Good to know

Cash

100 rupees is roughly one euro. Cards work in hotels and bigger restaurants, but it is handy to have some cash on you for tips, small shops, autos and the bazaars.

Get it from an ATM once you are through arrivals. The first machines you pass are often busy or out of order, and there are more of them further along and outside the terminal. Most ATMs cap a single withdrawal at 10,000 rupees, so 5,000 to 10,000 is a sensible first pull. The exchange counters in arrivals give noticeably worse rates than the ATMs.

Tipping

Tipping is normal and appreciated, and the amounts are small. For a small service, 50 to 100 rupees goes further than it sounds. Beyond the two below, trust your own sense of when someone has looked after you.

• Restaurants: around 10 percent, unless a service charge is already on the bill.
• Our Jaipur drivers, who are with us from the 20th to the 26th: around 500 rupees each for the whole week.

Water and food

Nothing here is cause for worry, and the food is one of the best parts of the trip. A few habits are worth having.

• Bottled water. Stick to it, and check the seal is unbroken when it reaches you. It is cheap and sold everywhere.
• RO water. RO stands for reverse osmosis, a filtering system that is standard in Indian hotels and good restaurants. You can simply ask for RO water instead of bottled. It is an entirely normal request and nobody will find it odd.
• Ice. Leave it out by default. In hotels and good restaurants it is made from RO water and is fine, so ask for it there if you would like it. Anywhere else, it is the easiest thing to skip.
• Raw things. Outside Khas Bagh, the villas and the reception, it is worth skipping raw salad and uncooked garnishes. Anything cooked, fried or boiled is fine, as is fruit you peel yourself.
• Busy is good. A place with plenty of customers has food that has not been standing around. Street food is not off limits at all, and some of it is wonderful. Just ask Kriti's family, your driver or the hotel staff which places are the good ones.

If your stomach does have a rough day, electrolyte sachets and rest sort out most of it, and there is a pharmacy on more or less every corner.

Getting around Delhi

Uber is the easy option, and the account is worth setting up before you travel rather than on arrival. See Travel info for how, and for when you will need it.

What to wear day to day

Nothing here is a rule, and nobody is going to mind what you wear.

The one thing worth knowing is that outside hotels and tourist sites, sleeveless tops and shorter skirts are less common than at home, so in the old city bazaars you may notice a few more looks than you are used to. It is a question of feeling comfortable rather than of doing anything wrong. If you would rather not have that, a top with sleeves does the job, and a scarf or stole draped over the shoulders works just as well. Monday morning's shopping trip is a nice moment to pick one up if you fancy it.

At a couple of the sightseeing spots, and at the Shiv temple in Kasauli, covered shoulders and knees is the kinder choice, and shoes come off at the entrance.

At Khas Bagh and at the reception, wear whatever you like. See the clothing guide for the wedding days.