For a Nepalese porter or guide, a general rule of thumb is to tip one day's wages for each week of the trek. This works out at around 15% added to wages at the end. Feel free to tip more, as they are on fixed wages and unemployed after your trek until the next trekker comes along, but don't give outrageous tips or gifts, this makes it harder for those trekkers who follow you and creates unrealistic expectations in porters and guides. On longer treks (20 days plus) at higher altitudes, it is expected that footwear and down gear provided will be given to the Sherpas at the end of the trek - include these gifts in your tip calculations, as the equipment will, 9 times out of 10, be sold for cash.

Hotel porters on the subcontinent expect at least ten rupees, but twenty is better - if they carry your bags make it 10-20 per bag. You can increase that to as much as 50 in more expensive places, or if they have been particularly helpful during your stay. I generally adjust my tips to the degree the porter or bellboy seems to be angling for them - if he shows me the room in a straightforward way and then leaves me in peace to unpack, fine - he gets the regular tip. Should he begin demonstrating each light switch, fan speed control and bathroom fitting as though I need expert guidance simply to put my shoes on, I offer less of a tip. In this way, I hope to encourage certain types of behavior and discourage others (forever the optimist Darwinian!). Cleaners rarely get tips from guests, but any cleaner deserves a small tip if they do their job. Another gift for such hotel staff is leftover clothes from your trip - but don't leave really shabby things, that would be insulting.

My choice for travel is the 2nd class, reserved sleeper wagon. With this class I am seated in a carriage with windows which open for fresh air, and which have glass in them. The higher classes have horrible plastic portholes which give only a blurred impression of where you're traveling through - fine if you are the type of person who always specifies an "aisle" seat on an airplane, but I prefer to see something of where I'm traveling.

I try to make sure that I always have a top berth (standard 2nd sleeper class has three - but only the top one is available during the day for stretching out) and I always specify "inside" on my booking form. This means the seats which are situated in groups of six (2 x three, facing each other) rather than the seats which lie closest to the corridor running down the centre of each wagon. These pairs of corridor seats are closer to the general traffic during the day, and are quite a bit shorter when you come to lie out at night. Another precaution I take is to keep all my valuables with me on the seat, and on the berth when I sleep at night. I slide my rucsac under the seat with the mouth facing inwards and chain it with a light, 1m long chain (you'll find special rings for attachment under all seats, but bring a suitable chain with you - you can buy them at most stations, although one from home will probably be lighter) to make casual pilfering harder. When you travel alone, it can be hard getting off at stations along the way to stretch your legs when you know you are leaving gear in the carriage. The best you can do here is to get to know your fellow passengers and agree to watch each other's possessions at stops like this. Indians do this almost as second nature; foreigners may need some prompting.

 
13.  "How easy is it to pre-book train or bus tickets?"

Indian train booking online is now fairly practical, if not exactly straightforward for new users. You are able book tickets up to 90 days in advance as of March 2007, and to print out the tickets on your home printer. This is called an e-ticket. However, the frustration level from using the IRTC site is in direct proportion to how urgent your booking need is - using it for the first time, be prepared to return another day for a second bash. First of all go to the site and marvel at how many dancing, flashing and scrolling graphics they managed to squeeze onto one page. You'll need to register on the site before you can book tickets - that's the "signup" link on the login box. Login with your created ID. The IRCTC site is currently only available from 3 AM to 11:00 PM (Indian Standard Time) - people report faster connection speeds at the beginning of that time-frame and shortly before closing. For the sake of your nerves, don't try the booking with any browser except Internet Explorer, and switch off any popup/adverts blocker you might have running.

Indian Railways identifies each of its stations with 2 to 4 alphabetical codes (for example, New Delhi - ndls). On the The "Plan my travel and Book tickets" page (which you arrive at once logged-in) enter those codes on the from and to fields. By clicking on the small icon next to each field you can find this alphabetical code for the stations you want. Note! This is often the first pratfall for newbies: many Indian towns have two or more names. The Railways have officially accepted only one of these - thus if you are searching for places like "Madras" or "Bombay," the search fields will not give any result. Mostly, one name is the local name and the other is the English name. In some locations English names are the official ones and in others it will be the local name - confused yet? Don't forget the IndiaMike Railways forum to get excellent guidance with your problems.

