Well I suppose it's a lad's holiday so no worries there!
India
- Thread starter ge_rik
- Start date
Flying15
Registered
It might be worth taking a look at Darjeelingtours web site
They seem to offer quite good vfm with prices around / just over the £3k mark
Flying15
Registered
Sorry for the time lapse
I had to extract the engines and photograph them, anyway here are some shots of the YP 4-6-2 and the G2 4-6-0
They are both based on Bachmann 4-6-0 chassis the G2 having the older big hauler one and the YP the newer Anniversary version one
The main materials for their construction is plasticard
The G2 having a Perspex tube for the basis of the boiler the YP having an old cardboard plans tube beneath a plasticard cloak
I'm intending to get round to building a D2 4-6-4T tank
As metre gsuge engines they are scale wise consistent with the German/US models we all seem to own
Attachments
The one in the bottom picture looks hot
Zerogee
Clencher's Bogleman
The one in the bottom picture looks hot
You wouldn't be trying to curry favour, would you...?
We'll have Naan of that here!
Jon.
Are you tikka-ing me offl
ge_rik
British narrow gauge (esp. Southwold and W&LLR)
Got a bit further with this now. We're planning on going at the start of April. Neither of us can get away before then due to other commitments.
Our (very) outline itinerary is:
Is there anything else worth visiting close to or on our route which might be worthwhile? Although my travel companion is not a train nut (he's more into the culture and meditation etc - a former hippy), he's quite happy for me to indulge in a bit of railway stuff while we're there.
We're intending to use AirBnB a fair bit while we're there so we can immerse ourselves in the local culture as much as possible.
Rik
PS We're avoiding the Taj Mahal deliberately - too many tourists!
Our (very) outline itinerary is:
- Fly into New Delhi
- Train down to Jaipur for a couple of days
- Back to Delhi and then on to Shimla for a couple of days
- Then across to Varanasi - spend a couple of days there
- Then over to Darjeeling - not sure how long we'll spend there - but at least two days, like to spend longer if we have time.
- Then down to Kolkata to fly home
Is there anything else worth visiting close to or on our route which might be worthwhile? Although my travel companion is not a train nut (he's more into the culture and meditation etc - a former hippy), he's quite happy for me to indulge in a bit of railway stuff while we're there.
We're intending to use AirBnB a fair bit while we're there so we can immerse ourselves in the local culture as much as possible.
Rik
PS We're avoiding the Taj Mahal deliberately - too many tourists!
"Things are very fluid" Don't like the sound of that
ge_rik
British narrow gauge (esp. Southwold and W&LLR)
Maybe at the end of the trip....?"Things are very fluid" Don't like the sound of that
Rik
ge_rik
British narrow gauge (esp. Southwold and W&LLR)
Just booked our flights. Flying out on 31 March to Delhi, Flying back on 16 April from Kolkata. Sketched out an itinerary which includes two sleeper trains but have also managed to fit in two hill railways - the Shimla and the Darjeeling.
Have arranged to have my innoculations - seem to be just about everything apart from bubonic plague!
Rik
Have arranged to have my innoculations - seem to be just about everything apart from bubonic plague!
Rik
Gavin Sowry
Garden Railroader and Raconteur
Indeed, the water in beer has been boiled as part of the brewing process.
Gavin Sowry
Garden Railroader and Raconteur
I believe that is the staple diet of England, these days, is it not.
Have a great trip Rik, just remember all the Food and Drink advice as it is so easy to slip up when you are having a good time and forget say eating a salad or unclean unwiped cutlery.
ge_rik
British narrow gauge (esp. Southwold and W&LLR)
Just finished booking all the mainline trains (Can't book the Shimla and Darjeeling trains as they're not available until a month before - but included their projections in the costings below). Just about to book the accommodation.
Costings so far (for those who might be interested).
Flights = £670 (inc. cancellation insurance)
Trains = £125 (inc. 4 sleeper trains and two first class trains)
Accommodation = £165 (11 nights @ approx £15pn)
Total so far = £960 per person
We reckon on spending around £10 / day on food etc = approx. £160
There will be extras such as travel insurance and sundries such as toiletries, souvenirs etc but we're hoping it won't cost us much more than £1500 per head for a 16 day holiday.
Once we're there, living costs are quite low. We're using AirBnB and for around £30pn we can get (for example) a two bed apartment with small kitchen/living room.
Rik
PS The good news is that the Darjeeling re-opened over its entire length in December
Costings so far (for those who might be interested).
Flights = £670 (inc. cancellation insurance)
Trains = £125 (inc. 4 sleeper trains and two first class trains)
Accommodation = £165 (11 nights @ approx £15pn)
Total so far = £960 per person
We reckon on spending around £10 / day on food etc = approx. £160
There will be extras such as travel insurance and sundries such as toiletries, souvenirs etc but we're hoping it won't cost us much more than £1500 per head for a 16 day holiday.
Once we're there, living costs are quite low. We're using AirBnB and for around £30pn we can get (for example) a two bed apartment with small kitchen/living room.
