Automatic

Most cars in the US have automatic transmission. That means there is no clutch pedal. It’s best to not use your left leg at all and only accelerate with your right leg. If you use both legs, you might accidentally operate both pedals at the same time (that means accelerate and brake at the same time). Moreover, you could accidentally make a (too) hard stop simply by pushing the brake as much as you would push the clutch. Because of that: put your left leg aside, and only use the right leg.

The automatic transmission has a parking mode. Sometimes, it’s only possible to shift to driving mode when you stand on the brake pedal. If you don’t use the break, the parking mode is locked and cannot be removed.

US Cars are huge ships

Cars in the US are remarkably taller than anything we have in Germany. They have jeeps (real jeeps not SUVs). Also, many family vans are everywhere. There are also some extremely grand vehicles (RVs) that make half a house. We had a Dodge Grand Caravan once, it was a very good car but we were worried about its size and how to park and turn it. Turns out, not a problem at all. The car was only average size in the US. We did fit into every parking space; in general we found enough space to turn, park and drive.

Parking: Valet Parking and Handicapped Parking

You need to get used to valet parking. Germans don’t like to give their car to anyone else. That is totally different in the US, valet parking is everywhere.

Handicapped Parking is available everywhere. That is the same in Germany but in Germany people tend to leave these parking spots empty and not use them at all, even if they are elidible. Some handicapped people even choose to not use them at all. In the US that is very different: veterans have special number plates and always use handicapped parking.

General Speed Limit and Driving on the Interstate

There is a general speed limit on the interstate: 80 miles. This is mandatory and most people only drive 80. Every now and then, a single car or some motorbikes take over but that is not very common. It’s not like Germany where the speed limit seems to be the minimum speed.

Because of this, most cars simply drive right next to each other on the interstate. The rule to drive right is not as strict as it is in Germany. There can be someone on your right lane for several kilometer right next to you or someone else is taking over on the right. In general American drivers tend to drive cozily right next to each other.

You can easily stay on the middle lane for a longer period of time. Americans take the right or left lane to take over and don’t bother at all. That makes life in a new city much easier: you can always choose the middle lane if you don’t know where to go next.

Driving is very relaxed

Everyone is far more relaxed than German driver. You don’t run into other shouting, aggressive drivers if you make a minor mistake like driving too slowly, changing your lane a bit clumsily or using the wrong dipper.

There are some cities and routes in the US that have a reputation of being particularly difficult because of aggressive driving, e.g. Ocean Drive to Key West or Miami. We do not have any negative experience, driving in these areas was maybe a bit less relaxed than anywhere else but definitely still ok and not a problem at all.

Stop Signs, Traffic Lights and Crossroads

Americans like Stop Signs. In Germany, we have a stop for one driver, the one that has to stop. (usually the one coming from a secondary road). In the US, all four drivers have a stop sign. That also means all of them have to stop. Figuring out who is supposed to go first is always a bit difficult. Allegedly, on “first come first serve” principle. But that is difficult. If you are not so sure, just wait and let the others go first. Stop signs are very common, you find many of them everywhere. Always be careful with stop signs.
Signs and traffic lights are on the opposite side of the crossroad. Always look at the opposite side to see them.

Many Lanes and Flyovers

A very typical thing is a road with many lanes. In cities up to 8 or more lanes. Don’t get freaked out by that, you can always stay in the middle lane if you are unsure.
A second thing is flyovers. Many roads are elevated and run on bridges and several levels, in particular on big crossroads. These flyovers are in every city. The GPS tends to be misleading in these cases: going straight can mean going straight on the upper level (on the bridge) or the lower level (under the bridge). If you get this wrong, it might take a while to find the next exit.

How It Is to Have a Police Officer Pull You Over

Yes, we had a police officer pull us over. Our driver missed a stop sign and totally blew it. Bad for us: the police officer was standing right at that junction. He followed us with his lights on. You have to stop at the next secure place. We were in a town and could stop right away.

The police officer stopped right behind us and came walking along the sidewalk. I read somewhere that you are not allowed to open your bag, look for something in your handbag or in general open any bag or anything else in particular the glove box and keep your hands visible all the time. We opened the window and and left the hand on the steering wheel or in front of our body.

The officer asked a couple of questions, where we are from, if we are on vacation and where we are going. He also said, he assumes we know what a stop sign is and that we have stop signs in Germany too. We confirmed that answered all his questions friendly and after a few minutes he let us go. I have to say we were very lucky!
I have to say, I think we made one mistake. There were four of us in the car but we only opened the front row windows. I think we should have had opened all the windows to show all the cars passengers to the police officer.

He asked who was in the car. We answered but it was not visible for him because the back windows were dark.

Toll In Florida

Florida has several toll stations, mostly for bridges. There are regular toll stations where you pay in cash, stations for credit card users and on the very left a “Fast Lane” with no paying station at all. You can just pass with only little less speed on these lanes. For that, you need a “Toll Pass”, they film this pass while you pass through the station and your toll is charged on your credit card.

At first, we did not know but rental cars come in general with this “Fast Lane Pass”. Like this, we could always take the fast lane and never had to wait. The charging on the credit card was correct after that holiday.

Der Beitrag How it is to Drive a Car in the US erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Airports in India

Airports in India are largely organized like all airports worldwide. They have restaurants, cafés and shopping. In the meantime, this is usually works quite well. Domestic flights have extreme high growth rates. New airports are being built everywhere; yet domestic flight travel has only just begun in India. The market will continue to grow even more. Staff and guest are becoming more professional and more accustomed to flying every day.

Before Takeoff: Entrance Control in Front of the Airport and Restrictions

In front of India airports, there are always gatherings: many people just standing or sitting there. I have never seen it any different.

