India can be a hard country to visit on your own. It isn't necessarily due to language differences - it's more due to cultural. Things are just so different here, and move at a different pace. As a result, the system is geared differently - towards giving immense bias towards those that are in the system.
As an example, take the auto-rickshaw. I wanted to go to a tour group office several Km from the hotel. But process of hiring an auto-rickshaw, however, is totally foreign to me. The basic procedure appears to be: wander around an area that rickshaws frequent. If you see one without a passenger, wave or shout at the driver. The rickshaw drivers all have keen senses of detection - they can pick out attention focused on them as they whiz by. They will stop, and then you will haggle over the details of your proposed trip. If the driver accepts, hop in and off you go. If not, it's off to find the next rickshaw that you can.
Needless to say, If someone at the hotel hadn't done the hiring for me, I certainly wouldn't have tried it myself.
So, having friends in India is almost a necessity. I have gotten fortunate that Pratima's dad picked a trustworthy place for me, that can help me out. But if you can, I suggest travelling with a local, better known as a babysitter.
-Andy