When you fly in America, you basically have to show your photo ID just to buy an overpriced coffee at Starbucks or to go to the bathroom in the airport. Not so in India. I passed through two major international airports--Calcutta and Bangalore--and not once was I asked to present photo ID. Not to get my boarding pass and not to get on the plane.

Aside from that slight glitch in security, I found flying domestically in India to be quite convenient, comfortable and cheap. I'd heard a few horror stories from other travelers about flying Indian Airlines, the government-run airline. In recent years, however, several budget airlines a la Southwest and ATA have popped up in India thanks to a growing middle-class that loves to be tourists (once they get off the airplane, they squeeze into a jeep for a week).

I was quite comfortable on my Air Deccan flight, except for the fact that they can't check your luggage all the way through. To get from Calcutta to Trivandrum (Kerala), I had to piece together two one-way flights and claim my luggage in Bangalore and then re-check in several hours later, after lugging my backpack around the airport.

It was worth it though. For less money than a train ticket from Calcutta to Trivandrum (and significantly less time--12 hours of flying/waiting vs. two days), I was able to go from one end of the Subcontinent to another.