At the airport’s entrance, there are very strict controls. You have to show your ticket, your passport and you are only allowed to enter the building if your flight is scheduled for the next four hours. In Goa, we were on a midnight flight, on the course of the day; the waiting line has become very long. We had to stand in that line for 30 minutes just to be able to enter the airport.

In Mumbai we had to wait several hours in front of the building. We arrived at the national terminal, had to change terminals and it was too soon (more than four hours before departure) to enter the terminal. We had no choice but to wait in front of the airport. If you are lucky, you can go sit in a café but even that did not work for us, the café was closed.

If you have entered the terminal building once, there is no way out. There is no exit, all the entrance has a security guy standing there who does not let you out. Some smokers did not like this at all. You also cannot say goodbye to anyone outside the building who is not on a flight.

Luggage Check Before the Check-In and a Compulsory Hand Luggage Tag

Check-In Luggage (everything except hand luggage) is checked for the first time even before the Check-In. You need to go to your airlines luggage scan (looks like the hand luggage scan) where they scan you bags and put a kind of seal on it. In fact, it’s a plastic hook with the airline’s button around it. But you would definitely see if someone opened it, your luggage is sealed.

This is the only way they accept your luggage at the counter. Booking with a foreign credit card does not allow an online check-in. You have to show your credit card at the counter. During check-in you get another airline tag for your hand-luggage (similar to a name tag) that you definitely need to carry visibly at your hand-luggage.

Security Check and Hand-Luggage Check: Have Your Boarding Pass Ready

Hand-luggage check and security check has separate lines for men and women. There are two lines, the men’s line is usually longer the women’s line shorter. Women are taken in cabin where female employees do the check. These cabins are closed, no visibility from outside, including a curtain. Men are not in cabin. The security people stamp the boarding pass. Definitely have your boarding pass in your hand and not in your hand-luggage, you need it.

After a successful hand-luggage check, they also stamp your hand-luggage tag. That is why you absolutely need this tag: without it, there is no complete hand-luggage check.
Before entering the plane, there is another check for that stamped tag. Definitely make sure you don’t lose the tag on your bag.

During boarding, there is another regular boarding pass check, but it’s even possible that your boarding pass is checked a second time for example after landing. Make sure to keep your boarding pass as long as you are in the plane or at the airport (even after landing), every now and then someone wants to see it.

Everything takes a loooong time!

Flying always requires patience, everywhere and always. But definitely more in India! There is always another security check, another control point or a person who is there to check something (e.g. boarding pass, stamped hand-luggage tag). One example: the boarding pass is read by a machine. Less the 10 meters from there, another person is standing to check everyones boarding pass manually.

Always consider that while planning flights. Nothing is fast, you always need some more time. There can be another line, waiting for some check around every corner. No matter how many people waiting, nothing is done any faster. It’s always slow.

We had two very unexpected lines: one in Goa (in front of the airport) and one in Mumbai at immigration. We only had 3 people in front of us but had to wait in that line for more than one hour. I would never book a tight-scheduled connecting flight in India

Der Beitrag Airports and Flights in India erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Orientierung und Fortbewegung

Visitor Center, Tourist Center: Besucherzentrum, Touristenzentrum
meist am Eingang von Nationalparks, Sehenswürdigkeiten und in Zentren von Städten, wichtiger Anlaufpunkt für Karten, Magazine (Voucher), Busfahrpläne usw. Anlaufstelle für alle Fragen

Shuttle Bus: Busse, die eine Rundtour fahren
Shuttle Busse gibt es meist in Nationalparks. Hier fahren sie immer im Kreis, die Haltestellen werden so in regelmäßiger Taktung (10 bis 15 minütig) angefahren. Man kann zu- und aussteigen, wie man möchte. Meist kosten die Busse nichts, bzw. sind in Eintritt des Nationalparks beinhaltet (siehe Grand Canyon und Zion National Park)

Scenic Drive/Scenic Route: Panoramastrecke
Bezeichnet eine besonders schöne Fahrtstrecke (scenic drive oder route) oder Spazier- und Wandertour (scenic route), wird meist genutzt um eine Fahrtsrecke zu beschreiben die zwar länger ist (nicht auf der Autobahn), dafür aber eine besonders schöne Landschaft, Aussichtpunkte, die Küste, das Meer oder ähnliches anfährt. Wer im Urlaub ist, sollte sich an den scenic route Schildern orientieren.

Trail: Laufweg oder Wanderstrecke
gerne verwendet im Wanderrouten in Nationalparks zu beschreiben. Trails sind meist präpariert als Wanderweg, nicht aber geteert.

Hotel und Einkaufen

Lobby: Empfangshalle im Hotel

Gift Shop: Geschenkeladen
Findet man in den USA überall, in jedem Nationalpark, in jeder Attraktion gibt es einen Gift Shop. Meist gibt es hier Kitsch und Kram über die jeweilige Attraktion zu kaufen. Einige Gift Shops haben interessante Bücher zum Thema (beispielsweise in den Nationalparks).

Discount: Rabatt
Is there a dicount? – Gibt es Vergünstigungen?

Coupon: Rabattmarke
Meist aus Gratisheften oder Magazinen, damit erhält man oft Rabatt, Vergünstigungen oder Prozente

Voucher: Gutschein
Häufig für Hotelzimmer, die bereits im Voraus gebucht wurden. Man erhält vom Anbieter ein „voucher package“ für alle Zimmer der Rundreise. Im Hotel wird oft nach dem „Voucher“ gefragt, dann einfach die Seite ausreißen und abgeben.
Auch: Gutschein im Einzelhandel

Kulturelle Unterschiede

No-Bag-Policy: wörtlich Politik des Taschenverbots
Das Verbot, Taschen zu Großveranstaltungen mitzunehmen, wichtig bei Sportveranstaltungen und weiteren Großveranstaltungen (siehe Artikel zu Football in Atlanta). Gilt die „No-Bag-Policy“ heißt das, keine Handtaschen, Rucksäcke, Fototaschen und ähnliches erlaubt. Wird streng kontrolliert und durchgesetzt.

