Flew from Kuwait to Delhi
Flight duration: 4 hours
Time difference: + 2.5 hours
We landed in Delhi and flew from Delhi to the Dharamshala which is where our hike started, so we were able to get all the necessities from Delhi.
Things to know about India:
Sim Card
We took the sim card from Vodafone. There was also Airtel at the airport. BUT be careful! During the hike, or for the majority of the days we didn't have access to service. Because in the mountains only the governmental lines are available and only an Indian nationality can buy a governmental line. Vodafone wasn't bad but it just didn't help during the hike itself.
Domestic Flights
So since we landed in Delhi, we took the domestic flights to Dharamshala which is where the trek started. Now for the domestic flights there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. Especially if you're backpacking the entire trip.
No form of battery is allowed inside your checked in luggage, they all have to be with you in your carry on. Which I didn't know and I hadn't brought any carry on with me. Luckily in my checked in back pack I had a small foldable hand bag which I took out and used as carry on.
So no portable chargers, no batteries, no camera batteries, nothing.
(This was in Dharamshala our first village and the cars, people, and cows are all in the street together so while walking you do need to be careful.)
Getting Around
Now to get around in India there are so many forms of transportation including cars, tuktuk's, train, and motorcycles. I DO NOT recommend anyone to rent a car there just because of the sheer craziness people have on the roads!
We had the company we arranged our trips with provide us with a driver and he said:
"To drive in india you must have three things: Good Horn, good Breaks, and most importantly Good Luck!"
And so that just gives you a small sense of how crazy the roads and driving is. Everyone is honking and most of the time we're not sure what for.
To get to your destination faster if its not too far I would recommend getting on a tuktuk rather than a car taxi because the roads in the city are crowded and a tuktuk has an easier time navigating the way than a car. But in saying that I wouldn't recommend them if your going on a long trip because it won't be comfortable or safe.
Tipping
When it comes to tipping in our sense its not a MUST, right? I mean its your choice whether you decide to tip or not. Well not in India.
When you're going to consider how much money you're going to take with you always think of the tips too. Its not something that is just wanted, but expected. Even when booking the trips the guide bluntly told us that this is without staff tips.
Now I honestly am not sure what a regular tip would be, but we were giving 100 notes as tips which is equivalent to 0.500 KD which would be a good tip in Kuwait.
But yes its EXPECTED that you're going to tip and they will sometimes even stand there waiting for it.
Language
In the cities, EVERYONE can speak English so communication was definitely not a problem. But when we went to the Himalayas, there definitely was a language barrier mainly because India has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages/ dialects.
So Yeah.. Pretty hard to keep up, but you will always find someone that can speak or at least understand basic English.
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