A great trip in India

Old Jul 21st, 2016, 07:34 AM
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A great trip in India

I recently did an extensive tour of India with my wife and one of her colleague travelling through different cities and small towns. I know it was not the ideal time to travel to the sub-continent considering the heat but we were able to afford limited time from work.

We did a pre study of the places we wanted to see, though we were overwhelmed by the places listed on books and different websites, each offering unique stories. Finally we restricted ourselves to Delhi, Tajmahal, Rajsthan, Kolkata & a week in the extreme south, the backwaters. Out of all the places visited, we loved Tajmahal and few activities in Kolkata. Rajsthan was equally good where we managed to get into the streets for evening walks with our guide. We chose Kerala for a leisure time and though we went out for some cultural sites in Kochin, we spent most of our time at our hotel relaxing by the pool. The tour was perfect for the amount of time we had to spend in India.

We pre organised everything with a local tour agent in India except air tickets which we managed to book ourselves online. The agent we used came highly recommended by one of my office colleague, who used them for their family trip couple of years back. The company is based in Delhi and they did a great job organising everything smoothly and we were looked after very well. A white collar service indeed. http://www.takemetoindia.in/
The private cars we used were new, clean, with perfect aircon and a personal driver from the agent.

I have to admit that the smaller hotels we stayed were much fun than the international standard hotels. I would particularly like to mention the Royal heritage haveli in Jaipor for their excellent services and care. The hosts were very welcoming and they ensured we had a great time. We spent couple of good evenings over tea with the owner and were amazed by the various stories shared about Rajsthan and the place itself. So next time you are in Jaipor, do try to fit in this hotel in the itinerary. https://royalheritagehaveli.com/

The other hotels we liked were Lake Palace by Tajhotels in Udaipur, Malabar hotel in Kochin and the Kumarkom resort in the backwaters, where we stayed in for 4 days and it was really a treat to end this great trip on a high note.

We are trying to plan another 3 weeks trip to India somewhere beginning next year for our 55th anniversary, and are also considering a week in Bhutan. All cooking in my mind.
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Old Jul 21st, 2016, 08:41 AM
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Would you mind sharing your itinerary, especially your tour of south.
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Old Jul 21st, 2016, 09:53 AM
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We did a 28 days trip in India. With 2 days flying in and out extra. Have a look at the itinerary we did

Delhi – 2 days. We stayed at the Imperial hotel near the city centre circle.

Agra – 2 days. Stayed at the Oberoi hotel with a room overlooking Tajmahal, beautiful views! The food at the restaurant was excellent and the best we had in our trip

Jaipor – 2 days. Stayed at Royal heritage haveli hotel, quite impressed as we thought of staying in the Taj Palace hotel but our agent insisted us to choose this over.

Shahpura Bagh – 1 day. It was suggested by our agent to break the long drive. We took the village visit in the evening, and was worth it to see the countryside

Jodhpur – 2 days Raas haveli hotel. Good hotel in the middle of the residential area, getting through the crowded lanes, we were welcomed by great staff at the hotel

Udaipur – 3 days. Stayed at the Lake Palace Taj hotel. Spent an extra day in Udaipur meeting my friend’s adopted child in a small village near about.

Mumbai – 2 days. We flew to Mumbai and stayed at the Taj for couple of nights. The city was amazing and a bit crowded, No matter it is the busiest city of the country.

Kochin – 2 days. Flew early to Kochi. Stayed at the Harbour hotel, good heritage bungalow. We did a cooking class here with a celebrity chef organised by our agent, lovely evening!

Munnar – 2 days. Stayed at a heritage estate hotel. Spent days visiting tea estates around and a wildlife sanctuary. I think one night was enoough here, and we mostly spent our time in the hotel.

Periyar – 2 days. Stayed at the spice village hotel. Visited the reserve for half day, however there was not much wildlife to see unfortunately thanks to the humid weather

Kanam – 1 day. Serenity hotel. Our agent included a night here, and it was a great experience. We met the local elephant ‘lakshmi’ and went for a ride, it was such a lively interaction.

