Asia-Southern+India

It Southern India Jen, Brittany and Sarah I want to go to Delhi! I want to go in the summer on August 5 to the 14 because the 10 is my b-day, I think it will be very fun.Its going to be very very HOT! And you might fry!

Southern India.... Itinerary Day 1- get set up at hotel Tay plaza new Delhi, and sleep Day 2-ride the Elephants at the beach parties or at the circus Day 3-look at the Taj Mahal garden, so we can pick flowers Day 4-Try the southern India foods, rices, spicy food, eggs, fish, meat, and vegetables in spicy sauce,"I LOVE SPICY STUFF" Day 5-Corbett Tiger Resreve where we can see the big kitties THEY'RE FUZZY!! Day 6-Jain temples BEWARE: It's mazelike so don't get lost! Day 7-Bhang Shop It has many sweets so bring your sweet tooth! Day 8-Planet M to go shopping in mumbi Day 9-GO HOME, and when you leave they give you flowers, specialty foods, fruits, sweets, from other areas of the country.
 *  I have started work on our project..here is what i have found :) **

Let's go on the 21st of January to the first of February. It'll be a good time to go :) O.K, you can write 4 days, and I will too. :) Thanks. Nice ideas! I'm just really confused. I don't know what's going on. we need to comunicate more.When are we going? We are going on the 21st of January to the 1st of February if you do not mind. :) I LOVE your ideas to, and I realy love the big kitties:)

Hi, Oh My Gosh Im so sorryyyy ...i did not realise the work you have done here. :).....i will work on our accomadation .. Thanks :)

[|Here is our hotels URL] Day 1 - Arrive in **Chennai**, India (formerly Madras), the gateway to the south of India and the capital of Tamil Nadu. Day 2 - Tour Chennai, with its heritage of fine art, sculpture, and architecture, and visit the World Heritage Site of **Mahabalipuram**, famous for its beautiful Hindu shore temples and rock carvings. Day 3 - Fly to **Madurai**, site of a splendid living temple dedicated to the goddess Meenaskhi, a colossal complex featuring a lavish baroque display of brightly painted stucco figures. Day 4 - Drive to **Munnar**, a hill station in Kerala’s principal tea growing region that enjoys a refreshing climate and view of peninsular India’s highest peak, Anamudi. Days 5-6 - From **Kundala** (5,905’), trek through beautiful tea plantations and virgin sholas (high altitude montane evergreen forests). Along the way you may see elephant, bison, and the endangered Nilgiri tahr. End trek at the remote village of **Korangini** (4,265'). Day 7 - Drive to **Periyar National Park and Tiger Reserve**, situated in the hills of the Western Ghats, the mountain range running down the western coast of India. Day 8 - Explore **Periyar**, where herds of Asiatic wild elephants roam freely. Other wildlife includes sambhar, Nilgiri tahr, langur, sloth bear, and the elusive tiger. Day 9 - Drive to **Kottayam** and board houseboats for a peaceful, scenic trip through the backwaters of Kerala, a chance to see the everyday life of the local people. Overnight on houseboats. Days 10-11 - Drive to the Malabar Coast and explore **Cochin**, a spice trading port for more than a thousand years. Evening performance of the Kathakali, an elaborate Indian dance-drama. Days 12-13 Fly to **Chennai**. Depart Chennai on Day 13. ||
 * [[image:http://www.mtsobek.com/generated/trips/435/SIE_2008web.jpg align="right" caption="Map of the route we follow on our South India Explorer adventure tour."]] Itinerary: South India Explorer
 * [[image:http://www.mtsobek.com/generated/trips/435/SIE_2008web.jpg align="right" caption="Map of the route we follow on our South India Explorer adventure tour."]] Itinerary: South India Explorer

Unveil the brilliance of East. The City of joy… the home of Mother Teresa - Calcutta. Aroma of tea gardens, radiance of the rising sun… Darjeeling. Heritage of monasteries. Traditions of Tibet… Gangtok and Kalimpong-a whole new world awaits. The magic of the East.

**Day 1 Arrive Delhi** Assistance on arrival and transfer to the hotel. Half day s/seeing of Old ad New Delhi. Overnight at hotel.
 * Duration :** 9 Nights / 10 Days
 * Destinations Covered :** - Delhi- Bhuvaneshwar- Konark- Puri- Calcutta- Bagdogra- Darjeeling- Kalimpong- Gangtok- Bagdogra

Transfer to the airport for connecting flight to Bhuvaneshwar. Assistance on arrival and transfer to the hotel. Afternoon, proceed for city tour of Bhubaneshwar. Overnight at hotel.
 * Day 2 Delhi - Bhuvaneshwar**

