India Travel
Daman Arrival and information in Gujarat
The nearest railhead to Daman is 12km east at Vapi (check when you book that your train stops here). Shared Ambassador taxis charging only RslO per head to Daman will drop you on Seaface Road, a five-minute walk east from most of the hotels - if none is waiting in the square in front of the station, walk to the mam road, take a right and continue 500m until the next main junction.Just beyond the flyover is the ST bus station, with half-hourly buses to Daman.You can also get there by auto-rickshaw.
The tourist office (Mon-Fri 9.30am-1.30pm & 2-6pm; (502638/255104), in the pink administrative building just south of the bus stand, hands out glossy brochures with lots of gushing prose and maps of the territory. There a?-e two post offices: one just north of the Damanganga Road bridge, the other in Moti Daman, opposite the Municipal Council building. On Devka Road, between Seaface Road and the river, Executive Travels & Tours is the only place you can change foreign currency and Cyber Soft offers internet browsing, if they can connect with their server.
Leaving Daman, there arc no direct buses to anywhere further than Vapi, from where the best transport connections are by express train to Mumbai Central (9 daily; 3-4hr), Surat (9 daily; Ihr 45mm-3hr), Vadodara (9 daily; 4-5hr). Ahmedabad (7 daily; 6-7hr) and even, on the overnight Saurashtra Janata Express #9017, direct to Rajkot (12hr 30min) and Jamnagar (1 5hr).
Related Properties from Gurgaon
Daman Arrival and information Accommodation in Gujarat
Most of Daman's hotels are on or just off Seaface Road in Nani Danian.Aim for a first floor west-facing room if you can, as these catch the best of the welcome sea breezes that blow in during the evenings. Most places will give lower rates during quieter weekdays. Prices are higher at the resort hotels along Dwarka beach - more because of the location than for any added comfort. Brighton. Seaface Road 02638/251208. 255209. Good range of comfy well-furnished rooms, nearly all with cable TV and a view of the sea. Diamond, near the taxi stand 02638/254235. Neat but not particularly good-value
Ask any Gujarati what they know about Daman
Ask any Gujarati what they know about DAMAN and they'll probably say "liquor". As a Union Territory, independent ot the dry state that surrounds it, Daman has liberal licensing laws and low duty on booze, making it something of a target at weekends for busloads of Gujarati men who drink themselves senseless, sway up and down the main street and then crash out in cheap hotel rooms for the night, generally being pretty obnoxious. The rest of the tune Daman is quieter but disappointing on the whole, with a rather forlorn feel and a couple of uninspiring beaches, although it
Arrival and information in Gujarat
Arriving in Junagadh by bus or train, you're within easy walking distance of nearly all the hotels. From the long distance bus stand, turn right, then left at the main road and straight on across the railway tracks into the town centre; from the railway station, take a right down Station Road and a left at the end, by the petrol station. Local transport is provided by auto-rickshaws, though bicycles are great for getting around; with a bit of leg-work you can even cycle to the foot of Mount Girnar. Run-of-the-mill bikes can be had from 3 shop just west
Surat Arrival and information in Gujarat
Surat, on the main line from Ahmedabad to Mumbai, has very good train connections, and is served by regular buses from within Gujarat and interstate. Both stations are on the eastern edge of the city centre, with the massive Ring Road stretching out leftwards from the major junction to your left as you come out of the railway station, or to your right as you come out of the bus station. Private buses tend to leave you about 50m from the railway station, soignore rickshaw-wallahs who offer to take you there as you stagger sleepily off the overnight bus. The
Some history of Diu in Gujarat
The earliest records of Diu date from 1298, when it was controlled by the Chudasana dynasty. Soon after, like most of Gujarat, it fell into the hands of invading Muslims and by 1349 was ruled by Mohammed bin Tughluq who successfully boosted the shipbuilding industry. Diu prospered as a Gujarati harbour, and in 1510 came under the government of the Ottoman Malik Ayaz, who repelled besieging Portuguese forces in 1520 and 1521. Well aware of Diu's strategic position for trade with Arabia and the Persian Gulf, and having already gained a toehold in Daman on the eastern edge of the
