India, Asia travel resource.

India,Asia.

A trip to India is an all-out assault on the senses. You'll be traveling through dusty heat (or snowy cold in the north), sharing roads with a parade of bicycles, auto-rickshaws, sputtering motorcycles, tinsel-draped trucks, camel carts and the occasional cow. At India's sights and markets, the chaos continues: You'll be among throngs of beggars, hawkers, tourists, near-naked holy men, businesspeople, snake charmers, children and scurrying monkeys. Amid the cacophony, some of the globe's most majestic and historical sights will emerge -- the Taj Mahal, the Ganges, the Himalayas.
India, with all its variety, feels more like a series of countries strung together than a cohesive whole. As you move from region to region, you'll be exposed to dramatic changes in cuisine, dress, language, religion, custom and tradition.
For large sections of India's population, the standard of living hasn't changed since 1947 (the year India gained independence), and many Indians still don't have regular access to clean water, electricity, adequate food and medical care. Yet other parts of the country are rife with modern conveniences, and Indians live in fashionable real estate there, surrounded by the trappings of 21st-century consumer capitalism.
With these contradictions come complications. The mass of humanity that populates India requires that you be patient, flexible and tolerant, which can be difficult if you're troubled by the disparities between India's rigid social classes. The country's religious conflicts and ongoing dispute with Pakistan are also concerns, though these events have been largely confined to certain regions. Most travelers will find these difficulties well worth the rewards, however: India remains an incomparable travel experience.
The tsunamis that struck most of Southeast Asia in December 2004 caused widespread damage to coastal areas in southern India. Regions hardest hit were the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. At least 10,000 people died, and entire villages were destroyed. Because of the extent of the damage and the difficulty in reaching remote areas, recovery is expected to be slow.