nblinks

[email fragment] I'm not sure I can be that much more help than any decent guidebook. Also, most of my knowledge is at least six years out of date -- okay for monuments, less so for restaurants.

My main general suggestion would be to try taking a long second-class train journey. It's roughing it a little, but it's a really great way to see something of the diversity of the country, and to meet lower-to-middle-class Indians who don't make their living in the tourist trade. Rail journeys from Mumbai to Bangalore, Delhi to Bangalore, and Mysore to Chennai are among my favorite Indian memories. Note that in terms of cultural experience, second class is actually preferable to first, which can feel like being sealed in a 1970s doctor's waiting room.