Things You Need To Know Before You Travel To India

India is very much a world of its own. There are so many different cultures, languages, foods, and people. There were a couple of things I wish we knew before we got there. I’ve compiled a list to help you out!

Tipping

Everyone gets tipped and everywhere takes credit card. BUT no where does tip on card. When you land at the airport in India either take out cash at an atm or go to a currency exchange. We went to the currency exchange and where able to take out cash using our credit card. But it did take a lot longer to process than the people who showed up with a wad of cash (including USD). And when you land at 2am getting to leave the airport faster is very nice. I would bring about $500US in cash and then exchange it at the airport when you land.

When we were out during the day we were able to ask our tour guide and they took us to an atm. We were also able to take out cash at our hotels and they would charge it to our room.

For tipping at the hotel, including at the hotel restaurants, they ask that you tip everyone at checkout. You can ask the front desk for an envelope and you can put the tip for your whole stay in there.

Our tour agency gave us this tip guide:

• Bag porters at hotels/railway stations Rs.50/bag

• Housekeeping Rs.100-200

• Driver Rs.750-1000/day

• Tour Guide Rs. 1000-1500/day

• Restaurants 10%

• At hotels with a staff box Rs.200/person per day

If You Have Vertigo Or Any Other Vestibular Problems Or A Fear of Heights

DO NOT GET ON AN ELEPHANT! I know that we aren’t supposed to ride them but our tour guide insisted that it’s part of the experience and we had already paid for it 😑 (I KNOW!!). But no matter how new your scopolamine patch is, or how much vestibular pt you have done you are not ready for this. Just don’t do it! I didn’t get to see any of Jaipur because of a stupid 5 minute elephant ride.

My husband has a fear of heights and spent the time chanting his mantra, “I’m a big brave boy”, which is what he uses every time he faces his fears. I was honestly shocked that he was willing to ride an elephant because of his fear of heights. But apparently he didn’t realize how tall they were🤷🏼‍♀️. As always a 6’3” man chanting “I’m a big brave boy” under his breath is highly entertaining so I’ll leave it up to you whether to point out how tall an elephant is to your partner.

Shopping

I did A LOT of shopping while I was there 😬. There were several things that we had shipped and they have all arrived in a timely manor. So if you are going to a place your guide or hotel recommends I wouldn’t be worried about not getting it. As of now (3 weeks after our trip) we are just waiting on a door (yes a 🚪 for our house) and we have been in communication with our guide about it on WhatsApp. It’s being made and he actually just sent a spec sheet so that our builder can make sure that it’s framed properly. If you are getting things shipped make sure you’ve included your phone number and email we have had to fill out customs forms from UPS and fedex and they contacted us directly.

I knew that I would at least buy fabric on this trip so we (LOL, my husband) packed a large duffle bag in his suitcase. That way I had lots of room and didn’t have to worry about having to find an extra suitcase before we headed home.

One piece of advice* I would like to give on this topic is ask your tour guide to take you shopping for your hearts desires. My husband was shocked that I asked the guide about a door. Which he really shouldn’t be because I had told him that I wanted a really cool door and had spent months trying to find unique doors🫠. And boy am I glad I asked. Our guide was basically like:

He took us to this really cool architectural and outdoor decor shop. There were a bunch of doors, fountains, statues, and lights. We are going to have the most incredible pantry door.

Our Pantry Door

Basically ask the guide for whatever you’re looking for. If you like the umbrellas by the pool, ask. If you like the doors to the bathroom at a restaurant, ask. If you had a specialty Pringle flavor at a rest stop and haven’t seen it anywhere else, ask. Ask and you will be shown the most incredible things that you can then buy because, everywhere excepts Amex 😜.

*please note that I am the friend who always tells you to buy it. If you are looking to be financially austere I am not the person to listen to. But also why are you bothering going to India?

Try The Fast Food

This is from my husband. He says that the fast food in India is fundamentally different. They don’t serve beef and most of the dishes are unique to India. He regrets that he only had KFC and that the McDonald’s in the Delhi airport was closed while we were on our layover. He wishes that he had made a point to try the different fast food places. ALTHOUGH if you read my blog post “Top 5 Things That Surprised Me In India” you would know that he was incredibly ill when we got home. I was perfectly fine and KFC was where our meal choices deviated. But, this is his only regret about India: not getting fast food earlier…