• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

It’s a good idea to get insurance for any specific valuable items (such as laptops and cameras), and to also cover any luggage that you intend checking in on flights. Most airlines require that you report delayed, damaged, or lost baggage within 4 hours of arrival. Though airlines are required to deliver luggage, once found, directly to your house or destination free of charge, in India they cannot do so because Customs rules require that you clear your bags through Customs personally. Once your lost bags have arrived, you will have to make a trip to the airport to claim them.

For information on traveler’s insurance, trip-cancellation insurance, and medical insurance while traveling please visit www.frommers.com/planning.

INTERNET ACCESS Today even small towns have decent Internet connectivity, although coverage may be more limited in remote places such as Ladakh, where the Internet must be accessed via satellite connection. Business centers at luxury hotels often charge exorbitant rates; there’s often Internet connection for 10% of the cost just around the corner. Although they’re not always fantastic in terms of connection speed (or cleanliness), cybercafes are a roaring trade and usually cheap, albeit frustratingly slow. Keep an eye out for Sify iway (www.iway.com) and Reliance Webworld (www.rcom.co.in) Internet centers, both offering much faster broadband connections than average stand-alone establishments. Sify, for instance, has some 2,500 Internet browsing centers around the country, half of which also offer Internet telephone services. Log on to their website to find a list of centers in a particular city. If you’re planning on being in India for an extended period, or rely heavily on Internet access while traveling, consider investing in a data card that allows you to connect to the Internet through your laptop while on the road: Reliance Netconnect (www.rcom.co.in) is one of a number of mobile phone service providers that also offers wireless Internet connectivity by means of a USB modem.

LANGUAGE You shouldn’t have to battle too much if you speak English with a clear accent. Don’t assume, however, that everyone in India understands or speaks English (or Hindi for that matter). Also don’t feel affronted when you run into locals who seem to smile in acknowledgment, only to reveal much later that they haven’t the foggiest notion what you’re talking about; they are simply trying to make you feel more at home. Hindi is widely spoken throughout North India, while all the states are divided linguistically. For example, Tamil is spoken in Tamil Nadu, Kannada in Karnataka, Telugu in Andhra Pradesh, Malayalam in Kerala, Gujarati in Gujarat, and Konkani in Goa; and there are literally hundreds of local dialects. You’ll also come across a lot of what is often called Hinglish, where local terms (in Hindi) are mixed with English phrases. This usage is becoming increasingly widespread. You’ll notice it immediately in advertising billboards and on television shows, but also in general conversation.

LEGAL AID The local strategy for dealing with most potentially sticky encounters with the police or traffic department is to offer a bribe (baksheesh). Should you find yourself in any legal tangle, it’s best to immediately contact your local consular representative and seek their advice.

MAIL Buy stamps for letters and postcards from your hotel, and have your concierge post them for you. International postage is extremely affordable, and the Indian postal service is generally efficient. However, sending a package or parcel abroad involves a tedious process of wrapping it in cloth and sealing it with string and wax (again, ask your concierge); you’ll also have to complete a Customs declaration form. All this may cost you a great deal of time at the post office (9am–5pm). Also, bear in mind that surface mail runs the risk of spending months in the system, or of never arriving at all. You can spare yourself a great deal of torment