Let's Go India & Nepal 8th Ed

After winding up pretty much abandoned in NWesn India (long story), my copy of Let's Go: India was my bible. Their writers are accurate, observant, pithy and ballsy. The info's good, the recommendations excellent and *they're funny* which I cannot say for any of the Lonely Planet guides I've read. Let's Go is a book for a budget traveler -- there are some higher-end listings but you won't find Bangkok's Taj Mahal hotel listed. Instead, you'll find tiny guesthouses run by tiny women overflowing with personality and good advice -- who can paint your hands with hemp, teach you the fine points of Bollywood cinema or take you sari-shopping. I used Let's Go throughout Rajastan and Gujurat as well as in Bombay/Mumbai. It was so good that I've taken versions to Peru, London, Thailand, Malaysia and Italy. I recommend the entire series.

When I was about to leave for an 8-month assignment to New Delhi, I went to my local book store to buy Lonely Planet's guide to the country. But unfortunately (or fortunately) the store only had this book instead. After reading it -- or more like browsing through -- and experiencing the country, I've found that the guide's very informative and spot on. The thing that I found to be most helpful is about the Indian culture and the street life. These are especially important if you intend on taking to the streets, where you'll see that anything is possible. The prices mentioned in the book tend to be a bit off, but not that much. The book also has a lot of humor without losing focus, and also more entertaining than the Lonely Planet book I have (Central Europe).. Now I'm off to look for the France version. Highly recommended!

This is as good as travel guides get. Personal, honest, up-to-date and informative. But Let's Go India and Nepal goes beyond the excellent fact-gathering for which this series is best known. A highlight is researcher-writer Joe Chase's witty, intelligent and probing coverage of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu-Kashmir. Chase is at his best when he writes of trekking in Ladakh. Here, he manages to convey all of the necessary information in a parsimonious manner while, at the same time, beautifully evoking the rugged grandeur and threatened way of life that make Ladakh a must see for anyone who seeks to truly earn the title 'traveler.'A+ to Mr. Chase and A+ to Let's Go -- there is absolutely no comparison.