[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Delhi and NCR cops do not bother about out of state vehicles. So bring your car here. Its a necessity in Delhi. Atleast get a bike.

Yeah - I realised it - after I landed there. And, that is the least of my travails.

I have just managed to find some spare time today - and will be pouring forth my experience below!!

Originally Posted by khoj

Hi vrprabhu,

Trust you have landed and hopefully found a place to hide from the cold. It was only when I started to post this I realized that more than a month has gone by since the thread started and we last heard from you/interacted. So let us know where exactly are you and how NCR is treating you as yet?

Landed on 16th Nov. Tried one week to find an accommodation in Gurgaon. Zilch. Flats cost upwards of Rs. 15,000/-. Transportation is practically non-exisitent - should have driven down from Pune....:-(

Finally, gave up and went to stay with my class mate - at Mayur Vihar. That means about 1hour 45 minute commute by the metro. It is OK - but the change over at Rajiv Chowk is an experience - every day!!

Due to some family problems, I am now not in Delhi/Gurgaon. So many things are happening at the same time, I am feeling lost / helpless...

Originally Posted by gd1418

Bumped into this thread today and read the so many of the comments about staying or not staying in VK or GGN. Since I stayed in VK for 15 years and now have been staying in GGN for the last 7, I thought I would also chip in. Though, vrprabhu by now, would have landed and settled.

I commute to work daily in the Metro from GGN to Green park in Delhi. Feel very comfortable travelling. Unlike the Bombay local, that is always packed like sardines, NCR Metro is not. And why dilliwalas Mr. Gandhi? It has GGNwalas, Dilliwalas, Manesarwalas and much more.


Says who Mr. Khoj? I stay in a gated condo, a 15 storey high rise. I've 24 hrs water & power back-up that runs my all 4 ACs in summer, washing machine, geysers & heaters.


The commute is not tiresome at all. The stress of driving in that maddening trafiic where everybody including yours truly is on a perpetual short-fuse is all eliminated. I save on time and money. While earlier in my own vehicle I used to take close to an hour to commute 21 kms one way, resulting in altering my timings (be leaving at 7:30 am) and stressing too much, now I take it easy, leave home at 9 and am at my desk by 9:40.

If prabhu stays at VK in the company accommodation, he can take the Metro from Chattarpur and get down at HUDA in 25 mins flat. And he won't find the Metro crowded at all, because most of the crowd boards or gets down at Saket, Malviya Nagar & Hauz Khas.

OK, gd1418, I agree with most of what you say.

The metro is pretty crowded and not as bad as Bombay local. Thankfully, the queue system in major stations works - to some extent.

And, you are perfectly right about the crowds at Saket and onwards - so the morning journey from Mayur Vihar to Gurgaon via Rajiv Chowk, is packed, I am able to get a seat when I board at HUDA on my return...

As regards, cost of living - Gurgaon is definitely more expensive than Delhi. I hardly find any middle scale/level eatery in Gurgaon (at least, near Sushant Lok). Sector 40 and older parts of Gurgaon is not exactly my cup of tea.

Yes, there is frequent power cut - as long as there is back up generator, there is no problem.

My experience?

The place feels like Singapore.

More cars on the road - think only Bangalore has more density. People honk like crazy.

Plenty of money - everybody seems to think and talk in crores!!?!!

MG Road malls are seen to be believed. Kingdom of Dreams??!!!!

More development = more traffic = more choke-ups....

Expressway = is that what it is? Two wheelers non-chalantly drive anywhere they please. Absolutely no sense of lane discipline. Service roads should have been designed better.

Public Transport = Autos (fleece you); Cycle-rickshaw (feel inhuman to see the poor guy pedal - so after the first trip, decided against further trips).

Food = Bread + Eggs seem to be staple breakfast. I am a southie - got fed up of them (and the aloo parantha) within a week...

Weather = Cold, but was tolerable. But most of the day seems to be muggy. Darkness at 5.30PM is unbelieveable....

Don't have much time - may be next week?

Thanks again, guys....

And, older pals from Pune - if you happen to read this, sorry - my spare time has become ZERO..... that's why no updates/contributions....

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

...my spare time has become ZERO..... that's why no updates/contributions....
__________________
Is your life like a credit card?

Enjoy Now, Pay Later!!

Umm... what was it you enjoyed earlier, that you are paying for now with zero credit balance on your spare time?

Jokes apart, commuting from Mayur Vihar to Gurgaon on the Metro is no mean task!

What happened to those serviced apartments in Vasant Kunj that you mentioned your Co. had?

