Travel Tips

My tips and recommendations to places I have been.

India
I specifically spent most of my time in New, Delhi. I lived in India for a whole summer in 2013. I was there doing research with a health institute that served mainly mothers and children. Here is my summary of tips for India:

• Rent is extremely cheap, when I was there I paid about $36 a week! which is close to nothing compared to the U.S ( if you plan on going for over a month, I still have some connections, let me know). 
• Use the TukTuk, or rickshaw as transportation. These are covered 3-wheelers that will take you most anywhere! it's very fun, safe and the cheapest mode of transport. 
• Eat all the Indian food you can! my favorite dish in India is Chicken Tikka Masala!, but there is so much to try some other favs are: chole (curry chickpeas) , palaak paneer (cheese and greens), naan, biryani (rice), momos ( kinda like potstickers but not fried), dosa ( kinda like a big tortilla, crispy and you dip it in different sides), samosas (friend bread thing usually stuffed with potato and something else), and finally Mango sweet Lassi!!!! Yum! I fell in love with Indian food, and it changed my life forever. 
• Shopping: my favorite places: Sarojini Market ( my favorite place for shopping! super cheap like 100 rupees a shirt! and they sell left over brand stuff from clothing factories, you can find some great clothes here if you look around, great deals and bargaining is allowed! and strongly encouraged. Usually the first price they give you is 3x more than what it should cost you, if they won't budge walk away...they will follow you and give you your price!), Janpath market is also good, and Dili Haat.There are so many more markets and of course many malls but there were my favorite places to shop.
• Safety: I found India to be very safe during the day, and there is police and security in most places. I would say just be careful where you are at night and the environments you are in, of course if you visit a bar and people are intoxicated things can take a wrong turn, practice caution as you would back home. 
• Language: In New Delhi, I would say that a huge percentage of people speak English especially in more commercial areas ( flea markets a little less, but enough English to shop and sell!), so you should be good if you speak English. Most signage is also available in English. 
• Must sees: Seriously India has some of the most amazing buildings I have seen. You must visit: Taj Mahal, Golden Temple,  Swaminarayan Akshardham (they don't let you take picture in here and they take your cameras before entering, but inside you can get your picture taken. this place is kinda unheard of but very amazing!), Lodi gardens, India gate, Qutub Minar, Red Fort, and Lotus Temple! of course there is tons more to see but these were my favorite places. Also there is a kamasutra building that I did not visit but I heard it is amazing and I have seen pictures and it truly is unique!
• Travel costs: The most expensive thing is the flight, which depending on when you look you can get a good deal. Being in India is very affordable. Food costs nearly 2$ a meal on the lower end to $7 for a nice-sit-down kind of place. If you buy groceries and make your own food you could be paying about 80 cents a meal. Transportation is also very cheap if you use rickshaws and the metro system there. I lived in India for about 4 months, and aside from my ticket (which my mother bought me) the total cost for my whole experience- minus the clothes I bought and souvenirs was: $1,200-ish which is super cheap for 4 months ( accommodation, food, transportation, sightseeing)

Republica Dominicana 

(The Dominican Republic for our gringx amigos)

Ahhh the Caribbean sea! And Atlantic I guess, lol. I have been to Monte Cristi up north to help build Public Health curriculum for a school and also Punta Cana. I will talk about Punta Cana, since that is a more touristy/ popular beach destination. 

• Accommodations: packages! get a flight and hotel package, I have always found them for $700ish (roundtrip from PDX and all-inclusive hotel) , I think that is very affordable and doable. I always recommend RD as a great getaway to nice beaches and another country for a cheaper price! The hotels are very nice and the food is amazing!!!! I highly recommend Vista Sol and Barcelo, but really most anything there is great! Most of the time I try to stay away from all-inclusive places just because I like going out and trying the street food and fancy restaurants and market food but Punta Cana is is kind of a labyrinth of roads and from my experience and what I have seen it looks harder to get out and find food and quite frankly a waste of time cuz things seem far away and isolated. This place was made for all-inclusive. This is just my observations though and if anyone has a better idea let me know in the comments please!
• Things to do: Punta Cana is a blast! when I went on a girls trip with my primas, we were out and about everyday. You can book any kind of trip you want from your hotel lobby or out on the beach with the dudes waving the tourist flyers. Day excursions are typically $50-$70 a day and most of them include a lunch or dinner or something (also most all-inclusive places will pack you a lunch if you are away all day, just ask a day before!) My favorite things to do/ excursions were: Isla Saona, Hoyo Azul(Scape Park), Dirt Kart (Adventure Boogies) and a coffee tour of some sorts if you like coffee and chocolate. Your hotel will also have a schedule of events enjoy those- they are free! (well you paid with all-inclusive package but still you know what I mean) oh and Punta Cana was were I decided I wanted to swim with dolphins, that was spendier ($200) but it was such a cool experience, although I kinda felt very bad afterwards since those poor dolphins are kept in captivity for tourism.