Backwaters – we then took an overnight houseboat. We had a private houseboat with our bedroom and a cook, with a crew member. It was a traditional houseboat and was way different than the others we saw while on the cruise. Don’t know the name of the houseboat as our Itinerary reads luxury houseboat, but our agent told us that it was one of the finest there and traditional

Kumarkom – we stayed here at the Lake Resort Kumarkom for 05 days. Most of our time was spent relaxing at the resort. We had a private pool attached to our room. My wife and her friend took a 2 day long local Indian spa package at the hotel

We then drove to the Kochin Aiport and connected to Delhi for a long flight! Spent few hours at the Holiday Inn hotel near the airport before we had our flight around midnight.

Our itinerary was tailored by our agent to meet our needs, and they did well. This was more of a mix of leisure and adventure trip we did, I guess. Drop in any questions. Are you heading to India?
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Old Jul 21st, 2016, 10:12 AM
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Forgot to add that we also went to Kolkata after Mumbai. Spent 2 days there and the highlight was a walking tour with Martin. Woke up early to visit the local market area around the river, the place was eclectic. Stayed here at the Oberoi - decent hotel. We then flew to Kochi early morning, with a short stopover at Mumbai.
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Old Jul 21st, 2016, 03:22 PM
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thank you so much. yes, we are going in March. i have been before but never been to south, jodphur, or Kolkata so trying to map out a plan. I stayed in Oberois in the past. What were your favorite hotels? any you would not recommend in the south?
J
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Old Jul 22nd, 2016, 10:14 AM
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Lucky you,
We are planning another trip next year but need to make sure nothing lags in here at work

You must try South of India, it was way different then North. Calm and unspoiled.

We loved staying in at the lake Palace in Udaipur, Kumarakom resort, Taj Palace in Mumbai and Royal heritage haveli in Jaipur. All hotels offered fantastic services.

We are less demanding travelers, so no complaints from our kitty.
Greg
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Old Jul 22nd, 2016, 02:11 PM
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Thanks for sharing you lovely trip report and detailed itinerary. Sounds like you enjoyed a lot of wonderful cultural experiences and also stayed at some really wonderful properties. It is always nice to find a small, independent boutique property with outstanding service, cuisine and rooms. A combo with larger properties on a long trip can be outstanding. Sounds like your agent was able to fund a nice balance. I will be following your planning for Bhutan. It's on my radar!
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Old Jul 24th, 2016, 10:09 AM
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thanks Loazahra,
yes it was a dream holiday, much inspired.

planning a Bhutan trip next year and would welcome your inputs as we work on it
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Old Aug 17th, 2016, 11:12 AM
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Hello Greg
seems like you had a great trip.
I am in touch with the same agent and they have worked out a great itinerary for our travel next February. We will be there for more than 4 weeks visiting North & Western India

Did you had a guide for whole trip? I am confused as someone told me that it is better to have a guide for the longer leg of the journey. Any ideas you would like to share would be more than welcome
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Old Aug 19th, 2016, 08:11 AM
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Hi Margene, We didn't booked a guide for the entire trip. We had different guides meeting us at each city we visited. I think it was better as we interacted with individuals who knew their destination.

We have now decided to return to India next year again but it would be a short trip than the one we had recently. Glad to know you are working with our agent, as we are using them again for our India part of the trip
All the very best!
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Old Aug 20th, 2016, 04:24 AM
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Thanks Greg for your inputs, we thought so, nonetheless having a guide for the entire journey would be expensive in terms of his lodging and travel. I will go with the original plan

Where you heading now? i see you will in Bhutan too. Such a lovely place, my neighbor been there and they say so admire the place
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Old Aug 22nd, 2016, 03:57 AM
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thanks margene, we are staying in 2 nights in Amritsar to see the Golden Sikh temple and are spending around a week in Almora.
Our agent has recommended a 7 night journey through the foothills as we wanted a rather active holiday. We are now booked into the Itmenaan lodge in Almoraa http://www.itmenaanlodges.com/itmenaan/

In Bhutan we are spending 8 days and are streamlining the things at the stage. It is turning out to be an expensive little country
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Old Aug 22nd, 2016, 09:53 AM
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Hi Greg, apologies for repeition--i asked this on your Bhutan thread also. Do you recall the name of the heritage hotel where you stayed in Munnar? (Was it perhaps Windermere?) I know you thought one day was enough in the area, but what how was your accommodation?