[gd1418]

Poor you. You have Naivedyam in Sush Lok/Phase IV, Verdhan in Sector 56 to suit your southie palate. Bikanerwala in Sector 29, near Leisure Valley Park is another middle scale joint.

I too am a southie, but am not fed-up..

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

So many things are happening at the same time, I am feeling lost / helpless...

OK, gd1418, I agree with most of what you say.

As regards, cost of living - Gurgaon is definitely more expensive than Delhi. I hardly find any middle scale/level eatery in Gurgaon (at least, near Sushant Lok). Sector 40 and older parts of Gurgaon is not exactly my cup of tea.

Food = Bread + Eggs seem to be staple breakfast. I am a southie - got fed up of them (and the aloo parantha) within a week...

[kd7202]

Hi Prabhu,

Are you a Konkani by any chance ?

Secondly, commuting from Mayur Vihar to Gurgaon ? Every day ? You must be out of your mind. Its like commuting from Virar to Churchgate !!

Surprising you could'nt find acco in Gurgaon.

Have you tried Palam Vihar ? Its a beautiful colony with independent houses, mind you, not apartments. I had given you the contact number of a friend of mine. Call him, he'll certainly help you find a nice place to stay. He works in HCL Technologies, Noida (talk about commuting, this takes the cake !!) and was in Bangalore last week, I spoke to him about you and told him that you might get in touch with him.

For your information, I stayed in Palam Vihar in a one bedroom, bath attached, hall-cum-dining place and I paid only Rs. 1400/- p.m. as rent. Hardly 10 minutes from the local market, food on order, maid servant to do the jaadu pocha, presswala to iron your clothes, door delivery of milk, provisions, etc., cable TV, you name it. If you're lucky, your landlord will even get you a out of turn gas connection from the local Indane/HP Gas/Bharat Gas distributor.

I totally agree with you, Gurgaon is a horrible place. I wont be wrong if I say you'll be out of that place within 6 months.

Cheers

KD

[phamilyman]

VrPrabhu ji,

Please exploit the discontinuities in the system. I can advise you several decent places to stay in gurgaon which are okay, but you need to share the place or stay in Old gurgaon. PMed you my number - let's talk sometime.

You are a hero to be commuting that distance in the metro! The beauty of Delhi is that you find everything nearby - from the guy selling two idlis for rs 10 to rs 10 ke chhole bhature to a parantha for rs 50. gurgaon has lesser but if you can still get decent stuff - ofc not at the level of mumbai or even delhi (like say nehru place or chandni chowk or satya niketan ) because in gurgaon its either guys in AC cars or general labor (low price and mediocre quality)

@GD saab - dilliwalas meaning the perpetual short fuse which u mentioned nothing else the right word IMO is "bhasad" but i'm not sure if prabhu would understand it the way we do!!

[anilisanil]

Not too sure how I missed this thread!! Hope you are doing well there!!

[Newpunter]

Bumping this slightly old thread coz I have arrived in Gurgaon just yesterday .

I am currently staying in Sector 54 ( quite near to my office ). I would like to know what is the best way to travel to Delhi or other tourist places from here. I tried to see if i can rent a self drive car here but that seems to be a bit costly. What is the best way to visit Agra or Jaipur from here ?

[Eddy]

The best way to visit Jaipur would be in a Volvo from Iffco Chowk on the NH8.

[Newpunter]

Thanks Eddy. I have a few other questions.
What are the activities that can be done here ( shopping, games, etc ) ?
Is it safe to venture out on foot in the evenings, as we don't have any transport with us for now ?
Is there any cheap self drive rental available ?
What is the best option to visit delhi. Are there any tour operators operating day trips from Gurgaon ( preferably near Sector 54 ).
Is the food as expensive everywhere in Gurgaon as in our guest house ?

[EssYouWe]

Originally Posted by Newpunter

Bumping this slightly old thread coz I have arrived in Gurgaon just yesterday .

I am currently staying in Sector 54 ( quite near to my office ). I would like to know what is the best way to travel to Delhi or other tourist places from here. I tried to see if i can rent a self drive car here but that seems to be a bit costly. What is the best way to visit Agra or Jaipur from here ?

Hey,

I am in sector 54 (office) right now :P

There are a lot of rental options in GGN. You get to see a lot of rental cars on the road at least.

Hire a local cab by paying ~1000-1500 for the whole day and that should get you by with the tourist places.
About Agra and Jaipur, I am not very sure but Volvo buses ply on those routes regularly. You can look into that too.

PS: Which building? Which company?