Rise Up: wörtlich steht auf
Im Übertragenen Sinne, macht Stimmung. Wird im Football verwendet, um das Publikum via Leinwand zu mehr Stimmung zu animieren.

Veterans: Veteranen
In den USA verwendeter Begriff für ehemaliger Angehörige der Armee. Veterans genießen in den USA ein hohes Ansehen, ihnen wird viel Respekt entgegen gebracht für den Dienst, den sie am Land geleistet haben. Daher gibt es einen Feiertag für sie (Veterans Day) und besondere Ehrungen (zum Beispiel beim Football). Im Norden Floridas findet man viele Veterans Homes, also Gebäude am Meer, wo die Veteranen wohnen. Außerdem haben Veteranen gesonderte Nummernschilder, mit denen sie auf Behindertenparkplätzen parken dürfen.

Civil War:
Bezeichnet den Krieg zwischen den Nord- und den Südstaaten der USA von 1861 bis 1865, der durch den Sieg des Norden letztendlich zu Abschaffung der Sklaverei führte. Das deutsche Wort ist Sezessionskrieg oder amerikanischer Bürgerkrieg.

Essen und Getränke

Food Court:
Hier gibt es mehrere Anbieter von Essen. Es handelt sich um Mitnahmeessen. Meist in einem großen Gebäude in der Mitte, außen befinden sich die verschiedenen Anbieter von Essen (Burger, Donuts, Cookies, Pizza, Nudeln usw.), in der Mitte sind viele Tische und Stühle. Das Essen holt man sich selber an der Theke und sucht sich einen freien Platz in der Mitte. Bei Gruppen mit vielen Personen geschickte Methode, damit jeder was Passendes findet.

Meal :
Meal bezeichnet das Angebot eines kompletten Essens in den Restaurant, bei Subway, Mc Donalds, aber auch bei etwas schickeren Restaurants. Meal beinhaltet damit einen Hauptspeise, meist eine Beilage wie Pommes oder Gemüsen und ein Getränk (meist Cola, Fanta, Sprite etc. oder die entsprechenden Produkte der Konkurrenz). Manchmal gibt es im „Meal“ noch einen süßen Nachtisch dazu.

Nicht verwechseln mit Menu wie das deutsche Menü. Das englische Wort für Menü ist Meal, Menu bedeutet Speisekarte.

Menu:
Menu heißt Speisekarte. Speisekarte heißt nicht Card o.ä.

Soda:
Soda bezeichnet die kohlensäurehaltigen Getränke der Coca Cola Familie (alternativ der Pepsi Familie). Diese werden an einem Getränkeautomat, wie man ihn von Mc Donalds in Deutschland kennt abgefüllt. Man kann hier frei wählen zwischen den verfügbaren Getränken. Immer dabei sind Cola, Cola Light, Fanta und Sprite, oft noch ein paar weitere, die man nicht unbedingt kennt.

Beer and Draft Beer:
Das Standardbier in den USA ist Budweiser oder Budweiser Light. Gezapftes Bier heißt draft beer. Hiernach muss man fragen, wer ein Bier bestellt, erhält eins in der Flasche.

Auto

Upgrade: wörtlich Verbesserung
Gerne genommen bei Autovermietern, aber auch bei Hotels. Hat man ein Auto oder Zimmer einer bestimmten Kategorie gebucht, und der Anbieter versucht einem die höhere Kategorie zu verkaufen bietet er ein „Upgrade“ an. Hier immer vorsichtig sein, das kostet meist zusätzlich. Deshalb wird es angeboten.

In Einzelfällen kann ein Upgrade kostenlos sein (beispielsweise bei Flitterwochen). Hier aber lieber nochmal nachfragen.

Rental Car Center: Zentrum der Autovermietung
Meist an Flughäfen, bezeichnet den Ort am Flughafen, wo sich die Autovermieter befinden. Hier stehen die Mietwägen auf dem Parkdeck.

Insurance: Versicherung

CDW (Collision Damage Waiver): bei Mietwägen Vollkasko
CDW kann Beschränkungen unterliegen, das heißt es kann einer Obergrenzen oder bestimmte Situationen sind ausgeschlossen. Hier mit dem Reisebüro sprechen.

It’s all covered: Es ist alles abgedeckt

No extra/further insurances needed: Keine weiteren Versicherungen benötigt

For extra charge: Zusätzliche/erhöhte Kosten (Beispiel: Ist das Upgrade kostenlos oder kostet das Auto dann mehr Geld?)

Put it on the dash: hinter die Windschutzscheibe legen
Wird verwendet an Parkautomaten u.ä., Parkzettel und Belege über gezahlte Gebühren sollen so sichtbar ausgelegt werden. Das deutsche Äquivalent ist „klar sichtbar hinter die Windschutzscheibe legen“

Valet Parking:
In Deutschland extrem unüblich in den USA sehr geläufig. Vor Hotels, Restaurants etc. gibt es einen Parkservice. Man fährt mit dem Auto direkt vor die Tür, gibt dort seinen Schlüssel ab und erhält einen Beleg mit Nummer. Das Auto verbleibt in der Einfahrt. Die Angestellten des Valet Parking fahren immer dann ein neues Auto zum Parkplatz, wenn sie ein anderes holen. Abholen der Autos funktioniert dann umgekehrt, man gibt den Beleg ab und es fährt jemand mit dem Auto vor. Kostet entweder eine Gebühr oder Trinkgeld für die Angestellten des Valet Parking. Das Trinkgeld fällt an bei Abholung und bei Abgabe. Manchmal, beispielsweise nach Konzerten, kann die Wartezeit am Valet recht lang sein. Im Valet Bereich darf man nicht selbst parken. Hierzu gibt es „self-parking“.

