October 10, 2025 • 9 mins
"For even the most intrepid of travellers, India can be a sensory assault – confronting and riveting in equal measure. If you’re a first-timer to the subcontinent, the Golden Triangle which threads together New Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur offers the best crash-course in getting to grips with India. I first tripped around the Golden Triangle fourteen years ago and I’ve recently completed a return visit with Wendy Wu Tours. It was fascinating to discover the remarkable changes and dramatic swing in living standards, while many aspects to the allure of the Golden Triangle remained unchanged."
Read Mike's full article here.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks ab oh.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Our travel correspondent Mike Yardley has tips on tripping to
India for first times this morning, and Mike, India is
an amazing place. It can be a bit of an
intimidating destination for some people. But you are fresh back
from India, So how was it?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Yes, I was listening to your reminiscing on the Commonwealth
Games deck and I have to say my latest encounter
was absolutely your classic convulsing sensory assault, from the sublime
to the ridiculous. The thing that I've found really interesting, though,
was it's been fourteen years since I was last in
India and you can see the transformation to the country
(00:51):
like it's palpable. Things like road travel just so much faster.
Those major highway projects have slash journey time, although the
standard of driving behavior is still abismal in India. Oh
my god, they are the world's biggest undertakers. I reckon,
it's just so random. New daily struck me as decidedly
(01:15):
cleaner than I recall from fourteen years ago. Far ly
sliitter on the streets, although once you get out of
the big cities on a highway and the smaller towns,
those mounds of rubbish polluting the roadside are still depressingly
conspicuous and something which I think is really tragic. Jack.
A lot of those wandering cows that people love seeing
(01:35):
because they're, you know, so famously bestowed with sacred status,
A lot of those cows on the roadside actually succumb
to choking on plastic while foraging for food scraps amongst
all those heaving piles of litter. So it was a
sad note.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Yeah, yeah, that is a bit grim, isn't it. It's yeah,
you see sort of humanity in all its extremes when
you're in India, right, And obviously poverty is one of
the things that many people are confronted by when traveling
in India. What was your sense? Is still very con picures.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Yeah, particularly on the outskirts of New Delhi and around
by the airport, there were plenty of mothers and children
begging at those busy traffic intersections. I still saw quite
a few people blavely taking a dump on the footpath.
But that being said, certainly not on the scale that
I vividly recalled from fourteen years ago. And what I
(02:30):
did notice, particularly around places like New Delhi Airport, there
are these forests of gleaning new apartment house sprouting everywhere,
and I mean that's proof positive of the booming middle
class that has doubled in size in just twenty years.
In fact, I was looking at the World Bank stats.
They reckon that nearly two hundred million Indian people have
(02:54):
been lifted out of extreme poverty in the past decade alone,
which is absolutely staggering. And yeah, the thing that really
struck me the swathe of slums that I recall from
fourteen years ago. They have dramatically shrunken size. So that's
a really affirming observation, you know, to see that India
(03:15):
is on a roll.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
So for first time is what would you say is
the best way to get around?
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Yeah, well there's lots of options. You could do the
budget train like Jack Taman did after the Commonwealth Games.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well it was an experience. I remember it to this day.
You know, So i'd taken a luxury coach, I i't
think I would.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Oh man, Yeah, I haven't done the luxury trains in
India and I know a lot of people rave about them,
like the Maharaja Express and so forth, So that's a
good option if you are a first time I would
definitely say get a guide to do a guided to
he I actually went to India with Wendy Woo Tour.
It's our sponsor Amazing, so they do lots of options
(03:56):
you can do like a big group guided tour, but
I would actually suggest you go with one of the
private tours so it's just you or your loved ones.
You're not traveling alone with a guide and a driver,
and it's still a really affordable way to navigate Indian
And what I love about this option as you have
complete flexibility over the itinery, you can optimize it to
(04:21):
the max to suit your preferences. So whether you're traveling
alone with a partner, of friends, family, Wendy, we will
get you sorted. And it really is a good way
to feel immersed, you know, authentically with real India.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
And the Golden Triangle is probably the most popular route right.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah, I would definitely suggest the Golden Triangle as the
best introduction because you see so many you know, iconical landmarks.
You do get a real sense of big city, small
town and it's quite a compact touring route. So we'll
talk about some of those key destinations over the next
three weeks. But you've got the head swirl of Old
(05:00):
and New Deli, you've got the marvels of Agra headlined
by the taj My favorite Indian city, Jpaul, is part
of that circuit. In terms of when to go, October
to April is the best time to tour the Golden
Triangle with the wise because once you hit May June
all the way through to August, you will be battling
(05:22):
forty five degrees plus and of course the monsooners in
full cry July August. So yeah, sort of time it
from now through to about April for optimum touring.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
I remember in Gypaul because Jaipaul is the capital of Rajasthan,
right city. Yeah, I just remember having the most incredible
lassie in the in the cunning and the clay pots,
lovely clay, yes, absoluteous, so good. What is the go
with tipping?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
I think USA, maybe even think USA with great insistence
because it's not just recommended but expected, if not imposed
on your bill right across the said in industry, so
definitely in restaurants and cafes for food and drink, it's
ten percent, no questions asked, and be sure to have
(06:15):
a few rupees for the likes of porters, ritual riders, guides, taxis.
