Best indian travel guides according to redditors

I read it in the walking guide for Monuments in Delhi while visiting Humayun's Tomb

Edit

Delhi: 14 Historic Walks https://www.amazon.in/dp/9381626243/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_apa_i_1K60DbWJTXS1M

Highly recommended book if you're going to Delhi

Caveat: I haven't been in about 3 years.

DO:

• Bring quick-dry everything. It will be pretty grossly hot, and if you're not used to crazy humidity, you will be sweating almost constantly.
  
  
• Get used to not being 100% dry. Ever.
  
  
• Bring bug repellent. I got absolutely DESTROYED by bugs when hiking. My white friend got bit maybe twice.
  
  
• Eat all the delicious Taiwanese food you can, you lucky bastard.
  
  
• Bring durable shoes. You'll probably be walking a lot.
  
  
• Have an umbrella! Fucking monsoons, man.
  
  
• Rely on 7-11s. They have everything. They're the fucking shit.
  
  
• Talk to the locals. I believe that Taiwanese people are the nicest Asians I have ever encountered. I don't think I met a single person who was not willing to stop what they were doing and direct me to wherever I was trying to get. One lady even insisted on driving me and my friend 15 minutes out of her way to one of our destinations. Crazy nice!
  
  
• Consider bringing a white friend. You get a lot of bonus points with a white person. It's weird.
  
  DO NOT:
  
  
• Wear cotton
  
  
• Have your hair too long. It's so hot and sweaty, god.
  
  
• Spend too much on food/drink in any one place. Food in Taiwan is wonderfully cheap (depending on what you get).
  
  
• Rely on street names to get around. It's as if all the roads in Taiwan are nameless. Seriously.
  
  
• Stay in Taipei for more than ~5 days total. There's so much to go see!
  
  
  Are you going down-and-dirty backpacking-style, or would you rather travel and stay in higher-end places?
  
  When I went, a friend and I took a clockwise tour around the island mainly using the High Speed Rail and stopped at cities or sites. One pretty memorable detour was our hike through ~10km of the Caoling Historic Trail and slept in a monastery at the end.
  
  If you've never been, you should probably make sure you hit:
  
  Taroko Gorge
  
  Alishan
  
  Kenting
  
  These are all great sights to see with a lot of hiking and other recreation about.
  
  Make sure you hit the night markets. This is a must. You should also go and eat at Din Tai Fung in Taipei (make reservations), and try a Mos Burger (you'll see them in big cities--fucking delicious).
  
  There is SO MUCH to do in Taiwan, and it's all incredibly traveller friendly. To my memory, there is a small information hut at the mouth of every train station with English-speaking guides who will tell you all about the area, including sites, activities, good lodgings, etc.
  
  You shouldn't have to worry too much about money in Taiwan, as (3 years ago) I could spend less than $1500 for a full month of sight-seeing and tourist-ing.
  
  I could probably go on and on and on about Taiwan as I remember things more clearly, but what I truly suggest is for you to go get the Lonely Planet: Taiwan guide book. I personally used the 2007 edition, which worked very well. There's a 2011 edition, but that has mediocre reviews.
  
  This reply is a bit all over to place, so I apologize for that; however, if you have any other direct questions, I'd be totally happy to answer. If you need specific travelling advice, I could probably do that, too!

1. KA Nilkanth Shashtri
   
   
   A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar - Amazon Link
   
   
   The Illustrated History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar - Amazon Link
   
   
   Foreign Notices Of South India - Google Archives
   
   
   
2. A S Altekar
   
   
   Rashtrakutas And Their Times - Google Archives
   
   
   
3. AL Basham
   The Wonder That Was India: 1
   
   
   You can read this book for free on Anybooks app.
   
   
   Edit your post and add all these links.

Not Cholas alone, but this book gives factual information of the entire South Indian empires.

I, too, will be headed to India in a few weeks! I'm coming from the other side of the planet, tho, but I've been to India more times than I can count. As a foreigner, I can tell you that if you haven't experienced developing countries, it will be a smack in the face. The poverty in the cities is brutal, but if you keep an open mind and respect for foreign cultures, you'll find Indians to be extremely generous, traditional, warm, and friendly. Also, where there is poverty, there are also riches to be found, and bountiful. India used to be one of the richest countries in the world, and their artwork, crafts, and jewelry still reflects this.

Try and learn as much as you can about the culture before you go. I would recommend this book, my dad had to read it before my mom and I took him to India. Also, ask many questions. Indians will love to see your curiosity and will gladly go to lengths to explain their world to you.
Good luck! Sounds like an exciting trip!

Welcome. I would recommend you start with A History of South India by Sastri, gives you a good overview (be prepared to get a lot of your existing ideas changed though). Move onto A history of medieval India by RC Majumdar. Feel free to dive into Romilla Thapar's History of India series - don't start the other way though with Thapar. Majumdar is THE Indian historian, Sastri, THE historian that chronicled South India, the later historians like Thapar draw heavily on their books anyways. You want a better understanding of medieval India - Jadunath Sarkar is the only source you need to consider. His The Fall of the Mughal Empire covers over some 1500 pages, extensively the period from 1650 to 1800.

There you go, for just Rs 2,000, about 2,500 pages and seriously you would know more about Indian history than idk 95% of the people out there. You can after this branch out into western authors, the Thapars, Habibs etc.

About Kulothunga, well I cracked open my History of South India AND Colas by Sastri - no dice. If anything my memory was correct, till 500 AD all these religions existed in peace though Buddhism was in terminal decline thanks to how dogmatic it had become. Jainism was running rampant, when Saivism and Vaishnavism countered it with the Bhakti movement. The Bhakti movement was mostly saints running around circle jerking each other to death with really high funda arguments - take the schism in the Vaishanavites as an example for how...pointless these arguments were. The Vadakalai branch believed the grace of god had to be earned, the Tenkalai believed by...believing in Vishnu, his grace was a given. That was it, I am picturing a bunch of these guys wearing namams, sitting in a thinnai and arguing each other to the death.

Sastri has nothing on any persecution, and honestly I would rather trust Sastri than Kamal.

Oh, in re-reading these parts, some bonus fun facts - Kulothunga built a Vishnu temple, he sent a trade mission to fucking China and made a huge profit, he lost Sri Lanka (the last Indian king to hold SL) to Veerabahu. On religion, there was some sect called the Radha sect whose only ambition was to be gopis in heaven and get banged by Krishna. They prepared by having monumental orgies on earth - we had hippies before hippies were cool yo! That is 'avar kulcha' :p

Incidentally I was just about to buy this book. http://www.amazon.in/History-South-India-Prehistoric-Vijayanagar/dp/0195606868

https://www.amazon.in/Lonely-Planet-India-Travel-Guide/dp/1786571447

India (Lonely Planet Country Guide)

I came across a book on Goa. Thought this might help you when it comes to staying on budget but exploring the whole place.
http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Hack-Goa-Best-Book-ebook/dp/B00L2LLMMG

I love "Crazy Bombay".

https://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Bombay-Gangadhar-Gadgil/dp/8171547192

It's a humourous look at the culture which shaped Mumbai after independence, and the Mumbai spirit.

Thanks. I'm going to try out some of the walks in this book Walking Calcutta but it may be out of date.

$11.15

Link

There's a book about the Hippie Trail called "Magic Bus" that is a good read if you are interested in the subject. The author follows parts of the old trail, but even he skips the most dangerous parts. Reading the book is definitely safer than trying to travel through Afghanistan.

Pundits from Pakistan

This is in my to-read list, has got good reviews: