My boss wants me to go to India for a workshop and everything is paid for YEY . I m going for 2 weeks and meetings will last only 8 days. Airline I will be using is Continental and I m a little confused about my toys. I want to take my ipod, digital camera, laptop and cell phone (it has GSM chip so it works anywhere).

Now the question is: Will custom people at Indian airport bother me for bringing my toys with me? Do I have to pay any fees? What is the process when you get off the plane at Delhi, India airport?

If Indian users on this site can answer these questions I would appreciate it.

[Edited on November 10, 2008 at 4:05 PM. Reason : packing]

11/10/2008 4:02:54 PM

just do lunch, k

11/10/2008 4:03:42 PM

Please don't troll. I m really trying to find out and don't want to pay any custom fees.

11/10/2008 4:17:52 PM

Quote :

"Will custom people at Indian airport bother me for bringing my toys with me? Do I have to pay any fees?"

why would they? it ain't like they've never seen it.

the only issue i've ever had was the chinese government made it well known that if they wanted to they could look through any electronic device you brought in with you, but i never had it happen.

11/10/2008 4:18:12 PM

You don't get charged fees for any toys you bring in. Some countries that are paranoid about you selling your toys in their country without paying any customs duties will stamp your passport and make a log of what you brought with you and check to make sure you are taking them out with you....if not then they'll charge you on your way out. You are perfectly fine taking anything you want.

11/10/2008 4:18:20 PM

So Chinese can invade your privacy by looking at your laptop and whats on your hard disk? I m sure my boss won't be happy if some idiot saw the confidential data.

11/10/2008 4:23:10 PM

Make sure you take electric wall socket adaptors. I don't know what the plugs look like in India but I doubt they are the same as they are here.

Get some delicious vindaloo while you are there.

11/10/2008 4:30:10 PM

^

You sound like you know some about Indian foods. Can you name some foods I should definitely try while I m there. Thanks.

11/10/2008 4:33:06 PM

just make sure you phone is unlocked so you can use it outside of the country.

11/10/2008 4:34:04 PM

You definitely wanna try some Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Tikka, any type of Korma (I'd recommend lamb), any type of Vindaloo (lamb also recommended), and AS MUCH NAAN (a specific type of Indian bread) AS YOU CAN GET. Then wash it down with some mango lassi.

Beware though, Indian food is traditionally very spicy.

11/10/2008 4:37:09 PM

no they wont. if they bother you, just tell me the toys are for personal/office use and not gifts.

Process: There are no airstairs so you'll prolly get on an elephant which will take you back to the terminal. Once at the terminal, you'll see snaker charmers making the lugguage dance and try to sell you your own lugguage. If you survive that, you'll still need to clear the customs where the officer probably gonna check if you are potential immigrant/terrorist. God only knows what could happen once you git out of the airport!

11/10/2008 4:38:49 PM

Quote :

"Beware though, Indian food is traditionally very spicy."

Yes, it is. Do not take this man's warning lightly.

I primarily worked in the India community in childcare and they literally TRAIN their children to eat spicy foods.

11/10/2008 4:38:59 PM

I m in heaven I love spicy food since I m also asian but just grew up in USA since I was 10 yrs old. Hopefully I won't get food poisioning in India, I hear sanitation is not their thing.

11/10/2008 4:40:21 PM

just get bottled water and careful while ordering indian food (just ask them to make it non-spicy it will still be spicy enough....spicy in india >>>>> whats traditionally spicy here)

visit Connaught Place in New Delhi
Taj Mahal (Agra) is close to delhi if you are interested.


[Edited on November 10, 2008 at 4:54 PM. Reason : ..]

11/10/2008 4:42:30 PM

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinationIndia.aspx

If you're worried about health issues, check out the CDC's page.

11/10/2008 4:44:21 PM

Quote :

"Make sure you take electric wall socket adaptors. I don't know what the plugs look like in India but I doubt they are the same as they are here."

Just about to say this.

11/10/2008 5:03:05 PM

You will need a 240 volts, 50 Hertz adapater. The outlets can be two or three round pin outlets.

11/10/2008 5:14:20 PM

Definitely get these foods:

- Masala dosa (this is a South Indian food, so you will have to ask for it/look for specialty restaurants that make it)
- Mango lassi (mango yoghurt drink... heavenly)
- Masala chai (tea with milk, sugar, cardamom, cloves, ginger, black pepper... sold in hundreds of street stalls)
- Stuffed naan (risen flat bread stuffed with various ingredients: aloo naan (potato), gobi naan (cauliflower), keema naan (ground beef), lahsan naan (garlic), etc)
- Stuffed paratha (same as above, except the flat bread is not risen; it is dense and thick)

11/10/2008 5:15:06 PM

Oh yeah and some somosas. You have to get some somosas.

11/10/2008 5:17:07 PM

Thanks a lot guys.

Now if anybody went to India recently, can you guys tell me what you guys had to do and fill out until you got outside airport. Thanks.

11/10/2008 5:28:44 PM

11/10/2008 5:39:06 PM

they are sending you to train your replacement

11/10/2008 5:47:33 PM

bringing them into India, no, if you were to buy things and bring them back home, yes. I know someone living in Brazil who likes to buy electronics here in the US because they are much cheaper(because of taxes and such) but he has to jump through hoops to get them home to avoid paying the crazy fees, but say if I brought him a laptop into the country, I would not have to pay fees.

11/10/2008 5:54:15 PM

Quote :

"So Chinese can invade your privacy by looking at your laptop and whats on your hard disk? I m sure my boss won't be happy if some idiot saw the confidential data."

yes, that's why most multinational companies use good security when sending their people to china. happened to a friend of mine. friend was staying in a hotel, left to work out, got back and someone had moved his laptop. found out that they had removed the HD (most likely to copy it), b/c it was warm while the rest of the machine was cold.

they didn't get anything though, since everything of importance was in an encrypted partition. truecrypt anyone?

11/10/2008 6:10:35 PM

Quote :

"So Chinese can invade your privacy by looking at your laptop and whats on your hard disk? I m sure my boss won't be happy if some idiot saw the confidential data."

FYI, the USA can and does do the same thing.

11/10/2008 6:40:31 PM

I was fine when I brought my ipod and camera with me to India.

Here are some food suggestions

Don't eat ANYTHING that is not cooked. If it's been cooked then left out and is cold still don't eat it. Only eat hot food unless it's ice cream or something like that. Don't drink any of the water unless it's bottled. I personally wouldn't eat any type of meat in the area because you might get sick. Don't eat anything from a side cart on the street unless it's a peanut or something like that. Don't eat any fruit that you have to eat the skin...a banana should be okay. Eat yogurt after every meal...it cleanses your body so you don't get sick. I stayed there for a month a few years ago and my brother was the only one who got sick and that was because he had a pizza that had uncooked grated cheese on top.

11/10/2008 8:45:18 PM

Quote :

"Don't eat ANYTHING that is not cooked. If it's been cooked then left out and is cold still don't eat it. Only eat hot food unless it's ice cream or something like that. Don't drink any of the water unless it's bottled. I personally wouldn't eat any type of meat in the area because you might get sick. Don't eat anything from a side cart on the street unless it's a peanut or something like that. Don't eat any fruit that you have to eat the skin...a banana should be okay. Eat yogurt after every meal...it cleanses your body so you don't get sick. I stayed there for a month a few years ago and my brother was the only one who got sick and that was because he had a pizza that had uncooked grated cheese on top."

what a wuss!

11/10/2008 8:51:56 PM

haha you try being sick in a foreign country..hospital's in India aren't like the hospital's here..half of them are in the outdoors and not entirely clean.

11/10/2008 9:10:15 PM

Food recommendations would vary depending on where in India you will be. Most Indian restaurants around here will either bill themselves as South Indian or North Indian but have menu items from all across that half of the country, but in India certain regions are more known for some dishes than others. For instance, the best biryanis will be in Hyderabad. So get to know what dishes are local to the particular area you'll be travelling.

11/10/2008 9:14:00 PM

If your going to Bangalore (eh, they changed the name, but, its still Bangalore) try not to stay near the river of shit.

11/10/2008 9:14:35 PM

River of Shit?

11/10/2008 9:44:05 PM

they are sending you to train your replacement

11/10/2008 11:02:21 PM

they are sending you to train your replacement

11/10/2008 11:05:34 PM

Yup a company would spend $6000 on a new employee for 2 week trip to India so they can secretly train someone else

11/10/2008 11:07:50 PM

Why is someone who registered an account with arvinda.ahuja@yahoo.com asking about India and indian food?

[Edited on November 11, 2008 at 12:24 AM. Reason : asdf]

11/11/2008 12:23:43 AM

they are sending you to train your replacement

11/11/2008 2:33:54 AM

Customs agents both abroad and here in the land of the free can search your computer, ipod, cell phone, and anything else. Pretend some stranger has gotten hold of your gadgets and puts their contents into a database to be analyzed later; what would you not want them to have?

