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Hello All,

Me and my family are all travelling to India we will be attending a family wedding in Punjab. I have a couple of requests for some information from the Team - BHP Fountain of knowledge and would be grateful for all help.

I will need a 3G SIM for my IPhone - how easy is this to get and as I only need it for a short while Pay As You Go would be the preferred option any recommendations for suppliers i.e. Airtel etc, etc.

My other Question is we would like to tour Rajasthan do the Taj Mahal experience, and was looking at Yatra.com - is this any good or are there other agents I could use any good bad experiences and would I be better of turning up and booking locally.

Any do's and don'ts I need to know about the children are all teenagers the oldest being 20 and youngest being 17 with one in between. We are flying in and out of New Delhi so was trying to book the tour as our last excursion so we travel back to Delhi from Punjab do our tour and fly back out.

Really looking forward to this trip as we haven’t been to India as a family unit in the last five years. I wish I had some time to link up with some like minded car enthusiasts but time is short this time - I am looking to come back with just my sons in October to the F1 Grand Prix - finances and wife permitting may be link up with some of you guys then. :D

Regards Shindha

@shindha, 3G services is not available at all place in north India. you can ask the friend in Punjab to arrange a BSNL card, which makes more sense, as they have started 3G much ahead of other service providers.

As for your Rajasthan trip, it will be hotter the every passing day. Need to take this factor as by mid of march the day temperature will hit 30 - 35 in this region.

Would take couple of days to get SIM. You can't just buy Pay as You go SIM, you have to to provide documentation like ID Proof and Address proof.

Might be easier to ask some relative to get one for you.

Even a 2G SIM would serve the purpose (if you are looking for minimal data usage), a Vodafone 2G SIM worked fine on my colleagues' 3GS last June when I was working with him.

You can ask the same question here and might get more response.
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The Best 3G SIM option will be from BSNL as they've an extensive network, plus they were the first to roll out the service in India. However do keep in mind 3G coverage could be restricted to metros and major cities only. If you're heading into interior villages,expect the speeds to drop down to 2G ones. 3G data packages aren't really expensive. You could go for a months data limited or unlimited services, ranging from approx. Rs. 500 - Rs 1100 ( rates may vary a bit in different states).

@Shindha: First of all welcome to India (and Punjab too).
Regarding SIM Card:
How much data (or for what purpose) you need to consume?
Please confirm if 2G sim will work? (for mails etc. only)
Do you have Indian Passport? (for documents in getting sim)
Which part of Punjab you want to visit?
I am from Telecom and from Punjab too :) So don't worry, will take care of this.

Thanks Guys for all the replies,



In answer to Passiontodrive, thanks for the welcome, my main aim is to keep up to date with my emails and some browsing may be some media downloads on my IPhone at the moment my data usage is about 300MB a month but I do work in front of a computer all day long and have a WIFI connection to which I connect to at home I would settle for 500MB. We will be based in Jalandhur district, passport unfortunately is not Indian.



Thanks V&V for the heads up on the temperature in Rajasthan I think the heat should be good for my old bones - will need to take appropriate precautions.


Regards Shindha

Hi Shindha
If your i phone is unlocked BSNL is the best as it will cover most of the remote areas.
Last year I was touring Uttranchal with 4 of my mates using BSNL, Airtel, Reliance and TATA Idea. For the whole trip which included trip to Gangotri BSNL proved to be the best.
IF the phone is locked by your contract not much can be done.
On my recent trip I left my 4 and took the old battered Iphone instead which works well for me.
October is a good time to visit Rajasthan.
I am going to visit Jaipur in April and the plan is to ride the M20 from DehraDun (fingers crossed)
If you are looking to do the Golden Triangle there are numerous operators.
The best ones I used so far were Rajasthan tours and travels. They have their office in Rambagh Palace Jaipur.
A 4 day trip with stay at Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, Taj Palace New Delhi and JAypee Palace Agra respectively and traveling in Toyota Camry costed Rs 360000( £ 4800 2 yrs ago) all inclusive.

Do's and don't can be many.
Definately 2 don'ts
1. Ensure you drink good quality water and
2. Don't pick a fight whatsoever.

Hope this helps.

Piyush

I would recommend a Idea / Reliance USB dongle which are faster than 2G edge services. Best option remains to ask a friend/relative to get one before hand.

Regarding Agra/Rajasthan : How many days and what budgets? The range is extreme starting with less than 1000 buck a day to 100000 per day. I jest not, check out pricing for some of the heritage properties - Lalit Vilas in Udaipur for instance.

While days will be now warmer the nights will still be pleasant.

Shinda,

I have seen Reliance 3G sim cards available in Phagwara. Where exactly will you be coming in Jalandhar District? You can ask your relatives to get a SIM for you. Buying and activating a SIM card may take a couple of days in Punjab so you can get it before you reach Punjab.

I would advise you to go to Punjab at your relatives place, attend the function, hire a cab (atleast Innova or higher) and visit Jaipur and Agra. Go back to relatives place in Punjab and come back to Delhi when you have to leave for UK. Try to cover these places as soon as you visit India as it will be getting hotter and hotter. Visiting these places before you leave Punjab for UK, will allow the safety of your luggage. Managing more luggage along with you on all these places can create problems for you. Tkae only the required luggae on places like Agra and Jaipur.

I wish you a Happy Journey!

Irish!

Once again thank you gentlemen for the ever informative replies, I have since found out that my phone is locked I think the best solution would be to get "DONGLE" based internet access for my laptop but did not want to carry that about. We are coming to India for three weeks the majority of time will be spent in rural Punjab.

piyush350 - you owe me a keyboard as I sprayed my mouthful of tea on my laptop on reading your No 2 Don't - I can't remember having a fight with anybody in my adult life and I am fast approaching the half century mark.


lol:

But I really admire you for thinking that I may still be capable of such a feat it made me feel a lot younger. I do hope that I don't come across as an aggressive person. I think I will take your suggestion of being Punjab based and travelling out from our base in Punjab, but automotive travel in India always sends shivers down my spine.

Sudev - I believe you on the matter of cost the prices of goods and services everywhere in the world have rocketed.

Irish "IRISH IRISH" are you actually Irish as I do have a few Irish friends - how did you decide on this name??? clap: