India Travel

Books in Mumbai

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Books in Calcutta

The month-long Calcutta Book Fair, held on the Maidan near Park Street in January and February, is now among the biggest of its kind in the country, and provides a good opportunity to pick up books at a discount. Classical Books, Middleton Row. Small, friendly and well worth a browse. Dey Bros. B47 New Market. One of several bookshops in this part of the market selling popular books on India and a selection of novels. Family Book Shop, 1A Park St. On the Chowringhee end of Park Street, this place is small but crammed full of books. Landmark, Emami Shoppers City, 3

Books in Delhi

Delhi has a wide selection of places to buy books and magazines. Pavement vendors around Connaught Place will sell you anything from Sidney Sheldon to Vivekananda, as well as guidebooks. Bookshops - of which the best are in Khan Market. 4km south of Connaught Place - generally lack the Western trivia, but sell all kinds of publications in English, Hindi, and other European languages. The shops of South Extension, a short distance further south, are gradually superseding those of Khan Market.You'll find books on all aspects of Indian history and culture, and an ever-growing supply of short works by Indian

Book and map outlets in Canada

Open Air Books and Maps, 25 Toronto St, Toronto, ON M5R 2C1 416/363-0719. Ulysses Travel Bookshop, 4176 St-Denis, Montreal 514/843-9447. World of Maps, 1235 Wellington St. Ottawa. ON K1Y3A3 613/724-6776, World Wide Books and Maps, 552 Seymour St, Vancouver, BC V6B 3J5 604/687-3320

Bookshops in Hyderabad

Higginbothams at 1 Lai Bahadur Stadium. Hyderabad; Gangarams. 62 DSD Rd, near Garden Restaurant in Secunderabad; and Kalaujal, Hill Fort Road, opposite the Public Gardens, which specializes in art books. Both shops offer a wide selection of literature, nonfiction titles and reference books.

Amrit Book Co, 21 N-Block, Connaught Place in Delhi

Vast slock of novels and books on history, philosophy and religion. Bahri & Sons, Khan Market. Legendary shop with books piled to the ceiling, covering every possible subject; if you find the cramped shop confusing ask one of the helpful assistants. Bahrf's will order books and ship them abroad and are reliable. The Bookshop, Khan Market. Small but good selection in this popular market renowned for its bookshops, with all the latest titles and a comprehensive section on Indian literature, religion and travel. Book Mark, A'2 Ring Road. South Extension 1. A modem bookshop with a growing reputation and a varied

Moving on from Mumbai

Most visitors feel like getting out of Mumbai as soon as they can. Fortunately, Mumbai is equipped with "super-fast" services to arrange or confirm onward travel. All the major international and domestic airlines have offices in the city, the railway networks operate special tourist counters in the main reservation halls, and dozens of travel agents and road transport companies are eager to help you on your way by bus.

Arrival and information of Mumbai

Unless you arrive in Mumbai by train at Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus), be prepared for a long slog into the centre. The international and domestic airports are north of the city, way off the map, and ninety minutes or more by road from the main hotel areas, while from Mumbai Central train or bus station, you face a laborious trip across town. Finding a place to stay can be even more of a hassle; phone around before you set off into the traffic.

Moving on from Rajkot in Gujarat

Of Rajkot's two train services to Mumbai, by far the better is the Saurashtra Mail #9006, leaving late afternoon and arriving 8.10am the next morning. There are also three expresses and several passenger trains to Jamnagar (2-3hr) and Porbandar (4hr 30min-6hr), two expresses and three fast passenger trains to Dwarka (5hr 30min-7hr) and Okha (6hr 30min-8hr), an overnight fast passenger train to Bhavnagar (8hr 30min}, and four trains a day (one fast) to Junagadh (3hr 15min-4hr) and Veraval (5hr 15min-6hr). For those in a hurry to get to south India, there are weekly trains to each of Secunderabad,

Downtown Mumbai

Aldous Huxley famously described Mumbai as "one of the most appalling cities of either hemisphere", with its "lavatory bricks and Gothic spires". The critic Robert Byron, although a wholehearted fan of New Delhi, was equally unenthusiastic, feeling moved to refer to downtown Mumbai in 1931 as "that architectural Sodom", claiming that "the nineteenth century devised nothing lower than the municipal buildings of British India. Their ugliness is positive, daemonic." Today, however, the massive erections of Empire and Indian free enterprise appear not so much ugly, as intriguing.

Listings of McLeod Ganj in Himachal Pradesh

Banks and exchange The State Bank of India in McLeod Ganj has ceased foreign exchange transactions. There's another branch in lower Dharamsala (Mon-Fri 10am-2pm, Sat 10am-noon). The Bank of Baroda. in the lower town, issues money to Visa card holders, with one or two days' delay. There are several authorized private foreign exchange agencies in McLeod Ganj. Bookshops The Tibetan Bookshop and Information Office is a good place to browse for books on Tibetan Buddhism, as is the friendly and informative Charitable Trust Shop, both on Jogibara Road in the main bazaar. Bookworm, opposite the Tourist Office, South End, is small

Eating in Mumbai

In keeping with its cosmopolitan credentials, Mumbai (and Colaba above all) is crammed with interesting eating places, whether you fancy splashing out on a buffet lunch-with-a-view from a flashy five-star revolving restaurant, or simply tucking into piping-hot roti kebab by gaslight in the street.