Rik
PS The good news is that the Darjeeling re-opened over its entire length in December
stevedenver
Registered
Being an anglophile, loving rudy the kip, indian railways and a lovely curry, ive wanted to travel to india all my life.
But, that romance has died down a bit.
I did go to nepal, climbed , trekked, and rode trains.
I was super fit at the time, for climbing.
Let me say, as politely as i might, my gut didnt return to normal for almost 18 months. At times, it was.....more than " unpredictable" and one never knew what might happen in any circumstance.
It can really interupt your life, especially if you are not free to jump up and run away at any given moment, say like in court, or, in the car, or, perhaps on public transportation. Woe be it should the loo be ocupado.
When i flew home, just about when i arrived to my home and family, "luckily" things really kicked in (luckily not before or in some hotel room) and i felt chills, aches, and like i might die for a couple of days.
my local doc had been serving docs wo borders in nepal and was well familiar with nepali " flora", and tests never found anything...which i know wasnt right, but just a word of what you may suffer.
Have heard the same from my photographer buddy about his jaunts to India.
Yes, i did eat lovely hot curried yak with my sherpas, as well as at a luxury hotel in katmandu with the finest indian cuisine ive ever had, and i am not sure where things came from. Was meticulous (i thought) about hygiene , cooked food and bottled water, too.
Have a great time.
Here endeth the bringdown.
But, that romance has died down a bit.
I did go to nepal, climbed , trekked, and rode trains.
I was super fit at the time, for climbing.
Let me say, as politely as i might, my gut didnt return to normal for almost 18 months. At times, it was.....more than " unpredictable" and one never knew what might happen in any circumstance.
It can really interupt your life, especially if you are not free to jump up and run away at any given moment, say like in court, or, in the car, or, perhaps on public transportation. Woe be it should the loo be ocupado.
When i flew home, just about when i arrived to my home and family, "luckily" things really kicked in (luckily not before or in some hotel room) and i felt chills, aches, and like i might die for a couple of days.
my local doc had been serving docs wo borders in nepal and was well familiar with nepali " flora", and tests never found anything...which i know wasnt right, but just a word of what you may suffer.
Have heard the same from my photographer buddy about his jaunts to India.
Yes, i did eat lovely hot curried yak with my sherpas, as well as at a luxury hotel in katmandu with the finest indian cuisine ive ever had, and i am not sure where things came from. Was meticulous (i thought) about hygiene , cooked food and bottled water, too.
Have a great time.
Here endeth the bringdown.
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Tony Walsham
Manufacturer of RCS Radio Control.
Hey Steve.
Did you brush your teeth with running tap water? That was all it took for me to get Delhi Belly many years ago.
Did you brush your teeth with running tap water? That was all it took for me to get Delhi Belly many years ago.
ge_rik
British narrow gauge (esp. Southwold and W&LLR)
I suppose there are risks associated with virtually every activity and we spend our lives trying to minimise or balance those risks. I've flown in microlights a couple of times and am considering learning how to fly a paramotor for my 70th birthday (if I make it back from India). I've spoken to quite a few people who have been to India and had no problems, including my son in law who has been there twice specifically to experience the food (including eating the world's hottest chilli, raw!). By contrast, the daughter of the mate I'm travelling with spent six months backpacking in the Far East and India. She returned with amoebic dysentery, but she was living on a very minimal budget.
I'm one of those people who attracts mosquitoes like bees round a honey pot and yet I'm going to a malaria risk country. I think there are times when you just have to do things that you've always wanted to do, take account of the risks and attempt to minimise them but, at the same time, have a bloody good time.
Rik
I'm one of those people who attracts mosquitoes like bees round a honey pot and yet I'm going to a malaria risk country. I think there are times when you just have to do things that you've always wanted to do, take account of the risks and attempt to minimise them but, at the same time, have a bloody good time.
Rik
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Fred2179G
Registered
Rik,
I visited India twice accompanying my wife who was a bigwig and had to visit their Indian offices in Hyderabad. I do not like curry and my stomach can get upset quite easily.
First trip we had the inoculations and took malaria pills. We stayed at a 4-star hotel and the lunch&dinner buffet had lots of well-cooked food choices - though they were too spicy for me but I ate them. The last day I got fed up and went across the street to Subway (US sandwich chain) where I asked an american in the queue if the food was safe - he said it never bothered him - which it wasn't; I had an upset stomach all the way home! Don't eat anything washed in local water, like salad.
Second trip 5 years alter we didn't bother with the inoculations and pills. Stayed at a 5-star (Westin) hotel which had a salad bar, and I asked the manager how he kept it safe - washing in distilled water I think he said.
Another reason to avoid the Taj Mahal is the thieves. Anywhere there are lots of foreign tourists you'll find beggars trying to grab your stuff. I was told to kick the kids to get them to keep away.
So yes, avoid the water and ice cubes, don't expect sanitary conditions anywhere, take sanitary wipes in case your hands get dirty, and drink beer!
P.S. as she had a rental car (which in India comes with a driver) she would send him back to the hotel so I could use the car while she worked. I had him take me to the local junction station one day - quite a madhouse, as you see in the pictures.