Choose your date and your class of travel: refer to The Man in Seat Sixty-One site for details on classes. Be sure "e-ticket" is selected. The rest is a normal procedure for Internet booking (use the help page if you get stuck), until you come to pay. It's vital to select "payment gateway" number 1 (ICICI Payment Gateway) if using Visa or Mastercard. You may get a "communication error" or a "session timeout" message at any stage, but try to keep your cool and begin anew. This booking system is used by hundreds of thousands each day, and many of them claw their way through the assault course and obtain an online ticket.

Should you prefer to book in person, Indian Railways have made the process easier: there are offices for foreigners in New Delhi, Agra, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Secunderabad, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Varanasi, Aurangabad, Rameshwaram, Vasco-da-Gama and Vadodara in the Northern region . The one in New Delhi is situated up some stairs on the first floor in New Delhi station and is called the "International Tourist Bureau." Someone may tell you that it is closed as you hunt around for the stairway (look at the extreme right in the main ticket hall as you enter from the Paharganj side - it's near a bank of payphones). Either ignore them or answer with your favorite curse, because they want to get commission for touting you to a nearby travel agency, who will add 50% or more to the ticket price. Phone Delhi's International Tourist Bureau (International Tourist Bureau, New Delhi Railway Station, New Delhi- 110 001) on 91-11-23405156 /23346804 first if you suspect you may have landed in the city on a public holiday (the ITB is also open on Sundays). You will need your passport and either pound/dollar/Euro currency notes or an exchange certificate and rupees to obtain a ticket at any of these offices. The advantages of going to the foreigners' booking offices are firstly that it will be quicker (though get there in the morning to be sure) and secondly that you can access the "Tourist Quota," which is a way of getting ahead of the masses waiting for reservation. Even so, you may have to wait up to three or four days on popular routes for a seat or sleeper berth.
 
Advance bus booking from outside India is also becoming easier. Himachal Road Transport (Manali, Leh) buses can be booked online up to one month in advance, but you'll need an Indian address to register on the site. Most other state bus companies offer advance booking if you turn up at their offices, or the offices of the state tourism development authority (for example, RTDC for Rajasthan). These state tourist organizations all have offices in Delhi, and most have representation in other major Indian gateway cities. Some advance planning is needed if you want to use buses for long-distance travel, but most of the time you will get a seat by turning up at the departure point the day before your intended travel, unless you desire the more luxurious vehicles (air-conditioned, reclining seats or - gasp! - sleepers), which don't ply all routes.



14.  "Is it worth taking a mosquito net, and which one should I buy?"

There are a few circumstances where a mosquito net is not needed on the Indian sub-continent. If you are flying into and out of Kathmandu, or Leh, and not visiting any lower-lying areas then you'll be safe from the malaria-carrying mosquito. In all other cases you'd be wise to carry a net. If you wish, you can buy one before you leave; it will be lighter but more expensive than one bought locally. The single point suspension models are easier to string up in a hotel room, though useless when you site the net under a spinning fan (as you probably will wish to in the south in order to stay cooler).

Four-point suspension nets can be rigged by running lines to window bars (or even looping string around electrical ducting on the walls) if there are not enough obvious tethering points at the four corners of your bed.

You'll usually find something that works. There are also nets available with an integral frame, which makes the net pop up like an easy-rig tent These can be useful if you are moving on regularly and don't want to spend a long time at each hotel tying and untying strings.

When you purchase a net locally, make sure you get one which is big enough (especially the length... mosquitoes will bite your feet if they are pushing against the mesh). There are nylon versions available in many shops - they're quite a bit lighter than the cotton ones, although about double the price. The cotton nets soon start to smell a little "musty", and their weave is not as open as their nylon sisters. Nonetheless, they are cheap and cheerful, and you can probably find someone to sell or give your net to before you leave - this avoids carrying any net in your baggage on the flights to and from home. Where to look for a net? Try shops which sell fabrics for starters - they will direct you to someone else if they don't stock nets.

