India

[Frank Bunnik]

Thanks for the compliments Anton. I visited Ladakh a couple of times, always in the summer months.

It has been a few years since I have been to Tamil Nadu (2001 for the last time). Basically, it is temple country. The temples in Tamil Nadu are huge and build in their own typical style. I did not like Chennai very much. It is a busy, noisy city. One time I landed at Chennai airport, I took a taxi from the airport to Mahabalipuram (Mahamallapuram it's called now I think). This is a small village with a Unesco heritage site. It has a beach and is a nice place to start and maybe end your trip.

Thanjavur has a beautiful medieval temple and Thiruchirapalli also has a huge temple complex. Chidambaram is a small town like many other in Tamil Nadu. However it is interesting to visit the beautiful temple to witness the fire ceremony. Madurai is not to be missed and if you have the opportunity don't forget to visit Kanyakumari on the southern most tip of India. Nearby was a lovely little village, I am not 100% sure but it might very well be Kottaram.

From Kanyakumari you can drive up the west coast to Aleppy (Alepphuza) in Kerala where you can rent a house boat to take you through the backwater canals.

If you like steam trains you might take the toy train to Ooty. This line runs locomotives made in Switzerland at the beginning of the 20th century. The ride up to Ooty is beautiful though Ooty, lying in the mountains can get chilly or even cold. I remember that visiting the loco shed was no problem at all (at least in 1995, they might have tightened up a bit since).

My favourite place in southern India is Hampi, not far from Hospet in Karnataka. It is a magical place but if you go there, do not stay in Hospet but take a hotel in Hampi itself. It is a bit out of way from Tamil Nadu but if you have the chance, do not miss it.

Indians enjoy having their photo taken. I never give them money for a portrait (but I do often give them a polaroid). They tend to freeze up for a portrait but if you have a chat with them before you make the photo they tend to loosen up.


I hope this helps. Good luck with your preperations and if I can be of any other help, don't hesitate to ask and enjoy your trip.

Frank
www.frankbunnik.zenfolio.com

[Atul Mohidekar]

I work (on a daily basis) with our engineering team based in Chennai, the capital and the largest city in Tamil Nadu. I visit them few times a year. Incidentally, I will be in Chennai for the first couple of weeks of Jan. 2012. If you need any help, PM me or send an email through this site - we can then talk/communicate offline.

Here are a few practial things that came to mind:

• Some people are hit hard by the jetlag – up to 4-5 days. You might want to schedule visits to important places couple of days after reaching India.
• Coastal cities are very humid and hot, even in Jan. Expect the daily high temperatures in 80s F in Jan.
• India uses 220-230 V, 50 Hz electricity compared to 110 V, 60 Hz used here in the USA. Also, the electric sockets are not compatible with the US. You will need to carry electric transformers/converters and electric adapters for your electric gadgets such as the phone charger. Most of the laptops work on 220 V, provided the appropriate electric adapter is used (no transformer required).
• Make copies of your passport and visa and keep them in a couple of different bags. Find out and write down the US consulate phone number, just in case.
• I would highly recommend you hire a driver/guide after you finalize the places you want to visit.
• Always buy/carry bottled water. Also, ask for the bottled water in the restaurants.
• Don't expect very clean restrooms. Don't expect to find restrooms easily during travel. Carry TP and toilet seat covers while on the road.
• Dust and dirt are part of life and so is pollution in big cities.
• It is not uncommon to take 30-40 minutes to drive 10 miles in big cities during peak hours.
• Indian traffic is something that you have to experience firsthand to understand it. Get ready for instinct-driven, heart-stopping driving conditions rather than the boring, mostly-rules-following traffic here in the US.
• Expect to attract a lot of attention while using an LF camera.
• Most people are extremely helpful and will go out of their way to help a tourist.
• India is a wonderful place for both people photography and nature photography.

// Atul

[mamanton]

I hope this helps. Good luck with your preperations and if I can be of any other help, don't hesitate to ask and enjoy your trip.

Frank
www.frankbunnik.zenfolio.com

Thank you again! What do you think about lenses. I'm less than a year doing a large format, and yet I have only two lenses. 210 and 360mm. Do I need to buy for trip to India a wide angle lens, like 90 or 110mm?

[mamanton]

I work (on a daily basis) with our engineering team based in Chennai, the capital and the largest city in Tamil Nadu. I visit them few times a year. Incidentally, I will be in Chennai for the first couple of weeks of Jan. 2012. If you need any help, PM me or send an email through this site - we can then talk/communicate offline.

