An idea was born that international tourists need separate personnel to look after their needs and safety, as well as manage tourist inquires and complaints, all while ensuring that the language barrier doesn’t hamper individual’s enjoyment or security while in India. Although still a novel concept in many parts of India, travelers can find dedicated Tourist Police officers stationed at many of the country’s most popular tourist destinations. Officers are dressed in uniform with ID cards and badges which clearly distinguish themselves from other police officers.

What Do They Do?

1. Avoid harassment to the tourist by touts.
2. Help tourist in getting transport and lodging at appropriate rate and without much hassle at Railway Station, Airports Bus Terminals, important tourist places, malls etc.
3. Provide safety and security against cheats and bag lifters etc. at these places.
4. Contain crime like pick pocketing, eve-teasing (harassment), drugging etc.
5. Provide information related to the city or region and other adjoining tourist places.

What Can They Help Tourists With?

1. Guide the tourist about the location of tourist places, distance and available transport to reach desired destination.
2. Help tourist in procuring tickets for museums, resorts, transports, movies and also to protect them from touts and black marketers.
3. Ensure that no peddlers, jewelers, shopkeepers, touts, cheats and beggars etc. harass them.
4. Help tourists in general problem solving regarding their stay in the city.
5. Guide tourists about local of Art and Culture, Shops, Banks, Phones etc.
6. Guide tourists on local conditions of law and order, security and hazards and places of medical help.
7. Guide tourists on matters relating to passport, visas, exchange of currency, and immigration issues.
8. Help sorting out matters like sickness, loss of theft of belonging, assault or involvement in criminal cases.
9. Guide with local custom and tradition.

Where Can I Find Tourist Police?

Know of other Tourist Police locations? Drop me a line at scchopp@fullstopindia.com.

Agra, Uttar Pradesh

1. Taj Mahal
2. Agra Fort

Bangalore, Karnataka (Green Police)

Locations vary

Chandigarh

1. Sukhna Lake
2. Rock Garden
3. Rose Garden
4. Shopping Plaza-17
5. Railway Station
6. Airport
7. ISBT-17
8. ISBT-43

Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Locations vary

Delhi

1. Airport- Indira Gandhi International T1, T2, T3
2. New Delhi Railway Station
3. Hazarat Nizammuddin Railway Station
4. Raj Ghat
5. Red Fort
6. Qutub Minar
7. Palika Bazar
8. Janpath
9. India Gate
10. Pahar Ganj (Railway Station Side)

Deoghar, Jharkhand

1. Baidyanath Dham Temple
2. Nandan Pahar
3. Satsang Ashram
4. Naulakha Mandir
5. Rama Krishna Mission
6. Trikut Parvat
7. Rikhia Ashram

Goa

1. Calangute
2. Miramar
3. Vagator

Jaipur, Rajasthan

Locations vary

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh

Locations vary

Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu

Locations vary

Kochi, Kerala

1. Vasco da Gama Square
2. Kamala Kadav
3. Prince street
4. Fort Kochi beach
5. St.Francis Church
6. Jewish Synagogue
7. Dutch Palace
8. Jews Street
9. Mattanchery Boat Jetty
10. Marine Drive Ernakulam
11. Bolgatty Palace
12. KSRTC Bus Stand
13. Ernakulam Junction Railway Station
14. North Railway Station

Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu

Locations vary

Kolkata, West Bengal (Paschim Banga)

1. Howrah Station
2. Sealdah Station
3. Airport- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International
4. Alipore Zoo
5. Kalighat Temple
6. Victoria Memorial
7. Park Street
8. New Market
9. Sudder Street

Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu

Locations vary

Mumbai, Maharashtra

Locations vary

Mysore, Karnataka (Green Police)

Locations vary

Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu

Locations vary

Udhagamandalam, Tamil Nadu

Locations vary

Indian Railways believes it can curb unauthorized ridership as every ticket will be booked with a photo ID, and it hopes to crack down on passengers traveling on transferred tickets sold by touts. Domestic and foreign tourists must be be able to provide a government issued photo ID if asked by the ticket examiner. Non-AC travelers are currently unaffected by the new policy although the decision on photo IDs may be widened in future so that every passenger on board a train has a valid identity card.

Update 9 February 2012: The scope of service involved in ID proof has widen and now includes: AC 3 tier, AC 2 tier, 1st AC, AC Chair and executive classes. Nine original ID proofs have been designated as acceptable forms: Voter ID Card, Passport, PAN card, Drivers license, Photo identity card with serial number issued by central/state government, Student identity card with photograph issued by recognized school and/or college, Aadhar card, Bank passbook with photograph, and Bank-issued credit cards with photograph.

Passengers unable to produce acceptable identification from the above list, and/or traveling on a ticket which does not match the passenger’s name will be classified as ‘Without Ticket’, and the applicable fare will be charged.

The new rule applies to domestic and foreign travelers.

