• Etiquette – Men
  We are sorry but men have no problems with how to dress, but the same type of cool, loose clothing is strongly suggested. No need for boots, socks, jeans or anoraks in South India.
  Be prepared to take off your shoes when you enter a house or temple. Flip-flops are best and very cheap here. A firm handshake will gain friendship. Diplomacy and listening to the other person always works wonders. Much can be learned from elders in India.

Note: The same rules as above regarding relationships is equally applicable to our male volunteers. 

• Food
  Note: SKCV in India is a totally vegetarian organisation which promotes vegetarianism. Meat and fish are not part of our diet., eggs, however, are allowed

As most of the children are ‘veggies’ before they come to us we find it better for their health to continue this. We also believe that one who eats meat loses his/her sense of mercy and cannot work well with the children. Either way it really is best to abandon meat while you are in India. Most disease comes from eating contaminated meat. There is no such thing as a butcher’s shop and the meat stall on the roadside will quickly confirm your resolution to go ‘veggie’. Be prepared to eat with your your right hand!

For more information, go to: www.ivu.org     or     www.goveg.com

Food Shopping
‘Modern Foods’ Supermarket and Nilgiris can provide you with a variety of goods, bread, rice, pasta, tomato puree, custard, sweets, Cadbury’s Drinking Chocolate (yep!), Kellogg's Cornflakes, butter, sweet corn, processed, cheddar and mozzarella cheese, baked beans, biscuits, packet soups, toiletries and washing powder…. You can often get bread, biscuits and butter at a ‘Fancy Store’, stocking, it seems, whatever takes their fancy!

Fresh milk is not bought at a supermarket but they have pasteurised packets. Fresh milk from the roadside – blue and yellow crates (only at 5.00am). Ask for dairy outlets as well. Milk is sold in 500ml packs for Rs.6-7. Normal milk packet with blue writing, semi-skimmed with orange. Boil the milk even if it says pasteurised.

You can buy all kinds of vegetables and fruits at the market and street stalls. Vegetables include potatoes, aubergines, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots etc. Fruits include pineapple, mangoes, papaya, sweet grapefruit (its juice makes a marvellous drink), bananas, grapes, pomegranates etc.

Be prepared to barter. Ask someone you trust what you should pay, halve the amount the vendor asks and with a smile, start with that. Walking away also reduces a price fast.

Where to eat out
When at the children's village you can either eat in the dining room with the boys, (which is the spicy option). Or try the international cuisine in Manihara, his wife and their adopted son's  house. Orders can be taken for Mexican, Spanish, traditional Italian or any other flavour. Previous volunteers serious suggest creamed potatoes.

There are many good places to eat. Krishna Residency has a good restaurant and fast food stall. The Hotel Illapuram (pronounced eyelapooram) has a vegetarian restaurant that is recommended and not expensive. Try the 70mm dosa. Hotel Quality Inn (DV Manor) is a top hotel and it has all kind of food, but it is bit expensive. Hotel Minerva has a great veggie restuarant.

Breakfast is easily found outside the gates of the volunteer apartment. The stall will provide fresh dosa, puri or idly. For snacks there is a good fast food joint under the Alankar cinema in the city centre and another, Anoos,. Modern Café and Lodgings on Besant Road does nice masala dosa (savoury pancake), sweet lassi (yoghurt drink) and is a perfect place for an evening meal. Try Kulfi ice cream .. it’s made from buffalo milk and is an acquired taste but we love them! There is another ice cream parlour on Bunder Road worth a visit! At Adhikar Hotel there is a fast food joint and Hot breads which is the BEST place in town. Vegetarian burgers,  ice cream and pizzas are sold at Baker’s Inn. Then there is always CRAZY RESTAURANT in Gandhinagar.

Eating habits in India is the custom to eat with the fingers by all. Wash your hands before and after eating. The left hand is considered very dirty and is never put near the mouth. Indians will, however, take pity on you and give you a spoon, (sometimes).

Getting around
You can travel by taxi, bus, auto-rickshaw and cycle. To get to the centres you can get an auto-rickshaw. Prices are Rs. 15 to go to the night shelter, but it's also a comfortable walk, Rs.20 to the girls centre and Rs.30 to the children's village. Every morning at 9:30 am you can catch the SKCV bus leaving the night shelter for the village.

