Tips for preparing for India
A few things I wish I had known in advance:
1) Medicine is widely available at a fraction of what we pay (Wegovy for $183 a month, for example). Buy what you need in Mumbai, if that’s your last stop. I used Alankar Chemists (3-B, Stadium House, Churchgate. A 15 minute walk from the Oberoi.) and they delivered my order to the hotel in an ice-pack for travel. (I paid in full and it was delivered the next day.)
2) You’ll think about buying a rug at some point. Bring photos of the rooms in your house so you remember what you already have, the colors, etc. Measure the rugs you already have and/or the sizes of rugs you might want. You can also order custom rugs and have them shipped to the US for a very reasonable rate.
3) Take stock of the pashminas and shawls you already have. Ask family and friends what color pashminas they might want and do they want plain or embroidered?
4) Ladies – take multiple bras. You’ll get hot and sweaty every day.
5) This is definitely a trip where you can underpack. You’ll be buying great clothing in India.
6) Take comfortable, broken-in, closed-toe, walking shoes. Bonus points if they don’t have laces. In several places you’ll need to take your shoes off.
7) We didn’t see a blue sky for two weeks, thanks to pollution. I didn’t take a hat and didn’t need one.
8) You’ll need to pack anything with a battery (including your electric toothbrush) in your carry-on. And you’ll need to pull out any electronics separately when going through airport security. This happens a lot. Take a large Ziploc or similar to keep your electronics together.
Comments
I did buy pashminas in India, a couple of fine ones, but you can find them everywhere, lots of different countries and they are $5 each in NY, so look for other unusual things. When we went to India with Tauck, we were advised against buying gems. One lady bought two of those large marble mosaic tables.
Did you have to pay duty when you went through US customs!
If you're into Oriental rugs, they are less expensive in India than in Turkey. They will wrap and ship the rug to your home. If you pay with a credit card, you will be protected in any case. If it doesn't show up the credit card company will reverse the charge.
The silk rugs are a good bit more expensive than wool rugs but the design is finer (more knots per inch). This is true both in India and Turkey.
Here's an example of a silk rug to show the level of detail the weaver is able to produce. I'm always amazed that the weaver can do these designs. Both of these rugs are signed by the weaver. It's easier to see the signature on the first rug. It's at the top of the rug in the center, at the border. It's in Arabic script.
Here's another.
Those are beautiful rugs.
I would never ever buy a prescription medicine from India, China, Pakistan, etc. for my meds, I always ask where they are manufactured. There is a quite a difference how they are compounded and could be of a less quality. I’ve been told that many times even by physicians. There was also a documentary about this probably on 60 minutes. .
Lots of meds dispensed in the US are made in India.
Correct, but the ingredients, for lack of a better word, can be different than the exact same drug made in the states or Canada or Europe.
Mike - We got a very similar looking silk rug 25 years ago (and it still looks great) when we toured China. So that's a third option for silk rugs. It was very reasonable, but that was 25 years ago.
A huge number of drugs in the US are made in India, I’m afraid to tell you that any generic drug even if made in the US is allowed to differ from the original by quite a large percentage either way, up or down. It can be really important for meds such as Synthroid where the exact amount must not vary.
British: Regarding drugs: I totally agree with you. However, when taking a prescription let’s say for a cancer prescription, I would seriously want my medicine to be manufactured in the U.S.A. Canada or Europe. The 60 Minute documentary quite a while - ago completely changed my perception why important meds should have the exact amount of medicine in them and nothing else.