[Newpunter]

Originally Posted by EssYouWe

I am in sector 54 (office) right now :P

That's great. Maybe we can meet sometime as I will be staying in Gurgaon for the next 3 months atleast. Maybe we even work in the same office ?

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Umm... what was it you enjoyed earlier, that you are paying for now with zero credit balance on your spare time?

Jokes apart, commuting from Mayur Vihar to Gurgaon on the Metro is no mean task!

What happened to those serviced apartments in Vasant Kunj that you mentioned your Co. had?

Boohoo... I never dreamt that my signature will backfire on me!

Yes - no mean commute. If I am lucky, it is done in 1hr 45min.

The company has a strange policy - apartments in Delhi is meant for people working in Delhi. Gurgaon doesn't fit in :-(

Originally Posted by gd1418

Poor you. You have Naivedyam in Sush Lok/Phase IV, Verdhan in Sector 56 to suit your southie palate. Bikanerwala in Sector 29, near Leisure Valley Park is another middle scale joint.

I too am a southie, but am not fed-up..

Well, gd, guess you must have had enough of southie food :-). But, really, I had enough of eating Bread/Omlette/Paratha day after day....

Will keep in mind your input. Thanks....

Originally Posted by kd7202

Are you a Konkani by any chance ?

Secondly, commuting from Mayur Vihar to Gurgaon ? Every day ? You must be out of your mind. Its like commuting from Virar to Churchgate !!

Surprising you could'nt find acco in Gurgaon.

Yes, KD - very much a Konkani (a GSB)

I meant accommodation within my budget. On the one hand, there are are Kothis (not something I would like, taking into consideration the summer heat) and on the other, there are good 2BHK flats - but out of range. Nothing in between like a 1BHK flat...

As regards other things, more details are given down below.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Please exploit the discontinuities in the system. I can advise you several decent places to stay in gurgaon which are okay, but you need to share the place or stay in Old gurgaon. PMed you my number - let's talk sometime.

@GD saab - dilliwalas meaning the perpetual short fuse which u mentioned nothing else the right word IMO is "bhasad" but i'm not sure if prabhu would understand it the way we do!!

Thanks, phamilyman. But I have explained my predicament earlier.

Since the public transport is pathetic, staying in old gurgaon and commuting was a tough task. Especially, as I am yet to shift my bike / car....

Yes - it is going to take me some time to get used to what you say :-). But, I already had a taste of it - when I had to attend a couple of parties - I really understood what it means to drink like a fish!!!

Originally Posted by anilisanil

Not too sure how I missed this thread!! Hope you are doing well there!!

Not so good, Anil! How is the figo? How many more miles have you figoed so far??

Originally Posted by Newpunter

Bumping this slightly old thread coz I have arrived in Gurgaon just yesterday .

Hmmm... newpunter, from bangalore to gurgaon, wouldn't be that big of a culture shock. Welcome. When is the punto coming here? Any chance of driving it down?

Originally Posted by Newpunter

What are the activities that can be done here ( shopping, games, etc ) ?

What is the best option to visit delhi. Are there any tour operators operating day trips from Gurgaon ( preferably near Sector 54 ).

You can shop till you drop in Gurgaon. Just hop onto the metro and alight at MG Road...

Metro appears to be best and quickest way to reach Delhi. HUDA City Centre to Rajiv Chowk takes about an hour or so.


Thanks to all the inputs, guys!!

A short update on my current status -

Due to some family issues (my parents had some health problems, and both had to undergo surgery within a month of each other), I am not in Gurgaon right now.

The Vasant Kunj flat was not to be mine - some one else beat me to it; so, I had to take up some accommodation in Gurgaon. 50% said old gurgaon was very much OK, but I some how couldn't bring myself to take one of the kothis - it felt kind of claustrophobic; summer would be horrible (at least for me, after enjoying Pune's climate for the last six years). New and upcoming areas, had a lot of option. But most of the 2BHK flats are rated above 15K!?! (Considering the cost of these flats, I think the rates have to be in that range!!). Single bedroom flats seems to be rarity!

Was thinking of taking up some paying guest accommodation, but didn't like what I saw (both at old and new gurgaon....)

Have almost decided the advice given by kd7202 is the best - stay somewhere in Palam Vihar / Saket / Huaz Khas area alone (as my wife won't be coming down)

In the meantime, had another round of bad tidings, which will require some more time to solve. I am tempted to start one more thread about that, but will wait till I come out of it. And, have to sell my flat in Pune. Shall I post it our forum??

Just got some free time for a couple of days - so the first thing I did was look up this thread . Once again, thanks all!!