Brandon Muramatsu

Tips for Traveling in India

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I’ve visited India often enough now for work at MIT that I thought it might be best to post this list of practical tips on my website.

(Last updated January 20, 2019)

  • Drinking Water:
    • Always drink bottled or purified water. If you’re especially concerned, stick with bottled water. I’ve been fine with purified water; all of our colleagues drink the purified water.
    • Be careful about ice, make sure it comes from a purified source. I’ve been fine with ice in upscale hotels, but if you’re concerned then skip the ice too.
    • I usually use bottled water to brush my teeth, even in the upscale hotels.
    • I use every opportunity I get to make sure I have a bottle of water with me whether this is coming off the plane, at the airport before getting in a taxi, when leaving the hotel, etc.
  • Food:
    • Vegetarianism (veg) is prevalent in India. There are some all veg restaurants and most restaurants are veg and non-veg. Vegetarian foods are marked with a green circle.
    • I’ve been lucky with most food in India. I’m fortunate that I good exposure to various Indian foods before traveling to India, so I have a good sense of what to order and eat. I also don’t eat street foods.
    • Pork is not common in India, though you will find bacon (at breakfast) and ham (in club sandwiches) at upscale hotels.
    • Beef is also not common in India for religious reasons, though you might find it at some restaurants.
    • Diet Coke, as in much of the rest of the world is, Coke Light if that’s something you drink.
  • Electricity, Plugs, Light Switches:
    • India uses 220V and 50Hz alternating current.
    • Most modern electronics have power supplies capable of using either 110V or 220V, which covers most use cases you’re likely to run into. I’ve never had to use a transformer in all of my travels.
    • I’ve found a mixture of U.S., European and British grounded (earthed) and ungrounded plugs in India. It’s best if you bring at least one U.S. 2-prong (ungrounded) to European 2-prong adapter.
    • Just like a light switch, you need to turn on each wall outlet. They’re on when you can see an orange colored mark on the top of the switch and/or the top of the switch is rotated out toward you.
    • Brownouts and blackouts / power failures are common. I don’t have a UK or EU surge protector, but I probably should get one.
    • I always use every opportunity I can to make sure my laptop, phone and watch are fully charged. I also carry a small powerbank capable of charging my phone, tablet and watch if needed.
    • Have a mini-flashlight or headlamp. These can be quite useful when a power outage occurs at night in your hotel. Yes you could use your mobile phone, but then you’re running down that battery too. If you use a headlamp, it keeps your hands free. *Shrug*
  • Hotels:
    • When you check in the front desk will make copies of your passport including your visa page.
    • In-room power (lighting and wall outlets) is controlled by a switch at the entrance to your hotel room. You need to place a card of the approximate size of a room key to activate the power. I usually travel with old room keys, or a business card or two will work in a pinch. I do this just so I don’t forget my room key *and* when I want to leave something charging when I go out for a few hours. (I’m good and turn off the lights so this is a push from an environmental standpoint.)
    • Sometimes rooms have a plug-in bug-repellant doohickey. Sometimes I unplug these as I’ve had an allergic reaction to them in the past, though the downside is a greater potential for mosquitos and other bugs in the room.
    • Bathrooms, like in Europe, have their light switches *outside* the bathroom. And showers can be just as complicated as everywhere else in the world!
  • Uber:
    • Uber, if it exists in the city you’re in, is a godsend. If you enter in an exact destination that’s where they’ll take you cutting down on communications challenges! There are other competing car services also, but Americans (and Europeans) are more likely to have Uber already installed on your phone. And the local ride services usually require an Indian mobile number which isn’t available to non-locals.
    • I use Uber from my regular U.S. mobile phone, Uber is tied to your phone number and it wants to be used from the phone with the corresponding SIM. You could put in a different (local) SIM, but then you’d have to change the phone number on your Uber account.
    • Most of the time Uber will come right to where you drop the pin, though sometimes you’ll have to look around more for the car than you would in the U.S. About 2/3 of the time I needed to contact the driver to tell him I was ready for pickup and to sometimes confirm the location. Sometimes you’ll want to ask an Indian colleague or hotel employee for their help in communicating to the driver.
    • As with the U.S. everything’s included in the Uber fee, no need to tip.
  • Digital Maps (Google Maps, Apple Maps, etc.):
