A lengthy story about India—there’s no way to be brief about this country. So, part 1: So, part 1:
About the organization and preparation—I had dreamed of going to India for a long time, about 15 years… It finally happened. In 2008, I bought a Lonely Planet guide—it’s actually my first and only travel guide, as I usually manage without them, and it sat for 12 years waiting for its moment. Some things have changed, but I used it extensively both in preparation and during the trip. So, from 24.02 to 6.03, 11 days on-site, with my mom and brother. I bought tickets for my mom and me in September, Tallinn—Istanbul—Delhi, 416 euros per person (Turkish Airlines), and my brother flew directly from Helsinki with Finnair for 500 euros. Turkish Airlines had slightly cheaper options at 390 euros, but we needed vacation time. An interesting point—when booking on the Turkish Airlines website, it was mentioned in small print that the Istanbul—Delhi flight was operated by the Indian airline Indigo. This didn’t bother me since I was booking through Turkish Airlines; the baggage conditions were the same, etc. Our goal was to see as much as possible under reasonably good conditions without unnecessary risks. The route was planned with the help of three Indian acquaintances: Delhi—Agra—Jaipur—Rishikesh—Delhi. I wanted to do more, but everyone insisted it wasn’t worth it, as planning anything in India is pointless for various reasons—trains get canceled, travel takes much longer than Google Maps suggests. I started with the Delhi—Agra train. Registering on the railway website took 3 days, not just waiting but struggling. Considering I have about 20 years of independent travel experience, I thought nothing could surprise me anymore, but the Indian railway website did… There are many train/car options, understanding which is which and where you’ll be traveling with a goat and where it will be decent is mega difficult. You can’t buy a train ticket without registration, and with only 11 days, buying on the spot wasn’t an option. So, I eventually found a high-speed train from Delhi to Agra, taking 2 hours and costing 9 euros (the regular train takes 6 hours and costs pennies). There were no high-speed trains in other directions, and traveling 6+ hours everywhere with a high cancellation risk and such a booking system didn’t seem appealing. So, I decided to opt for flights. Luckily, I started early, and the prices were reasonable, around 30 euros per flight. We were advised to stay in apartments. The reason—hotels are cleaned by men, like in tourist areas in Egypt, for example, while apartments are usually managed by the owners themselves, so they tend to be cleaner. Of course, we could have opted for Hyatt-level hotels, where cleanliness wouldn’t be an issue, but that was out of our budget, so we chose Airbnb apartments—cheap and cheerful. In Rishikesh, our apartment booking was canceled at the last minute, and I couldn’t find any suitable options at all (as it turned out, there was an international yoga festival during those days). Then, in a moment of muddled thinking, I booked a hostel. Yes, a room for three with its own bathroom, nice photos, and a rating of 8.8, but it was rated by hostel enthusiasts! My brother, who usually stays in hostels, didn’t understand my dissatisfaction, but I’ve outgrown that stage, and in my humble opinion, the apartments were significantly better in every way 
Clean, spacious (at least two rooms), and authentic! The cost was around 40 euros per night for all of us. The cost of food—depends on what you’re ready for :)) A very decent tourist restaurant, a portion costing 6-8 euros, huge one. Street food, seemingly in a relatively decent place, 8 euros for all of us, with sweets and tea. Entry to various temples is usually free, but donations are expected—amounts from 15 cents to 3 euros are sufficient. Historical monuments average around 7 euros, the most expensive being the Taj Mahal—about 18 euros.
We all know about the many fears surrounding India. Dreams are dreams, but we read a lot and prepared for this trip like no other. Bottles of antiseptic, antibacterial wipes, hospital shoe covers (just in case of such dirt you can’t step in), brandy and flasks (to drink before every meal), many different vaccinations, malaria prevention tablets, antibiotics just in case, Aquaphor filter for the taps (didn’t fit :))). In reality, only the hand sanitizer and wipes were needed. My brother, a doctor, said on the second day that all this was nonsense; the only solution here would be to climb into a barrel of alcohol! We went everywhere and ate everything we wanted, and nothing happened to us. Well, we all drank bottled water, and I even brushed my teeth with it, while my brother and mom were braver. But the main thing—yes, it’s insanely dirty in places. But you can see not the dirt, but what lies beyond it…
Besides, we thought, we are limited on time, we want to see a lot, the country is very cheap, so why not hire a car and a guide in each place we visit… And we wanted trustworthy ones, not just off the street, which turned out to be not so easy. As a result, we didn’t have cars and guides everywhere, and the quality of the guides varied greatly, but everything went well. The cost of a car with a driver and a guide for one day depended on the place, ranging from 33-50 euros per day.
India was definitely worth dreaming about and finally visiting. Many amazing customs, places, people, and impressions. To perceive them correctly, you need to prepare well, and it’s definitely not for everyone. But don’t be afraid of what people say about this magnificent country. Of course, there’s a lot of trash, dirt, and poverty, but it’s not like Cairo is any different… Given that cows walk where people do, you need to constantly watch your step and make sure you don’t step into anything 😉 The concept of cleanliness is very relative—it applies to everything, but I can say that there are more unpleasant smells in one tram in Kopli than in all of Delhi… Indians are very clean, and their homes are clean (excluding the homeless living on the streets). The way local women look is indescribably beautiful! The fact that there’s so much garbage—no one deals with it purposefully, there’s simply nowhere to throw it! Where there’s a goal to keep it clean, everything shines—like the Taj Mahal or Akshardham… The traffic is crazy, it’s really hard to describe, people get licenses without mandatory driving courses—they learn on the go, but we didn’t see a single accident in 10 days! The food is delicious—we tried both tourist restaurants and street food and never got sick! People are very different, wise and intelligent, and all kinds of others… But everyone is kind and friendly and tries to help, even if they don’t speak English. The beggars on the streets—it’s hard to blame them if you understand the caste system and their customs. Seeing how children grow up and play in the dirt on the street or in slums, and don’t see anything else—it’s unlikely they can grow up to be someone else… It’s really hard in their case. Nature is simply stunning! History, architecture, religions, and ancient wisdom are very impressive! There’s still a lot to process, but I will definitely return to India!