Upon entrance of the Shoppers Stop mall there’s several ice-cream vendors, a car park (10 rupees) and little garden area for relaxation. Lighters and matches aren’t allowed within the mall, camera’s and handy-cams are fine yet you’re not allowed to use them. It feels like the mall two wings, a west wing (left) and a east wing (right), the escalators connecting the floors are placed in the middle. As earlier mentioned the mall has a total of 3 floors, here’s a complete breakdown of each floor,

Groundfloor: Cosmetics & Parfumes, Jewelery, Watches & Sunglasses, Gadgets & Accessories, Men’s & Women’s Footwear, Cafe Coffee Today.
First floor: Men’s Apparels, Men’s Accessories, Women’s Apparels, Happy Feet, Lingerie & Nightwear, First Citizen Desk, Mama’s Room &
Second floor: Women’s Fashion, Men’s Fashion, Kids (Cool Kidz), Mother Case, Mama’s Room.
Third floor: Home, Sportswear, Luggage (as well electronic devices & furniture).
Fourth floor: Is presence but closed as of April 2010.

The restroom’s are present on every floor, unfortunately the mall has no free WIFI option, neither availability of an ATM machine but they do have a cool blue-tooth feature, activate bluFi@ShoppersStop with acceptance code 1234 in order to receive the latest shopping promotions while in the mall. Although you will receive the exact same promotions as being called over the radio, mixed in-between trendy Indian & International music. Throughout the mall security is present, on every floor and escalator you will find at least one or two security guards.

The main crowd in the mall is upper class Indians along with several foreigners.

Opening Hours Mon – Sun 11 am – 9:30 pm

Shoppers Stop
Vishal Cinema Road, Tagore Garden Extension
New Delhi, Delhi, India
(+91) 11 2544 4101
www.shoppersstop.com

General information

The FREEZE Sub-Zero lounge has officially opened 14th February 2010 at the 2nd and 3rd Floor of the West Gate Mall in the Rajouri Garden, New Delhi. The first unique edition of a sub zero day and nightlife establishment in the history of India’s capital city. Your senses will be tickled upon entrance of the FREEZE Lounge, neath neon lighting a trendy tune and painted walls will cover your senses. Choose to relax in the lounge first before entering a minus 10 degree ICE bar where snacks and drinks are served in ice glasses and on frost platters, with fancy glow in the dark liquor.

In order to enter the minus 10 degree ICE bar you are required to wear a jacket with if wished matching hand gloves and hat, which are recommended to at least bring. The staff is friendly and speaks good English and of course English. The ICE bar is decorated with ICE sculptures of the statue of liberty, hearts of ice, cultural Indian arts, a swan and mirrors to make the bar seem bigger. The snacks can be non and veg and be consumed in the little lounge corner on the left hand side of the DJ booth made of ICE, centered is the ICE bar where the cocktails get made on by your personal bar tender. You are advised to drink your drinks fast, as they will FREEZE! The earlier recommendation to bring gloves has been made in order to play the tick-tac-toe game made of gigantic ice cube blocks. The most crowded nights are on Friday and Saturday but the lounge is open any day of the week.

Ticket prices
Rs1000 (€17,10 or $21,47) which includes time entrance, unlimited drinks and food.

FREEZE Lounge facilities
Smoking is prohibited inside the FREEZE Lounge.
The FREEZE Lounge is wheelchair accessible.
Snacks are included in your entrance fee.
The FREEZE Lounge offers FREE WIFI.

Opening Hours Mon- Sun 12 pm – 1 am

FREEZE Sub Zero Lounge
2nd and 3rd Floor West Gate Mall
Rajouri Garden, New Delhi 110027
(+91) 11 4000 6000
www.freezelounge.com

Bhagwati Internet is more than just a internet cafe, in combination with the Drinks Corner they can serve drinks and foods when using the computer as well help you print, scan and fax (color) pages/photo’s, backup photo’s from your memory card on a CD, even book a taxi or railway & flight tickets.

When you just arrived in India, you will notice soon enough your going to need a local cellphone that works anywhere in India. In order to save numbers of taxi drivers or to call your hotel when your lost. You can either buy a cellphone in a regular store for full price or simply rent a phone from the Bhagwati Internet Cafe. Basically you will be paying the actual price the phone costs but have possibility to sell the phone back at the end of your trip for half the price. Example: Buy a 2000 rupees cellphone, go on a one month trip and receive a 1000 rupees back when returning the cellphone.

When both of the computers are occupied the owner will offer his own laptop for availability of a third person, as well there’s an older backup computer which can be used as a fourth.

