TRIP PLANNER
MUMBAI (BOMBAY)
Plus: Although this is where the trendy scene is happening, Mumbai retains the architecture and much of the flavor of the days of the Raj.
Minus: Hopelessly antiquated transportation infrastructure, from airport to taxis to roads.
Hotel: Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Apollo Bunder, Colaba; Tel: 011-91-22-5665-3366, from $250. A bit lacking in personal service, but the palace rooms are impeccable.
Restaurant: Trishna, Sai Baba Marg, Kala Ghoda; Tel: 011-91-22-2261-4991. Astonishing seafood; tears come to my eyes when I think of the king crab with butter and garlic.
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GOA
Plus: The isolated high-end hotels make for lovely beach resorts; Portuguese influence still lingers in the food and the old buildings.
Minus: The roads are jammed and the beaches overcrowded and dirty.
Hotel: Taj Holiday Village, Sinquerim Beach, North Goa, Tel: 011-91-832-564-5858, from $175. Luxury cottages and other facilities spread out on 28 beachfront acres.
Restaurant: Le Poisson Rouge, Baga Beach, Tel: 011-91-832-394-5800. An innovative chef from Normandy doing French-Goan fusion.
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UDAIPUR
Plus: A beautiful city of lakes and old palaces.
Minus: An acute shortage of hotel rooms, unless you come well equipped with cash.
Hotel: Devi Garh, Delwara N.H. 8 near Eklingji, Tel: 011-91-2953-289211, www.deviresorts.com. The palace, one of the most spectacular hotels in India, stands on the top of a hill surrounded by a colorful village an hour's drive from Udaipur. The palace rooms start at $500, rooms surrounding the garden are $350, and eight tents on the palace grounds -- complete with marble bathrooms and more comfortable than many hotel rooms -- are $150.
Restaurant: Garden Hotel, Gulab Bagh Road, Udaipur, Tel: 011-91-294-241-8881. A delicious thali plate (a little of everything, with extra helpings free) of Rajasthani food, costing all of $1.
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KOLKATA (CALCUTTA)
Plus: An opportunity to see the old (Raj-era buildings, jostling crowds, outdoor markets, poverty) and new (gleaming high-tech zones) Indias side by side.
Minus: Appalling air pollution.
Hotel: Park Hotel, 17 Park St., Tel: 011-91-33-2249-9000, from $200. Modern, stylish and trendy.
Restaurant: Aaheli, in the Peerless Inn, 12 Chowringhee Road, Tel: 011-091-33-2228-0301. Great Bengali food, with freshwater fish the highlight.
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HYDERABAD
Plus: You've read about India's high-tech boom; now you can see it, in a city more amenable to tourism than Bangalore.
Minus: The old India is more colorful than the new India.
Hotel: ITC Kakatiya Sheraton, 63-3-1187 Begumpet. Tel: 011-91-40-2340-0132, from $200. No historic splendor, but clean, modern and pleasant.
Restaurant: Our Place, Banjara Hills, Tel: 011-91-40-2335-4234. Hyderabadi biryani (rice with meat) is deservedly famous, and no one does it better than here.
Note: The hotel rates listed above are for the current peak season, which ends March 31. Between April and June, the months of hot weather, and July through September, monsoon time, rates can drop as much as half.
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