One of my best friends worked in India for a couple months. Stayed in Delhi and Bangalore, he hated it. He did get to see the Taj Mahal which he said was just incredible. Other than that, I don't know if he had one real positive thing to say about India.
My firm has global talent hubs in Bangalore and Buenos Aires that we outsource to. They're always looking for people to do rotations there to coach the employees. Always amazes me that they find people willing to voluntarily go to Bangalore.
This and bayous story is what I've heard over and over. My best friend builds cell towers in South East Asia, and when they were deciding on the next project to start a couple of years ago, his boss went to India to investigate and said 'fuck this, I'm not sending my people here to live'
I'm well aware of the poor reputation (I think everyone ITT is), but it's still pretty high on my list (really just Varanasi). Northern India is supposed to be a tad bit better (relatively speaking) than Southern India, and it includes the Taj Mahal. Have always wanted to check out Kathmandu, Nepal, and the Himalayas, and logistically-speaking, it makes the most sense to go through India. I have two friends that went; one raves about it and loved it, the other was pretty 'meh.' It's still a hugely popular tourist destination, so it has to have some appeal. To each his own, different strokes, etc. I really want to see it for myself, and can certainly understand why many wouldn't. I didn't really like Bangkok, while many others like it. I couldn't stand Seoul, while others loved it. I loved Lima, while it's not the most popular place. Far from set in stone regardless, just inquiring.
The only thing I know about Kathmandu is that when I mentioned the possibility of going there for the weekend the people in Mumbai told me that it was really dirty. I can't imagine what dirty is by their standards. Yeah we had a flight booked from Mumbai to Agra. The night before our flight they sent an email to me (but not to my employee who was on the same flight but booked separately) around 1am saying that our noon flight straight to Agra was now a 10am flight with a stop in Allahabad. That flight finally left around 11:00am and the pilot promptly informed us that due to fog in Allahabad we were diverting to Varanasi. Upon landing he told the people who were headed to Allahabad to get off because they were going to be put on a bus the rest of the way. Then we sat on the tarmac for like 3 hours before we took off, then he told us that due to fog in Agra we were landing in Delhi instead. Once we landed in Delhi way off to the side of the tarmac they put us on a bus, took us to a deserted terminal our bags were put on a baggage carousel and we were told that we were done. It was 8pm and dark by this time.
Re global entry: The language on my application specifically said "convicted", so if you weren't you should be fine, unless the usage of the wording/language on the application is wrong. I've been pending in the system for maybe 10 days.
Similar denial happened to me a couple years ago. I wrote the Ombudsman and am still "waiting" for a response. Instead I applied for TSA Pre. I wouldn't give it much hope.
Goa is supposed to be a nice coastal resort town. I spent a weekend at a Chennai beach resort that was fun, if not typical. However, not sure you'd want to go to India to enjoy a beach resort when you can go to the panhandle and probably enjoy that more.
I've had a similarly bad experience with Air India (though not on Bayou's level). I show up to the Hyderabad airport for a flight to Delhi on my way home. When I get to the airport they have absolutely no record of my reservation. At ticketing I hand them the printed boarding pass, they look at confusingly, discuss amongst themselves, and send me to customer service. Of course you have to stand nut-to-butt in India or you won't get anywhere/advance in any line. I got dude's cutting me left and right while I'm mean mugging, they don't give a shit that is normal to them. Finally get to the front of the line, hand the lady my boarding pass, and she has no clue where to even start. I can sense the confusion on her end. After about 30 mins she hands me a new boarding pass and says I'm good to go. Moral of the story: If flying on Air India, assume something totally unforeseen and unaccounted for will happen to you. Plan accordingly.
Yea it still says that. I plead guilty to it so I'd say convicted fits. But the weird thing is I listed it on my application, so not sure why they'd even conditionally approve me if that's the case. Well...damn.
Today Eater.com launched a "Global 38," aka the 38 best restaurants in major cities all over the world. Link: http://www.eater.com/a/global-38 I'm a total Eater fan boy. When planning restaurant stops for a trip I always start with Eater and go from there. This came at a perfect time for me as there are listings for Rome, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Paris, all cities I'll be visiting in a couple weeks.