Of course, using a net for sleeping may seem absurd to some people. You are taking the medications against malaria, and you wear long shirts and trousers after dusk, what's the problem here? My answer would be that mosquitoes carry diseases other than malaria (Dengue fever, for example - see the article below this one) against which your tablets offer no protection. Also, sleeping with just a single mosquito whizzing around you is pretty hard for most folk - and this is what will happen if you sleep with just a fan's air currents or a smoldering coil as deterrence. A net gives total security (if you fit it properly over the bed, that is) and a night free of inhaling poisonous smoke.

There's one extra you should add to your netting tool-kit - possibly before you leave home. Some very light, nylon cord (get about 25m - it's great for washing lines in your room or on the hotel roof also) on a roll. I take something known as bricklayers' line - it's very fine, but immensely strong woven nylon cord available at larger hardware shops - 25m weighs very little (it is intended to create a line for putting up a straight layer of bricks in a wall). Some people recommend taking dental floss as a light thread, but it is nearly impossible to untie once you tie a knot in it, plus 25m of the stuff will buy you a train ticket from Delhi to Bombay!

15.  "Which protection against malaria works best?"

Quite simply, not getting bitten by mosquitoes is the surest way of avoiding malaria. Get a mosquito net and use it. Next best for sleeping is some kind of repellent. The older method of burning incense coils is still used by travelers, but the coils themselves are fragile if you pack and unpack them a lot, and they produce a smoke which can be irritating to the breathing of some.

Outside, before or after sundown (or even during the day in the monsoon) you should use a skin-applied repellent on all exposed flesh. The Odomos brand in India is fairly effective and inexpensive, but bring your own repellent from home (the active ingredient DEET - N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, developed by the US military over sixty years ago - is still the most effective against mosquitoes) if you wish. Be careful around your eyes and mouth, and anywhere on the faces of young children. Put on long pants, sleeved shirts and shoes and socks. Leaving your room windows open as the sun sets, with all lights inside off, can work to expel those mosquitoes which have already got in and hidden under the bed and in dark corners.

Then there is the whole matter of taking daily or weekly tablets to protect against malaria. I cannot give any guidance here - I'm not a specialist in tropical medicine, though I did catch malaria some time ago in Indonesia even while taking all the recommended prophylactics. Your local family doctor may not be well advised about current prevention medications, so always try to visit - or be referred to - a clinic specializing in travel to the countries you are going to. Anti-malarial drugs may be extremely expensive where you live - some (but not all) are available in India/Nepal/SL/Pakistan at often a twentieth of the cost. Consider whether you'll need them at all: do some internet research [a good start: 1, 2 and 3] about the symptoms of malaria, the risks of it and other mosquito/ sandfly-borne diseases in the places you are going and what the local healthcare facilities are (once you develop the symptoms, rapid intervention following a blood-test can be more effective than months of preventative chloroquine, Lariam or doxycycline). Be extra careful if you are traveling with babies or young children. Don't listen to other travelers' tales (including mine!) or fall for lazy, grapefruit-seed-extract quackery as a substitute for being well informed. It's a difficult and constantly-changing subject, and beyond the scope of any short primer such as this one. 

16.  "I want to be a better traveler."

I'd better be careful with this one. I'm not trying to infer that I am a better traveler - but I've seen plenty of travelers I was glad I wasn't. I think it is good to venture an opinion of what I believe constitutes a better traveler. I think a better traveler...

Always tries to learn a little of the local language. (Even if it is only the 1-10 numbers, hello, goodbye, please and thank you. To be able to speak a few words to people places you on another plane from 95% of overseas visitors.)

Respects the customs and sensitivities of the country. It is bad manners to kiss in public, for instance, or to wear revealing clothes if you are a woman. Losing your temper in public is often a sign of weakness. Those jarring sounds you hear each morning in the hotel bathroom as people clear their noses in the sink are offensive to your ears. Imagine that same unease as you witness processions of travelers breaking YOUR social codes. What do you think you would start to think about people from Europe or North America?

Minimizes their impact on the environment. In many places in Asia, tourists are a valuable foreign exchange earner. They also are contributing handsomely to destruction of an ecosystem already stressed from over-fishing, over-population, over-cultivation and over reliance on the internal combustion engine. Do things like burying your shit when you trek (look at "What about when I'm trekking? I can't see any toilets."), purifying water with iodine or a filter (the one billion humans in India must surely be matched by one billion plastic mineral water bottles), using solar-heated hot showers where they are available, being careful not to litter in fragile areas like Ladakh, Spiti and Kinnaur, even doing the PR bit with other travelers you see being careless. See the advice on this site for more details.

