Six weeks that is luxury.

If you are wanting to stop in one of the Upmarket hotels then we can wholeheartedly recommend Rawla Narlai - is a marvelous place. We loved it.
http://www.rawlanarlai.com/

This is a copy of the review I wrote:
A converted fort in the small village of Narlai, reached down side a turning off the main street. You enter through a massive wooden gateway with gateman dressed in military style uniform into a large grassed courtyard with fountain (floodlit after dark) and chairs. The dining room and terrace are in front, reception and offices behind. We were taken into the dining room to register with an ‘officer’, who checked what we were doing during or time in Narlai and offered us tea in our room. This arrived in great style on a small table which was carefully set up in our room for us.

The hotel is built around courtyards of different sizes with bouganvillea and frangipane everywhere. During the day, lounging beds are put out on the lawn.

Rooms are scattered around the different courtyards and each was completely different. We were on first floor of a large building off the second courtyard. Access to our room was off an open, covered corridor with sitting areas with easy chairs, hammock style bed and small tables.

It was a large room with decorative arches with sunflowers and a couple of small slit windows. There was a doorway onto a small private balcony. We had a big double bed, day bed in an alcove, assorted easy chairs and tables and a small desk for the computer. There was a small dressing room with an area for our luggage an a large old mirror hiding the hanging space. The bathroom was off this and had shower, sink and toilet. There were plenty of toiletries and a reasonable selection of towels.

We climbed onto the top of the building for views across Narlai to the desert and to the large Elephant rock.

There was a large swimming pool with deck chairs.

Dining room staff wear traditional Rajasthan dress with turbans. They were efficient and friendly.

Breakfasts were a self service buffet with cereal or rice porridge, eggs and an assortment of sweet rolls and croissants.

We ate in the hotel each night. There was a large group in the first night and a self service buffet was put out. The next two nights there were no large groups so dinner was served to your table in the courtyard by candlelight. The meal arrived in individual ‘silver’ dishes on a huge turntable. Staff kept coming round with wheat, corn and buckwheat chapatti and other types bread. This was definitely stylish.

Musical accompaniment these 2 nights was by a female singer accompanied by a male on drums sitting outside a small shrine near the main gateway. It was typical Rajasthani music.... sounded as if someone was being strangled - slowly.

The hotel offers escourted tours of the village. This is probably sensible as we found exploring on our own we were pestered for "money, ball point, photo..." We made the mistake of wandering off the main street where there were no adults around and had a couple of stones thrown at us by children.

This is a delightful hotel. we were expecting great things of it and it more than lived up to expectation. It was one of the best places we stopped.

You can easily visit Kumbalgarh & Ranakpur from NArlai. Allow a day for each.

Between Narlai and Udaipur do make a stop for the Eklingji Temple Complex. This is a Shiva temple and there are 108 temples surrounded by a high wall. The original buildings were 8thC and rebuilt during the 15thC. The architecture is amazing but unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures.

The Saas Bahu Temples on Lake Bagela are also worth visiting. Only two temples are left from the original 18. These are Vishnu temples. Building began in the 8thC and was finished by the 10thC. They were built on a huge marble dais. Saas is the bigger temple made of carved marble with a brick roof. Pictures are allowed but Don't talk to the temple guardian as you will be given a guided tour where he explains everyone of the many statues and will expect a tip afterwards.

Have you thought about Mount Abu in Rajasthan. There is an overnight train from Delhi to Abu Road. It is the only Hill Station. It is popular with Indian honeymooners but receives few foreign tourists. The Dilwara Temples ae splendid and well worth visiting (unfortunately no photographs allowed) We stopped at the Palace Hotel.
http://www.palacehotelbikanerhouse.com/
This is 19thC with an air of Scottish baronial. This was originally the summer palace of the Maharajas of Bikaner. It is a splendid building with jali screens shielding windows in the main building. It has been an hotel since 1962 and has an air of 1930s decaying grandeur. There were lots of staff. I was when carrying a small rucksack - ‘it is my job to carry that’. It suddenly made me realise how important service was to keeping a job.

The Palace is on the outskirts of Mount Abu on the road to the Dilwara Temples. It is surrounded by large gardens with a small lake. These had become overgrown and are gradually being restored. There is a tennis court in front of the hotel and tables to have afternoon tea on the lawn. Look out for the monkeys on the roof tops. The family of the Maharajah still visit and stay in part of the hotel. There was a security guard patrolling the grounds making sure guests didn't stray into the private gardens when the Maharajah was in residence.

Steps lead up to the grand entrance. There is a large reception area with an elegant lounge with small bar to one side. There were two dining rooms off the lounge. One with lovely view over gardens.

We were in a separate courtyard block - possibly the old servants quarters? - with rooms off. Our room had a huge sitting area with desk and easy chairs. Through a door was a big bedroom with 2 single beds pushed together. These were very firm and creaked well each time we moved. There were 2 bedside tables, 2 easy chairs and an extra table. There was a long low chest of drawers (with extra blankets) to put suitcases on and a cupboard with plenty hanging space. There was an ancient fridge which wheezed away like the ghost of one of the maharajahs.