If it's the company's computer I wouldn't worry too much, since it's not your data, but if it has personal files that you deem sensitive, I would put them on a separate storage device, delete them from the HD, and leave them at home if possible. Ditto for a digital camera.

Ipods store data other than music, videos, and photos, so they might be of interest to customs agents. Just keep anything sensitive off of it. I doubt they care if you have every Barry Manilow album.

There exists a kind of flash drive with 2 separate storage areas, each protected by its own password, but when inserted it simply asks for a password. One section can hold uninteresting files, while the other can hold your sensitive data, and if pressured by nosy agents, you can provide the password for the harmless portion. I can't remember the brand name.

As for your cell phone, you might want to erase sensitive text messages, photos, and unnecessary contacts. I'm more paranoid, and would get a disposable phone of some sort, and memorize important phone numbers rather than store them.

11/11/2008 9:19:15 AM

Is this a pat yourself on the back thread?

11/11/2008 10:21:14 AM

bttt

so what foods did you try?

11/26/2008 5:17:19 PM

Ok ... Maybe I can help ...

Here was my experience ...

Got off plane, and my ego told me I could find a taxi to Gurgaon, which is just outside of Delhi.

Taxi guy ask me where I was going, said hed take me ... 5 minutes out said he was not allowed to but his friend could (since it was outside city limits). Drops me off at this shady gas station where his friend is waiting. I ask how much, he says 100 US dollars...

On company bill, I say ok, even though I know I am getting raped, but dont care since the other option is to find another taxi in the middle of nowhere.

Hotel was 5 star (Crowne Plaza Gurgaon), but even they dont wash their lettuce with clean water, so I got sick 3 times in 3 weeks while being there. Puke as quick as possible once you feel sick. Im a pro now.

Advice: If you dont see it boiling or sitting over a flame, dont eat it. Ever. Also, let the hotel arrange all transportation for you.

Dont take the drive out to TAJ Mahal. The roads suck, so unless you are in a luxury car, you are going to be hating life for 8 hours. Oh, and dont get ICE in your soda at the mcdonalds on the way there... its made with tap water as well. Also, dont drink any fresh squeezed juice from poor people on the side of the streets ... no matter how many times you coworkers tell you its ok...

I think that about covers it.

11/26/2008 7:46:12 PM

Jesus christ, how dirty is this place

11/26/2008 8:12:54 PM

^^ Sounds like Thailand

11/26/2008 8:41:51 PM

dont stay at the Taj hotel, k

11/27/2008 12:18:36 AM

A general tip for taking taxis in ANY developing country: Negotiate the price before you get in, and don't accept the prospect of them taking you anywhere other than your destination.

Not to pick on robster in particular, but this was something that was drilled into us before going to Peru and I know it saved me money and headaches. Sure, problems can still come up, but you've greatly reduced them by sticking to those two points. If nothing else, it proves that you've got a little savvy, and they'll be less likely to try to pull some other con on you.

11/27/2008 12:54:33 AM

Punisher is Indian and just want to know what we all have to say about India

You are sick punisher

anyways hows your trip going, hope you are safe

11/27/2008 7:05:25 AM

^

Dude food is delicious but I keep getting the shits even after drinking bottled water and not getting ice in the drinks. Rats and stray animals all over and a fucking dog on the street almost bite my ass the other day. People are truly smelly and don't even realize it . Pollution is off the hook at 2pm if you go to New Delhi you eyes start to burn and can't breathe. I been sick off and on. Now I m really wanting to come back to US but don't wanna pay penalty to change my ticket date. Trying to find a way to avoid paying the penalty. I visited Kutum Minar, Lal Kila, Jantar Mantar and some forts in Jaipur and they are awesome.

11/27/2008 9:37:25 AM

when ll you stop pretending that you are not an Indian

actually you are neither an Indian nor American (may be from that confused generation born in India and brought up in US)

If you are so sick and unhappy in India why care for money looser
Spend some money and come back as soon as possible
we are waiting here to give you a gooood beating

11/27/2008 10:26:50 AM

Oh boi

I m so scared

Bunch of fresh of the boat stinky Indians are waiting for me to come back to US. I must hide behind a cow.

11/27/2008 12:31:54 PM

and cow ll kick your ass

11/27/2008 1:22:15 PM

What the fuck is happening in this thread?

11/27/2008 8:07:26 PM