Self-Parking:
Parkplätze, die man selbst ansteuern darf. Sind oft weit entfernt vom tatsächlichen Ziel oder voll. Alternative ist Valet Parking.

RV:
Kurzform von recreational vehicle, wird nur in der Kurzform verwendet
RV ist das Gegenstück zum deutschen Wohnmobil, jedoch deutlich größer oft auch ein wenig monströs. Kann man auch häufig mieten. Sieht man sehr viel in den USA.

Toll:
ist das englische Wort für Maut. Maut fällt an bei Brücken, manchmal auch bei vereinzelten Straßen. Ein Großteil Autobahnen ist aber mautfrei. In Florida gibt es vielen Mautstationen wegen der vielen Brücken.

Glücksspiel

Gambling: Zocken, Glücksspiel

Slot machine: einarmiger Bandit
In Las Vegas, Maschinen, in die man eine Münze (oder einen Schein) wirft und dann drehen sich die Räder. Bleiben diese Räder bei einem bestimmten Muster oder Symbol stehen, hat man gewonnen.

Downtown:
In der USA, zentraler Orientierungspunkt in den Städten. Meist befinden sich hier die Touristenattraktionen (Ausnahme: Las Vegas), auf jeden Fall Stadtzentrum

Black Jack 17 + 4:
Glücksspiel mit Karten, bei dem man gegen die Bank spielt und 21 Punkte erreichen möchte

Städte

Main Street:
Hauptstraße, zentraler Straße einer Stadt

Beat the crowds:
Der Masse aus dem Weg gehen (“To beat the crowds come before 8.”)

Besichtigen von Sehenwürdigkeiten

Tour Guide:
Wörtlich übersetzt ein Fremdenführer, also ein ortskundiger Anführer eine Gruppe, die sich eine Sehenswürdigkeit anschaut, bei praktisch allen Sehenswürdigkeiten kann man eine “guided tour” also eine geführte Tour buchen.

Fully-Narrated Tour:
Eine Besichtigung (wahlweise eine Bootsfahrt o.ä.), bei der ein ortskundiger Experte (manchmal eine extra Person, manchmal der Kapitän des Schiffes, manchmal auch nur eine vom Band gespielte Stimme) Informationen über die Sehenswürdigkeit erzählt. In den USA sehr geläufig. Für meinen Geschmack nicht immer so toll, nicht alles ist interessant, manchmal werden die Infos stark heruntergeleiert.

Self-Guided Tour:
Das Gegenteil der fully-narrated tour. Es gibt eine Besichtigungstour, diese muss man jedoch selbst ablaufen meist mit Hilfe einer Broschüre, einer App oder weiterer Hilfestellung. Es ist aber kein ortskundiger Experte dabei.

Events

Ride:
Ride bezeichnet eine Achterbahn, das Wort rollercoaster wird praktisch nie verwendet. Ride kann jede Form von Achterbahn und Karussell sein. Meist sind das jedoch recht verrückte Achterbahnen, nicht für Kinder geeignet sonder klar auf den Adrenalinkick für Erwachsene ausgerichtet.

Observation Tower: wörtlich Beobachtungsturm
Ein Turm oder eine Aussichtsplattform von der man einen besonders schönen Ausblick genießt.

Motion Sickness: Übelkeit ausgelöst durch Auto- oder Schiffsfahrten
Für alle mit einem empfindlichen Magen relevant, es gibt Tabletten dagegen, auch auf vielen Touristenschiffen.

Der Beitrag Wörterbuch – Tipps fürs Englisch Sprechen erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Different Culture in India

India has a different culture, different rules than Germany. Quite often, these things are not the same everywhere or valid for the entire country. It’s important to adjust to that culture and accept the rules.

Information Overload: Take a Break

India is huge overload of information and overstimulation of all senses. There is a never-ending number of impressions, you get to see a kind of life totally different from everything you know in Europe or the US. Everyone has a different “melting point” but it’s definitely there. In India, at some time you do reach it, if that happens, take a break and relax. For example take an afternoon off in a Western café, a fancy restaurant or your hotel room. Time-outs are important in India, without it you reach a point of total exhaustion pretty soon. Definitely accept when you have reached your limit and take a break.

Limitations for Tourists: Clothing Rules for Men and Women

Women’s right and the kind of liberty we have in the West do not travel with you. You need to be aware of that. India is a land that is changing. Many Indian ladies and girls, in particular the younger ones who are more educated oppose these strict rules. That means, every now and then you will see locals wearing dresses, shorts, hotpants and tank tops. But that does not mean it’s ok for foreigners (mostly white people) to wear these clothes. Clothing rules are rather strict in India: clothes should be long, loose and not be too tight. How you do that is up to you. To me, it means: pants at least knee-length, no tops with showing neck cuts, t-shirts with sleeves that cover my shoulder, never visible bra straps. I would say a typical German summer outfit including a wrap skirt, a sleeveless shirt and shorts is a no-go. Just because it is warm in India does not mean you can walk around in your summery clothes. If you are feeling too warm, sandals help to fight the heat. Replace you sneakers with sandals and you feel much better and more relaxed in long pants.

Men can wear a lot but also they need to stay dressed and not walk around without a t-shirt. Also shorts are uncommon. Guys in India tend to be dressed rather fancy, quite often wearing cloth pants and a skirt. That is why you should not look to casual. Skirts and T-shirts always work (as long as they have sleeves), pants should be knee-length. Even men can wear sandals if it’s too warm. A typical holiday or swimming outfit is definitely inappropriate.

Yet, you should always be aware of the fact that too much exposed skin in India is perceived as entirely naked. Easiest solution for both genders is: T-shirt and Jeans. You are never wrong with that.

Some Advice and Suggestions for Women

During the day, you can in my mind, walk anywhere and only need to be more careful in the night.