Lonavala in Southern Maharashtra

Just thirty years ago, the town of LONAVALA, 100km southeast of Mumbai and 62km northwest of Pune, was a quiet retreat in the Sahyadri hills. Since then, the place has mushroomed to cope with hordes of holiday-makers and second-home owners from the state capital, and is now only of interest as a base for the magnificent Buddhist caves of Karle. Bhaja and Bedsa, some of which date from the Satavahana period (second century BC). Frequent buses arrive at Lonavala's central bus stand, just off the Mumbai-Pune Road (NH-4), but the tram is infinitely preferable. Lonavala is on the main railway

Leaving India in Mumbai

In spite of its prominence on trans-Asian flight routes, Mumbai is no longer the bargain basement for international air tickets it used to be. Discounted fares are very hard to come by — a legacy of Rajiv Gandhi's economic reforms of the 1980s. If you do need to book a ticket, stick to one of the tried and tested agents listed. All the major airlines operating out of Mumbai have offices downtown where you can buy scheduled tickets or confirm your flight; see p.781 for a list of addresses. The majority are grouped around Veer Nariman Road, opposite the Ambassador Hotel,

MG Road: markets and shopping from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala

An assortment of craft shops along MG Road north of Station Road sell san-dalwood, brass and Keralan bell-metal oil lamps. The Gandhian Khadi Gramodyog. between Pazhavangadi and Overbridge junctions, stocks hand-loom cloth (dig around for the best stuff), plus radios and cassette machines manufactured by the Women's Federation. Natesan's Antique Arts, further up. is part of a chain that specializes in paintings and temple woodcarvings. Prices are high, but they usually have some beautiful pieces, among them some superb reproductions ofThanjur paintings and traditional inlaid chests for Kathakali costumes. At first glance most of the bookstores in the area seem largely intended

Books in Goa

The bookshops in the Hotel Fidalgo and the Hotel Mandovi stock a range of English-language fiction in paperback, and special-interest titles and coffee-table tomes on Goa.

Flights to and from Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad to: Ahmedabad (4 weekly: 1hr40min): Bangalore (2-3 daily; 1hr); Calcutta (1-2 daily; 2-3hr); Chennai (3-4 daily; 1hr-1hr 45min); Cochin (2 weekly; 2hr 40min); Delhi (3 daily; 2hr-2hr10min|; Mumbai (6-7 daily; 1 hr 15min-3hr); Tirupati (1-2 daily; 55min-1hr 20min); Vishakapatnam (2 daily; 1 hr-1 hr 30min). Puttaparthy to: Mumbai (2 weekly: 1 hr 20min). Vishakapatnam to: Bhubaneswar (4 weekly; 55min); Calcutta (4 weekly; 2hr 20min); Chennai (4 weekly; 1hr 5min); Delhi (4 weekly; 3hr 35min); Hyderabad (2 daily; 1 hr-1 hr 30min); Mumbai (1 daily; 2hr45min).

Book and map outlets in the USA

ADC Map and Travel Center, 1636 I St NW, Washington DC 20006 e 202/628 2608, Adventurous Traveler Bookstore, P0 Box64769, Burlington, VT 05406 1-800/282-3963,8 Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd, Corte Madera, CA 94925 415/927-0960, The Complete Traveler Bookstore, 199Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 212/685- 9007; 3207 Fillmore St, San Francisco. CA 92123 415/923-1511. Distant Lands, 56 S Raymond Ave. Pasadena,CA 91105 626/449-3220, Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main St, Seattle, WA 98104 $206/624-6600, Map Link, 30 S La Petera Lane, Unit #5, Santa Barbara, CA 93117 805/692-6777, Phileas Fogg's Books & Maps, #87 Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto, CA 94304 1- 800/533-FOGG. Rand McNally,

Uptown and the outskirts in Mumbai

Greater Mumbai has crept inexorably northwards to engulf villages and swampland in a pall of chimneys, motorways and slums. These grim industrial areas hold few attractions, but possibilities for full- or half-day excursions include the quirky Victoria and Albert museum and botanical gardens in Byculla, and the beach at Juhu. All lie within reach of a suburban railway station, although you will, in most cases, have to take a rickshaw or taxi for the last few kilometres. Beyond them to the north lie the Buddhist caves chiselled out of the hillside at Kanheri, and the crumbling Portuguese fort at Bassein.

Pune (Poona) and beyond Arrival and information in Southern Maharashtra

Pune's Lohagaon airport, 10km northeast of the centre, is served by nights from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Bangalore. Prepaid taxis (Rs200), auto-rickshaws (Rs100) and regular "Ex-Servicemen" buses (Rs20-25) are on hand for the fifteen-minute trip to the city centre. Pune is an important staging point on southern express-train routes from Mumbai (3hr 30min-4hr 30min); the main railway station is in the centre of town, south of the river. Auto-rickshaws and tourist taxis wait outside the station - locals often use the shared long-distance taxis to get to Mumbai. Of the three main bus stands, the City Bus Stand next to

Colaba The City of Mumbai

At the end of the seventeenth century, Colaba was little more than the last in a straggling line of rocky islands extending to the lighthouse that stood on Mumbai's southernmost point. Today, the original outlines of the promontory (whose name derives from the Koli who first lived here) have been submerged under a mass of dilapidated colonial tenements, hotels, bars, restaurants and handicraft shops. It you never venture beyond the district, you'll get a very distorted picture of Mumbai. In spice of being the main tourist enclave and a trendy hang-out for the city's rich young things, Colaba has retained