Travels closer to the ground. The comparison between "tourist" and "traveler" is an often odious one, but I think those with more time and less money contribute more to the society they visit than the package tourist, who maybe has more money but less time to see the country. When people on trains and buses speak to you, don't sit in your cultural bubble, respond! Practice at home saying ten times each day: "I come from... my name is...," because chances are you'll be asked that often. Some thin paper business cards printed either before you go or in a cheap print shop on the subcontinent are a good way to reduce the stuck record effect.

Tries their best to explain the cost/earnings differential to those interested. It is, in the perception of most simple folk in Asia (and quite a lot of the more sophisticated ones who have never left the country), a land of milk and honey in the West, where the streets are paved with gold. Trying to find a way to disabuse them of this has been my aim - and on more than one occasion I've failed. Certainly, we have more material comfort, even opportunity. But in the process of acquiring this we lost something somewhere. That's why you want to travel, isn't it?




17.  "Can I travel in the monsoon?"
 
That rather hinges on what you want to do. Travel as such (on buses, trains and airplanes) is a bit slower and less predictable than in the drier months. Roads get blocked or washed away, train lines become inundated. But then when the going gets tough, people talk to each other more - this goes for locals to tourists and tourists to each other.

The monsoon is a bad time to go if you want to laze for endless hours on a beach or to swim in crystal waters. I've been in Goa in the months of August and September, managed to swim nearly every day, and loved it - even in the rather turbid water. But I didn't go to get a suntan. There are exotic fruits, fragrant smells (and a few not so fragrant), colorful blooms everywhere, AND (maybe the best part for many people) noticeably fewer foreign tourists. At night, anywhere there are paddy fields, you will be astonished by the variety of frog calls and insect sounds. Fireflies dance over pools of twinkling water. As long as you take the usual precautions (sleeping under a net, cover bare arms and legs after dusk, repellent in the room), mosquitoes needn't be a greater problem. Clothes and shoes play a big part in how comfortable you are when walking on the often swilly streets. If you are a trekker, high boots are a good way to give yourself that "4WD" feeling in the wet. Or you can go the other direction and wear open sandals. Because everything is so humid, leather shoes and sandals need care to ensure they don't turn moldy. Light, easy-dry clothes are a must in the monsoon. In the big rains (the months of July and August, and also outside those months in the hills) clothes never really air dry unless they get a sunning - and sunshine is at a premium when layered clouds are always in the sky. Heavy cotton things are best avoided, for instance - as they stay damp all the time you'll likely find a nice crop of mildew sprouting.

Buy an umbrella when you are there. An umbrella is the ultimate in deluge-protection (forget fancy breathable gear unless you go over 3000m) and doubles as a sunshade when the rays eventually do beam down! If your umbrella gets damaged or torn - don't fret; there is, even in a small village, usually a chap with a box of spare parts and some fabric. He will do an economical job on bringing your battered bumbershoot back to life. If this is your holiday of a lifetime in the Himalaya, I would wait until the skies clear in early October before shouldering your pack. During the monsoon, the mountain views are clearer in the West - where less rain falls - and anywhere on the Tibetan plateau. It can rain for days on end further east, and you'll spend your time bitching to other travelers how little you've seen of the mountains.

If you trek in the monsoon, even along the popular routes in Nepal, you will probably get a better reception from hotel keepers and local people. You might even be the only trekker in that village which in the peak season turns out bowls of noodle soup and banana pancakes by the hundred.

If you are trekking, use your own stove, or treat the water with Potable Aqua tablets; don't get your trek lodge to make boiled water for you, as it needs several kilos of wood to boil one liter of water. Boiled water tastes a bit flat, and you have to think ahead so you don't find yourself sipping piping hot water when it's 40°C outside, but you will save yourself money and possible gut problems later. Or take one of the best water filters you can find (be sure to purchase one which includes an iodizing stage), and a spare cartridge or two if you want to travel for a long stretch. Although water filters are handy, they are heavy and expensive, and an electric element costs about a hundred rupees and weighs less than a Walkman. In cooler places you can make hot drinks with it, too - something even the triple-anionic resin filters find difficult.

