India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (403 page)

EMERGENCIES
Refer to “Fast Facts” sections in individual chapters for police, ambulance, and emergency contact numbers.

HOLIDAYS
Expect to find a different schedule of public holidays for each state. There are, additionally, just four national public holidays: January 26 is Republic Day, August 15 is Independence Day, October 2 is Gandhi’s Birthday, and December 25 is Christmas Day. Expect a host of religious holidays and festivals (see the “Calendar of Events” in the Planning Chapter) which may or may not cause businesses or other places of interest to close for the day (or perhaps for a few hours).

INSURANCE
While the cost of quality medical care in India is nowhere near as expensive as it is in the West, you’re advised to get yourself covered for any major medical emergency. A basic consultation with a specialist doctor costs between Rs 300 and Rs 1,000, so that’s not your real insurance concern. Should you need hospitalization, major medical assistance, or medical evacuation, travel medical insurance will help ease the process and cover all expenses.
Note:
Try to get “cash-free” insurance for major medical expenses, and carry a list of facilities where this is possible; otherwise you will have to pay first and get reimbursed later—which is the norm in most of India. For travel overseas, most U.S. health plans (including Medicare and Medicaid) do not provide coverage, and the ones that do often require you to pay for services upfront and reimburse you only after you return home.

It’s a good idea to get insurance for any specific valuable items (such as laptops and cameras), and to also cover any luggage that you intend checking in on flights. Most airlines require that you report delayed, damaged, or lost baggage within 4 hours of arrival. Though airlines are required to deliver luggage, once found, directly to your house or destination free of charge, in India they cannot do so because Customs rules require that you clear your bags through Customs personally. Once your lost bags have arrived, you will have to make a trip to the airport to claim them.

For information on traveler’s insurance, trip-cancellation insurance, and medical insurance while traveling please visit
www.frommers.com/planning
.

INTERNET ACCESS
Today even small towns have decent Internet connectivity, although coverage may be more limited in remote places such as Ladakh, where the Internet must be accessed via satellite connection. Business centers at luxury hotels often charge exorbitant rates; there’s often Internet connection for 10% of the cost just around the corner. Although they’re not always fantastic in terms of connection speed (or cleanliness), cybercafes are a roaring trade and usually cheap, albeit frustratingly slow. Keep an eye out for
Sify iway
(
www.iway.com
) and
Reliance Webworld
(
www.rcom.co.in
) Internet centers, both offering much faster broadband connections than average stand-alone establishments. Sify, for instance, has some 2,500 Internet browsing centers around the country, half of which also offer Internet telephone services. Log on to their website to find a list of centers in a particular city. If you’re planning on being in India for an extended period, or rely heavily on Internet access while traveling, consider investing in a data card that allows you to connect to the Internet through your laptop while on the road:
Reliance
Netconnect
(
www.rcom.co.in
) is one of a number of mobile phone service providers that also offers wireless Internet connectivity by means of a USB modem.

LANGUAGE
You shouldn’t have to battle too much if you speak English with a clear accent. Don’t assume, however, that everyone in India understands or speaks English (or Hindi for that matter). Also don’t feel affronted when you run into locals who seem to smile in acknowledgment, only to reveal much later that they haven’t the foggiest notion what you’re talking about; they are simply trying to make you feel more at home. Hindi is widely spoken throughout North India, while all the states are divided linguistically. For example, Tamil is spoken in Tamil Nadu, Kannada in Karnataka, Telugu in Andhra Pradesh, Malayalam in Kerala, Gujarati in Gujarat, and Konkani in Goa; and there are literally hundreds of local dialects. You’ll also come across a lot of what is often called Hinglish, where local terms (in Hindi) are mixed with English phrases. This usage is becoming increasingly widespread. You’ll notice it immediately in advertising billboards and on television shows, but also in general conversation.

LEGAL AID
The local strategy for dealing with most potentially sticky encounters with the police or traffic department is to offer a bribe
(baksheesh).
Should you find yourself in any legal tangle, it’s best to immediately contact your local consular representative and seek their advice.

MAIL
Buy stamps for letters and postcards from your hotel, and have your concierge post them for you. International postage is extremely affordable, and the Indian postal service is generally efficient. However, sending a package or parcel abroad involves a tedious process of wrapping it in cloth and sealing it with string and wax (again, ask your concierge); you’ll also have to complete a Customs declaration form. All this may cost you a great deal of time at the post office (9am–5pm). Also, bear in mind that surface mail runs the risk of spending months in the system, or of never arriving at all. You can spare yourself a great deal of torment by having a local or international courier company deliver packages (including shopping that can’t fit into your case!); it’s relatively inexpensive and there are literally dozens of these companies in every town (again, ask your concierge or host).

NEWSPAPERS & MAGAZINES
Major English dailies include
The Hindu
(
www.hindu.com
),
The Indian Express
(
www.expressindia.com
),
The Times of India
(
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
), and
Hindustan Times
(
www.hindustantimes.com
), as well as Kolkata’s
The Statesman
(
www.thestatesman.net
) and
The Telegraph
(
www.telegraphindia.com
). These make for interesting reading and will keep you up to date on local and international events. You may find that much of the writing assumes a great deal on your part, however. If you haven’t been following certain stories for some time, the latest update may be impossible to fathom.
The Economic Times
and
Mint
provide the most detailed business news. Each week you can pick up fresh issues of
The Week, India Today,
Outlook,
and
Frontline
(which provide quite venomous analyses of the nation’s social, political, and economic situations). These are available at newsstands and railway stations and not only help you pass travel time but add immensely to your understanding of India. If you’re looking for general travel features, the monthly
Outlook Traveller
(
www.outlooktraveller.com
) features colorful articles from an Indian perspective. In Mumbai and Delhi, the twice-monthly
Time Out
is indispensable if you’re looking for what’s hot and happening.

PASSPORTS
See
www.frommers.com/planning
for information on how to obtain a passport.

For other information, please contact the following agencies:

For Residents of Australia
Contact the
Australian Passport Information Service
at
131-232,
or visit the government website at
www.passports.gov.au
.

For Residents of Canada
Contact the central
Passport Office,
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G3 (
800/567-6868;
www.ppt.gc.ca
).

For Residents of Ireland
Contact the
Passport Office,
Setanta Centre, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 (
01/671-1633;
www.irlgov.ie/iveagh
).

For Residents of New Zealand
Contact the
Passports Office
at
0800/225-050
in New Zealand or 04/474-8100, or log on to
www.passports.govt.nz
.

For Residents of the United Kingdom
Visit your nearest passport office, major post office, or travel agency or contact the
United Kingdom Passport Service
at
0870/521-0410
or search its website at
www.ukpa.gov.uk
.