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After being away for over 2 months, I realised my blog gave little help to anyone wanting to actually go to the places we’ve been. Although our experiences are very funny, they’re not particularly practical for anyone else wanting to go somewhere (and I got a little jealous of those who blog with decent advice). In the spirit of Christmas, here’s my advice free of charge.
TURKEY
Turkey – Istanbul
Average Daily Spend: 150 Lira (£50)
Visa: On arrival. Very easy and straight forward, just pay £10 at an airport counter.
Best thing to do: Mosques. If you don’t like your history or visiting religious buildings, then this probably isn’t the place to be. Aya Sofia is spectacular.
Best way to get around: The tram or just walking. Most things are within walking distance, but be prepared for steep hills.
Food: You can find cheap food, but you can’t really be picky. If you go outside of Sultanahmet you’ll find better value. The rooftop bars by the Galata Tower or Sultanahmet make the perfect place for a coffee with a view.
Accomodation: We stayed in Eurasia Hostel in Sultanhmet for €24 per night. The location was perfect for getting to see everything and the rooms were basic but fine.
Best Juice Place: By the Grand Bazaar. Very cheap and very fresh, but there are hundreds everywhere who do the same thing
Thing to avoid: We found the boat trip on the Bosphorus was over-rated. It was essentially a passenger ferry that was very uncomfortable and not what we expected.
Average spend per day: £46
Miles travelled from London: 1,555
Time spent in transit: 3 hours 25 minutes
NEPAL
Average Daily Spend: 3,500 Rupees (£26)
Visa: On arrival. Very simple and costs $30 for 30 days entry. I think re-entry is straight forward as well.
Things to keep an eye out for
ATMs Nepali banks charge to withdraw (on top of what your bank at home will charge), so hunt around for international banks if possible.
Walking around Kathmandu There aren’t many pavements in Kathmandu, especially in Thamel. You will be sharing the road will all the traffic in Kathmandu which can be daunting. Try to avoid walking around at night.
Nepal – Kathmandu
Best thing to do: Either Boudnath (a huge Buddhist Stupa you can walk on) or a trip to Nagarkot for views of Everest and the Himalayas. Most guidebooks rave aout Durbar Square, but although it was interesting we found there were better things to do.
Best way to get around: Taxis are cheap, but most things are walkable if you choose the right place to stay. However, don’t expect any pavements or cars to obey the traffic lights.
Food: Thamel! Only after leaving did we realise that this is one of the best spots we’ve been to for variety and quality of food. My particular favourite is Dolce Vita who offer very good wine and an awesome Pasta. Old Orleans also do a good happy hour on wine and cheese.
Accommodation: Good luck. Most accommodation in Kathmandu is terrible and we didn’t stay anywhere that actually delivered hot water, anything but constant noise and a pretty rough bed. We paid mo more than 600 rupees, however if you’re willing to stump up the money I’m sure you will find somewhere.
Best Juice Place: We found an awesome incredible place selling fresh juice for 70 rupees in Thamel. If you head past walk with your back to Dolce Vita and with Old Orleans to your right, you will find it down a street on your right (just before the road curves left).
Thing to avoid: Staying in the middle of Thamel. The late night bars play cheesy covers of western songs and make sleep before 2am each night impossible.
Nepal – Pokhara
Best thing to do: For me Paragliding, for Cat International Mountain Museum. It’s very picturesque and chilled out, so it’s a good place to chill out. Walking up to the World Peace Pagoda was also good.
Best way to get around: Pokhara’s quite small, so you can walk around very easily. Hiring a motorbike is also quite affordable (about 500 rupees per day) to go to places such as Sarankot for great views of Annapurna. Last option is a taxi, but this isn’t too pricey either.
Food: Best value is Punjab that offers really good veggie curries very cheaply. If you want a classier place for non-curries then it has to be Moondance which gave us the best food outside of Kathmandu. If I wasn’t on a budget, I’d have eaten the wild boar on a spit for 1,500 rupees.
Accomodation: We stayed at Hotel Angel for one night (very good, but no hot water 700 rupees), then moved onto Highland (which had hot water but had a rock hard bed, 650 rupees). There’s plenty of options, but all are similar at the budget end of the scale.
Best juice place: A couple of places did very good lassis, but there are a few juice sellers on the walk in from Lakeside East.
Thing to avoid: Anywhere that sells food but has a happy hour. Terrible food, but decent beer.
