Index

Practical guides

Ten evergreen how-tos for India travel: visa, SIM, trains, buses, money, safety, vegetarian food, packing, festivals, and scam avoidance.

The India e-Visa system covers 170+ countries. Apply 4-30 days ahead. Here's the honest checklist.

Airtel or Jio, at the airport counter, with your passport + a passport photo. 30 minutes, ~£10 for a month.

IRCTC is the official app. Rail tickets 90-120 days ahead, foreign-tourist quota available. Here's how not to lose them.

Trains for romance, flights for time, buses for the last kilometre.

Take cash. Use cards. Ignore UPI (you can't get it as a tourist without a local bank account).

Statistically, tourists are safer in Delhi than in Rome. Anecdotally, there are specific things to watch.

The world's most vegetarian country. Also the world's most confusing about which "veg" means what.

Under 12 kg. Wear layers. Everything else, buy locally.

Diwali + Holi are the two everyone plans around. The rest are 500 more equally photogenic reasons.

Ninety-five percent of the ones you meet are just trying to sell you something. Five percent are scams. Here's how to spot the difference.

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