Here are a few practial things that came to mind:

• Some people are hit hard by the jetlag – up to 4-5 days. You might want to schedule visits to important places couple of days after reaching India.
• Coastal cities are very humid and hot, even in Jan. Expect the daily high temperatures in 80s F in Jan.
• India uses 220-230 V, 50 Hz electricity compared to 110 V, 60 Hz used here in the USA. Also, the electric sockets are not compatible with the US. You will need to carry electric transformers/converters and electric adapters for your electric gadgets such as the phone charger. Most of the laptops work on 220 V, provided the appropriate electric adapter is used (no transformer required).
• Make copies of your passport and visa and keep them in a couple of different bags. Find out and write down the US consulate phone number, just in case.
• I would highly recommend you hire a driver/guide after you finalize the places you want to visit.
• Always buy/carry bottled water. Also, ask for the bottled water in the restaurants.
• Don't expect very clean restrooms. Don't expect to find restrooms easily during travel. Carry TP and toilet seat covers while on the road.
• Dust and dirt are part of life and so is pollution in big cities.
• It is not uncommon to take 30-40 minutes to drive 10 miles in big cities during peak hours.
• Indian traffic is something that you have to experience firsthand to understand it. Get ready for instinct-driven, heart-stopping driving conditions rather than the boring, mostly-rules-following traffic here in the US.
• Expect to attract a lot of attention while using an LF camera.
• Most people are extremely helpful and will go out of their way to help a tourist.
• India is a wonderful place for both people photography and nature photography.

// Atul

Thanks, Atul!
We had some problems with the purchase of tickets. And the date had moved slightly. So we bought tickets from February 20 to March 10. And in India we will be celebrating the birthday of my wife, our wedding anniversary and my birthday!

In Russia, we also use 220 ​​volt outlets, so no problems ))

And we already know about the friendly man with a car who lives in Auroville. I think we will turn to his services in mid-journey.

Thanks for the tips, and enjoy your flight to India too!

Anton

[mamanton]

In south India hindi is as useful as english, maybe less
Dravidic languages are a different thing, while post-sanskrit languages are quite close one to another.

In any major tourist center you'll find bike rentals. Better go for a two-stroke japanese bike, made under license in India. The big, heavy Enfield bikes are very pleasing, aesthetically speaking... but the brakes are a nightmare, and most 350cc Enfield Bullet offered on rental are old and in bad repairs.
If you are lucky enough to find a recent model, 350cc or 500cc, with modern brakes and suspensions, then you can go farther from your hotel. Even on a two days trip, if you like, spending the night in some accomodation along the road. Just ask before: smallest towns don't have a proper hotel. You'll find lots of truck driver's places along the main roads (sometimes called "highways" - narrow country rods by western standards): most of them have just rope beds (charpoys) under a tin roof, open air. Not very comfortable, but it comes free most of the times, if you buy some food and drinks.

A tent would be bulkier, and more expensive.
I think that a changing bag would be more than enough.
If you unload/reload your film holders at night, in an hotel's bathroom, you'll find that a couple of towels would be the only needed tools to get a perfectly darkened room. Small windows and very little light coming from the outside.

Two more things that come to my mind:
1) for film developement, give a chance to one of those very old photographic shops (some were established 100 years ago) that you find in big and medium sized indian towns. Probably they have big standing developement tanks for sheet film. I don't know about 13x18cm, which is slightly bigger, but i am sure that you could easily find somebody who would competently develop 5x7" sheets.

TWO times i had to leave in a hurry, by train. Unfortunately there were no tickets available. I asked for the chief superintendent, and brought my girlfriend with me.
He was more than happy to show his power, and the maximum of gallantry with a foreign lady: we were allotted two berths that are routinely reserved as government officers quota, and seldom used.
If you find the right man, and ask for help, you'll be surprised by the willingness to be of some help, for the simple reason that you are a foreign visitor!
In most countries being a foreigner is a liability, not an advantage.

Have a nice trip, and...if you go to Gokarna, isn't Hampi within reach?
Never been there, but i know that's one of those magic and mystic places India is so famous for.
Buy the "Travel survival kit" for South India, and do your homework before leaving.
That way you could plan your movements, realize which places must not be missed, and restrict your traveling to easily reachable places.
Three weeks are better spent visiting fewer places, but more in depth. If you want to travel to many places, far away one from the other, you could end up spending way too much time on public transports, with little time to simply rest and get acquainted with India and its climate (and people, food, way of life, etc.). Learning how to deal with India's peculiarities could be half of the fun by itself, but it takes some time, and you can't do it in a hurry.

cheers

CJ

CJ, your message - a great tour to indian bikes country! ))

So, what the main phrases in Dravidic language??

However, I want to buy a tent, because I think that it is easier to carry a tent and 3-4 holders and a box with film, than 10 holders. So 13x18 holders are very heavy. And then I'll develope all at home by myself. But it's interesting to see Indian labs and second-hand photo shops...

Now I ponder how best to cut off a piece of rail and convert sheeps to fit my camera into the biggest Vanguard suitcase on wheels http://www.vanguardworld.com/index.p...-2-33-177.html.

[David Woods]

That's nice to hear. I'm an Indian living in Bangalore. I own a modest 4*5 gig and have been shooting some black and whites for a year or so.

Give me a shout if you happen to visit Bangalore. Pm me if you wish to talk about anything ..

Arvind

Where in India can you pick up 35mm and 120 slide if I needed to?
David

[psychoanalyst]

I've really only spent a little time (2 weeks) in the Khali Temple area in Calcutta and the people where so poor that I felt using them for photographic subjects would be demeaning to them.