For the full-year 2011, Foreign Tourist Arrivals logged an 8.9% increase over full-year 2010.

Easily my new favorite hotel in Delhi, Hotel Shipra changed my perceptions of what a budget hotel in this city would be. Clean, spacious and comfortable rooms can be found here as well as the needed amenities such as room service, laundry and luggage assistance. Located in the bustling area of Laxmi Nagar in the Northeastern part of Delhi, consider this a place for long term stays or travelers on a budget. Although not located near many of the popular tourist sites of the city, my criteria for this stay was totally based on cost.

Guests reach the Delhi hotel lobby by crossing a narrow lane which runs directly in front of the building. Mind the vehicle and scooter traffic that speeds past this road with little warning in addition to heavy foot traffic. A rent-a-cop stands guard round the clock as well as playing doorman for arriving and departing guests. The lobby is covered in dark woods and fabrics. A small seating area is provided near the front desk. Off the right rear of the lobby is the on-site restaurant offering Indian food and Continental meal service. Skip the overpriced fare as a simple breakfast of two boiled eggs, gobi parantha and chai cost me Rs 192. Instead, walk down to the VS3 Mall just a few blocks from the hotel. Here you can find multiple US fast food joints such as KFC, McDonalds and Pizza Hut. Indian sit down fare is ready available around every corner.

Back in the hotel, the cheaper room option held twin beds. I was pleasantly surprised with the mini fridge, A/C ( not used), ceiling fan and 100+ channels on TV. The bathroom had full time running hot water including a shower and Western toilet. Now, the room did not have a lot of charm but it was functional, clean, and secure. Cost with tax was Rs 2149/night or $48/night.

A Metro station with the overhead line running directly in front of the cheap New Delhi hotel is just a few blocks distance. Taxis are abundant and easy to flag down although most needs can be met by a short walk in either direction. For internet run across the busy multi-lane road to the cyber cafe located on the second level. Rs 13 buys you an hour of service, cheapest I’ve found yet!

UPDATE 6 February 2012: Shipra Laxmi Nagar appears to be permanently closed. A remodel project which began more than a year ago has yet to be completed, and any signs of reopening are not to be found.

Let me back up. I needed a shave desperately. My face was itching and my patience level for the greying beard poking through was nearing a low. As soon as I checked into the hotel in Haridwar I went out into the market to find a barber. My friend was going to meet me in 30 minutes so time was of the essence. Five days of stubble were an obvious giveaway that my eyes were scanning the shop signs as I slowed in front of the barber. There was a stall just 3 doors from the hotel. A young, twenty-something man waved me in.

That was my first mistake. I never like to patronize a business near my hotel. Shopkeepers size up foreign tourists based on where they are staying and if the service isn’t up to par, I dislike having to continue walking past the business for the remainder of my stay. In this case, I had decided to treat myself to a 4-star luxury hotel. I was an open target.

“Shave, and trim my neck, ” I said.

“No problem,” said the barber dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and dark blue leather biker jacket.

Great! I was in the chair and would be looking fresh in just 10 minutes, plenty of time to walk the market and still meet my friend with time to spare.

Shit! Oh Shit! I realized I had made the gravest mistake. I forgot to ask how much…I always ask how much before I agree on anything in India!

The young man finished my shave. “Face massage?” he asked.

“No,” I replied. Too late. He wasn’t going to let me get away without a full facial and massage.

What the heck, I figured. The worst it would cost was an extra Rs 50.

The massage went on for 20 minutes as the opportunistic man dabbed one cream after another onto my face before wiping it clean with a cotton ball.

“See,” he would say as he showed me the dirt and grime soiled wipe. I now knew this was going to end in an inflated price by the way he was trying to justify his work. Hell, I could have wiped my forehead with water and come up with a dark stained cloth after the many hours spent in the car earlier in the day.

“Finish,” he said. It was time to pay.

“How much?” I asked, knowing the most I had ever paid for a shave and massage from a barber was Rs 100.

“Rs 650,” he said. “What?!” I exclaimed. “No way, that is too high,” I said.

What could I do? I had to pay the man right? Wrong! India doesn’t abide by the usual prim and proper rules western societies have fallen victim to following. Instead, Indians will refuse to pay a quoted amount if they feel they are being asked an amount too high. From rickshaw drivers to laundry wallahs, tourists are unknowingly overcharged for services in which a domestic tourist would pay a fraction of the cost.

At home we would fear a business owner phoning the police, filing a report, and landing ourselves in a bit of a pickle. In India, tourists are perfectly in their right to argue over the price, even going so far as refusing to pay the bill entirely. If the business owner were to take the argument onto the street it’s only a matter of time before a crowd will gather in your defense. “Chor! Chor!” You can exclaim. Being called a thief in public is not good for business.

