India--to begin with--was always an inexpensive place in which to travel, even when a U.S. Dollar bought you only 40 Rupees. When that currency then weakened to a level of 55 Rupees to the dollar about a year ago, its hotels, restaurants and tours became so cheap as to cause me to write a frenzied blog about the phenomenon, an excitable outpouring of words about the ultra-low cost of enjoying this colorful country.
The bargains there were quite dramatic. A pleasant guesthouse of New Delhi, in which my daughter and her husband rented a room for $15 a night, suddenly became a guesthouse charging only $10 a night. As for restaurant meals in Mumbai costing $3, those weren't difficult to find. A big bottle of Kingfisher beer, almost anywhere, for $1.10? No problem.
Imagine my astonishment, therefore, when the Indian Rupee fell by a further drop to a level of 64 to the dollar, as it has in this morning's financial reports. The currency of India has plunged a full 16% just within the past few days (go to xe.com to confirm the rate). And although that development means economic hardship for a great many of its citizens, a vastly increased torrent of incoming tourism will serve to ease the blow. It will also bring, to cost-conscious tourists, one of the world's most fascinating vacations.
You can fly round-trip to India (on Air France, let's say, via Paris) for less than $1,200. Once there, you can live on less than you'd need in virtually any other country.
Looking for a different kind of trip? It will never be cheaper to visit India.