled ALL THE TIME, so just be prepared. When you are in a situation where you aren't in a car, hold on to your wallet and your belongings as pick pocketers will be in full force. This is even more important when you are in high traffic tourist areas.
-Stray dogs are all over the place in India, and the best way to avoid being bitten is to completely stay away from them. Most of them are quite friendly and don't mind people, but these are wild animals not like the pets in the U.S. and they can be dangerous.
-When walking around the streets, you will see that there are basically no rules for cars. There aren't very many sidewalks so a lot of time you will be walking where the cars and scooters are driving. You have to be alert all the time as their will be a lot going on. Most of the cars/scooters drive pretty slow because of traffic, but the sheer number of people on the roads is overwhelming. If you have to cross a busy road you may want your driver to accompany you as the traffic will never stop for you, it will just slow down a bit as you bolt across.
What to pack:
-Men dress basically the same as men in the U.S. so no change there. But the women all wear traditional Indian dress, and since you probably don't have any clothes like this you can wear similar things you would wear in the U.S., but be a little more conservative. Best to wear pants every day, avoid low cut tops and tank tops.
-Before you go somewhere ask your driver or hotel if you are going somewhere if it is a traditional area, more Muslim etc. so you can dress appropriately. Your best bet is to always wear pants or capris and a short sleeved shirt. It's pretty much always hot here, so keep that in mind.
-During the winter, Northern India can get pretty cold (50 degrees at night), but southern India will stay pretty warm year round, so pack accordingly.
Travel:
-A lot of Expats that are going to be spending a few months in India will do a significant amount of traveling. Flights in India are not like the U.S. where you have 30 options to fly from SF to LA. There are normally just 1-2 flights per day to any given location (other than large cities like Delhi, Mumbai etc.)
-The best sites to use when traveling are: below:
http://makemytrip.co.in/makemytrip/MMTHome.do
http://www.cleartrip.com/
http://www.yatra.com
-If you are traveling within India e-tickets are available, but for International travel e-tickets are not available. You have to go to a local travel agent, have them book the flight and pay for it through them, they they print the ticket and give it to you.
-If you are traveling to a beach area, bathing suites and beach attire are acceptable. But other parts of India will be very conservative as far as dress, be sure to research where you are going ahead of time so you know what is ok.
-You should also know that if you are visiting a temple, fort or other large tourist attraction there is a different price for foreigners than Indian nationals. And they normally make women cover up when going in the temple, they have to cover their legs fully and arms sometimes as well.
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