General Information

• Always drink bottled water. Do not drink water from the tap. However in most good hotels, it is safe to brush teeth with.
• Be careful what you eat. Steer clear of uncooked or unpeeled fruit and vegetables outside the hotels / quality restaurants. Do sample local restaurants too, but use your good judgment. If it looks iffy, take a pass.
• Eat meats only in restaurants of a good hygienic standard.
• Curd or yoghurt is served with most Indian meals. It is a natural aid to digestion and helps to temper the spicy food, this is helpful to avoid a “Delhi belly”.
• Do not eat fried food cooked in the streets.

• Tipping (where it’s warranted) is common practice in India. It’s fine to tip in a popular foreign currency or local currency. Naturally, it’s never compulsory and should only be done if you’re happy with the service.

• Always remove your shoes before entering a holy place such as a temple, gurudwara (Sikh temple) or mosque. You may also require to cover your head. In general, dress conservatively at a place of worship. Avoid wearing clothes that bare your arms, shoulders and legs.
• Some Hindu temples do not permit leather articles and are not open to Non-Hindus.
• Most museums in India are closed on Mondays.
• If the sun is strong. Remember to use sunscreen on exposed parts of the body. Wear sunglasses to screen out harmful rays.
• Smoking is not allowed at all public places; some restaurants have designated smoking areas.

• India has only one time zone which covers the entire country. Indian Standard Time (IST) is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT.

• Follow the same rules of safety that you follow while travelling anywhere else with respect to using hotel safe deposit boxes and keeping travel documents safe.
• When in public places, keep them in your hotel or with you all the time when moving about.
• Always carry the hotel address with you when you leave the hotel.

• Keep extra photocopies of the relevant pages of your passport in a safe place.
• Taxi and auto-rickshaw fares keep changing, and therefore do not always conform to readings on meters. Insist on seeing the latest rate card, available with the driver, and pay accordingly. Avoid taxis that pick up additional passengers
• Be wary of impostor porters or guides. Assure they are properly uniformed or identified. Never leave your luggage, briefcase or other items unattended.
• Insist on the taxi / auto meter being flagged down in your presence.
• In cities you can change most major foreign currencies and brands of travellers’ cheques but you’ll widen your options and save yourself hassles if you stick to US dollars or pounds sterling.

• Export of all wild animals indigenous to the country and articles made from such listed animals like skins, pelts, furs, ivory, rhino horns, trophies are totally banned.
• Banned items do not include peacock feathers and handicrafts made from them.
• Antiques which include sculpture, painting or other works of arts or crafts illustrative of science, art, craft, religion of bygone ages and of historical interest which have been in existence for not less than 100 years may not be exported from India.
• Manuscripts or other documents of scientific, historical literary or aesthetic value in existence for not less that seventy five years: art treasures not necessarily antiques but of artistic or aesthetic value, also cannot be exported out of India.