We all have heard news about female tourists being raped in India and sexually assaulted. There is never 100% safety but you can do some things to minimize the risk.

a) I would never walk around in a bikini, not even at the beach. I only go to the water and back to the hotel. For Indian men, a woman in a bikini is almost naked. Even though this contradicts all feminist ideas we have here in Europe, too little clothing still counts as invitation and enabling certain behavior in India. For sunbathing and walking on the beach in a bikini, India is not the right country. I have written something about Goa, Goa is more liberal and things are easier there.

b) A basic rule is always to be careful with single men who try to talk to you. In India, it’s polite to only say hello to the husband when you meet a married couple and entirely ignore the wife (the opposite in Europe). A man who addresses a woman in public for no reason is, in Indian terms extremely rude and impolite and shows no respect. Or they just give it a try because they know it from American films and TV shows, and think that is the way to do it. Anyways: never respond to that! Don’ let them start a conversation, don’t get a lift from them, don’t give them your number and never go home with them. No matter how nice the offer sounds (“I take you home on my scooter.”) Never do it!

c) Do not drink in public, don’t be drunk in public and don’t party too hard. For that kind of holiday you should better go to Mallorca, India is not the right place for that (not even Goa!). If you really want to drink, do it in your hotel among friends, never in public. The best thing would be not to drink at all. A drunken woman is in invitation for most guys in India! They will try to take advantage of you. (I know, in Europe we consider a sentence like that extremely anti-feminist.)

d) If you are lost and want to ask for directions, ask your own gender. Women ask women and men ask men. That is always the best way to do it and nothing can go wrong.

What is Polite and What is Impolite?

Most cultural misunderstandings happen because of a different understanding of what is polite and impolite. In India, saying no counts as impolite. That mean you never hear a direct no, it always comes along very indirect, very much in the background. We are almost unable to understand it at all. One example “Can we talk on skype?” “The laptop is broken.”

I Germany, you ask once, get an answer and that is how things are. In India, facts change when you ask more than once, insist and ask again. For a German understanding that would be pushy or even stupid but it is normal in India. Ask, ask even vigorously to reach you aim.

Prices are Printed on Every Item

Prices for Coke and Water are printed on every bottle. If the bottle is cooled they can charge a little extra for cooling it (1 or 2 rupees). But that’s it. Whatever they might tell you, it’s not true. All products cost the same everywhere (except in a restaurant, they charge whatever the menu says). But everything else they tell you is untrue. Water bottles have a plastic seal, if that seal is missing, it’s tap water in the bottle (bottled water is called “Bisleri”)!

Contact between Men and Women

Contact in public between men and women is a different one. Kissing and showing affections is inappropriate and should not be done. You will see couples in India who do the exact opposite. But those are Indian couple who oppose their own rules. That does not count for Germans/Europeans/American/Whites. It’s better to restrain from any public affection.

Travelling as an unmarried couple? Make your life easier and simply tell everyone you are married. India highly respects family and marriage, much more than we do. Calling yourself married will make everything easier for you.

Moving Forward in India Take a Long Time: Rickshaws, Busses and Public Transportation

You always need to consider: distances in India are long, it takes a long time to get from one place to another. In particular overland journeys are exhausting and stretch a long time. There are always many slow vehicles on the road (rickshaws, trucks, but also bikes and wooden hand carts). Never underestimate how long it takes to reach. For longer tours, there are night busses (“Sleeper Busses”) that are quite good, rather cheap and help to kill the time.

Even big cities do not have public transportation like we know it from Europe or the US. There is some construction work going on for subways (called “Metro”) but there is no big working system that covers an entire city. You can always take the bus, rickshaw or cab (Uber!). But traffic is a huge mess. It simply takes a lot of time to move forward.

If you happen to have an airport nearby, you can book a flight. There are some cheap Indian airlines (Spicejet, Indigo, Air Asia, etc.). This is the best way to do longer distances. Flying has improved a lot and now works quite fine. More and more Indian airports are built and you can reach many places like that.

Taking Pictures of You

People do take pics of you. Sometimes they ask, sometimes they don’t. They like to take group pictures with you. You can always so no of course. I have never liked it; it made me feel very uncomfortable. I don’t want to be interesting only because of my skin color and I prefer not to take any group pics with strangers. But that decision is up to you.

Der Beitrag Travel Tips India erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Tolerance and Happiness in Total Chaos

India is a very tolerant country. People are always friendly and in a good mood. Chaos always rules everywhere but in the end everything, somehow, works. We need plan and a daily structure. India does not have any of that. For us, this is a lesson to let things loose, be relaxed and to wait and see what’s happening in the end. It is not possible to control everything, rather the opposite. You feel that very strongly in India.

Land of Opposites

India is a land of opposites: poor vs. rich (also very poor vs. very rich), different religions (Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jain, Parsi and Sikhs), different identities (different languages in every federal state) and different lifestyles. India’s ad campaign is called “united in diversity”. You can only imagine what that really means after spending some time in India. There is a, largely, peaceful togetherness of entirely different lifestyles and concepts of life.

Humbleness and Modesty

India makes everyone humble and you learn many lessons for your own life. I became aware of the fact how decadent we partly life. In India, people are happy about running water, we consider a cold shower a catastrophe. Indians are often more happy than we are, even though they have less. Material things are not as important to be happy.

Colonialisation as One of the Biggest Crimes in Human History

We get to see what colonialisation, the biggest crime of the West to the rest of the world, has done. Indians were forced to speak a new language (English), they were told what is right and what is wrong. The only right thing is of course, whatever the West decides, everything else is wrong. Yet, India has its own ways of doing things, we can learn something there. Not everything is better in the west and worse in the East, it’s quite often the other way.

