Vadodara, a town in Gujarat in India, also known as Baroda, is named for the Vad (banyan) trees that flourish in the area.
About
The language spoken by people in Vadodara varies, but almost everyone speaks Gujarati and Hindi. Marathi community is also on a large scale in the city. Most young people speak passable English, and in certain areas you will meet people that are fluent in English. Alkapuri is heavily frequented by NRI's (non-resident Indians) and has western restaurants (Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Subway, CCD, Barista, Barbeque Nation etc.), stores (Adidas, Nike, Metro, etc.), etc. This area is frequented by highly affluent individuals and you can generally find English speaking people on a large scale.
Recently the city has been attracting many International IT Companies to invest in the area to set up operational hubs, including L&T, Collabera, and TCS. Many people from IT centers in India like Bangalore prefer working here because of the simple life, but with all resources like schools, water and electricity.
How to Reach
You can get into Vadodara on a domestic flight, and it is reasonably connected to the rest of the country by domestic airlines like Indian Airlines, Indigo and Jet Airways. The nearest international airport is about 100 km away in Ahmedabad to which is served by Air India, Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines.
The Vadodara Junction Railway Station is the busiest Railway Station in Gujarat. It is situated on the Mumbai - Delhi Western Railway Main Line. You can get premium trains like Shatabdi and Rajdhani from Vadodara. Humble Mail/Express Trains are also available which connect you to almost the entire country. Passenger Trains are also available which take you to small villages and towns nearby Vadodara and even in Gujarat. This railway station has 7 platforms. Exits from platform no. 1 to 5 and 7 will lead you to Sayajigunj, and exit from platform 6 will lead you to Alkapuri.
The National Highway no.8 passes through Baroda. It is connected by excellent roads. There is an express highway to Ahmedabad, and highway travel is fairly speedy by road, at least to other places in the western part of the country. Its going to be a 6 Lane road soon.
The main bus station has now been shifted to Nizampura area, while the original one near the Railway Station undergoes renovation.Non-airconditioned buses leave from here which connect you to all the parts of Gujarat and the major cities of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Intercity Buses leave every 15 minutes to Ahmedabad, taking 2 hours on the expressway and costing Rs. 68 per person (Jun 08). These buses are available right opposite to the Vadodara Railway Station after crossing the Road opposite to the Station.
Vadodara can be accessed by travelling in river Mahi in a boat from Savli.
Get around
Local transport consists mainly of City Buses and three-wheelers called auto-rickshaws which are very cheap and easily available. Always insist on meter usage and the rate payable is 10 times the amount shown plus 1. (for example, if it shows 2.80, the fare is 28+1 = 29Rs for a 4-5km journey). The fare is meter reading plus 5. An extra Rs 5 is charged if there are 4 passengers.
The VITCOS City Buses take you to all parts of the city and the VITCOS Bus Stand is right opposite to the Railway Station. The buses are very comfortable and cheap. It costs Re. 1/- per 1.2 km.
Do
There are quite a few sights worth taking a look at such as the Lakshmi Vilas Palace and the old zoo. If you're headed here plan a trip that lasts not more than three days because then you'll run out of things to do. And because of the fact that it is cosmopolitan, infrastructurally decent and well connected by rail, road and air, this is a good place to have as your 'hub' and make day trips to other places.
If you want to learn anything related to the arts, Baroda is a good place to be - you can learn classical dance, pottery, whatever ... fairly inexpensively and from good teachers.
Vadodara has companies like L&T,Xylem water solutions,IOCL,ABB, GSFC, ONGC, IPCL (now Reliance), Bombardier, General Motors,Kemrock, Alembic and Jyoti. Many other petrochemical companies like GACL and pharma cos like Sun Pharma, Alembic and Sarabhai of the city are also well known. It is also considered as good location for IT companies with coming SEZ. Also, a new biotech park is coming up in the city. Quickstart Global has set-up its operations in City as well and have provided employment to more than 800 people.
Reproduced from Wikipedia