Getting away
There is a good bus service in Vijayawada although it may be crowded. Women sit at the front, men at the rear. The conductor is the man struggling through the crush screeching for your tickets. Many buses leave for all parts of India daily and the service is efficient. They range from boneshakers to nice semi-sleeper Air Conditioned tourist buses. Prices are cheap and booking is computerised.
Vijayawada has the largest train station in South India which is situated a short distance from the night shelter. Trains leave daily for all major cities, simply ask us to organise your ticket or there is an underground booking hall which is computerised. From here you can book travel anywhere in the country and also travel starting from other destinations.

There is an information counter staffed by friendly staff opposite the entrance where you can have queries answered and can obtain reservation slips you write on it the details of the ticket you require and then queue at the relevant counter. Women can queue jump; there’s a special window for them and freedom fighters! You can only book tickets 30 days ahead. It’s well worth doing this early – remember the train is the most popular form of travel for 9 million people here. Get your seat before they all do. Long distance hauls (30 hrs or more) are best done in Air conditioned coaches.

The SKCV staff and boys will gladly tell you what to see and where it is. Some of the older boys make good guides.

Shopping!!!
The best place to shop is One Town, the oldest part of the city. A centre of tiny streets crammed with rickshaw's, auto's, animals, children, beggars, street sellers and dozens of shoppers next to small shops overflowing with goods. It is possible to find anything ranging from spices, silver, ropes, sari's, fruit, vegetables, games, paint and bangles. Be careful not to get lost in the retail jungle! Bhakti {Founder} will be happy to take you out.

Things to see
Kanakadurga Temple can be seen on the hill, very old and beautiful, when travelling to the village. Ignore pushy priests in the small temples who say they want to bless you but really want you to bless them with your money.

Queen Victoria Memorial Museum is on Bunder Road.

A trip to an Indian cinema is a must, if only to observe the phenomenon as the film draws to a close. Go to see a Hindi or Telugu movie- some of the boys or girls will translate for you. Two cinemas show up-to-date English films and tickets for air-conditioned seats are around Rs.25.(believe it or not!)

Gandhi Hill is in the middle of the city between 1 Town and 2 Town and offers a museum and views for miles.

Rajiv Gandhi Park is the main green area of the city. There is a water fountain synchronized with modern music and a small zoo which is not well stocked but the lizard in the end cage is a ‘must see’.  Its ancestor would climb to the top of a castle with a rope put around his neck to help invading men scale the walls

There are other parks including Ragaviah Park near Besant Road dotted along the canals.

The children and your guide book will tell you all about places of interest.

Buy here (almost everything)
If you are staying a while a mosquito ‘zapper’ which you plug in to the electricity supply will ensure a bite-free night. Nets prevent the air from the fan reaching you.

Clothes, both for your stay and for use at home. Anything can be tailored here. If you have a picture of it they can make it! So make sure you have family measurements before you leave home. The silks and cottons are lovely. Indians do not buy off the rack. Everything is tailor made.

Bookshops
Ashok Bookshop is quite a way out near Benz Circle but is well worth a visit if you want a good book. If you haven’t read ‘Freedom at midnight’, written by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, make it the next you read.  Higginbottoms, the largest book chain in South India sells a wide range of good books. Cassettes and CDs are half the price here than in the West.

Annoyances
The queue does not exist in India and your frustrations will be ignored. Always be polite and prepared to wait.
Driving in India is an art (of madness) much akin to the dodgem cars. The bigger vehicle has right of way. Two or three policemen have to man traffic lights because no one follows the lights or the that matter any semblance of the Highway Code. But the SKCV founder and the boys drive all day without a problem, its actually fun to drive in India once you know that the rule is there are no rules.

Last points:
Being friendly and courteous moves mountains here. The Indians are very friendly, kind people. SKCV will help all the way with anything you need to be done. Just remember that India is VERY different from the West. 
"When in Rome ...  Do as the Romans Do".

All in all don’t worry about a thing. Visiting India is a great and rewarding experience for every one. Visiting SKCV is even more so, life is very different but highly interesting and amusing. Look for the man riding his rickety bicycle on the bumpy roads .... with 50 trays of eggs towering above the back rack!!!

WE AT SKCV ARE HERE TO HELP YOU EVERY INCH OF THE WAY.

Contact us at:   volunteer@skcv.com