Poverty

A theoretical construct that is clear: the West is only rich because others are not. This more theoretical understanding become more alive and vivid here: there are extremely rich Indians but also poverty and beggars both to certain extend that we don’t know in Europe. Germans have forgotten what poverty, real poverty is and means. India helps to learn that.

How To Handle Emotions

In Germany, there is only one way to handle emotions: swallow them and don’t show them at all. If, in work life, you responded emotionally, for example crying in public, no one ever takes you seriously again. We channel emotions at sports (mostly football), most commonly in the audience or during big public parties (things like Oktoberfest), not any other time. There are no more socially accepted ways to show emotions. Emotional is a negative word for us.

Efficiency and Slowness

“Discovering Slowness”: Things in India are slower, in general but also in particular. Germans are made for Efficiency, being fast and having “no time”. Slow is bad, inefficient is annoying. India is a chance to think about that, to try and live a different life.

The country runs slower, even literally: everyone walks slower on the sidewalk. If you try to walk in “German pace” it becomes exhausting, unnecessarily annoying and does not lead anywhere. Better do things slowly, act in the same pace as the rest of the country. It’s not bad when things take longer and are done much slower. It even becomes convenient to have more time, less hectic and not be under time pressure all the time. You need to lose a big load of impatience for that!

Joy of Life and Patience

There is a lifestyle outside western norms and ideas. This lifestyle can teach us a lot, for example high spirits and vitality but also being satisfied and patient. We have almost lost these abilities in the West.

India has a joy of life that is unbelievable. This becomes most obvious during dancing. In India, there are no Non-Dancers. Everyone storms to the dance floor, no one is thinking about whether it looks embarrassing and everyone just dances however it feels right. In a club, I did hear some singing louder than the music from the speakers. This is not possible in Germany. Everyone always waits until the dance floor opens . That’s

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Renting a Car in a Travel Agency

That is how we usually book our rental cars. Tour operators sell rooms, entire tours and also rental cars. The most important reason to book a car like this is that it has a good insurance. In Germany, these insurances are called “Vollkasko” which is a fully comprehensive cover. That means your insurance pays even if you cause the accident and also covers our own damage (you need to pay something like 200 to 500 Euro from your own money usually, but that is it). There are always some exceptions that are not covered: flat tire, broken windshield, a lost key. But all major damages are covered. It’s best to ask in the travel agency about that but usually booking from Germany gives you a much better insurance.

We booked our car with “TUI Cars” (the tour was also a TUI tour). In Atlanta, we had to go to one of the big rental car counters (Hertz, Avis, etc.) You get your papers and find the rental car company on these papers. The only difference is that insurances, prices and everything else are organized by TUI cars. In this case, the fully comprehensive cover.
If you had booked your car online, you probably would not have had that kind of insurance (it is not impossible but rather unlikely). What you definitely have is more responsibility to find out how things work and more work to make sure you get the right thing. Online, this can be quite confusing. The travel agency always says, in the US there is no such thing as travel law.

The price was the same, it wasn’t cheaper online.

Rental Car Categories

Rental cars are categorized in different categories. Lists always tell you how many people can be in one car and how many pieces of luggage fit into the trunk. You book a category and get a car from that category. Getting a certain model usually requires extra charge. You never know exactly which car you will get. If it has the same number of passengers and luggage, it is the same category. If one of these two varies, it is a different category.
In general rental car companies count very generously, we had a Dodge Grand Caravan. That car was supposed to be for four people and four larger pieces of luggage. We had more than enough space. We could leave the three seats in the back entirely empty (later we filled it with sodas and snacks). Our suitcases fit in the trunk easily, and we had all the room in the passenger cabin left. Even the two in the back could sit comfortably.

Additional Insurances at the Rental Car Center

Our travel agency says that people always have problems renting a car. The go to the rental car center and the agent offers them additional insurances. The rental car agent tells stories of what can go wrong if you don’t take that insurance. In particular Germans seem to fall for that. Our travel agency gave us many warnings about that. They recommended again and again to not pay for any additional insurance because that is unnecessary and expensive (up to 25 Dollars per day). They also say: some people did not even get their car when they refused to pay extra money for insurances. They were telling us to be super-careful here.

I don’t know if we were always that lucky, but that did not happen to us. In Florida, the lady offered an upgrade for additional charge but we declined nicely and that was it. After that she gave us the paper and the car we had booked.

How to Get You Car

At the airport just follow the signs “rental car center”. At the counter you give them your booking reference, the agent asks for your driving license and a credit card and gives you a key. The most important thing is your credit card, without it you do not get a car. After that, follow the signs to the parking area (usually the name of the company is on the sign). At some airports, you can just walk there; others have a shuttle (train or bus) that takes you there. It’s not difficult, signs are usually everywhere.

In Miami, someone was working at the parking area. The brought the cars to their customers. You could not choose which car.

In Atlanta, things were totally different. Cars with keys were everywhere. You could just take any car (in this case they did not give us the key at the counter). We were a bit confused because we were not sure which cars belong to our car category. They had signs at the rearview mirror with information about the car. I don’t know what happens if you take the wrong car. I guess if you take a smaller car, the rental car company doesn’t care because you have basically paid too much. If it’s a more expensive car, you probably need to pay extra. This will most likely come up on your credit card. Maybe, they do all of that to confuse everyone a bit.

Exiting the Airport

When you leave the airport area, there is a cashier at the exit. The person there will double check everything. Every car has a barcode at its window. The cashier scans this barcode and asks again for your license.

Returning your Rental Car

Returning your rental car is easy. Signs lead the way to the return place. You just go here and someone will come right away to check the car’s condition. Indeed, they only kind of glimpse at the car. You give them the key and walk to the airport (see above bus train or walk).

Tank Full – Half Full – Empty

The rental car company can make additional money by using the leftover gas in the tank. The tank can be full, empty or half empty. You are supposed to return the car exactly the way they gave it to you. In the US, you mostly get a full tank and return a full tank. That is usually the best and easiest way. Everything else is a bit stupid. You never know exactly when your tank is empty or half empty. That means leftovers are always there.

