The cheapest I could find to get to India was through China. For a few days, I stayed in Beijing and wandered its historic sites. I had not been to Beijing since I was in grade 11, but the sites were as magnificent as I remembered them. Despite the being its downside pollution, I found Beijing relatively easy to navigate via its subway system and food/accommodation to be incredibly affordable. It was December when I arrived and while the days were fine, the evenings were deeply frigid relative to what I was wearing, which wasn’t much!