However, that is one small neighborhood in India.

I think by and large there is great beauty there---both natural and architectural as well as the people. I would strongly suggest hiring a guide. If you wonder into an area like Khali Temple you'll be mobbed by curious onlookers and without a native guide to get you through to where you're going---well you'll waste a lot of time. I had a Sihk (sp?) driver who was incredible helpful---your hotel can arrange for a trusted guide.
Have fun & don't drink the local beer (really, don't!)

John....its the Kali temple....not Khali....very interesting place. I am born and brought up in Calcutta, although have not lived that in 10 years...

Anton, if you need advice about Calcutta let me know.....it is an extremely interesting place. India as a whole you will find is a dream for a portrait photographer. I honestly feel that Indian faces have a lot of genuine emotion and character.

Also...I have lived in Chennai for 4 years....don't know a whole lot about that place, but I am sure I can get you info if you need it. There is also a Chennai Photography Club group on Flickr...http://www.flickr.com/groups/chennai_photography_club/

And the Photographic Society of Madras: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1262104@N20/

You may find them helpful.

Avi

Avi

[psychoanalyst]

CJ, your message - a great tour to indian bikes country! ))

So, what the main phrases in Dravidic language??

However, I want to buy a tent, because I think that it is easier to carry a tent and 3-4 holders and a box with film, than 10 holders. So 13x18 holders are very heavy. And then I'll develope all at home by myself. But it's interesting to see Indian labs and second-hand photo shops...

Now I ponder how best to cut off a piece of rail and convert sheeps to fit my camera into the biggest Vanguard suitcase on wheels http://www.vanguardworld.com/index.p...-2-33-177.html.

If you want to learn phrases you will get lost. The language in India changes every few hundred miles and the dialect changes every few tens of miles!!!

But some popular ones are

Hindi:

1. Aap kaise hain? "How are you"
2. Kitne paise hue? "How much is the charge"....useful when riding taxis etc.
3. Main tumse bahut bahut pyaar kartna hoon.."I love you very very much"....may come in handy in impressing your wife!!

Dasvidaniya

Avi

[psychoanalyst]

Thanks for the compliments Anton. I visited Ladakh a couple of times, always in the summer months.

It has been a few years since I have been to Tamil Nadu (2001 for the last time). Basically, it is temple country. The temples in Tamil Nadu are huge and build in their own typical style. I did not like Chennai very much. It is a busy, noisy city. One time I landed at Chennai airport, I took a taxi from the airport to Mahabalipuram (Mahamallapuram it's called now I think). This is a small village with a Unesco heritage site. It has a beach and is a nice place to start and maybe end your trip.

Thanjavur has a beautiful medieval temple and Thiruchirapalli also has a huge temple complex. Chidambaram is a small town like many other in Tamil Nadu. However it is interesting to visit the beautiful temple to witness the fire ceremony. Madurai is not to be missed and if you have the opportunity don't forget to visit Kanyakumari on the southern most tip of India. Nearby was a lovely little village, I am not 100% sure but it might very well be Kottaram.

From Kanyakumari you can drive up the west coast to Aleppy (Alepphuza) in Kerala where you can rent a house boat to take you through the backwater canals.

If you like steam trains you might take the toy train to Ooty. This line runs locomotives made in Switzerland at the beginning of the 20th century. The ride up to Ooty is beautiful though Ooty, lying in the mountains can get chilly or even cold. I remember that visiting the loco shed was no problem at all (at least in 1995, they might have tightened up a bit since).

My favourite place in southern India is Hampi, not far from Hospet in Karnataka. It is a magical place but if you go there, do not stay in Hospet but take a hotel in Hampi itself. It is a bit out of way from Tamil Nadu but if you have the chance, do not miss it.

Indians enjoy having their photo taken. I never give them money for a portrait (but I do often give them a polaroid). They tend to freeze up for a portrait but if you have a chat with them before you make the photo they tend to loosen up.


I hope this helps. Good luck with your preperations and if I can be of any other help, don't hesitate to ask and enjoy your trip.

Frank
www.frankbunnik.zenfolio.com

I have been dying to visit Ladakh....heard its an enchanted place.

The temples are beautiful.

Avi

[mamanton]

John....its the Kali temple....not Khali....very interesting place. I am born and brought up in Calcutta, although have not lived that in 10 years...

Anton, if you need advice about Calcutta let me know.....it is an extremely interesting place. India as a whole you will find is a dream for a portrait photographer. I honestly feel that Indian faces have a lot of genuine emotion and character.

Also...I have lived in Chennai for 4 years....don't know a whole lot about that place, but I am sure I can get you info if you need it. There is also a Chennai Photography Club group on Flickr...http://www.flickr.com/groups/chennai_photography_club/

And the Photographic Society of Madras: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1262104@N20/

You may find them helpful.

Avi

Avi

Thank you, Avi!
I will ask you some questions a little bit later...

Kind regards!

Anton