Arrival and information in Southeastern Gujarat
The railway station and bus stand are very close together in rhe west of town, within easy walking distance of almost all the hotels. The airport is 6km northeast, or about Rs30 away by auto-rickshaw.There's a very helpful tourist information desk in the station (Mon-Sat llam-5pm), which sells a leaflet with a map and a list of the city's main sights. They also arrange city tours (daily except Thurs 2-6pm), if there are ten or more takers, and a tour to Pavagadh. Sterling and dollars cash or travellers' cheques can be changed at the Bank of Baroda international services branch
Arrival and information in Himachal Pradesh
State-ran buses from Manali, Mandi, Pathankot, Kangra and Delhi pull into the bus stand in the very south of the lower town, though some continue after a short stop all the way up to McLeod Ganj - the usual arrival point for private and deluxe buses from Delhi and Manali. The nearest point of arrival for trains from Delhi, Punjab and Jammu Tawi is Pathankot - the narrow-gauge train linking Pathankot to Jogindernagar also stops at Kangra and at Nagrota. Dharamsala's airport, 11km to the south at Gaggal, has three Indian Airlines' flights a week to Delhi. The tourist office (Mon-Sat
Nani Daman in Gujarat
Most of the action in Nani Daman centres on Seaface Road, which runs west from the market past rows of hotels, seedy bars and IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) stores to the beach. Too polluted for a comfortable swim or sunbathe, Damans dismal strand is only worth visiting around sunset, when the local fish-erwomen hang strips of filleted pomfret on wooden racks to dry. At the opposite (east) end of Seaface Road, the Portuguese covered market has a reputation as a purveyor of exotic contraband, although you won't find many packers of the fabled foreign cigarettes or bottles of whisky among
Nani Daman in Gujarat
Most of the action in Nani Daman centres on Seaface Road, which runs west from the market past rows of hotels, seedy bars and IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) stores to the beach. Too polluted for a comfortable swim or sunbathe, Damans dismal strand is only worth visiting around sunset, when the local fish-erwomen hang strips of filleted pomfret on wooden racks to dry. At the opposite (east) end of Seaface Road, the Portuguese covered market has a reputation as a purveyor of exotic contraband, although you won't find many packers of the fabled foreign cigarettes or bottles of whisky
Arrival and information in Gujarat
Three main roads radiate from the busy road junction at Sanganwa Chowk in the centre of Rajkot: Dhebar Road heads south, past the ST bus stand 100m away; Lakhajiraj Road goes east, through the old city; and Jawahar Road runs north, past Alfred High School (whose former pupils include M. K. Gandhi) and Jubilee Gardens towards Rajkot Junction station, 2km northeast (get off here rather than at City Station if arriving by train), and the airport 4km northwest. Rajkot's rather redundant tourist office (Mon-Sat 10.30am-6prn; ©0281/234507) is off Jawahar Road, north of Sanganwa Chowk behind the State Bank of Saurashtra -
Arrival and information in Gujarat
The centre of town from a tourist's point of view is Bedi Gate near the shopping centre and office complex of New Super Market. As its name suggests, this junction was one of the gates of the old city, which lies to its south, but most of the walls have long since been demolished. Northwest of Bedi Gate, Pandit Nehru Marg leads past Teen Bati, an imposing triple gateway, and on towards the railway station, 6km out. The ST bus stand is 2km or so west of Bedi Gate, on the other side of Ranmal lake, and the airport 8km
Arrival and information in Delhi
Delhi is India's main point of arrival for overseas visitors, and has two airports, one domestic and one international. State buses from all over the country pull into the Inter-state Bus Terminal in Old Delhi, while private buses stop in the more central location close to New Delhi railway station. Trains arrive at the railheads in Old or New Delhi, both well connected to Connaught Place, the commercial centre of the city, by rickshaw and taxi. For a summary of the kinds of accommodation available in different areas of the city, which may well determine where you head first, see p.