Very nice. The picture they use for Lima is La Mar, and is probably the best meal I've ever had in my life. Will be using this in the near future as well
Everyone always talks about Goa, so if you're going to go to India it's a must-see imo. I wanted to go to India until I spoke at length with fellow Indian classmates and then friends that went to India on their own right and hated it. Well-traveled people who just didn't like it. Like you, BamaNug I'd still like to give it a shot one of these days, but it's just lower on my list after talking to so many people. Then, I read shit like this excerpt: "Shekhawati is a short 3-hour hop from Jaipur. From Jaipur you can take a local bus or train to Nawalgarh. Beware of the fact that the buses are often Indian style (which means completely packed including passengers on the roof)." LMBO, shit like that is exactly what I'd expect, and exactly the kind of shit that I'd probably really enjoy... http://www.bunchofbackpackers.com/visit-shekhawati-rajasthans-hidden-gem/ Then there's this that actually makes it out to be alright... http://thehungrypartier.com/india-nightlife-guide-top-7-party-cities/ Again though, EVERYONE and EVERY STORY you hear about India seems to have some kind of really unexpected bad experience. Like the 2nd link, first paragraph: "I started my Indian adventure in Goa (in the South) and worked my way up to Amritsar (in the North). I covered over 4,000 kilometers by train (side note: avoid taking buses… I got in a severe bus crash)."
Just noticed the girl who wrote the Buenos Aires section knew my Airbnb host. We hung out a couple times, she seemed to know her shit.
I mean I'm not kidding when I say literally everyone hates it. Like everyone from random travelers to well traveled business men that have spent a lot of time there. I'm sure getting into certain cities and out again would be awesome. But it sounds nearly impossible
I've heard mostly good things about Goa fwiw, but as a whole, not other places are higher on the list for sure.
Love this, will be in stockholm in a few weeks and already see a few places on there I would love to go to.
I think you're going a bit to the extreme, but I'm also aware that it has A LOT of less than stellar reviews. If "literally everyone" hated it, it wouldn't be such a popular destination, nor would it garner any attention, nor would anyone even attempt to go there anymore. It's going to be dirty, polluted, gross, etc., but there are good things that are said about it. I have a friend that loved it (anecdotal experience and all), and there are plenty of blogs to be found praising it (just as there are those bashing it). Who knows, I fell like I'm in the unenviable position of defending a place I've never been, nor set out to defend in the first place. I just disagree that "literally everyone" hates it. Also, and this is just my .02, but if you're going there to relax and have the more traditional vacation you're going to be in for a bad time. I think if you went in expecting the worst, and expecting the pollution, etc., you could temper your expectations a bit. TL,DR---I still plan on hitting up Varanasi while I'm relatively young. That city absolutely amazes me. Plus, by all accounts the Taj Mahal lives up to the hype, and I'm a sucker for "Wonders of the World" type places (i.e., Angkor Wat, Macchu Picchu, etc.). Taj Mahal is right up there in that regard.
That's a big bummer. I got popped for driving with an expired license this year, plead down to a lesser charge but still...fuck. Do nexus and precheck have similar requirements?
Global Entry folks---if you just show up will they laugh at you? I don't have an appointment until November, but fly out of NOLA 2-3 times before then (including this Friday). I know others have said to check to see if interviews open up, but what about just showing up to see if they have a few minutes? By all accounts the interview takes 10 minutes, but they block off an entire hour. Going to try and get to the airport a little earlier and stop by their center and see what happens.
I tend to take negative reviews with a grain of salt outside of obvious things like danger, extremely difficult to get to, etc. Everyone is different not to mention the review is usually based on a small sample size. The only way you'll truly know for yourself is if you go.
Everybody was pretty friendly in Atlanta...even as he was telling me I was going to be denied, he was nice about it.
