India Travel
Getting there from Australia & New Zealand
There are no nonstop flights to India from either Australia or New Zealand; you have to make at least one change of plane in a Southeast Asian hub city (usually Kuala Lumpur, Singapore or Bangkok). The choice of routes and airlines is bewildering, and most agents will offer you a combination of two or more carriers to get the best price.
Bear in mind when you’re shopping around which city you want to fly into; your point of arrival may well affect your eventual itinerary, and there’s no point in saving a few dollars on the cost of an air ticket only to lose them on an expensive or time-consuming ride across the country to get to the part of India you want to explore first.
Flying west, the main, and cheapest, India gateway city tends to be Chennai (Madras), with Mumbai (Bombay) and Delhi not far behind- As a rule of thumb, the best-value tickets from Australia are on departures from the east coast. Flying from Perth to Chennai in low/shoulder season (Feb 1-Nov 21) costs A$1100-1300 with Singapore Airlines, Sri Lanka Airlines, Malaysia, Ansett or Air India, and from around A$1700 during high season (Nov 22-Jan 31). Qantas/British Airways also offers a competitive low-season fare from the east coast to Murnbai of around A$1400, and there are daily departures connecting with these flights from most Australian cities, with less frequent departures from Cairns and Darwin (2-3 times a week). Coming from the west coast - Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane - typically costs A$50-100 more.
Flying from New Zealand, the cheapest fares to India are generally with Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Air New Zealand and Air India (or more probably a combination of all four). Tickets range from just under NZ$2000 to around NZ$2250 if you leave from Auckland; add on approximately NZ$150 for flights from Wellington or Christchurch.
Round-the-world fares from Australia and New Zealand using the above airlines can take in India; for example, Thai Airways,
Air New Zealand, Qantas and Malaysia. Airlines can route you through Delhi or
Mumbai as part of a RTW deal from around ” A$2200/NZ$2600.
Related Properties from Gurgaon
Travellers’ Medical and Vaccination Centre
Australia; Level 7,428 George St, Sydney 02/9221 7133; Level 2,393 Little Bourke St, Melbourne 03/9603 5788; Level 6,29 Gilbert Place, Adelaide 08/8212 7522; Level 6,247 Adelaide St, Brisbane 07/3221 9066; 5 Mill St, Perth 08/9321 1977. New Zealand: 1/170 Oueen St 09/373 3531; 6 Washington Way, Christchurch 03/379 4000. General info/health line: it 1902/261 560 (Australia). Inoculations/medications, area-specific advice, list of English-speaking doctors in India, first-aid/medical kits and post-travel examinations. A full rundown of their branches, along with general travellers' health advice.
Australia and New Zealand
Auckland Hospital, Park Road, Grafton 09/797440. General traveller health advice. Travel-Bug Medical and Vaccination Centre, 161 Ward St, North Adelaide 08/8267 3544.Consultations, inoculations, first-aid/medical kits, post-travel examinations. Travellers' Immunization Service, 303 Pacific Hwy, Lind field, Sydney 02/9416 1348. Offers inoculations and general advice.