Adjustment to new food and travel routines might unsettle your system for the first few days. My best advice is to do absolutely nothing except drink and rest if you feel unwell from something you've eaten or drunk. Dosing yourself with antibiotics should be the very last resort, and even then only if you know you have absolutely the appropriate drug for your specific problem. You will strengthen your immunity against future bugs if you let your body work in its own fashion. The same tip goes for diarrhea, only more so. Wait four days at least before using medication. (That's if you are in your first week in Asia. Severe loose shits developing when you have been traveling for some time need attention sooner, but even then I would keep the strong drugs as a last resort. If you have endured a course of antibiotics, it's probably a good idea to repopulate your gut with friendly bacteria as soon as you can. Fresh and tasty curd (yoghurt) is available everywhere in towns in India, Nepal and Pakistan (I remember especially delicious curd in the city of Rawalpindi), rich in Lactobacillus; and a daily dish of curd is a good way to get back what you lost.

Taking Imodium (Loperamide) is not a good idea for the sort of diarrhea you'll have. Lomotil/Imodium anaesthetize the gut's natural purging action, so it may seem like the problem has gone away. It hasn't - and you may well suppress serious dysenteric illness by taking it. Imodium's only use I can see is if you have to make a long trip by air with existing severe (non-dysentery) diarrhea. Travelers have all sorts of standby "cures" for the runs, but I've never found anything that works. Not the yoghurt and bananas, nor the charcoal tablets. Staying away from fatty foods and bulky foods seems to work. Alcohol will make everything worse. Fasting is only necessary if you feel you don't want to eat anyway. But cut down your food intake. Keep drinking plenty so that you piss a nice light-colored urine.

Which vaccinations you have depends on your own personal wishes (I bare my arm only for the jabs against hepatitis and typhoid), how long you plan to travel and what you plan to do. Prevention is always better than cure, and the first line in prevention starts with fastidious attention to cleaning any skin injury (a good long wash in running water, followed by application of Iodine tincture); with preventing mosquitoes from biting you (sleep under a net, wear long clothes after dusk and early in the morning); and with keeping your own personal condition up (don't spend too long in the heavy air pollution of the main cities, eat plenty of nutritious food, keep fit by walking, swimming or riding a hired bike whenever you can). When you trek before the monsoon has finally rained its last (September and early October) you will be tormented with leeches. Be aware of the proper method of removing them (salt or flame). If you rip them away, you'll be more likely to see infection develop at that site.

Even in the country the air may not be healthy. Your hotel (or where you walk to eat) may be close to where trucks and busses congregate and belch out thick, black smoke. At the end of winter, people burn off grasses and animal dung to provide fertility for the new crops.

Many people who trek in Nepal complain about the smoky sleeping quarters. It is one reason I always trek with a tent - when I really can't face another night in kipper rehearsal, it is out under the stars... and b_r_e_a_t_h_ing! After all, clean air and fine views are what I came for. That said, I have seen a steady improvement over the last few years; more lodges have chimneys now, and in larger operations you may well get a room far away from the kitchen (a good idea even without the smoke - all-night, card parties in the kitchen are tough on the nerves and health of early-rising trekkers whose rooms are right next to it).

Stresses from rough hotels, all-night bus rides and from dust and smoke in the air will give you a few spells of illness unless you are very lucky or visiting for less than a month. Seen from the perspective of a longer trip, such illness will be insignificant - even though it might feel like purgatory at the time.




20.  "Help! I arrive in Delhi near midnight. What can I do?"

International flights to India often arrive in the small hours. This is a hassle, but it needn't be a major problem. You have at least three options:

1 Sleep in the airport lounge
2 Stay at a hotel close to the airport
3 Try your luck at a budget hotel

The airport lounge is on the departure level. it is free if you have a flight leaving that day, or can convince them you have. It is air-conditioned and has restaurants, snack bars and washrooms. It is quite comfortable but, yes, usually crowded. No problem with stretching out on the floor, but you will be bothered by mosquitoes (and Hindi movies on the monitors) the whole night.