Off the bedroom was a large bathroom with Victorian towel stand. There was a huge old fashioned hand basin and big bath with shower over. There were plenty of good towels which were replaced when asked and the room serviced on the first afternoon after we had had showers. There was a beautiful white marble floor with black marble decoration throughout.
We ate in the restaurant every night (easier than trying to get a taxi into the town). The evening meals were good. Soup was served to the table and then you went to help yourself to a buffet. There was plenty of choice.The hotel was busy, mainly with large groups.

There was a simple but good breakfast of cornflakes, fruit juice, eggs and toast.

We had an enjoyable and relaxing two nights here and fully recommend it.

Shree Saha Janad School is a small boarding school in the grounds below the hotel. We went for a walk down the road towards it. Several boys were out playing football and we were soon surrounded by a group of about 20 inquisitive boys who wanted to know where we came from, all about us and our currency. Michael showed them $1 and $5 bills and also £5, £10 and £20 notes. They were very impressed by how much £20 is worth. In their eyes that represented real wealth.

As soon as they found out I used to be a teacher, I was shown all their exercise books. These were beautifully laid out and very neat. Different coloured ink was used for questions and answers. The science was very old fashioned - flower structure, yeast, ferns, plant anatomy and very detailed information on soil profiles. Physics covered sound and light but there were no diagrams or indication of any practical work. We must have been making a lot of noise as one of the teachers appeared followed by another with a definite air of authority (“He’s my teacher - he’s very strict") who sent boys back inside and quizzed us hard.

We were asked if we would visit them the following night and they were genuinely sad when we said we were moving on.

It is a pleasant drive from Mount Abu to Narlai.

We only had a week round Rajasthan - not very long. I wrote a detailed review here:
http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/tripreport.asp?tripid=1791&index=0

And our pictures are here:
http://wasleys.org.uk/Asia_websites/asia_09_mw/28a_index.html

Eleanor, thanks for posting your lovely trip report and gorgeous photos. We are interested in going to quite a few of the places you've covered.

As mentioned in Magsters thread, I think we will opt for Jojawar as a less expensive alternative to Narlai. Maybe next time...

Mt Abu was definately a consideration and has been on and off the list a few times. I don't think we will get time to go there on this trip though. It was nice to visit via your report though!

If I only get to go to India once in my lifetime I think I would always regret not going to Varanasi... Varanasi is not optional!

Looks fine to me bascally.

indiamike.com great info on local guides of quality.

lots of scammers if you get a bad one it will cost a lot.

tucantravel.com had some great routes at great price points

for me when a newbie might have a look there.

Even self-guide the same route.

Best for me staying flexible hire driver guides cheaply

bootson theground through my hotel usually.

check consular advisories mdtravelhealth.com to prevent

DelhiBelly and insuremytrip.com Happy Travels!

Forgot weather2travel.com India Climate guides

You are trying to go during the tail end of monsoon

season push into December for better cooler weather

or spend more time in drier areas.

Thanks for the advice qwovadis. Perhaps I should consider a later departure... no flights booked yet so it's still open. I'm currently thinking mid October to end of November. Just wondering though, which are the wetter places?

I've been working on the above itinerary,so it's currently looking a bit different to the initial post already...

I am considering getting assistance from one of four Indian tour companies that I have chosen from suggestions and information gleaned from this forum. Probably wouldn't be too difficult to work out who they are... I think that will be the best way for us on our first trip. I have also researched a couple of interesting tours / guides that I would like to use in specific places.

Off to look at Tucan Travel now...

looks perfect... not sure if 4 days in varanasi might be too long

To throw in some other ideas, I too am looking at planning a 6 week trip. Look at my recent post where I sketch out an itinerary and ask for advice.

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/india-my-husband-was-leery-but-i-think-i-have-convinced-him.cfm

This gets rave reviews over on TripAdvisor as far as an authentic, non-exploitative experience in the desert area.

http://www.hacra.org/index.htm

This place (and its travel agency) also sound very intriguing (and the price is right), but it is too far north for our itinerary. http://apanidhani.com/apani/excursion.htm

Finally, click on my name and you will find some links to other tips for India that I have posted.



Read about Mandu. It is kind of in the area you are talking about and looks fabulous. For me too, Varanasi is the one place I absolutely have to visit.

julies we seem to have some similair ideas... I've been following your posts also...

I've seen the hacra site and have read a few reviews and recommendations for Gemar Singh. This is probably the only place that interests us in Osiyan. I read somewhere too that part of the Marwar Festival is held in Osiyan, but I can't seem to find much information about that so far.

Shekhawati is also a bit far north for us this time. Mandu looks interesting. I'm thinking now of concentrating on Rajasthan and the road to Varanasi (which doesn't necessarily have to be via Gwalior, Orchha and Khajuraho).

Sikkim is off the list now. Not because it isn't interesting and beautiful, but initially I was thinking that it might be a nice and relaxing place at the end of the trip - catching the train up to Darjeeling, seeing the Himalayas, being out in nature and experiencing a different place and culture. But I have now read Kathie's report on Sikkim and a few others... 5 days probably wouldn't do it justice anyway...