But generally you won't need a lot of rupees for India.
It's just for those little service charges. Generally, credit cards
good to go wherever you go.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah, I like that.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
I mean that.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
I think yeah is totally reasonable. Right, Like, when you're
traveling through someone like that and there's obviously big income
disparities and stuff, it's like, actually, yeah, not too bad.
It's not exactly none for being the most expensive place
to travel anyway. What about delli belly? How do you
dodge it?
Speaker 3 (06:47):
It seems to be what people fear the most about India.
I totally agree with you, Jack. When it comes to
street food, it's probably where you're most likely to come
unstuck if you don't use your scruples. So stick to
popular stores with high turnover. Always opt for freshly cocked items.
Do not anywhere near uncocked ingredients. Staercleayer of salads, be
(07:10):
super cautious of water sauces, always too spoiled or bottled drinks.
I don't know if I've got an ironclad constitution, but
I had no brushes with Deli belly, but as a precaution,
I yeah, yeah, and that's both fourteen years ago and
just yeah last month, but definitely I added a packet
of ammodium tablets my toiletory bag. And the idea is,
(07:34):
at the first sign of any tummy turbulence, get some
of those into you and you should be okay. But yeah,
thankfully I was all good.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yeah, I managed to avoid it for five weeks the
first time I went, and in the second time I went.
I think actually the thing, the thing that caused me
most trouble wasn't so much the Deli belly, but was
the air pollution. And if you got the wrong time
a year in some parts of the air pollution can
be terrible. So have you got any other tips for us?
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Well, I would say definitely get a visitor visa for
in thea before you to part because you will speed
through the airport arrivals process stress free. I couldn't believe
how fast it was a few weeks ago. You can
apply for a visa on arrival, but you don't want
to do that after a long flight from New Zealand,
stuffing about in a queue for maybe two or three
(08:22):
hours to deal with the local bureaucracy. So definitely get
that visa in advance. And finally, if you need to
use an Indian airline for any travel, particularly domestically, maybe
you're going down to Mumbai from New Delhi for example,
I would suggest you go with Indie Go. They are
now the nation's biggest carrier. Obviously people had concerns about India.
(08:44):
They had that terrible crash, you know, a couple of
months ago. But Indigo they've got super new planes and
a fabulous safety record.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Fantastic. Hey, thank you so much, Mike. We'll put all
the Mike's tips for taking your first trip to India
India for first timers on the newstalk z'd be website,
and Mike will be back with us over the next
couple of weeks to talk through some of those top destinations.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
More from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame. Listen live to
News Talks ed B from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast
from News Talks ab oh.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Our travel correspondent Mike Yardley has tips on tripping to
India for first times this morning, and Mike, India is
an amazing place. It can be a bit of an
intimidating destination for some people. But you are fresh back
from India, So how was it?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Yes, I was listening to your reminiscing on the Commonwealth
Games deck and I have to say my latest encounter
was absolutely your classic convulsing sensory assault, from the sublime
to the ridiculous. The thing that I've found really interesting, though,
was it's been fourteen years since I was last in
India and you can see the transformation to the country
(00:51):
like it's palpable. Things like road travel just so much faster.
Those major highway projects have slash journey time, although the
standard of driving behavior is still abismal in India. Oh
my god, they are the world's biggest undertakers. I reckon,
it's just so random. New daily struck me as decidedly
(01:15):
cleaner than I recall from fourteen years ago. Far ly
sliitter on the streets, although once you get out of
the big cities on a highway and the smaller towns,
those mounds of rubbish polluting the roadside are still depressingly
conspicuous and something which I think is really tragic. Jack.
A lot of those wandering cows that people love seeing
(01:35):
because they're, you know, so famously bestowed with sacred status,
A lot of those cows on the roadside actually succumb
to choking on plastic while foraging for food scraps amongst
all those heaving piles of litter. So it was a
sad note.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Yeah, yeah, that is a bit grim, isn't it. It's yeah,
you see sort of humanity in all its extremes when
you're in India, right, And obviously poverty is one of
the things that many people are confronted by when traveling
in India. What was your sense? Is still very con picures.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Yeah, particularly on the outskirts of New Delhi and around
by the airport, there were plenty of mothers and children
begging at those busy traffic intersections. I still saw quite
a few people blavely taking a dump on the footpath.
But that being said, certainly not on the scale that
I vividly recalled from fourteen years ago. And what I
(02:30):
did notice, particularly around places like New Delhi Airport, there
are these forests of gleaning new apartment house sprouting everywhere,
and I mean that's proof positive of the booming middle
class that has doubled in size in just twenty years.
In fact, I was looking at the World Bank stats.
They reckon that nearly two hundred million Indian people have
(02:54):
been lifted out of extreme poverty in the past decade alone,
which is absolutely staggering. And yeah, the thing that really
struck me the swathe of slums that I recall from
fourteen years ago. They have dramatically shrunken size. So that's
a really affirming observation, you know, to see that India
(03:15):
is on a roll.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
So for first time is what would you say is
the best way to get around?
