India and China travel suggestions

[Pablo]

Hello all,

My friend Coral (her nick is "everybody") and I are going to take 4 weeks holiday and are thinking of India and China.

We will be doing this in August.

Right now we are doing as much research as we can, but I would much value your knowledge.

zoossh has recently posted some very interesting photo's and advice.

If you can make any suggestions as to where to visit/ what to look for/ best routes/ etc .... or
simply links to information.

I would be most appreciative.

Cheers

 

[redoxsim]

Hello all,

My friend Coral (her nick is "everybody") and I are going to take 4 weeks holiday and are thinking of India and China.

You're considering India AND China? or India OR China?
Possibilities are limitless. Depends on what you would like to do on the holiday.
Culture? Adventure? Philanthropy?

 

[foreverlovex]

4 weeks quite short. Can only cover a specific area of India or China.

Last Year, backpacked for 45 days in China. Quite rush....covered only the eastern coastal area of China.

If u go to the eastern coastal region, must go to TaiShun. Nice place with corridor bridges!
I went there just to see corridor bridges. :thumbsup:

 

[Pablo]

Hi redoxsim and foreverlovex,

Yes I know that 4 weeks is Tooooo short. We could spend the whole time in say,"China" and only see a tiny bit.

4 weeks is all we can have.

Culture is I guess our priority.

There are also places we want to visit and then remember such as Xian army of Terracotta Warriors.

We will backpack as much as we can "not interested in tours".

As an example. When I was in Spain some time back, I went to places like Barcellona/Madrid,

but only spent a day in each city. I then went miles out from the cities and visited small towns.

Cities to me are a place to start from. I want to meet people OF the country.

Time is the thing I wish we had more of.

Our journey will either start or end at Singapore. It looks like it will most likely start from there.

If you could suggest say only 2 places in both India and China and the best way to get to them,

then that could be how we spend our 4 weeks.

Thank you for your replies and thanks to any others.

It is a big ask of you for information and I am gratefull for any suggestions.

Cheers

 

[redoxsim]

I would usually suggest doing the Rajasthani circuit in India (shameless plug: see my photos http://redox.multiply.com/photos/album/16). However, I believe August is the summer monsoon period, with heavy rains and extremely high temperatures (even hotter than Singapore). So it might be a tad uncomfortable.
You might want to take advantage of milder temperatures to explore the Indian Himalayas. I've never been there myself, but have always harboured a wish of visiting it one day.

August is also a good period to visit Tibet, Chengdu and the surrounding western China region.

I'd suggest picking up ideas from Lonely Planet, both the books and the online Thorn Tree forum.

http://www.indiamike.com/ is also a good resource for travel in India, although the sheer volume of information could be overwhelming.

Have fun planning!

 

[Pablo]

Hi there,

We are looking to travel light .... example .....

One backpack each containing 2 sets of clothes (light...shorts and tee-shirt)
we will buy clothes as wee need them ?

Also what I know as a space blanket (like a car reflector) rolls up and is black one side and silver on the other.

A couple of P&S cameras (one for Coral and one for Me)

A mass storage device (80BG) to dump out memory cards into (pocket size).

A PDA with GPS (ok, I know it is teckky but it is small and I have one to use :bsmilie: ).

A DSLR .... ok, this is not a photo trip but I would be happy to have at least one photo I can be proud of.

Here you might help me (choice of DSLR).... What to take ?

Choices are D70 with 50mm f/1.8 and 18 to 70mm f/3.5-4.5 .... or

20D with 50mm f/1.8 and 28-135.. IS USM

or

Olympus E-500 with 14-45mm / 40-150mm and 35mm macro

If you say," don't be a pussy and just take a P&S" then I will take that idea in mind.

As I have said,"I don't intend to have a photographic 4 weeks", but I would like to think about some of the shots.

Cheers again,

Pablo.

 

[Pablo]

I would usually suggest doing the Rajasthani circuit in India (shameless plug: see my photos http://redox.multiply.com/photos/album/16). However, I believe August is the summer monsoon period, with heavy rains and extremely high temperatures (even hotter than Singapore). So it might be a tad uncomfortable.
You might want to take advantage of milder temperatures to explore the Indian Himalayas. I've never been there myself, but have always harboured a wish of visiting it one day.

August is also a good period to visit Tibet, Chengdu and the surrounding western China region.

I'd suggest picking up ideas from Lonely Planet, both the books and the online Thorn Tree forum.

http://www.indiamike.com/ is also a good resource for travel in India, although the sheer volume of information could be overwhelming.

Have fun planning!

Thank you so much redoxsim,

We / I have made a copy of what you have suggested and will take note :thumbsup:

Thank you again.

