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 The Rough Guide to India 6 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) :: 1843535017
Description
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| The Rough Guide to India is the essential handbook to this extraordinary country. The 24 page full-colour introduction includes stunning photography of the country''s many highlights. The guide has comprehensive accounts of every attraction, from fast-paced Delhi and the sacred sites of the Ganges plain to the Moghul splendour of Agra and the shell-sand beaches of the south. There is also practical advice on activities as diverse as boating through the Keralan backwaters, hiking through the high-altitude deserts of Ladakh or treatments at an ayurvedic spa. The listings sections provide hundreds of insider reviews of the best hotels, hostels, restaurants, bars, shops and museums in every city and village. The authors also give an informed insight into India''s history, politics, religion, music and cinema, providing a valuable context to the reader''s trip. Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
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Author: Guest
I should begin by saying that I traveled around India with the fourth edition of the Rough Guide. Though I cannot comment on how updates and revisions may effect the utility of this particular version, I feel quite confident in recommending the Rough Guide over any other guidebook in the market.
My approach to travel has always been one of depth over breadth, cultural authenticity over the latest tourist craze. After spending 2 years in Senegal as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I went to India believing that I might somehow have the same ease of access to village life and cultural events that I had in West Africa. That belief was quickly dispelled, though I came to find many other redeeming qualities to travel and to life in India. In total, I have spent about one year in the country and have relied on my Rough Guide in many, many ways.
There is absolutely no way to compare the depth of historical context and cultural insight given by the Rough Guide with what you may find in Lonely Planet or other guidebooks to India. I frequently borrowed Lonely Planet guides from other travelers to compare its recommendations with the ones I found in my Rough Guide. I consistently found the Lonely Planet to be poorly researched, to offer extremely limited background information, and to eliminate many sites/entries of more obscure or esoteric value to the traveler. It would be incredibly difficult to stick to the Lonely Planet and not be one of the millions of blind backpackers circumnavigating the globe thinking they are actually seeing something. The Rough Guide, in comparison, offered countless 'text-box' entries describing the complexities of modern-day life in India. A few that come to mind dealt with drug use, journalism, organized crime, education, et al.
If you expect to spend a significant amount of time in India, you will want to know as much cultural information as possible in order to decipher the circus of events going on around you. In many ways you will be marginalized and will struggle to ever feel like you could possibly belong in the place. This of course is the love-hate relationship that nearly every foreigner who spends enough time there will eventually develop. That being said, your status as outsider will allow you to observe and analyze the country in ways that will teach you volumes about your own native land and culture. My Rough Guide proved to be an indispensable companion on trains and in hotels. It gave me the right combination of thorough logistical information for travel necessities and in-depth cultural information for personal ones. Use your Rough Guide to the fullest and get ready to see how much you can love and hate a place at the same time...
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Author: Guest
After spending 3 weeks in India, I had only wished I read this book more thoroughly. I visted 4 areas (Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Agra) of which I stayed in everywhere but Agra. Rough Guide has nice maps describing major areas, good list of hotels, and restaurants along with major attractions that were helpful in me finding my way.
I only had a brief chance to look at Lonely Planet from someone who sat across from me on a train back from Delhi to Mumbai so I can't say which one is better. By the end of my vacation, Rough Guide was always with me, along with my DSLR. I would strongly recommend you to consider this book as one of your travel books.
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Author: Guest
After using over 10 Lonely Planet books to travel Asia and Latin America, I thought I'd give this book a shot since many people had praised it. I was very disappointed. The maps, the background information, and the writing are just BLAND, BLAND, BLAND. Lonely Planet is still king if you want interesting, informative information with highly detailed maps. Concerning Inda, it's best to buy either LP's Northern India or Southern India in separate editions- one book just can't do justice to a country as large and diverse as India.
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