You will almost certainly have a restless night on the airport lounge floor, and you'll not be very fresh to face the delights of India next day. Better would be to stay in a hotel close to the airport.

My choice would be to go into town. The taxis run all through the night. Make sure you don't get stung with an inflated fare quote: look for the Delhi Traffic Police prepaid taxi booth. This is NOT inside the arrivals lounge - ignore the drivers and other touts who may be tugging at your sleeve to go with them, or go to other, private taxi booths within the airport arrivals area. Walk out of the arrivals area and turn right (it is indicated as the way to taxis). The DTP booth is a small kiosk just outside the entrance. It will probably have what appears to be a small rugby scrum clustered around it. Push your way to the front. You'll pay more at one of the private booths (as much as three times more) or with a freelance operator, and there is the risk (albeit small) of being taken for a ride in more than the way you expected.

Pay for your taxi (you'll have to tell them a destination at the prepaid booth and hold on to the chit of paper you are given. On that chit will be the registration number of your taxi - check that you actually get in that taxi! Take care that your bags are loaded into the taxi, and DO NOT allow anyone except the driver in the vehicle (quite often, the driver will invite another to join him, saying something about "my friend"). Don't accept this as you will increase the risk of strong-arm tactics later in the journey and is definitely something to be avoided if you are a solo female.

The drive into town will be your first experience of India - an often surreal combination of sights and smells. The streets are fairly quiet and cool after midnight, and scents of jasmine drift between the heavy "green" odors that you will probably know from nowhere else.

Your taxi driver will very likely ask if you have a hotel reserved. Say that you have, even if you have no idea where you will be staying - otherwise you'll get taken to (probably) an inferior hotel at (probably) an inflated tariff. Just find a name from the guidebook and tell the driver that one. When he drops you at your "reserved" hotel, don't start striding off in search of something immediately, wait a while - ring the hotel bell, even. If not, the taxi driver will probably hound you up and down the street for the next ten minutes, claiming the hotel he knows is "Very good. Cheap price."

 You may have to try between three and five places, but hotels are accustomed to early morning arrivals and someone will always be on call to open the door You may have to take something less than ideal for your first night, but it will still be superior to staying at the airport in my view.

21.  "Where can I leave baggage in Delhi?"

If you are like me you will be arriving in India with more gear than you can comfortably carry all of the time. I generally have two phases to my trips: some wandering in the mountain regions where I need walking boots, heavy sleeping bag and other warm gear, then some ambling and relaxing in the southern areas of the country where I definitely have no need of such things (or the chunky rucsac they are carried in). As such, I need to leave bags for weeks at a time, somewhere cheap and secure. While the railway station is very good if you have a ticket, it quickly becomes expensive for storage of more than a week. You may find your hotel can offer storage for free or a nominal fee. This is easiest to do in Nepal (Katmandu or Pokhara), where it is almost expected that patrons will want to store gear for the time they are trekking.




22.  "What sort of hotels can I expect in India?"

There are as many comfortable, friendly and efficient hotels in India as there are seedy, miserable ones, I believe. The problem is, the guide books' lag in updating information may mean that the Hotel Splendid listed as last year's best deal may have become this year's dive. I know that, you know that. After an 18-hour train trip, when all you want to do is wash and have a rest under the fan, you may not want to move on, unless you prepare yourself for that extra work needed to seek out a better place (and it's worth it: the trials of the train ride are quickly forgotten in a pleasant hotel - they will continue to fluster you, like bats in the loft, in a bad joint).

The biggest bargain in hotels is the out-of-season hill station hotel in the winter, or hotels in the monsoon anywhere near the sea. On my last trip, a hotel which would have cost a steep Rs. 1050 in the peak season went for Rs. 200 after a bit of bargaining. The attached bathroom in my hotel featured unlimited hot water, with towels, toilet paper and soap provided. Bed linen and blankets were also supplied, and the room was carpeted.
Not only was the price very agreeable, I was the only guest during the ten days I had there, so I had time to talk to the owner, the room boy and the cook. It was chilly in the mornings and evenings, but warm enough to be comfortable in a sleeved shirt during the day. Often you will get a better deal if you tell people you are staying for a week or longer.