    • They’re great for travelers, but they’re not necessarily useful when communicating with locals. Directions in India seem to be based on landmarks, even in the big cities. Over time the cab and Uber drivers have gotten better with understanding maps, but it’s still not as universal as you might expect in Western countries.
    • Street addresses and postal codes, while they exist, will most of the time only get you to the vicinity of your destination. *Shrug*
  • Money:
    • I always get some local currency before leaving the airport. Just enough to pay a taxi ride or grab a bottle of water is sufficient. At a minimum I’d get $40 worth of local currency. You may want to get $100 depending on how long you’ll be in India and where you’ll be traveling.
    • Usually I’ll go to a Cash Machine (aka ATM) to withdraw rupees at the airport. Sometimes I will change U.S. Dollars to Rupees (INR, Rs.) in upscale hotels as exchange rates have been competitive.
    • It’s better to have smaller denominations of bills. Sometimes merchants don’t have, or pretend they don’t have, change for Rs. 500 and 1000 notes. So make sure you have a mix of 100, 50, 20 and 10 Rupee notes.
    • There are also Rs. 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 coins. I usually don’t have very many of these unless I buy from a street vendor or food shop.
    • Merchants will sometimes turn their noses up at well worn bills, like the Rs. 10 and 20 bills, so its best to have crisp bills if possible. Your mileage may vary.
  • Credit Cards:
    • You can use credit cards in most hotels, as well as fancier restaurants and shops. Most times I expect to use cash with taxis.
    • Due to the brilliance of the merchant associations in the U.S., your new fangle credit card with a chip still requires you to sign for a purchase *even if you have a PIN assigned to the card*. Seriously this is just dum. <- Yes, I did that on purpose.
    • I let my credit card and ATM card companies know when I’m traveling outside the U.S. They’ll still flag and suspend your card if they think they detect suspicious activity, but this might help prevent that. Credit Cards:
  • Tipping:
    • Tipping isn’t really commonplace in India. I rarely see the locals do it. As an American I do feel compelled to do it sometimes. But keep in mind Rs. 100 is on the order of a $1.50 (depending on the exchange rate). I usually tip more on the order of Rs. 10 or 20 on the advice of local colleagues for bell boys and door men. But at the end of the day a buck fifty (Rs. 100) is not going to break your bank.
  • Toilets:
    • There are  a mix of western and squat-style toilets. Most have a trashcan intended for toilet paper (if any is provided) and also a hose, nozzle and small plastic container for washing/rinsing. To be honest I still don’t think I’m using the squat-style toilets right.
    • Oh yeah, always carry your own toilet paper. Even guys. And remember to use the trashcans if provided.
    • For the over achievers among you, watch this Six Toilets in India and How to Use Them video.
  • Showers:
    • In the TMI category, I usually take two showers a day. On particularly hot and humid days, it’s three or more. I’m happy when it’s only two…
    • If you’re staying in a guest house, you might have to turn on a switch to heat the water so you get hot water. And/or the water is heated naturally on the roof, and once it’s gone it’s gone. Though this isn’t usually bad on hot days. *Shrug*
  • Travel Clinic and Medicine:
    • Visit a travel clinic or your doctor before visiting India. Make sure your vaccinations are up to date.
    • See the State Department’s page on India for up to date details. I usually get a malaria prophylaxis and also a strong anti-diahrreal (i.e., Immodium) from a travel clinic.
    • Take enough of your regular medicine with you (duh). I also always have Tylenol, Advil, melatonin, and day and night cold and flu (Robitussin) equivalents.
    • It’s important to note that Tylenol and Acetaminophen are not common names in India, you want to ask for Paracetamol at pharmacies.
  • Mobile Voice and Data Services:
    • I usually put a limited international voice and data plan on my U.S. mobile phone so I’m sure to have some connectivity. I watch my usage very carefully. In the past I’ve been able to get away with a 120MB data plan, for two weeks I get the 300MB plan. More recently my provider (AT&T) has a daily rate that allows me to use my regular data allowance. Your mileage and costs may vary.
    • Getting a local SIM is also difficult as a visitor (you need to have a local address and it’s a pain to get the local SIM, often requiring a local colleague and multiple trips over multiple days to the mobile phone store). I know there are services where you can rent a SIM from your home country, but I’ve never tried them.
    • Sometimes you might be able to borrow a SIM from a local colleague. Many of my colleagues often have multiple SIMS. Sometimes they need to switch providers depending on your location to get reliable and high speed data services. This means they often have a SIM that they can lend you if you pay them for the data. (Don’t worry as of 2017 data rates are really cheap in India!) Make sure that your mobile phone is unlocked before getting to India to use another SIM.
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