CURRENCY

The big hotels, shops, restaurants and various Indian Airlines take major international credit cards. Travelers cheques are the safest form of money to be carried, and can be used directly to settle bills. Stick to the well known brands - American Express, Visa, Thomas Cook, Citibank and Barclays, keep the photocopies too. The best currencies to take are US dollars and pounds sterling. More than $10,000 (or equivalent) in cash, must be declared.

There are also 24 hour branches of the State Bank of India and Thomas Cook in the arrival and departure areas of the international airport. The Indian currency is the rupee (Rs), which has 100 paisa. There are coins of 25, 50 paisa and also coins of Rs. 1, 2, 5. There are notes of Rs. 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000. Check out current Exchange Rates.

You will get encashment certificates from the Bank for each transaction, which should be kept carefully. In case, while going back you want the Indian Rupees to be changed back into foreign currency, the same can be done up to US $ 500 worth of rupees. Credit cards are widely accepted at mid range and up market hotels and for buying rail and air tickets and also in many shops. On a MasterCard, Visa Card, or Japanese Credit bureau card, you can now get cash advances in rupees on the spot in main cities. With American Express you can get dollar or sterling traveler’s cheques.

TELEPHONE
There are private STD/ISD call booths everywhere with direct local, interstate and international dialing. A digital meter is attached to let you know, how much your call is costing and gives you a printout at the end. The international access code from India is 00, after which you need to dial your country code followed by area code and then the phone number. Almost all the hotel rooms have the facility for phones, but international calls have hefty additional charges levied.

Fax facility are available on most of these STD/ISD call booths and also in the hotels.