The bathroom is where you should check most carefully when assessing your intended hotel. Check if the hot water is available all day or just for an hour in the morning. In smaller establishments the hot water is charged extra, and comes in a bucket - order in advance, I have been kept waiting an hour on occasion! The plumbing itself may be somewhat rustic (not ISO 9002), and the immersion heater (if there is one) may have bare electrical connections. Watch where you slosh the water around as you take that refreshing shower!

Fans are important in the South any time of the year and in the North during spring and summer. Check you haven't got the notorious "two-speed" fan. That's on or off. Fans are good for shooing mosquitoes away after dark (although I still prefer to sleep under a net when the mozzies get biting; most large Indian towns will have someone - try a tailor shop or fabric store - who either has a net or can sew you a net for one or two hundred rupees). Fans keep the air a bit fresher when it's humid or warm and stale. However, you only want the top speed when it is 47°C outside and you have just walked up three flights of stairs to your room, carrying all your gear, having had an argument with the cycle rickshaw-wallah about the price. Apart from this, a lesser speed is more comfortable, and won't blow all your letters and papers around. This may sound faintly ludicrous, but be careful when you stand up on the bed if you have it placed under the fan. I have done this more than once and narrowly avoided being garroted (if that is the right expression for it) by a slowly whirling fan. The greasy-dusty blades of a fan are well-hidden (especially if you are stoned) in an Indian hotel room full of clamor and disorder, and you should be aware of the fan when you leap up on the bed in order to lift your rucsac onto the wardrobe, for example.

Hazards aside, I like having a ceiling fan in a hotel room. It is somewhat superior to a table fan (plenty of these in Kovalam, India last time I looked) and better than a stand fan. But take any of these rather than air conditioning. You'll wake up with dry eyes and mouth in a room incorporating a/c and find it hard to sleep when it gets too cool. To save energy (and you can't blame them for this), hotel owners often locate the non-a/c rooms in the hotter parts of the hotel (under the roof, on the side with a sunny wall or open road access) and give the a/c folk the cooler regions of the building. This often means that a/c rooms are quieter (if you don't get a shuddering, rattling a/c unit), as well as normally cooler, than similar non-a/c rooms in that hotel. Pay your money, take your choice...

23.  "Is it a good idea to book rooms in advance?"

The overpowering urge in many travelers to have everything booked in advance is something I've seen mushroom in the last ten years. My view is that outside of obvious busy periods (Ganesh Chaturthi or Diwali in most of India, Christmas/ New year in Goa) you are better not booking anything except perhaps your first night in the country. This is why: Only classier hotels have websites offering secure booking pages (where you may enter credit card info to pay a deposit). Cheaper hotels may ask you to secure a room booking by emailing or faxing the CC number - don't, it's like writing the number on a postcard and mailing it to India! The contact email address might not be checked very often, so your initial query about rooms may remain unanswered for a long time, or (worse) you may hear no confirmation that anything has been reserved for you once you have paid. Additionally, budget hotels are the ones most likely to forget your booking when you finally arrive because they hedged their guest numbers too tightly. Someone decided to stay another night and your "booking" is quietly forgotten (or you get the room under the stairs nobody wants).

There is another problem here. You might find the room is not at all what you want after you arrive. Having booked it, you are now in a very weak position to be able to a) turn on your heels and look for something better without some payment to the original hotel or b) ask for a reduction in the room tariff.

Nearly every town of tourist interest will have a choice of lodging, whether it be hotel, guesthouse or railway station "retiring room." If, after asking at your intended place you find them to be fully booked of too expensive, ask sweetly whether you may leave your bags at the front desk while you wander around to look for something else. Nearly all will agree to this, and it will save you not only the strain of toting a rucsac about but also avoid your being identified as a "fresher" and thus a magnet to accommodation touts.

24.  "Should I take a sleeping bag?"

Certainly take one if you are going to be in the mountains (or a hill station) at any time. You cannot depend on hotels providing blankets or quilts unless you stay in middle-range accommodation or above. Bedding may be available, but one look at it might persuade you that your own sleeping bag is a much nicer thing to sleep under. You will need a sleeping bag in the north of the country anywhere in winter - all of the Indian plains are very cold at night and during the early mornings at this time, only becoming warmer in March.