When traveling, focus on enjoying the experience and not just on seeing as much as is possible. Travel like an adventurer and try to discover the place.

Cuisine

When visiting another country, do you generally opt for tours that advertise travel with a cook, so you can continue eating regular food throughout your holiday?

One of the best parts about visiting a foreign country is sampling their cuisine. It would be a shame to return from Mexico without sampling the Tapas, or a trip to France is incomplete without trying the baguette! Similarly, would you think a foreigner's trip to South India is complete if he doesn't try an idli? Or if he doesn.t eat naan or chola bhatura in Delhi?

It is understandable if you are vegetarian, but even so, most countries today serve a variety of vegetarian fare, so you don.t have to convert to enjoy the cuisine. In any case, if you are traveling in a group, chances are, not all members of the group are vegetarian. You will surely have some non-vegetarians with you. So although there may not be a lot for you to eat, stick to salad, but do make the trip to the restaurant.

Even the very act of going to a restaurant abroad, ordering food, scanning the menu, observing the service and partaking in the ambience adds to your experience of the country as a whole.

Eating at fast food chain restaurants doesn't really give you an insight into the country's cuisine, so even if you are short of time, do make it a point to at least visit two or three restaurants. If you are on a budget, you can still afford to eat sensibly at low-cost eating joints. Not every meal will cost a fortune. Instead of skimping on food, its better if you skimp on a typically tourist attraction.
However, if money is no object then needless to say, enjoy wining and dining at the best of places.

Transport

Use local transport as far as possible. Even if you are on a group, conducted tour, you will have time off to yourself where you will have a chance to explore the place on your own. Seeing a place from the comfort of an airconditioned bus, and actually traveling in the local train or bus will offer you two completely different perspectives of the place.

Don't spend all your time shopping at the mall. The same stores are available in almost every place in the world, and will soon be present in India. Instead, spend more time doing things. Sitting at an outdoor cafe watching the people go buy and sipping a cup of cappuccino is time better spent than running around in a mall.