There is always a service offer in which the rental car company refills the tank for you. You get a full tank and return the car the way it is when you get back. That is good service if you are in a rush but unnecessary if you have time because gas is much more expensive that way.

Driver and a Second Driver

It’s important that everyone who is supposed to drive the car is registered. You need to show everyone’s driving license for that. The packages from the tour operators usually include additional drivers (usually up to 4). But sometimes, you need to pay an additional second/third driver fee.

Why Do People Have so Many Problems Renting their Cars?

I think people don’t know exactly what kind of insurance they have for their car. That is why they become insecure at the counter. I recommend to plan in advance which kind of insurances are important to you (fully comprehensive cover or not) and how you get these (online, travel agency). Make sure you have all of that organized and planned in advance. At home, you have enough time to do these kind of things, you can ask about things you don’t know for sure and you can communicate in your first language. At the airport, you need to speak English, are tired because of the long flight and maybe a bit under pressure or insecure. No matter what they offer at the airport, when you know for sure you don’t need it or don’t want it (decided to not have it when you were at home), it is easy to decline the offer and just say no.

I would never have an upgrade at the airport. I recommend doing some thinking at home what kind of car you want and rent exactly that. Like that, you know how much you have to pay and will not have a bad surprise on our credit card later. At the airport, you don’t have that kind of information.

I think it’s helpful to learn some English words about the issue (fully comprehensive cover, insurance, everything covered, no upgrade necessary). I write some suggestions in the dictionary of this blog.

Final Remarks

So far, we were always lucky when it comes to rental cars. It’s a good thing that travel agencies give all these warnings. You can prepare for possible problems like that. With a bit of planning in advance (which insurance do I need) and a few contextual English words, things have always worked for us. Don’t get too nervous about everything, things are not that difficult, it is manageable.

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Choosing a Place of Interest: Less is More

India is a huge country and you can really only move very slowly. The best thing is to pick a place you like and do everything you are interested in around that area. Traveling to too many different places is exhausting and quite often not even doable. One thing for sure: less is more. Choose one or two corners of the country, stay there and better come back some other time for further travelling elsewhere.

Booking: Leave Some Space, Even No Bookings at All Is Possible

We Germans like to make plans. I fact, we prefer to have everything planed and ready before we start for our holiday trip. But India is a good opportunity to be less rigid, less uptight and more easygoing. You can, at least partly travel with advance booking at all. It’s entirely normal to walk into any hotel, ask for a room and even let them show you the room first. You can then decide to stay or leave, that is fine for everyone. The only time this does not work is in very high (or peak) season, for example Goa around Christmas/New Year’s. Any other time, there is always vacancy; you always find a place to stay. I have found the best and cheapest hotels that way. I recommend only doing some booking when you arrive very early or very late, when you are too tired after arrival or when you really want to stay at a certain hotel.

Domestic Flights and Airports

You can book all domestic flights online, it’s very simple. Usually cost little money and are working quite alright (Spicejet, Indigo, Air Asia, Air India).

Airports in India are largely organizes like any other airport worldwide. They have restaurants, cafés and shopping. It’s all working but fine but there are some characteristics and special rules.

Online Booking: Makemytrip and Yatra

The big booking portals (booking.com, hrs.com) are of course always an option. But there are some Indian websites that are quite often cheaper and have more offers (makemytrip.com, yatra.com). I do all my booking on these two websites. I got some great discounts several times and can only say positive things about these two booking portals. Everything has always worked.

Driving a Car in India: Better Refrain From That

Driving yourself in India is for sure not a good idea. You quite simply cannot do it, it’s not possible. Traffic is too thick and to chaotic. Whoever likes to be independent can think about renting a driver and a car. Drivers are waiting at the airport for tourists to take them around for several days. It’s not quite cheap; you need to calculate around 120 Euro for 3 days. But it’s very convenient, less stressful because you don’t have to wait for the bus and the local driver can take you around, show you sights and landmarks. In the mountains of the North, I definitely recommend a driver; only locals can handle these kinds of streets.

Public Transportation: Rikschas and Busses

India is largely with no Subway or Underground Railroad system (cannot be compared to everything we have in Europe or the US). In some cities, a lot is happening (Pune, Delhi), in Delhi for example some construction work for a metro (an elevated railway) is done. Mumbai has trains for commuters from North to South. Yet, those are exceptions. Don’t expect to find local public transport.

Rickshaws are always an option for short distances. You should do that at least once while you are in India. The best thing is to fix a price in advance, try to find some agreement with the driver and you avoid trouble afterwards. Rickshaws in India are everywhere, sometime you even find a few bicycle rickshaws. But most are motorizes vehicles and drive around at least acceptable speed. Even though they make these loud engine roaring noises. In the night, the bus is safe. Single travelers should take the bus in the night.
Busses can be found everywhere and are very cheap. There are city busses but also cross-country busses. Busses have very different standards, the best ones have an Air Conditioning (“AC”), below that every kind of bus exists. In some cases, a bus can be very crowded, overly crowded. Sometimes people are standing in the door, on the bumper or sit on the roof. For long cross-country rides, there are Sleeper Busses that are quite convenient and not expensive at all.

Book Trains for Longer Distances in Advance

Trains go everywhere but are sometimes fully booked. Book your trains tickets in advance (see booking portal previous paragraph). Very long train rides (for example from Delhi to Mumbai in 20 hours, 1500 km) have never been my thing. I would prefer to fly. The smaller local trains are fun though. You can sit in the open door and look outside. That creates a feeling of freedom and liberty that you cannot have like that in Germany. But you still are not moving fast. The trains from Mumbai (North Mumbai to South Mumbai) are a commuter’s route and incredibly crowded. There are womens’ compartment and compartments for everyone.