ESW, GREAT pix and report. Thank you.

Re: one of the white and yellow frangipani,
you could post a caption "Where is this?" and i'll bet most would guess Hawaii!

Ok I think we are getting closer now:
Delhi (3), Agra (1), Bharatpur (2), Jaipur (3), Jodhpur (2), Osiyan homestay(1), Chandelao (3), Jojawar (3), Kumbalgarh (1), Narlai/Ranakpur (2), Udaipur (3), Dungarpur (2)

Gwalior (1), Orchha homestay(2), Khajuraho (1), Varanasi (3), overnight train to NJP

Drive to Kurseong (Makaibari) homestay (1), train or drive to Darjeeling (2), Kalimpong homestay(1), Samthar homestay (3), fly Bagdogra to Delhi (1)

Still need to work out how to pull it all together (maybe another train or flight in there somewhere). My question is, as there is a fair amount of travel in this itinerary, would it be more relaxing to do the Rajasthan section at the end? (definately want some down time given that we will be in India for 6 weeks).

Are we doing the hardest part of the trip at the end (Varanasi and Darjeeling sections)? (most travel on some of the hardest roads)?

"carobb on Apr 19, 11 at 1:57pm Hi Rasputin1, thanks so much for the information you have passed along. Wanted to read about your Pushkar experience but not sure where to find the info?"

Hi Carobb - I see you are finally going to make that trip to India. You certainly have a lot of information here on this thread. Don't forget to contact Kan Singh if you are interested in a driver. You already have my e-mail for contact.
I agree that several days in Pushkar is too long unless you are into the religious experience bit. Can't say I like walking around the filthy gahts without my shoes (I actually caught some infection and it took a while to get rid of) and being pressurised to pay for flowers.

2 nights in agra gives you more time to look around

I missed your thread the first time around because I was in Burma. I notice the last part of your trip you are considering several options for seeing the Himalayas. Nepal is fascinating, but other than the flightseeing plane, you don't get spectacular views of the mountains. The best views we've seen were from Sikkim. You could easily spend your 5-7 nights in Sikkim. We were not impressed with Darjeeling, but loved Sikkim.

www.fodors.com/community/asia/sikkim-darjeeling-and-kolkata-an-unusual-first-trip-to-india.cfm

I was quite surprised to see my thread at top of the list today... Our itinerary has changed quite a bit since I first wrote this, as in the end we made the choice to go to Gujarat instead of Sikkim for this trip. This is what we've decided on:

Arrive Delhi (2) train to Orchha
Orchha (3)
Khajuraho (1)
Varanasi (3) overnight train to Gwalior - drive to Agra
Agra (2)
Jaipur (4) via Fatehpur Sikri
Nawalgarh (2)
Mandawa (1)
Bikaner (2)
Osiyan (2)
Jodhpur (3)
Jojawar (3)
Kumbhalgarh (1)
Udaipur (3)
Dungarpur (2)
Dasada (4) day trips to Patan, Modhera
Gondal (3) day trip to Junagadh
Palitana (1)
Ahmedabad (4)
Delhi (3)

This forum has been invaluable in putting this trip together - I spent many hours reading all of your threads and ideas and opinions - thank you! I also used India Mike, Trip Advisor and just read lots of people's blogs. All of our hotels are booked (I advise to book as early ahead as possible if you want to stay in any of the popular hotels, as some were already full or close to being booked out - we had to book the top category of room at Jagat Niwas and House of MG to get in - first night in Ahmedabad at a different hotel).

Kathie - I did read your Sikkim trip report and was tempted by it - Sikkim vs Gujarat was a difficult decision... Rasputin - in the end we decided on going up through Shekhawati instead of going across to Jodhpur from Jaipur. I think in the end though we would have chosen somewhere else anyway (Roopangarh or Fort Barli). 19 weeks to go!

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/places-that-many-are-not-aware-of-in-india.cfm

The above link was posted back in March and got almost no response, but the info may be of use regarding interesting, non-touristy places to see in India.

Enjoy your trip!

Carobb don't forget to take a couple of adaptors for your electronic gear.

Yes thanks, I've been reading the comments on the adaptor thread.

Carobb, looks like you are on to a great trip! I understand the itinerary has been evolving after receiving comments on this forum and now it is almost frozen.

Not to throw a curb ball, but pls do click on my name and read my reply on India itinerary help thread wherein I have done a 4 A4 pages post on Madhya Pradesh attractions. Anyway you are passing through Madhya Pradesh & Gujarat, which is a neighbour state.

Hope it helps you.

rtwin80days, thanks for your comments. We were quite interested in some of the places you mention in MP - Mandu, Sanchi, Bhimbetka, Omkareshwar. Gujarat, Sikkim & Madhya Pradesh was also of interest to us, apart from Rajasthan of course. As you know we chose Gujarat on this occasion. No changes to the above itinerary,it is set... hotels and transport are all booked... not long to go now...

All the best for your trip to Incrediable India.