The internet cafe can be found easily by following these directions, ask your Auto Rickshaw driver for the Koral Bagh area. Once you entered the Koral Bagh area (easily noticeable), take the first turn right than go straight. The Bhagwatizone Drinks Corner is located on your right hand side, right next to the C Park INN hotel. If you have issues finding the cafe, call the number (ask for Varun) and ask for directions.

Opening Hours Tue- Sun 8 am – 10.30 pm (Mon 8 am – 5 pm)

Bhagwatizone Drinks Corner
1026/17 Naiwala Karol Bagh, New Delhi
Tel: (+91) 9582759515
bhagwatizone@gmail.com

Taxi The most convenient and safe way to get around is by Delhi taxis, of which most are old but reliable Ambassadors in distinctive black-yellow livery. Please note, Ambassador taxi’s don’t have air condition. When you’re planning a little sightseeing tour, a cab is an requirement. Use for example TriCabs which charge Rs. 950 (about $20us) a day. For short trips, you can hail a taxi at the street. The meter starts at Rs. 6 (about $0.12us) plus Rs. 7 (about $0.15us) per km. although most meters are rigged, try agreeing upon the price in advance. Most trips within Delhi should be around Rs. 50-100 (about $1 to $2us), while the airport fee should be Rs. 200 (about $4.25us), and an 8 hour charter Rs. 500 (about $11us). Tip is expected when the driver is helpful, up to 10% of the total fare. As of recent years, the modern taxi operators Delhi Cab, Easy Cab, Quick Cab and Metro Cab have been catching on business rapidly, they’re twice the price per kilometer at Rs 15 (about $0.32us) per km but offer air condition and modern, clean cabs. Be sure to never take unofficial taxi’s, they might take you to the wrong place, or try to upsell you unwanted and overpriced tours, hotels and day trips.

Auto Rickshaw The auto rickshaws, also known as three-wheeled scooters or in short autos are perfect for short trips through Delhi. They reminded me of the Bangkok tuk-tuk’s. They drive around in distinctive yellow-green livery, and have no doors. About three people can sit in the back and in general are much cheaper than regular taxi’s. Although rickshaw drivers should charge according to meter by law, starting at Rs. 10 (about $0.21us) for the first km, and thereafter Rs. 4.5 (about $0.09us) per km, it doesn’t happen to often. This rate is unrealistically low, you will be hassled for an higher price. The shortest journey costs about Rs 20 (about $0.42us), remember to not pay over Rs. 100 (about $2.10) for anywhere within Delhi. In case you have serious troubles with the auto-rickshaw driver try calling the tourist police number on the vehicle, he will be fined with 500 rupees (about $10.70us) according to law.

If you don’t like the hassle and haggle of pricing, there’s also a number of “prepaid” auto-rickshaw stands run by the police. Tell them your exact location, pay upfront and receive a coupon. You will have to pay an extra service fee of Rs. 5 (about $0.10). Once you have arrived at your final destination, you hand the coupon to the driver. No further payment is necessary.

Cycle Rickshaw The cycle rickshaws, are three-wheeled, pedal-powered rickshaws, with a double seat in the back and a driver in the front. They are often used to travel places too far to reach by foot. Cycle rickshaws don’t use meters, be sure to agree upon the price before stepping on. Rs. 20 (about $0.40us) is reasonable for most short trips, with a maximum of 2 km. Although most locals pay below 10 rupees per ride. The cycle rickshaw is an ideal, unique and cheap way exploring the Old Delhi city center, as well feeling, hearing and viewing the tense streets of Delhi.

Bus All of Delhi’s districts are well connected by public buses, tickets range from 5 to 15 Rs. (about $0.10us to $0.30us) which is the cheapest way of transport, but they are also the least comfortable means of transport, and not easy to use for tourists. Public buses in Delhi are ever crowded, have no air-condition and drivers are famous for driving rashly. Bus stops and routes often have Hindi writing, and there’s no route lists for tourists. Asking locals is your best guess when traveling by bus. They do run every 15 to 20 minutes, which is pretty frequent. There’s two types of buses driving in Delhi; the Goverment DTC buses and Privately run Blue-Line buses. If you have choice, choose the DTC buses. They are known to stop less, and will be less crowded. Although, both buses will stop anywhere within Delhi if enough people get on or off.