Visiting Amritsar is a great idea!!!!
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Old Aug 23rd, 2016, 01:31 AM
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Hi Calinurse, sorry for missing your question.
Yes we stayed at the Windermere hotel, a huge cardamom plantation estate offering . The room we had was huge with clear mountain views, good food and we spent some quality time walking down the estate
We thought one day was enough in Munnar, though just a personal thought and not to restrict anyone who wish to spend an extra day here.
Just a note that they don’t serve wines and don’t have pool, so come prepared for a real estate stay.
Yes we are heading to Amritsar next year and staying at the Ranjt savassa hotel, again our agent recommendation though we were on for Hyatt. http://svaasa.com/index.php any ideas on this? This looks charming and we are relying on takemetoindia as they have suggested some extraordinary hotels before.
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Old Aug 23rd, 2016, 04:58 PM
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Greg, thank you for Munnar information and impression. While twice to Kerala, I didnt yet make it to Munnar. I too had heard one day is plenty!!

Greg, another pos-ter on Fodors, Indianapearl, stayed at Ranjit's Svaasa. Maybe search her name. And my fantastic travel planner at Indianpanorama recommended it too. And as you have faith in your agent, as i do mine (and mine agrees with yours in this accommodation!) i'd say you made a good choice of place with lots of character. Also, it is unde the WelcomHeritage "umbrella" which has some wonderful heritage places I've stayed at.

However, we wanted something a bit more modern at that point in that trip, and also good postion for shopping, so we stayed at the Ista- now the Hyatt, which you first chose. Lovely hotel --was nearly new at the time (2010). An Indian friend with family in Amritsar stayed recently and said it is by far, in his opinion, the best place for the city. BUT he is looking at it as s "lovsl" "resident, not a tourist. If i were returning, I'd stay at Ranjit's Svaasa for a more "traditional" accommodation.

If you watch Anthony Bourdain, he has a show that includes his culinary delight in Amritsar!!

Amritsar is a fantastic city!!!!!!
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Old Aug 27th, 2016, 10:09 AM
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Hey Calinurse thank you very much for your inputs
Yes we loved the character of windermere and would recommend this for anyone heading to Munnar

Thank you for your reassurance on our hotel in Amritsar, we believe it is a nice pick to start off our holiday

Anthony's videos are a treat to watch and we are expecting same closer look into the city

Thanks again!
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Old Sep 8th, 2016, 06:54 AM
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Thank you for your beautiful trip report, Greg! I’ve been only once to India so far but I’d love to go back! I was there in February 2016. We went with 5 friends and really fell in love with the culture and landmarks of India. We’ve been to most of the places you’ve mentioned but we didn’t manage to visit Munnar and Kanan. So we’ll include them in our travel agenda for next time. I’d love to go to this wildlife sanctuary in Munnar you’ve mentioned.
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Old Sep 15th, 2016, 03:37 AM
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Hello AmandaHathaway, happy to know you liked the report.
You must do Munnar when you go back there, it was lovely.
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Old Sep 16th, 2016, 05:36 AM
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We thought Munnar was lovely. While there is not a great deal to do there, the countryside is extremely picturesque and nice for a day. We stayed at the Kumarakom resort and were quite bored, but we live in Florida in a country club community and have a pool in our backyard. If you are not looking to just veg out, I do not recommend a stay there. For those heading south, I strongly recommend a visit to the most amazing temples of Tamil Nadu.
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Old Sep 26th, 2016, 08:39 AM
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dgunbug, thanks for sharing your views.
Sad to know you didn't liked the Kumarakum Resort. We found the resort a good one with comfortable luxury, and were able to unwind ourselves and appreciate the service. May be because we were tired after the long trip we couldn't judge if it was worth the stay.

I completely respect your thoughts!
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