1 month in india (leaving on sat!!)

Hey All, just after a quick bit of advice.

I'm heading to India this saturday, its the first place of my years world trip.

We are spending just under 1 month there and have a route planned:

Chennai (5 days with a friend)
Goa (16 days)
Mumbai (2 days)
Delhi (2 days, trip to Agra to see the Taj)

We are planning to spend the majority of our days in Goa in the north - anyone know of any cheap (£5 a day) hostels?? Are the beach huts cheaper? Are the livlier places Baga and Anjuna?

What are the best places to visit in Mumbai, i can imagine i will just stay around the city centre, also any cheap hostels/hotels there?

Thanks
Scotty

hey scotty,

i was in goa last month ... i stayed in calangut...awesome place ... beach huts are not cheap.. but you wont get to spend nights over there.. you will find cheap hostel .. look for local house.. they give rooms at cheap rates.. but i am sure you will find something good at 5pound...try for titos pub.. very good and all the international crowd goes there its in baga. if you want i will find out some cheap accomodation in goa.. there are many beachs.. if you want details let me know i will tell you where you should go .. best reastarunt to eat.
i have pics uploaded on my msn spaces .. if you want i will give you the link in private .. so you can go and have a look. by the i am from bombay(mumbai) if you comming down here.. there are many places in bombay to visit. Bandstand, carter road, colaba, nariman point, worli, when you are in bombay dont forget to eat bhel puri , pani puri , pav bhaji, biryani( especially from the restaurant called LUCKY) which is in bandra, there are many things.. if you need any help in bombay you can buzz me. i am always ready to make and meet new friends. i have pics of the places of the famous places of bombay. soctty.. remember one thing.. bargain .. locals will try to charge you alot.. so just bargain .. start with the 1/4th of what the price they say. rest i am sure you will get along.. in goa also you have to bargian ..where ever you go you bargain.. in everything.. accomodation... transport, shopping.
if you need more info .. feel free to message me.

till then take care my friend.
enjoy your trip
bye
yasar

Hiii scotty

how r u...welcome 2 india n have a great time...

well, baga-calangute-anjuna-vagator stretch is the most touristy and costlier....but if u wann party every night n all it would be better...
else u could get cheaper accomodation at arambol(pretty much hippy beach in north goa)n palolam in south goa is also good place...
the cova-benaulim strtech is also good...u could getpretty resonable n good for 5 pounds a nite..
in mumbai the backpacker area is the colaba area...

if u r in mumbai do attend one of there IM or CS meets..they have regular meet up where u can meet travelers from india n abroad n talk about travel stories n have a nice time...
if u r coming down south to bangalore we can meet up for coffee..maybe we could arrange a IM or CS meet(but the IM n cs community out here is pretty sad)....anyways, if u have any querries feel free to ask me..
i have left my bank job n started a tour and adventure travel co. in bangalore...if u want some packages or hotel bookings or some trekking or ayurvedic massages can get it done cheaper than u would normally pay....
if u r backpacking n have any queries u can ask me.

.tc..happy travelling

hey there...

i remember seeing somewhere that the salvation army has a hostel of sorts to stay in mumbai.

they charge arnd 2-3 $ per night but there is a cap on the number of days u can stay there.... u might want to google there for more info

have a blast in mumbai and u can message me for any further info or help u need in mumbai

gurdeep

I think GOKURN is very nice place in Goa to stay and enjoy spirit of Goa.
In Bombay elephanta caves are worth a visit.

[ Edit: Personal e-mail address removed. ]

Hi, i stayed in the salvation army hostel in Mumbai earlier this year - apparently the only youth hostel in India??

It was about 250INR (not more then 400) for a night in a dorm room (seperate mens and womens dorms). There are private rooms and 3-4 sleeper rooms too. I arrived to Mumbai as my first port of call at 10pm and had nothing booked so was lucky to get the final bed in the girls dorm, as it was pretty full.

It's listed in the lonely Planet, and was a fine place to stay, but not sure if you'd wanna contact them before hand, they may not do bookings anyway?

Anjuna, Arambol, Palolim and Vagator are all fantastic places in Goa, check them all out and have a great time, i'm there in Feb for the tail end of the party season, when things are cheaper too!

Good luck, have fun!

hey scottylou...

I would like to know about how ur "chennai" stay shapes up. I am from chennai and looking for feedback.. i would appreciate it , if u can drop in a line when u get time !

tx

We are 3 days into our stay in Chennai and i must say it has been very pleasant - apart from the rain today.

As you know from previous messages we are staying with our friend. He lives in Poes Garden, has his own driver and maid so it has not really been to diffucult for us. We have seen some sites already but again have been taken by the driver so have not experienced the public transport or many of the locals. We have had a very enjoyable time and the food is fantastic.

Aprilsgal - if you are interested in meeting my friend then message me privately.

Thanks for everybodys information above, we travel to Goa on friday so i'm sure you will see my name on these message boards again. 3 days into a world trip and loving it already!