Nepal – Chitwan
Best thing to do: Elephant Safari or Elephant Breeding Centre. Both are amazing experiences. The Elephant Safari or Jeep are the only ways I’d recommend of going into the forest.
Best way to get around: If your bum can take it, bike. They’re pretty old and knackered and the roads are very bumpy, but it’s good fun. There’s no taxis or public transport so the only other way is to walk. However, Sauraha isn’t very big.
Food: KC’s serves some of the best curries I’ve ever had. It’s set in a very atmospheric spot by the river and has fire pits to keep you warm at night.
Accommodation: We stayed at Gaida Lodge which was a little out of town but had nice bungalows with terraces and hot water showers (900 rupees). They offer very expensive tours, but you can find much cheaper in town.
Best juice place: Yet to be found. Very few places offered genuine fresh juice
Thing to avoid: Sloth Bears and jungle walks. Both very dangerous and aren’t necessary.
Nepal – Lumbini
Best thing to do: Not much choice, but walk around the temples
Best way to get around: Choice of walking of cycle-rickshaw (which are the most expensive we’ve seen). As long as you’ve got all day, you won’t need a rickshaw
Food: Pretty bad, but Sunflower does some decent Chinese food.
Accommodation: We stayed at Hotel President which is essentially a building site, but comfortable enough. Rooms are basic and clean but echoey and you can hear everything said in reception (770 rupees). It’s next door to Sunflower Traveller’s Lodge so you can steal their wi-fi!
Best Juice Place: None
Thing to avoid: Getting the runs. Lumbini’s a very dull place to be stuck in. It only needs 1 day or an overnight stay at most.
Average spend per day: £27
Miles travelled from London: 5,870
Time spent in transit: 38 hours 35 minutes
INDIA
Average Daily Budget: 2,700 Rupees (£34)
Visa: Incredibly tricky. It costs approximately £50 and you MUST apply in advance. Here’s the terms:
1. Visa issued on the date your passport is stamped at the embassy (not the day of arrival in the country). The date of expiry is the last day you can be in India (not the last day to enter the country).
2. Visas are valid for 3-6 months and can be multiple or single entry. It’s a lottery which you get (I got a 3 month single entry and Cat got a 6 month multiple entry visa).
3. You can’t re-enter India within 2 months (no matter which visa you have).
Things to keep an eye out for
Getting around: In some cities (such as Lucknow) getting about is testing at best. As there’s not enough tuk-tuks around you can find yourself stranded trying to cross roads (which can take hours).
Transport:This is incredibly difficult. The Trains get fully booked well in advance, so planning ahead is essential. Buses are an option but uncomfortable and slow. If you have the money, hiring a driver is a very good option (costs about £25 per day).
Travel agents: Travel agents are a brilliant way to buy train tickets which no one else can. My default is to go to the train station, but this takes ages and frequently gets you nowhere. Travel agents cost a small amount but can help you do what you want,
India – Gorakhpur
Best thing to do: Leave. Gorakhpur is a shit hole
Best way to get around: Don’t walk. Traffic is heaving, the roads are filthy and disgusting and there are no pavements. Best to get a cycle-rickshaw or auto-rickshaw.
Food: If you dare, the street food is good however, you run the risk of dysentery.
Accommodation: All are foul, your choice is degrees of nastiness. i only hope that accommodation further out from the train station is better.
Best Juice Place: none
Thing to avoid: Being here anymore than an hour
India – Lucknow
Best thing to do: Visit the Residency. Interesting ruins, but there’s not much else going on in Lucknow.
Best way to get around: Auto-Rickshaw, but they’re difficult to get hold of. We spent an hour and a half stuck by a junction trying to hail one down.
Food: There’s decent food in the top hotels, but we’ve heard there’s some local kebab places which are very good and very cheap.
Accommodation: Leavana Best Western was superb. Granted, we spent £50 (3,000 rupees) a night after some very hard haggling, but it was very near 5 star standard
Best juice place: None
Thing to avoid: Cheaper accommodation. Horrifically overpriced and some of the worst rooms I’ve seen. Also avoid walking.
India – Agra
Best thing to do: Taj Mahal, but other sights around are very good as well such as Itimad-ud-Daulah (Baby Taj) and Mehtab Bagh (a park on the opposite bank).
Best way to get around: If you stay close enough to Tajganj, you can walk everywhere. Otherwise you’ll have to rely on the inflated auto-rickshaw prices.
