Excerpted from a forum thread.
- See Diwali Festival in India. check
- visit Taj Mahal in agra. check
- See Evening Prayers in Rishikesh. check
- Road tripp from Manali to Leh. peud etre
- Eat dal Makhani & naan in new Delhi. check
- Riding a boat in varanasi in early morning to see sunrise. check
- train ride from Mumbai to Goa. peud etre
- backwaters in Kerala. check
- tea tasting in Darjeeling. peud etre
- seeing the republic day parade in new Delhi (Jan 28). not there
- Singalila Ridge trek, near Darjeeling
- Visit Sikkim
- Admire the Himalayas from Kumaon
- Go walking round Jageshwar, Kumaon
- Go to Palitana, Gujurat
- Get lost in Varanasi
- See the Taj Mahal
- Buy enormous cast iron woks in Delhi, then wonder exactly how you are going to get them home.
- Eat shahi paneer
- Ride around on a moped in Diu
- Eat pani puri and bhel puri in Mumbai.
- Explore the cathedrals of old goa.
- Ride the trains–locals in Mumbai and expresses everywhere else.
- Buy fabric with strange patterns, have shirts taylored (this is an absolute must, by the way).
- Stay at The Orchid Retreat in Kalimpong, West Bengal, and go on a orchid viewing trip with the owners.
- Get head shaved and then queue for hours to see the idol at Tirupati.
- Take the boat ride in Varanasi. It might seem like a tourist scam, but it’s breathtaking to see the city from the water.
- Try to find the cheapest thali in South India (My pick: Rs 10 at a place across from the station in Varkala, Kerala. Absolutely delicious food, too).
- Eat mangoes (in season May, June, July) every day and all day, until you can’t bear to look at another one.
- Make friends with the locals. This should probably be at the top of my list, actually.
- Seeing the Taj sunrise and sunset
- Camel safari in jailsmer and sleeping in the sand dunes under the stars
- Beach hoping along Goa and partying at a full moon party
- Kerala backwater tour and getting hugged by the hugging mother
- Standing on the tip of India and seeing merging of the oceans at sunset
- Being in the Maduri temple with 1 million people during a holiday celebration
- walking the streets of Calcutta and observing peoples everyday lives of the business class intermingling with the stall owners and beggers
- eating on the street with the locals
- floating down the ganges and seeing a cremation in process, and other floating “things”, the morning routines and the religious proceedings
- riding on a local bus and people watching
- sitting with the women in the women’s carriages on trains