Rs 650 for a shave and massage elicited laughs from the crowd before the barber was shamed into a lower price. I looked the other way when leaving my hotel for the next two days. A little bit of western embarrassment stuck with me even though I knew he was wrong.

Four airports currently participate in the Visa on Arrival Program: Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai. For the full year, Delhi issued the most visas at 7,340, followed by Mumbai (2,816), Chennai (1,948) and Kolkata (657).

India’s Tourist Visa on Arrival program was first introduced Jan 1, 2010 for citizens of Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore. Following a good response, the government extended it to six more countries, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos and Myanmar, from January 2011.

The Prime Minister’s Office issued a request to the Home Ministry in January 2012 to extend the program of Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVoA) to airports including Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi and Bengaluru within one year.

Khajuraho Dance Festival 2012 kicks off February 1, with a performance by Odissi dancer Sujata Mahopatra. More than 25 dancers and 7 dance groups from across India will participate during the 8-day festival. Attendees can see dance performances in Kathak, Bharatnatyam, Odissi, Manipuri, and Kuchipuri.

Khajuraho Dance Festival will be held at Chitragupt and Vishwanath temples among the western group of the Khajuraho temple complex. A traditional art and craft works will also be displayed during the event.

Starbucks’ foray into India will be joint effort with the TATA Group, an Indian megaconglomerate with business segments in cars, jewelry, consulting, mobile, and food and beverage. The companies’ joint venture aims to have coffee brewing in its first outlets in Mumbai and New Delhi, and a total of 50 cafés in the country by the end of 2012. Starbucks branded cafes will open in TATA owned Taj hotels, railroad stations, airports and offices.

The business pairing between the two companies makes sense given TATA is already India’s largest coffee producer (selling coffee in the US under the brand name Eight O’clock Coffee) and runs an in-flight food business. But Starbucks will enter a coffee market already dominated by several well established brands: Barista, operating since 2000 by Lavazza from Italy with 200 locations in 30 cities; California-based Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf with 15 locations in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata; Indian Coffee House operating more than 400 locations across India; and Cafe Coffee Day with more than 1200 locations in 175 cities.

For the month December 2011, FTAs were 7.15 lakh (715,000) as compared to FTAs of 6.80 lakh (680,000) during the month of December, 2010 and 6.16 lakh (616,000) in December, 2009. This represents a 5.2% increase in December 2011, over December 2010, a healthy growth but far short of the 10.4% increase reported for December 2010, when compared to December 2009.

Full-Year 2011 Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India finished at 6.29 million compared to 5.78 million in 2010. This represents an 8.9% growth. FTAs for 2011 had been trending with 10% positive comparisons before November and December logged only mid-single digit growth rates. The annual growth rate of 8.9% in 2011 for India is better than UNWTO’s (World Tourism Organization) projected growth rate of 4% to 5% for the world in 2011 and 7% to 9% for Asia and the Pacific.

What is Dosa?

Dosa or Dosai is a thin crepe-like flat pancake formed by grilling a fermented batter of ground rice and lentils. Endless regional variations exist although just a few ingredients are needed for the simplest version.

How to Cook Dosa?

You have to wonder if the first dosa was an accident? Was someone sitting around the kitchen thinking, “I have all this extra idli batter to cook but I don’t feel like taking the time”? And thus, a substitution of a hot griddle for a pressure cooker created a food which today, competes daily for the attention of millions in the morning?

Combine two rice, urad dal, channa dal, and fenugreek seeds. Soak overnight, grind to a paste. Portion onto a hot griddle with a flat base cup. Use the cup case to evenly spread the batter in a circular motion.

How to Serve Dosa

Dosa has an edge over idli in the ability to be creative with the batter. Unlike it’s counterpart which relies more on side dishes to jazz up it’s taste and appearance, Dosai can satisfy different tastes by adding a variety of fresh ingredients once the batter is applied to a grill. Onion, chilli, tomatoes…if you can think it up, it can be made.

Of course,there are many popular recipes which can be easily ordered at most restaurants or street stalls such as masala dosa. This recipe calls for the traditional crisp pancake to be “stuffed” with a spicy potato mixture. Another popular way to serve dosa is with a hot dish of sombar and coconut chutney. For more spice try adding a tangy onion chutney or pickled mangoes. Other traditional ways of enjoying a South India dosa are right off the heat with a large amount of ghee (butter) or with dry chutney, a combination of spices sprinkled onto the batter as it cooks.

Basic Dosa Recipe

2 Cups Rice
1 Cup Urad Dal
1/4 Cup Channa Dal
1 Tbsp Fenugreek Seeds
Salt and water as needed

Prepare

In a bowl add rice, urad dal, channa dal, fenugreek seeds, wash and soke  for at least 6 hours.

After 6 hrs blend it into a fine paste and keep it for fermenting overnight.

Before cooking add salt and mix.

Heat griddle, pour the batter and spread it. Apply oil as desired. Remove once it is golden brown.

Varieties of Dosa