Railway Retiring Rooms
Temples & Pilgrims’ Rest houses
» Accommodation is available at some ashrams (spiritual retreats), gurdwaras (Sikh temples) and dharamsalas (pilgrims’ guesthouses) for a donation » These places have been established for genuine pilgrims so please exercise judgement about the appropriateness of staying (some regional chapters have further details). » Always abide by any protocols.
Top-End & Heritage Hotels
» India has plenty of top-end properties, from modern fivestar chain hotels to glorious palaces and unique heritage abodes. » Most top-end hotels have rupee rates for Indian guests and US dollar rates for foreigners, including NonResident Indians (NRIs). » Officially, you’re supposed to pay the dollar rates in foreign currency or by credit card, but many places will accept rupees adding up to the dollar rate (verify this when checking in). » The Government of India tourism website, Incredible India (www.incredibleindia. org), has a useful list of palaces, forts and other erstwhile royal retreats that accept paying guests – click on the ‘Royal Retreats’ heading.
India covers every terrain imaginable, from sun-baked deserts and moist rainforests to snow-dusted mountains and plunging ravines. With all this to play with, the opportunities for outdoor activities are endless. Choose from trekking, paragliding, mountaineering, jungle safaris, scuba diving, surfing and elephant rides as well as yoga, meditation and much, much more. For details on regional activities, courses, equipment hire, clubs and companies, see this book’s Plan Your Trip and If You Like… chapters.
Business Hours » Official business hours are from 9.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday but many offices open later and close earlier. » Most offices have an official lunch hour from around 1pm. » Bank opening hours vary from town to town so check locally; foreign-exchange
offices may open longer and operate daily. » Some larger post offices have a full day on Saturday and a half-day on Sunday. » Curfews apply in some areas, notably Kashmir and the Northeast States. » All timings vary regionally; exceptions are noted in the regional chapters.
Courses You can pursue all sorts of courses in India, from yoga and meditation to cooking and Bollywood dancing. See the Courses section of the regional chapters for details.
Language Courses
The following places listed offer language courses, some requiring a minimum time commitment. Delhi Basic Hindi classes at Delhi’s Central Hindi Directorate (p78). Himachal Pradesh Long and short courses in Tibetan at McLeod Ganj (p321). Mumbai (Bombay) Beginners’ courses in Hindi, Marathi and Sanskrit at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (p731).
STANDARD HOURS We’ve only listed business hours where they differ from the following standards. BUSINESS
OPENING HOURS
Airline office
9.30am-5.30pm Mon-Sat
Bank
9.30am or 10am-2pm or 4pm Mon-Fri, to noon or 1pm Sat
Government office
9.30am-1pm & 2-5.30pm Mon-Fri, closed alternative Sat (usually 2nd and 4th)
Post office
9am-6pm Mon-Fri, to noon Sat
Museum
10am-5pm Tue-Sun
Restaurant
lunch noon-2.30pm or 3pm, dinner 7-10pm or 11pm
Sights
10am-5pm
Shop
10am-7pm, some closed Sun
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DIRECTORY A–Z AC T I V I T I E S
» Most large train stations have basic rooms for travellers holding an ongoing train ticket or Indrail Pass. Some are grim, others are surprisingly pleasant, but suffer from the noise of passengers and trains. » They’re useful for earlymorning train departures and there’s usually a choice of dormitories or private rooms (24-hour checkout).
Activities