Could get lucky, wife had some weird things happen with hers with a past dismissal that wasn't showing up(pretty sure I talked about it in here) the guy gave her his email and helped out a lot to get things straight. You get a guy like that, you might be in luck. That guy was probably a vert small percentage of helpful government workers.
I'm honestly not trying to exaggerate. And I've actually been having this conversation with my uncle today about India. He's the most well traveled person I know, including itt,. It's just a place most people hate
I'll pretty much echo what most people have said. Never been myself, but everyone I speak to who has been its a spectrum between eh and fuck that place. Have never heard of anyone non-indian heritage rave about it. I'll probably go at some point just because its such a big country with some must see places, but I'm not in a rush as there's many places I'd rather go first.
Just booked 2 weeks in Greece for early September. Will be first 2 week vacay, and totally offline trip, since I've been at my current company. 4 nights in Santorini (2 of them at Mystique ) 3 nights in Sifnos 4 nights in Milos 2 nights in Athens Any tips?
I had a patient come in today who just came back from Bhutan and said it was incredible. I'd never met anyone who had actually been there as I think they only opened up to outside visitors within the last decade or so. Just sounded like an amazing place tucked in the himalayas. Now on my list.
Had One Flew South on Friday wish they move it to the Intl Terminal so I didnt have to walk over there.
hit up the old nobel restaurant. good place to eat, drink scotch, and get shitfaced low key. I hope you like salmon. My wife's relatives are pretty famous in Sweden. Olympic snowboarders and shit.
BamaNug I've got a couple friends that spent time in Nepal and absolutely rave about it. One ended up staying there for a year or longer (he had been wanting to move there anyways) before coming back to the states with a wife. Another guy I met in Prague did Nepal last year I think and had nothing but positive to say about it. If you like that type of stuff I say do it, I'm going to one day. Obviously not much night life or partying there. Both of them went to base camp and I'm super jealous of that.
I'm going for the islands, not so much Athens. Everyone I've talked to said to spend all your time on the islands and like a day in Athens. That said, I need recos so please send me what to do/eat/see thanks
Look up global alliance with your bank. Most major banks have a partnership. Bank Of America does. So no ATM fees, but still a 3% currency conversion fee.
Had friends that did India for 3 days and then Goad. Said it was an awesome trip. Yes, dirty, crowded, weird as fuck. But they loved it
I've been, but it was for the opening parties for the Euro Cup 4 years ago, so didn't get to experience the real city to too much. It's pretty awesome looking though, and the panorama painting is worth a look. Also, the doners there are dank diggity.
Opened up a Charles Schwabb account just for traveling. All ATM fees reimbursed (good for vegas too with large atm fees) and no conversion fee. Everyone who travels international should have one IMO.
Athens is one of those places you hear a lot of hate on that I think is actually pretty fantastic (Bangkok and Lima are other cities like this that come to mind). There's so much incredible history there to see. I can only sit on a beach for so long.
Somehow United over sold a regional jet by five people. How does that happen? Shame I couldn't take advantage and get a voucher
Opened a Charles Schwab account yesterday. Very simple...took like 10 minutes. This article is helpful. Think someone linked it on here a while back http://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/avoid-paying-bank-fees-traveling/
Your comment got me curious, and since it's right next door to the other places we're talking about (India, Nepal, Tibet), I looked up a little bit on Bhutan. It's much like Tibet in that you can't just fly in there and get a hotel/hostel and explore. It all has to be pre-arranged through a tour guide, they'll meet you at the airport and kinda be by your side the entire time. And, as an American, you'd be required to pay a 'tourist tariff' of $290/day, which gives you 3 meals/day, a guide, and accommodation, among other things. Seems like this would really discourage tourism?? http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bhutan/money-costs DAILY COSTS FIXED DAILY RATE: US$250 All tourists must pay US$250 per person per day (US$200 a day from December to February and June to August), with a US$40/30 surcharge per person for those in a group of one/two. This covers accommodation, transport in Bhutan, guide, food and entry fees. Possible extra charges include hot-stone baths, cultural shows, horse riding, rafting and tips. Children under 12 years are exempt from royalty component (US$65).