Food: Best food was at our hotel (Taj Plaza). Very good curries, but stingy on rice
Accommodation: We stayed in Atithi for our first night (1,500 rupees) which was good, clean and better than basic, but far out. On the plus side it’s next door to Pizza Hut and Costa if you crave western food. We then Taj Plaza; it was ok but in need of renovating. It cost 900 rupees. So wasn’t awful, but the location is its selling point
Best juice place: Joney’s place isn’t bad but I preferred Taj Cafe whose lassis were so thick you had to use a spoon.
Thing to avoid: Getting to the Taj after 6.30am. You’ll have to fight thousands of people. Also if you can avoid the “foreigners entrance fee” then you’ll be in luck.
India – Delhi
Best thing to do: Hanyuman Tomb – a really cool monument, similar to the Taj Mahal but bigger and with red sandstone.
Best way to get around: The Metro. Very cheap, very quick, but can be busy. You’ll never spend more than 30 rupees to go anywhere.
Food: We ate pretty cheaply and happily at guesthouses in Paharganj. Vivek was one of the better ones.
Accommodation: Metropolis Tourist Home was a very good hotel in Paharganj. For 1,200 rupees you get a very modern and stylish room that’s clean and provides your own wi-fi router.
Best juice place: Couldn’t find one worth shouting about.
Thing to avoid: The main roads. As they can be so busy, the motorcyclists use the pavements instead and force you to jump out the way.
India – Jaipur
Best thing to do: Amber Fort. Incredible sandstone fort perched on the top of a mountain. The Lake Palace is also very picturesque.
Best way to get around: Auto-Rickshaw. There’s very few other ways to get around and walking is near impossible
Food: Little Italy was very good. Quite expensive, but the best Rissotto in India
Accommodation: We stayed at Moonlight Palace Guesthouse for 700 rupees per night. It was clean, comfortable and had hand painted murals on the ceiling. Thebonly downside was the Gangnam Style disco next door every night.
Best juice place: None found
Thing to avoid: Auto-Rickshaw drivers selling tours. Overpriced and you’ll be driven to a shop and being forced to buy tat.
India – Udaipur
Best thing to do: Chill out and admire where you are. Udaipur has a lot of rooftop bars with cushions surrounding the beautiful lake. Or if you need a ruthless massage, find a man called Raju.
Best way to get around: walking as Udaipur is so small
Food: Panorama Guesthouse serves some awesome curries. Buddha Bar also does a very spicy but cheap and delicious chow mein.
Accomodation: Your spoilt for choice in Udaipur as there area lot of good, cheap places. We chose Panorama (500 rupees), but saw that Dream Heaven and Nukkad are also really good choices.
Best juice place: Pap’s Juices on the bridge. Cat has proclaimed it one of the best in the World!
Thing to avoid: Cheap massages or Pedicures. They’re not relaxing and not very good.
India – Jodhpur
Best thing to do: Mehrengarh Fort. Huge, impressive and beautiful. A must for India
Best way to get around: Walking in the old city or auto-rickshaw otherwise
Food: Ok, food in Jodhpur is not good. Pushp guesthouse is the best. But are stingy on the portions,
Accomodation: We stayed in Hare Krishna Guest House for 500 rupees and it wasn’t good. We’ve only heard good things about Pushp and Yogi.
Best juice place: There’s a great Makhani Lassi place called Shri Mishrilal Hotel (which isn’t a hotel) in the main square.
Thing to avoid: Well, try and avoid the countless cows and their excrement. It’s not easy though
India – Pushkar
Best thing to do: Get out to the desert. We did a camel safari for 3 hours for 600 rupees each. You can choose to do horse riding instead but either way the scenery is amazing.
Best way to get around: By the amount of them that nearly run you over, you’d think locals are obsessed with motorbikes. I preferred to just walk
Food: Inn Seventh Heaven does decent curries, but everything is vegan in Pushkar, so prepare for this.
Accommodation: We stayed at Everest and loved it. Nice and comfortable with everything you could want (575 rupees per night)
Best juice place: Everest was good, but nothing to rave about
Thing to avoid: Holymen who will rip you off and emotionally blackmail you. Don’t accept the amount they claim you must pay for a Puja. Indians would never pay over 50 rupees.
Average spend per day: £34
Miles travelled from London: 7,205
Time spent in transit: 89 hours 5 mins
One Way Ticket 