Arrival and information The City in Gujarat
Surat's two main sights are some distance apart, but can be seen in an hour if you take an auto-rickshaw between them. A good spot to start is Chowk, the busy riverside intersection at the toot ot Nehru Bridge. Facing the old British High Court building on one side, and the incongruous steeple of an Anglican church on the other, the castle is the city's oldest monument, erected in 1540 on the banks of the Tapti by the Sultan of Gujarat in an attempt to curtail the trading activities of the Portuguese. It later fell to both the Moghuls and
Tattoos in Gujarat
If you spend any time in the rural areas of Gujarat, or come across tribal people in the cities, you'll notice the heavy blues and blacks of tattoos chat cover the arms, hands, faces and torsos ot most tribal women and many tribal men.This art.chhun-dana padavava. has been practised for centuries, and like mekdndi — rich red henna patterns stencilled onto hands and feet - is a traditional form of beautfication and identification. For women, the typical rows and symmetrical designs of dots and simple shapes around necks, wrists and ear lobes are endowed with the power to attract men and
Arrival and information The City Eating in Gujarat
Most of Surat's restaurants are in the better hotels, while many of the cheaper lodges offer basic room-service menus.The ST bus stand refreshment room is open 24 hours. Embassy Hotel, off Sufi Baug, opposite the railway station. Two restaurants, one serving set breakfasts and thalis, the other Indian, Chinese and Western dishes in a clean, pleasant atmosphere. Open 7am-midnight. Mossam, Hotel Yuvraj, off Sufi Baug, opposite the railway station. Stylish, moderately priced Gujarati cooking and south Indian snacks in sophisticated surroundings. Open 1Iam-3.30pm& 7-11.30pm. Savera Sufi Baug. Canteen serving savoury cheap veg and non-veg north Indian food. Open 9am-10pm. Sheer-e-Punjabi, below Omkar Chambers,
Arrival and information in Gujarat
Bharuch is on the main NH-8 highway and the main railway line between Vadodara and Mumbai, with multiple connections to the north and south; all express trains stop here. Luggage can be left at the railway station parcel office, right of the mam exit, while you explore town. Most of the places to stay are near the railway station. The best budget option is the Hotel Classic (02642/32264), tucked behind the tall buildings on the south side of Station Road, which offers en-suite doubles with carpets, cable TV and balconies, or clean, windowless wood-partition cells. The modern Hotel President (02642/31957, 40376),
Moti Daman in Gujarat
The town's most impressive monuments are across the river in the leafy colonial compound of Moti Daman, 2km south of Seaface Road, Once inside the huge heavily fortified walls that surround the quarter, you're a world away from the sandy cluttered streets of the new town. Elegant double-storeyed mansions with sweeping staircases, wooden shutters, verandas and colour-washed facades stand on sun-dappled courtyards. Now used as government offices, these residences were originally the homes of Portuguese nobles or fidaigos — the only people allowed to live inside the fort. Mod Daman's highlights are its churches, which rank among the oldest and best-preserved
Southeastern Gujarat
The seldom-visited southeastern corner of Gujarat, sandwiched between Maharashtra and the Arabian Sea, harbours few attractions to entice you off the road or railway line to or from Mumbai. There's little to recommend Vadodara (Baroda), former capital of the Gaekwad rajas, but its proximity to the old Muslim town of Champaner and the ruined forts and exotic Jain and Hindu temples that encrust Pavagadh Hill. Further south, the dairy pastures around Anand gradually give way to a swampy, malaria-infested coastal strip of banana plantations and shimmering saltpans cut by silty, sinuous rivers and peppered with mango trees and brick villages.
Information of the Agra in the Uttar Pradesh
Agra has two tourist offices, one run by the Government of India, at 191 The Mall (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm, Sat 9am-1pm), and one run by UF Tourism, close to the darks Shimz, at 64 Taj Rd (same hours); there is also an information booth at Cantonment station. The Government of India office is better organized and provides information about other destinations, though both supply information on hotels and local sights, and details of tours that start and end at Agra Cantonment railway station.
Mahatma Gandhi - India’s great soul Eating in Gujarat
Although Porbandar is well known in Gujarat for its seafood, you'll have a job finding it. Outside the hotel restaurants, there's a fairly uninspiring choice of places to eat; many seem to serve only a limited number of the dishes listed on the menus.