Book and map outlets in Australia and New Zealand
Mapland, 372 Little Bourke St, Melbourne, VIC3000 03/9670 4383 The Map Shop 16a Peel St, Adelaide. SA 500008/8231 2033 Perth Map Centre 884 Hay St, Perth, WA 6000308/9322 5733 Speciality Maps 58 Albert St. Auckland 3)09/307 2217 Travel Bookshop Shop 3,175 Liverpool St, Sydney, NSW 2000 302/9261 8200 Worldwide Maps and Guides 187 George St. Brisbane, OLD 4000 07/3221 4330 Mapworld, 173 Gloucester Street, Chnstchurch 303/374 5399, fax 03/374 5633,
Tour operators in Australia and New Zealand
Abercrombie and Kent go Bridport St, Albert Park. Victoria 03/9699 9766. Specialist in individual mid- to upmarket holidays, away from the main tourist trails. Adventure World 73 Walker St, Sydney 02/9956 7766, toll-free 1800/221 931, plus branches in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth; 101 Great South Rd, Remuera, Auckland 09/524 5118. Tailor-made air and accommodation packages, rail passes and regional tours. NZ agents for Peregrine Classic Oriental Tours, 4th Floor. 491 Kent St,Sydney 02/9266. Wide choice of tours ranging from three-day city breaks to22-day itineraries, with some adventure options. Peregrine Adventures 258 Lonsdale St. Melbourne 03/9663 8611; offices in Brisbane, Sydney. Adelaide and
Visas and red tape
Gone are the days when Commonwealth nationals could stroll visa-less into India and stay for as long as they pleased: now everybody needs a visa, except citizens of Nepal and Bhutan. If you're going to India on business or to study, you'll need to apply for a special student or business visa, otherwise a standard tourist visa will suffice. These are valid for six months from the date of issue (not of departure from your home country or entry into India), and cost e30/US$60/ CDN$62/A$55/NZ$55. As you're asked to specify whether you need a single-entry or a multiple-entry visa, and the
Consulates in Calcutta
Consulates Australia, 19 Netaji Subhas Rd; Bangladesh, 9 Circus; Indonesia, Mukti Chambers, Ground Floor, 4 Clive Row; Nepal, 1 National Library Ave, Alipore; Philippines. Industry House, 19th Floor, 10 Camac Street; Singapore, 7/1 Lord Sinha Rd: Sri Lanka, Nicco House, 2 Hare St; Thailand, 12B Mandeville Gardens; UK, 1 Ho Chi Minh Sarani: USA, 5/1 Ho Chi Minh Sarani.
Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh
Shortly after NH-12 peels away from the main Bhopal—Hoshangabad road, 45km southeast of the state capital, a long line of boulders appears high on a scrub-covered ridge to the west. The hollows, overhangs and crevices eroded over the millennia from the crags of this malleable sandstone outcrop harbour one of the world's largest collections of prehistoric rock art. Discovered in 1957 by the archeologist Dr VS. Wankaner, BHIMBETKA (sunrise-sunset; free) is South Asia's equivalent of the cave complexes at Lascaux in southwest France and Altamira in Spain, or the rock paintings of aboriginal Australia. If you have your own
Listings in Delhi
Airport enquiries International; domestic. Airlines, domestic Indian Airlines main office: Safdarjang Airport, open 24hr; general enquiries, prerecorded information,departures; booking offices: PTI Building, Sansad Marg (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm: Malhotra Building, Janpath (daily except Sat 10am-5pm;; Kanchenjunga Building, Barakhamba Road (Mon-Sat !0am-5pm:. Archana Airways. 41A Friends Colony East, Mathura Road. Jagson Airlines. 12E Vandhana. 11 Tolstoy Marg. Jet Airways.main office: Jetair House. 13 Community Centre, Yusuf Sarai: booking offices: N-40 Outer Circle, Connaught Place. Sahara Indian Airlines, Ambadeep Building. Kasturba Gandhi Marg. UP Air, A2 Defence Colony. Airlines, international Aeroflot. Tolstoy House. 15-17 Tolstoy Marg; Air Canada, 1st floor. ALPs Building, 56 Janpath;
Listings in Mumbai
Banks and currency exchange The logical place to change money when you arrive in Mumbai is at the State Bank of India's 24hr counter in Sahar airport. Rates here are standard but you'll have to pay for an encashment certificate - essential if you intend to buy tourist-quota train tickets or an Indrail pass at the special counters in Churchgate or VT stations. All the major state banks downtown change foreign currency (Mon-Fri 10.30am-2.30pm, Sat 10.30am-12,30pm); some also handle credit cards and cash advances. Several 24hrATMs handle international transactions, usually Visa, Delta and Mastercard - it's best to check with