Things You Will be Experiencing in India:

• It’s loud! All vehicles honk all the time. Indians are also rather loud. It’s not something to achieve to be quiet. Loud is joy of life, loud is good, loud is normal. I always need ear plugs for the night, to me the most important utensil in India.
• It’s dirty! Trash is everywhere, littering is common. No matter where you are, you just drop your litter and like that, dirt is everywhere.
• It’s hot! Anywhere off the mountains, India is hot. Indians go home on midday or stay in the shade. A long lunch break is common. But as compensation, everyone is awake early in the morning and late in the evening. Never underestimate how hot it is. That means, drink enough water, bring sun glasses and sun screen and walk slowly and patiently.
• Indians don’t wait in a line. They push and jostle past each other. Waiting patiently until it is your turn is uncommon and nobody does it. There are also separate lines and counters for ladies. At first, I thought that’s unnecessary. But that’s not the case. It’s very inconvenient to stand in a line tightly and squeezed in between several male Indians. Ladies lines are much better in that context.

If all of that sound too negative for you, it’s not. These are just some things you need to know. Reason to come to India can be found here.

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Non-Stop Flights vs. Multiple-Stop Flights

I live in the South of Germany. Stuttgart is usually the best and easiest solution for us. But I’m not a fan of taking a flight from Stuttgart to Frankfurt (the most important airport in Germany) and a larger plane from Frankfurt to the US, maybe even requiring a second stop in the US. I had similar offers from Munich (Stuttgart – Munich – New York- Miami for example). These connections can easily have a total travel time of 20 hours or more, never forget waiting time, time to make sure you don’t miss a flight etc. Doing that needs energy, persistence and time. Spending too much time waiting at airport is really not such a great thing to do.

Assets of a Connection from Stuttgart to Atlanta (Delta Airline)

Over many years of traveling and many different experiences, I turned out liking one thing: Stuttgart has a daily connection to Atlanta. This flight is operated by Delta Airlines.

On the plus side of this flight are:

• Getting a connecting flight from Atlanta is really easy. Atlanta Airport is huge. According to Wikipedia it has the highest number of passengers worldwide. You can go to any place in the US from here, even smaller airports. There are also many connections to Mexico, Canada, and Latin America. Delta Airlines in particular has many options but not exclusively Delta, many other airlines as well.
• The flight Stuttgart – Atlanta was started many years ago. It is a well-established connection. You don’t need to worry about the flight being canceled all of a sudden. There are still US soldiers in Stuttgart, their travels home are very likely part of the reason why that flight has been successful for so long.
• It’s a 9.5 hours flight. That’s long but kind of necessary to reach the US. But it’s not as long and painful and almost unbearable as a flight to Los Angeles (12 hours). In these terribly small, extremely uncomfortable Economy Class seats, 10 hours is kind of a maximum to me. After 10 hours time stands still and I barely manage to kill the last two hours. I’m always happy to stop in Atlanta.
• So far I have had only positive experiences when it comes to organization and routines in Atlanta airport. Atlanta has two terminals: national and international. A subway connects different parts of the terminal. The airport has several zones, named from A – F. All international flights leave from E and F. Having these separate six zones makes the crowds a bit smaller. Because you only spend time in your own zone, or only change from one zone to the other, everything is less full and less crowded than in many other airports. In spite of the fact that Atlanta airport is so huge, this is always a major asset. Every zone has a shopping area, restaurants, shops and cafés. People have possibilities to spread and that makes waiting times ok.
• Stuttgart Airport is a smaller airport with very few international flights. You don’t need to plan too much extra time (the time you plan to make sure you don’t miss the flight because of long waiting lines). Even the hand luggage security check is usually done quickly. You don’t need to be at the airport four hours before the flight.
• You arrive in the US with a big plane of course (Boeing 767) but not an airbus A 380. A few numbers: Boeing 737 has 375 seats, A-380 850. This immediately has consequences at the immigration counters. Immigration to the US always takes a long time and is rather difficult. With fewer co-travelers in the plane, you can save a significant amount of time and spend much less time waiting in the line. I never had to wait more than 30 minutes; other people in different flights told me stories about waiting for 2 hours or more.

Things that Might Bother You about That Stuttgart – Atlanta Connection

No, Delta Airlines is not paying me, neither is Atlanta Airport. I only describe my experiences. Of course, some things about this connection might bother you as well:

• Stuttgart is in the South of Germany. Maybe that is not so good for people in the North of the country. There is also a connection Düsseldorf – Atlanta. Maybe that is an option for you.
• Atlanta is huge; you should definitely plan enough time to change planes there. Travel agencies recommend 2 hours of buffer. I agree, I think that is about right. The most critical point is always immigration and how long that takes. Even walking distances (and distances you do by subway) are not that short, always plan enough time for that. On the plus side: Atlanta always has many connections to basically any US airport. You can always book the next flight and have enough time.
• Geographically, Atlanta only makes sense for some US cities. It’s not good for a trip from Germany to New York or Boston. But it worked well for Miami.
• Their planes are not super-new. On one flight I did not have my own screen at the seat, just overhead entertainment. But that was a while ago, in the last couple of years I always had my own screen.

Recommendations

I’m a fan of that Stuttgart (of even Düsseldorf) – Atlanta flight. I suggest taking it whenever you are heading to the South (Florida, South or North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, etc.) or the West (California, Nevada) of the country. It does not make sense for East Coast Cities. A stop in Atlanta is also good for flights to Mexico or Latin America. Atlanta has so many connections anywhere, definitely always a good option. I would only choose Frankfurt if I get a very good non-stop connection to exactly where I want to go.

Website of Stuttgart Airport: http://www.stuttgart-airport.com/?cl=en

Atlanta: http://www.atl.com/

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