Morning, proceed to Puri. Enroute visiting the Konark Sun Temple. Afternoon, city tour of Puri visiting the Jagannath Temple. Overnight at hotel.
 * Day 3 Bhuvaneshwar - Konark - Puri**

Morning transfer to Bhuvaneshwar in time for connecting flight to Calcutta. Meet on arrival and transfer to the hotel. Overnight at hotel.
 * Day 4 Puri - Bhuvaneshwar - Calcutta**

Morning, site seeing at Calcutta and transfer to airport for connecting flight to Bagdogra. Meet on arrival and drive to hotel in Darjeeling. Rest of the day at leisure. Overnight at hotel.
 * Day 5 Calcutta - Bagdogra - Darjeeling**

Morning, proceed for city tour of Darjeeling. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight at hotel.
 * Day 6 Darjeeling**

Early morning visit to Tiger hill for sunrise. While returning, visit Ghoom monastery. Rest of the day at leisure. Overnight at hotel.
 * Day 7 Darjeeling**

Morning, proceed for Gangtok enroute visiting Kalimpong. On arrival check-in at the hotel. Overnight at hotel.
 * Day 8 Darjeeling - Kalimpong - Gangtok**

Morning, city tour of Gangtok and visit to the Rumtek monastery. Overnight at hotel.
 * Day 9 Gangtok**

Depart to Bagdogra for connecting flight to Delhi. Assistance on arrival and transfer for connecting flight to onward destination. Please fell free to change it :)
 * Day 10 Gangtok - Bagdogra - Delhi**

|| Generally, India's climate is defined by three seasons - the hot, the wet (monsoon) and the cool, each of which can vary in duration from north to south. The most pleasant time to visit most places is during the cooler period: November to around mid-February. How about mid January to the beginning of Febuary. It sounds a lot more pleasurable. Not That I don't want go during your b-day! I am with you on the airport in Kochi! It sounds fun!
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/India_Political_Map_South_India.svg/235px-India_Political_Map_South_India.svg.png width="235" height="247" align="center" caption="Political Map of South India" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:India_Political_Map_South_India.svg"]]
 * **[|Time zone]** || [|IST] ([|UTC+5:30]) ||
 * **[|Area]** || [|635,780 km²] ||
 * **[|States and territories]** || [|Andhra Pradesh], [|Karnataka], [|Kerala], [|Tamil Nadu], //[|Pondicherry]//, //[|Lakshadweep]//* ||
 * **[|Most populous cities]** (2008) || [|Bangalore], [|Chennai], [|Coimbatore], [|Hyderabad], [|Madurai], [|Visakhapatnam] ||
 * **[|Official languages]** || [|Kannada], [|Malayalam], [|Tamil], [|Telugu], [|Urdu], [|English], [|French]**‡** ||
 * **[|Population]** || 233,000,000 ||
 * **[|Population density]** || 337/km² ||
 * **[|Birth rate]** || 20.4 ||
 * **[|Death rate]** || 7.7 ||

Pretty! It's a shore temple during sunset. It's a museum as well. Educational and enjoyable! The Taj Mahal sounds good too!

YUMMY!!! It looks delisious right? MMM-MMM! Pass the salt please! These are Patato Patties.

They start with the secular **Republic Day Festival** in Delhi each January, which includes elephants, a procession, and plenty of military might and Indian princely splendour. Sounds fun and educational!

Southern India
In southern India silver as a part of the currency system seems to have been quite unknown. Most of the territories south of the Mughal empire were united under the rule of the Vijayanagar kingdom - enjoying full sovereignty in questions of monetary politics. The main currency units were the Pagoda or Hun divided into 36 Fanams, the Fanam divided 4 Faluce or into 80 Cash (copper). The rates do, however, seem to have varied and we have not found accurate information for the 18th century or the modalities of exchange with the northern neighbour.

Indian Currency

 * The purpose of this article is to provide an introduction to the Indian rupee and how to deal with money issues in India.**

Currently, there are 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 [|rupee notes]. In addition to the notes there are [|paise and rupee coins] of the denominations 10 paise, 20 paise, 25 paise, 50 paise, one rupee, two rupees and five rupees. Apart from paise and rupee India has invented denominations for large rupee amounts; 100,000 rupees equal 1 lakh and 10,000,000 rupees equal 1 crore.

Torn notes or notes that are in a bad state are not legitimate currency. These notes have to be changed to valid currency at the Reserve Bank of India or at any other large commercial bank. Do not give torn notes to beggars. It is insulting and the money is useless to them.

The general rule when exchanging foreign currency to rupees is to only use private or international banks. The private banks ICICI and HDFC are perceived to offer good service. International banks like Citibank, ScotiaBank and HSBC can be found in cities. State banks like SBI (State Bank of India) should be avoided due to inefficiency and a general lack of service. Alternatively, [|Thomas Cook] in Bangalore and Kochi should offer good rates. It is possible to transfer foreign currency to rupees to an Indian bank account through [|ICICI's Money2India Internet service].
 * Exchanging money**

The banking hours are Monday to Friday (10.00 till 14.00 or 16.00) and Saturday (10.00 till 12.00).