Cheers

 

[zoossh]

focus first by either country or area of interest, by themes, by festival, by seasons etc. ideas is best picked up by preconception or by looking at enticing pictures, then planned on the focus while considering alternatives. if you are totally at a loss and not knowing where to start, the simplest thing is just grab a lonely planet, read up the route recommended and look at the pictures they have and then at the maps to start mapping out the route. lonely planet is good for exactly one thing, the framework is always there. you may have wrong info, you may have a lack of pictures, you may have small map, but the framework is always there.

plan first the places of interest, then by distance and transport available, then by allocation of time to each of them.

like what redoxsim said, possibilities is endless. this two countries have plenty to see from their variety, including of non-chinese and non-indian races within the boundary of the nation, which is often the most exotic parts as they tend to be marginised and less likely to be urbanised and assimilated. they are interesting precisely becos they are absolutely different and unique.

pacing can be fast or slow. i prefer a slower pace, to have 2-5 days per accomodation venue.

weight wise i settle at 9-11kg. but that is becos i often have DSLR, 3 lens, a laptop and a tripod, which more or less takes up at least 5-7kg, leaving little for anything else. if you can, settle at 6-8kg depending on your build.

pertinent impt things for travel
1. safety first, in particular crimes and weather
2. keep your passport, cash and toilet paper with you at all times
3. be flexible with time, paced things out and plan transport and distance carefully
4. avoid blaming for anything that happens, take note when your friend is tired, split up if necessary but with caution, and never be judgemental

 

[nuts]

Hi Pablo,
I really suggest choosing only 1 country....
And if you could delay your trip to Sep, than its doubly good since its a good time to go many places

Ok, here's one suggestion that covers 2 countries but not India. Since you mention Xian, that could be a start and follow the Silk Rd (although lots of the "attractions" have become really touristy I hear) westward to Xinjiang and then down into the Karakorum Highway, and then into Pakistan. You'll have a trip to remember

For a month in China only, suggestion is Yunnan Sichuan. Like you said, get out into the country and you do get chance to meet the locals and the ethnic minorities. The sceneries are great too

I always advise my friend, rather cover less but more fulfilling trip than to cover more, but less fulfilling trip.

 

[Pablo]

Hi nuts,

Thank you for advice.

Your points are well taken and we will look into the possibilities you mention.

Thank you again

 

[Pablo]

focus first by either country or area of interest, by themes, by festival, by seasons etc. ideas is best picked up by preconception or by looking at enticing pictures, then planned on the focus while considering alternatives. if you are totally at a loss and not knowing where to start, the simplest thing is just grab a lonely planet, read up the route recommended and look at the pictures they have and then at the maps to start mapping out the route. lonely planet is good for exactly one thing, the framework is always there. you may have wrong info, you may have a lack of pictures, you may have small map, but the framework is always there.

plan first the places of interest, then by distance and transport available, then by allocation of time to each of them.

like what redoxsim said, possibilities is endless. this two countries have plenty to see from their variety, including of non-chinese and non-indian races within the boundary of the nation, which is often the most exotic parts as they tend to be marginised and less likely to be urbanised and assimilated. they are interesting precisely becos they are absolutely different and unique.

pacing can be fast or slow. i prefer a slower pace, to have 2-5 days per accomodation venue.

weight wise i settle at 9-11kg. but that is becos i often have DSLR, 3 lens, a laptop and a tripod, which more or less takes up at least 5-7kg, leaving little for anything else. if you can, settle at 6-8kg depending on your build.

pertinent impt things for travel
1. safety first, in particular crimes and weather
2. keep your passport, cash and toilet paper with you at all times
3. be flexible with time, paced things out and plan transport and distance carefully
4. avoid blaming for anything that happens, take note when your friend is tired, split up if necessary but with caution, and never be judgemental

Hi zoossh,

Thank you for your reply and information within.

Coral and I are some months from the travel and are trying to piece some idea of exactly where we will be.

Your information and that of others is much appreciated and will go a long way to us having a great holiday.

Cheers

 

[Hobbesyeo]

Just to share my own experience in Mumbai - its a very dusty place. Things like a blower, cleaning cloth are must-haves. I also wished I had brought along a polarizer for the lens.

Power supply can be very erratic there and apparently surges are common. You might want to consider a power adaptor travel kit that has a built-in surge protector.

I had my D70 with Kit lens and a 50mm there. Wished I had a 12-24 tho.

Just a noob's input. :embrass:

 

[zoossh]

and personally thought that less crowded place are often the photographic places. none of my best photos comes from iconic locations.

for items to bring, two most important but neglected item is a nail clipper and mosquito repellent. of cos like i mentioned, toilet paper is very important.