When you board the bus, you have to purchase a ticket from the ticket seller right next to the entrance door. Hang on to your ticket, believe it or not Indian authorities check perform ticket checks frequently. Some basic guidelines include that the seats on your left hand side may be reserved for women and handicapped, as well once it’s time to get off move to the front of the bus near the drive. As you can expect, each and every guideline are ignored when it’s crowded. As I’ve seen, pretty much 24 hours per day, 7 days per week and 12 months per year.

Metro The three underground metro lines Dilshad Garden-Kashmere Gate-Rithala (Red) Jahangirpuri-Kashmere Gate-Connaught Place-Central Secretariat (Yellow) Noida-Connaught Place-Dwarka Sector 9 (Blue) provide air-conditioned, cheap and quick but more importantly a hassle-free way of traveling around the city. Fares range low as Rs. 8 (about $0.16us) up to Rs. 30 (about $0.61us). You have to purchase tokens in order to travel to your destination, for each trip you need to re-purchase tokens. If you are planning using the metro as your main way of transportation you’re better off purchasing a “Tourist Card” which costs Rs. 100 (about $2.10us) per day, or Rs. 250 (about $5.36us) for three days. Although it’s unlikely you will travel enough to break even, you can save a great deal of time and hassle by skipping the queues.

Each line has it’s use, for instance line 2 is popular and useful for traveling to Old Delhi and New Delhi railway stations, as well the ISBT bus terminal and “backpacker heaven” Paharganj. Line 3 allows you to visit the western parts of Paharganj and the Akshardham. The metro/subway network is still expanding, they next scheduled project is an direct Airport Link which should be finished this year.

Train Although trains are an excellent way of transport through India itself, there’s a limited services within Delhi itself, you simply can’t begin to compare to it’s user-friendly and futuristic Metro system and stations. Within Delhi, train stations are inconveniently location, most of the time on the outer spaces of the city. Besides the fact that there’s no passenger services within the Delhi Ring Railroads outside regular rush hours.

Foot Walking around Delhi, isn’t something I can recommend. Most of the time it’s to hot to walk, the distances are long, the road sings are poor and in touristic areas you will be constantly bothered by beggars and touts (ignore them). Not to begin about crossing roads in Delhi, a good advice on this is one is to crawl behind a group of locals and walk in their shadow. Oldest trick in the book but works every time. Further more it’s not advised to walk alone at night, always be friendly with the locals when walking around, as well watch out for pickpocketing and bag snatchers.

If you are seeking places to walk I would recommend the safe route from Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s house) to India Gate on the Rajpath, or simply try walking from Jama Masjid to Red Fort in the Chandni Chowk area.

Overall To summarize it all together, traveling around in Delhi, India whether you go by private taxi, metro, auto/cycle rickshaw or bus is cheap and most of the time effective. Stand your grounds when making the prices with the drivers. Keep in mind the city has many methods of traveling around, it’s advised to try different ones, even if it’s only to experience one and another.

- Original passport which is valid for at least 6 months after date of arrival India.
- Original passport photo’s (2 pieces).
- Completely filled in visa application form.
- Copy of your (e)-ticket purchase, with receipt.

Further more, India has different rules for VISA applications which are as follow,

Multiple Entry In case you’re in need of an double or multiple entry VISA you also need copy of tickets to another country, and a travel plan. For instance; Arriving 1th of January in India, 15th of January by plane to Nepal, 1th of February return to India.

Children Children under the age of 18, wanting to travel alone or with a single parent to India need a written permission from the parent not traveling along, plus a copy of his/her passport. When the children are traveling alone, they need a written permission from both of the parents, plus a copy of their passports.

Students Students traveling to India need to show proof of a school registration and a recent copy of a bank account statement on their name.

No income Any traveler without form of occupation is required to present a recent copy of a bank account statement on their name.

Nationalities Travelers that have an foreign nationality but are born in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq need to contact the embassy personally, after a conversation the Indian embassy shall request permission at the country of origin.

Repeat In case you have traveled to India before, your visa needs to be expired for at least 2 months before you can request another visa to India.

Long periods In case your a tourist, traveling for longer than 3 months to India, you need a written declaration, stating that your visit to India is purely on tourist bases and that you will not perform any other occupation while in the country.

Business If you are traveling for business purposes to India you also need to fill the backside of the visa application form (part C). As well an official written guarantee letter from your company stating; the employers function within the company, that the company is responsible for all of the travelers costs. In case you need a Multiple Entree Visa this, specifically needs to be written in the official letter.

Besides a letter from the company you work for all, you also need a invitation letter from the India cooperation, where it says the chamber of commerce numbers, and all other legal information such as; company address, reason of visit. In case there’s need to an Multiple Entree visa, it also needs to be confirmed in this letter.

