1.What
are the health precautions for travel to India?
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India is a tropical
country and many tropical diseases are endemic.
The important ones include Cholera, Dengue fever,
Amoebic and Shigella dysentery, Hepatitis, Malaria,
Meningitis, Typhoid, Tuberculosis and Leprosy. Some
of these pose a major health hazard to the passing
tourist.
It is worthwhile to get vaccinations and
immunizations against the following prior to travel to
India. Tetanus and Diphtheria, Polio, Typhoid,
Hepatitis A and B, Meningococcal meningitis, TB,
Rabies and Japanese B encephalitis. Record all
vaccinations in the International Health Certificate
available at your local Physician or Health
department.
International tourists should carry their Yellow
Fever Vaccination Certificate conforming to
International Health Regulations, if they originate or
are transiting through countries where Yellow Fever
is endemic. International travelers / tourists
originating from the USA, UK and Canada do not require
any mandatory vaccinations.
The International Health Certificate is not normally
asked for by immigration officials, however it is
better to carry one. It may be of immense help
in case of a medical emergency.
To avoid Malaria and Dengue fever, carrying
mosquito repellents, nets, and using sprays against
insects in rooms is usually sufficient. A first aid
kit carrying adhesive bandages, thermometer,
water-purification tablets, antibiotics, antiseptic
creams and mosquito repellents is recommended of every
tourist.
It is recommended that sticking to a vegetarian diet
is an excellent way of preventing gastrointestinal
diseases, should you eat meat, please make sure
that it is properly and completely cooked. Avoid
eating food from roadside stalls, pork products, fried
food and food that is very oily. Food in
reputable restaurants is usually safe, they are
required to maintain health standards.
Drinking only mineral / bottled or boiled water
is highly recommended to prevent gastrointestinal
diseases. |
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2.
What is the
best time to visit Puducherry ?
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The best time to visit
puducherry is between January and March and August to
October.
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| 3. Where can I get more information on Puducherry? |
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Check out the various pages and the
whole site to get information on the various aspects
of puducherry.
History
of Puducherry
|| Culture of Puducherry
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| 4. What are the ways of getting to Puducherry
...? |
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puducherry is approachable by all means of
transportation. Check out these pages for more
details.
Air travel to Puducherry. The
international gateway for this part of India is
Chennai. puducherry has limited services to Chennai,
Tirupathi and Bangalore.
Road travel to Puducherry. puducherry
is well connected by roads to major neighboring
cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Tiruchirapalli
with good regular bus services.
Train travel
to Puducherry. puducherry
has the limited railway line Connected only to Villupuram
and Chennai.
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| 5.
Where can I get maps of Puducherry ...? |
Check out the various pages for up to date
maps for all of puducherry's tourist attractions.
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| 6.
What should I wear ...? |
Clean and decent clothes, preferably cotton as
puducherry has a tropical climate. Use your
discretion. The preferred Indian clothes are
pants and shirts, and most women wear saris, Indian
dresses, pants and skirts and blouses. Please avoid
wearing beachwear in the city as it will invite
curious unwanted attention. Nudity is banned in
puducherry.
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7.
What should I carry...?
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The
usual personal effects along with clothes. Make sure
you have the appropriate voltage personal accessories.
It is 220V in India. Carry prescriptions of
medications and glasses. Make sure you have the
International drivers license if you wish to drive.
Carry enough local currency $200 worth at all times to
pay for local services. Make sure your documents
including cash, passport and credit cards and tickets
are secure with you at all times.
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| 8.
What about driving in puducherry ...? |
Like the rest of India and the UK, vehicles travel on
the left side of the road. An International Drivers
License is required.
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| 9. How
should I carry money ...? |
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Preferably Travelers cheques and cash in Indian
currency up to $200 at all times to pay for local
services. Credit cards are also widely accepted
in puducherry and India today.
