Travel Tips - India:

1.  Prior to boarding your domestic flights in India as you leave the main terminal, please ensure that you "identify your checked baggage". To do so, ask the airline representative where you need to actually identify the baggage that you have checked for your specific flight. Failure may mean that your checked baggage will not be put on the flight. Unfortunately, this process is not followed by all airlines and at all departure points, so make it a good and safe practice to ask for where you should identify your checked luggage just prior to boarding any flight.

2.  If you are planning to wear full length clothes during your walking tours, then make sure that they do not drag on the floor since streets can be dirty and wet.

3.  When you visit places of worship, you will need to take off your shoes prior to entry. You are free to wear your socks, but may find that the floor is wet, thus it may be prudent to take off your socks also.

4.  There are some Hindu temples that demand that you do not take any leather goods such as belts, wallets and leather bags inside the temple. Therefore it is customary to take off ones belt and certainly not wear a leather jacket. Both men and women will need to cover their heads prior to entering a Sikh place of worship.

5.  You should not wear clothes that are very loose because they can get caught in protruding stones and surrounding bushes.

6.  Make sure that you bring comfortable and well supporting walking shoes. You will be walking a lot in the ruins of old temples and forts, and they normally do not have a clean and clear path with upturned stones, and steep narrow and broken steps.

7.  Bring light rain gear.

8.  Consider bringing your swimming trunks, air brush to clean the dust from your cameras and lens, a telephoto lens if your camera supports one, lots of clean wipes for your face and hands because of the dust.  Traditional 35 mm film is available in plentiful, however the new Advantix type is not freely available.

9. Do not drink water from any source unless it is from a sealed water bottle purchased from a reputable shop (and NOT from a street vendor). It is common for street vendors to re-fill discarded water bottles with normal water. Also do not consume any ice.

10. Do not eat any cold (unprepared food) which has been prepared previously, such as salads, cut fruit, cut vegetables. Also do not eat any yogurts or cold milk products unless they are from an established and good quality restaurant. Feel free to eat fruit and vegetables which you peel yourself.

11. Prior to start of your journey, send yourself an e-mail with all important passport and other numbers. Thus should you loose any documentation, then you can retrieve your mail and have all necessary information.