In case the employers function within the company is lower than manager, owner or CEO than the following files also need to be included; Guarantee from boss or manager and a recent copy of the employee’s bank statement.

A list of cities in India

Delhi can be intimidating for the first time traveler with its tenacious touts, beggars and crush of thick smog between continues horns, mechanical and human traffic. Unlike other Asian capital cities Delhi has no skyscrapers and is completely flat. But don’t let your first impressions ruin this fabulous city, beyond the gritty surface you’ll discover that India’s capital is sprinkled with glittering gems: historic museums, magnificent ancient monuments, spacious parks, large shopping malls and high class restaurants to eat. Getting around Delhi is rather easy as well, with many ways of transportation in the auto-auto & bicycle rickshaws or old Ambassador taxi’s and even by metro or public bus. That is, if you know where to go.

EYE OPENER
Simply booking an official airport taxi in the arrival terminal of Delhi International Airport should be an eye opener to any traveler as well an interesting start of the incredible India journey to be. When you are ready to explore Delhi there’s one basic rule that should be followed: Know where you’re going. As the average taxi driver speaks little to non English, as well can’t read or write it, not knowing where you are going will result in being redirected to commission handy crafts, Indian arts and carpet bazaars. As well the “Indian Tourist Information Center” which are advertised for being non profit, government operated establishments while in fact they are overcharging resell agencies. The sales-men are very sweet, speak good English and try to lighting you up by offering free tea, coffee or soft drinks. Try to avoid entering them, and be careful if you do. Read more travel tips to ease your trip around India!

If you have absolutely no idea where you’re going and are up for an adventure!

Central Park an circle park in the middle of New Delhi. Several bazaars are nearby as the Palika Bazar in the outer circle of Central Park selling mainly electronics, as well the Main Bazar Pahar Ganj right across the New Delhi Railway Station which is a long stretched (backpacker) street market with touts and beggars left and right, as well several rooftop bars and cafe’s.

Canought Place has several commission bazaars which aren’t so persistence and display handicrafts being sold country wide. It’s not commended to buy here but have a good look at the goods being offered and know their pricing. Once you’re on the markets you should be able to get the exact same goods 5 to 10 times less than the commission bazaars.

PVR Plaza in Canought Place is Delhi’s best known cinema, all of the taxi drivers should know it. There’s many restaurants with different themes in the area as well International brand stores and several official book and music stores. If you’re seeking fine dining, laid-back shopping, Bollywood & Hollywood movies here’s where you take a stroll around.

Defence Colony in South Delhi is an step into a different world, no horns or busy traffic within the nightlife area, the tourists and upper class Indians are left alone wandering in the streets without any hustling from the establishment owners. The long stretched street are filled with bars, restaurants and rooftop lounges on both sides such as Moets, Shack, Soi 46, Swagath, Little Itally, Sagar, Colonel Kababand and Red Coral.

Tagore Garden Extension when you are looking for serious shopping in 5 stories plus malls you will love this New Delhi area. Several malls in this area are the Shoppers Stop, West Gate Mall and City Square Mall. This is were upper class Indians go shopping, you will notice that most malls don’t offer an ATM inside the mall which is because most high class Indians use credit cards.

Also try any of these random ones South Extension Part 1, South Extension Part 2 and Gate of India.

SIGHTSEEING
The city of Delhi offers various options for sightseeing. The best to get round is by private taxi which can be rented by day. Either contact an official taxi company or arrange one in your hotel. A regular 4 person car should cost around 800 Indian rupees for 8 hours, including parking and tollways. It’s the best simply because the auto-auto rickshaw drivers can’t be trusted, and peddling from one sightseeing to another they will charge extra.

SIGNS
When wandering around the streets of Delhi you will notice the signs displaying “ISD” “STD” “PCO” “XEROX”. Basically these little booths and shops are the payphones of India, these terms do not only apply in Delhi but throughout the entire country.

ISD International Subscriber Dialing
STD Subscriber Trunk Dialing (Local)
PCO Public Call Office
XEROX Copy & Printing

VISA
All nationalities traveling to India must have an Indian Visa prior to arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL), even for airline transits. Travel destination India is pretty strict issuing visa’s and has multiple requirements which count for all travelers. For price inquiry please contact the embassy, a basic tourist VISA to India for 3 months costs €65 in Europe and $80 in North America, while Students, Business, Journalists or Family visa’s start at €99 ($120). The best period to visit Delhi is between March and May this is in the summer period with the least rain.

A list of cities in India