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| 10. Is
credit cards safe and useful to carry ...? |
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Yes. Using credit cards to withdraw cash may be
available at only a few places in puducherry, so keep
enough local cash to get along.
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| 11.
What currency is used in India ...? |
The
Indian currency is called Rupees. One rupee is made
of 100 naya paisa. A rough estimate is 1$
=40 Indian
rupees.
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| 12.
What is the Language of puducherry,
is English easily understood ...? |
puducherryns proudly speak Tamil, it is one of the
puducherry's official language. There is a lot of
variation in the way it is spoken among different
communities and locations in puducherry, this is
partly due to history. English is widely spoken and
understood with an accent variation depending on the
educational background of the speaker and the area of
origin. Apart from Tamil and English, French is
considered to be one of the official languages.
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| 13.
What is the coolest time to visit India? |
The coolest weather
lasts from November to mid-March, with cool, fresh
mornings and evenings and dry, sunny days.
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| 14..
I hear Indians are a more conservative lot especially
compared to people in Western countries.
What kind
of clothes would be acceptable here? |
Shorts, minis and tank
tops are unadvisable unless you're on a beach. In
small towns and cities especially, people may tend to
stare if you expose too much skin. Safe clothing would
be trousers, peddle pushers, capris, skirts, tops and
shirts. India has some good cottons which are trendy
and affordable. Buy yourself some. Women could try
wearing a salwar kameez which is very cool and
comfortable and could even improve the attitude of
people towards them.
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| 15.
What is the best thing to do if pestered by beggars
and street urchins? |
Well, you can start by
ignoring them completely and if they get too
persistent give them a stern look. If you must give
them something, let it not be more than 1 to 2 rupees
only.
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| 16.
What are the important Tamil words I should know when
I'm in puducherry? |
Well, there
are many phrases and words in Tamil that could come in
use. We would advise you to look at our 'Useful
Tamil Phrases' page in Useful Stuff.
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| 17.
Can I hire a mobile phone in India? |
You can pick
up a mobile phone connection from most departmental
stores and often even at small roadside stores. The
service provided by these private companies is on par
with the best in the world.
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| 18.
How safe is drinking water in puducherry? |
If you are
from a foreign country, you may not be used to
drinking the water here. Hence we advise that you pick
up a bottle of mineral water which is cheap and widely
available and usually provided in flasks in hotel
rooms. Order the same when you are at a restaurant. As
far as possible, avoid drinking any kind of water or
juices from roadside carts and vendors.
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| 19.
How should I tip waiters at restaurants / hotels? |
In tourist
restaurants or hotels a 10% service charge is often
added to bills, in which case there is no need to tip.
In smaller places, where tipping is optional, you need
only tip a few rupees, not a percentage of your bill.
It is customary to tip waiters, porters, guides and
drivers.
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| 20.
How safe is it to eat non-vegetarian food in puducherry? |
India, being a
primarily Hindu country, beef is rarely served. Pork
is also not easily available. Eat non-vegetarian food
only in good restaurants. What you get in smaller
places is generally of dubious quality though tastes
quite yummy, thanks to concoctions of Indian spices
and masalas.
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| 21.
Are there pubs and discotheques in puducherry? |
Yes,
definitely.
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| 22.
How best can I get the flavour of a particular destination
when I visit puducherry? |
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We would love
you to try using the local transport. But this is not
advisable in crowded buses. However, do take a ride or
two in a local bus or Auto whenever you have the
opportunity. It would be better to take an Indian
friend along.
Try and interact more with
the locals of the area. There will be a language
problem but many people in small towns are quite
fluent in English and a few other foreign languages.
Buy a handicraft
or souvenir which is typical of the place. It would
be better to wear a piece of clothing from the place
you are visiting. E.g A Cotton Lungi in puducherry,
a Saree for ladies. You would blend in well with
the local people.
Content
is provided by the Department of Tourism,
Puducherry
Queries about this website:tourism@pon.nic.in
Designed And Hosted
by National Informatics Centre, Puducherry.
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