Speaker 3 (03:21):
Yeah, well there's lots of options. You could do the
budget train like Jack Taman did after the Commonwealth Games.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well it was an experience. I remember it to this day.
You know, So i'd taken a luxury coach, I i't
think I would.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Oh man, Yeah, I haven't done the luxury trains in
India and I know a lot of people rave about them,
like the Maharaja Express and so forth, So that's a
good option if you are a first time I would
definitely say get a guide to do a guided to
he I actually went to India with Wendy Woo Tour.
It's our sponsor Amazing, so they do lots of options
(03:56):
you can do like a big group guided tour, but
I would actually suggest you go with one of the
private tours so it's just you or your loved ones.
You're not traveling alone with a guide and a driver,
and it's still a really affordable way to navigate Indian
And what I love about this option as you have
complete flexibility over the itinery, you can optimize it to
(04:21):
the max to suit your preferences. So whether you're traveling
alone with a partner, of friends, family, Wendy, we will
get you sorted. And it really is a good way
to feel immersed, you know, authentically with real India.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
And the Golden Triangle is probably the most popular route right.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah, I would definitely suggest the Golden Triangle as the
best introduction because you see so many you know, iconical landmarks.
You do get a real sense of big city, small
town and it's quite a compact touring route. So we'll
talk about some of those key destinations over the next
three weeks. But you've got the head swirl of Old
(05:00):
and New Deli, you've got the marvels of Agra headlined
by the taj My favorite Indian city, Jpaul, is part
of that circuit. In terms of when to go, October
to April is the best time to tour the Golden
Triangle with the wise because once you hit May June
all the way through to August, you will be battling
(05:22):
forty five degrees plus and of course the monsooners in
full cry July August. So yeah, sort of time it
from now through to about April for optimum touring.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
I remember in Gypaul because Jaipaul is the capital of Rajasthan,
right city. Yeah, I just remember having the most incredible
lassie in the in the cunning and the clay pots,
lovely clay, yes, absoluteous, so good. What is the go
with tipping?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
I think USA, maybe even think USA with great insistence
because it's not just recommended but expected, if not imposed
on your bill right across the said in industry, so
definitely in restaurants and cafes for food and drink, it's
ten percent, no questions asked, and be sure to have
(06:15):
a few rupees for the likes of porters, ritual riders, guides, taxis.
But generally you won't need a lot of rupees for India.
It's just for those little service charges. Generally, credit cards
good to go wherever you go.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah, I like that.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
I mean that.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
I think yeah is totally reasonable. Right, Like, when you're
traveling through someone like that and there's obviously big income
disparities and stuff, it's like, actually, yeah, not too bad.
It's not exactly none for being the most expensive place
to travel anyway. What about delli belly? How do you
dodge it?
Speaker 3 (06:47):
It seems to be what people fear the most about India.
I totally agree with you, Jack. When it comes to
street food, it's probably where you're most likely to come
unstuck if you don't use your scruples. So stick to
popular stores with high turnover. Always opt for freshly cocked items.
Do not anywhere near uncocked ingredients. Staercleayer of salads, be
(07:10):
super cautious of water sauces, always too spoiled or bottled drinks.
I don't know if I've got an ironclad constitution, but
I had no brushes with Deli belly, but as a precaution,
I yeah, yeah, and that's both fourteen years ago and
just yeah last month, but definitely I added a packet
of ammodium tablets my toiletory bag. And the idea is,
(07:34):
at the first sign of any tummy turbulence, get some
of those into you and you should be okay. But yeah,
thankfully I was all good.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yeah, I managed to avoid it for five weeks the
first time I went, and in the second time I went.
I think actually the thing, the thing that caused me
most trouble wasn't so much the Deli belly, but was
the air pollution. And if you got the wrong time
a year in some parts of the air pollution can
be terrible. So have you got any other tips for us?
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Well, I would say definitely get a visitor visa for
in thea before you to part because you will speed
through the airport arrivals process stress free. I couldn't believe
how fast it was a few weeks ago. You can
apply for a visa on arrival, but you don't want
to do that after a long flight from New Zealand,
stuffing about in a queue for maybe two or three
(08:22):
hours to deal with the local bureaucracy. So definitely get
that visa in advance. And finally, if you need to
use an Indian airline for any travel, particularly domestically, maybe
you're going down to Mumbai from New Delhi for example,
I would suggest you go with Indie Go. They are
now the nation's biggest carrier. Obviously people had concerns about India.
(08:44):
They had that terrible crash, you know, a couple of
months ago. But Indigo they've got super new planes and
a fabulous safety record.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Fantastic. Hey, thank you so much, Mike. We'll put all
the Mike's tips for taking your first trip to India
India for first timers on the newstalk z'd be website,
and Mike will be back with us over the next
couple of weeks to talk through some of those top destinations.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
More from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame. Listen live to
News Talks ed B from nine am Saturday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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