Do not bother with travellers' checks since these are notoriously hard to shift. Bring a Mastercard or Visa card that will work in India (ask the card provider). There are plenty of ATMs. However, before inserting the card, ask the Indian provider if the card can be used in the ATM, even if the ATM displays a Visa/Mastercard sign. American dollars is the preferred foreign currency in India, but using British pounds should not be a problem.

It is strictly forbidden to take rupees in and out of India. In order to change excess rupees back into pounds it is necessary to keep any exchange receipts (encashment certificates). The receipts are also needed to buy air and train tickets with rupees.

Mentally converting rupees to pounds is often a problem because of the large rupee values. However, by using the Instant Conversion Method it is possible to do calculations on the spot without having to pull out a calculator. In order to be able to do the calculations two numbers have to be used: A/100 and A/1000 where A is the rupee value. If, for instance, the rupee value is 2800 the two numbers are 28 and 2.8 (the sign "/" means divided by and the sign "*" means multiplied by).
 * Instant conversion method**

How these two numbers are used to caluculate the pound value depends on the [|exchange rate]. If the exchange rate is £1 to Rs. 100 the Instant Conversion Method can simply be described as A/100. So, Rs. 2800 equals £28.

Here is my flights to India......

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[|Change Flight]Flight: 2 Round-Trip Tickets Wed, Nov 26, 2008Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) to Bhubaneswar (BBI) Depart: 10:20pm Arrive: 05:00am Sydney, NS Australia (SYD) to Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG) **Cathay Pacific Airways** Flight 138 (on Airbus A330 all models)  1 Stop – change planes in Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG) Connection Time: 4 hrs 50 mins

Depart: 09:50am Arrive: 01:45pm Hong Kong, Hong Kong (HKG) to New Delhi, India (DEL) **Cathay Pacific Airways** Flight 639 (on Airbus A330 all models)  1 Stop – change planes in New Delhi, India (DEL) Connection Time: 4 hrs 15 mins

Depart: 06:00pm Arrive: 08:00pm Next day New Delhi, India (DEL) to Bhubaneswar, India (BBI) **Kingfisher Airlines** Flight 3344 operated by KINGFISHER RED SERVICE (on Airbus A320-100/200)  Total Travel Time: 27 hrs 10 mins

Sat, Dec 20, 2008Bhubaneswar (BBI) to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) Depart: 08:25pm Arrive: 09:40pm Bhubaneswar, India (BBI) to Calcutta, India (CCU) **Kingfisher Airlines** Flight 2504 (on Aerospatiale/Alenia ATR 42/72)  1 Stop – change planes in Calcutta, India (CCU) Connection Time: 11 hrs 30 mins

Depart: 09:10am Arrive: 10:40am Calcutta, India (CCU) to Dhaka, Bangladesh (DAC) **Gmg Airlines** Flight 2 (on De Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 all models)  1 Stop – change planes in Dhaka, Bangladesh (DAC) Connection Time: 11 hrs 35 mins

Depart: 10:15pm Arrive: 04:15am Dhaka, Bangladesh (DAC) to Singapore, Singapore (SIN) **Singapore Airlines** Flight 435 (on Boeing 777-200)  1 Stop – change planes in Singapore, Singapore (SIN) Connection Time: 5 hrs 15 mins

Depart: 09:30am Arrive: 08:05pm Arrives Mon, Dec 22 Singapore, Singapore (SIN) to Sydney, NS Australia (SYD) **Qantas Airways** Flight 32 (on Boeing 747-400) 

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(All prices are in US dollars.) =InteResTiNg FaCts AboUt bHubAneSwaR.... Bhubaneswar is the capital city of Orrisa,India. [Money_%28India|[[http://www.pierre-marteau.com/wiki/index.php?title=Money_%28India|http://www.pierre-marteau.com/wiki/index.php?title=Money_(India]]]) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_India http://travel.travelocity.com/flights/ResolveAirportAction.do?SEQ=12258404496251042008 =
 * Flight + Hotel: || $13,620.27 ||  ||   ||
 * [|Taxes & Fees]: || $1,316.60 ||  ||   ||
 * **Flight + Hotel Total:** || **$14,936.87** ||  ||   ||
 * Travel Protection- 2 plans ($83.95 per person): || $167.90 ||  ||   ||
 * **Total payment due:** || **$15,104.77** ||  ||
 * **Total payment due:** || **$15,104.77** ||  ||
 * **Total payment due:** || **$15,104.77** ||  ||