Trip Report: 21 days in India, Dec 16th to Jan 7th

December 20th: Whatever you do, do not miss Varanasi.

It is hard to describe Varanasi.. A cacophony sounds--bells, chants, horns. Streets that haven't changed much in the last 500 years save some hanging electrical wires. "Dentists" sitting on the street with their tools spread about them and what looks like actual patients sitting across from them (yikes.) Bodies being moved through the streets on the top of SUV-type vehicles in joyous processions and covered with flowers. Cremations that are carried out in the open on the burning ghats without great fanfare, just as a natural part of the process of life--"The business of death" . Narrow streets and alleys only wide enough for two people. Soldiers with rifles outside the mosques. Pilgrims on the ghats looking to the Brahman priest for guidance on praying to their lost relatives (and negotiating the fee for the advice). Floating on the Ganges at sunset watching the nightly celebration and not believing they can actually perform this extravaganza every night. Children jumping from boat to boat like cats on a balance beam selling flowers for tourists and pilgrims to float in the water and make a wish/request to whatever God you believe in. Cows everywhere.

Morning too foggy to go on the Ganges at sunrise. However, the eerie fog makes the ghats very mystical. Instead of the sunrise boat ride, we visited a havali (courtyard house) a few minutes walk from the ghats. It was a great house and very interesting to see how people who live near the ghats live on a day to day basis. There were two cows living on the first floor along with a workshop for the man who owned the house, Rammi, who sells essential oils and marsala (spice mixtures). Rammi also happens to create the essential oils for Goldie Hawn, so of course, I had to buy some essential oils--I bought "Noor" (flowers) and "Green Grass." They really smell wonderful. On the second floor of the havali was Rammi's family. The children were in the living room lying on pillows studying, his mother was cooking, and his wife made us piping hot Chai. All three floors of the house look down into the courtyard. I was glad that the morning was so foggy--it gave us an opportunity to meet this wonderful family. As we left the house we continue to walk through the town to the other end of the ghats. By then, the fog had lifted and we hired a boat to take us back to the beginning of our morning journey. It was fascinating seeing all the activity on the ghat in the morning. We were the only boat and had the river to ourselves. Soft chanting, laundry drying, people bathing. Amazing.

Everyone on in Varanasi seems to have a PhD. Three tour guides that I met had a PhD in archeology or something or other. Must be hard for them to be tour guides.

That afternoon off to Sarnath, where Buddha gave his first sermon. It was moderately interesting, but I could have skipped Sarnath. I'm sure if I was more interested in Buddhism, I would have found it more compelling.

Back at the hotel (Taj Ganges), got stuck in the elevator--emergency lighting is not a concept in Varanasi--it was pitch black. This was just one of the daily power outages we encountered during our trip. Fortunately there was a bell hop in the elevator with us who assured us the elevator would be moving within a minute. Between airplane landings and elevators, Varanasi is not without hazards! Oh, yes, there are many mosquitoes in Varanasi.

Back to Delhi for an overnight and then by car to Agra

The road to Agra.....

December 21: Delhi: A leper at my window.

I have traveled all my life and consider myself a pretty sophisticated traveler. However, as we left Delhi we stopped in traffic at a major intersection. I was talking with my friend Louise when I heard a tapping at my window (I had not learned to ignore window taps yet.) I turned and literally three inches from my face was a woman without fingers and missing some of her nose. I recoiled and made some sort of noise I couldn't duplicate today if you had a gun to my head. I had never seen anyone with leprosy. It is astounding that leprosy still exists. Goodbye Delhi.

The road to Agra was our first introduction to "highways" in India. As they say, "in India you need a good driver, good brakes and a good horn." Well horns in India are used very differently than in the US where a horn is usually used in anger. In India the horn is simply a tool--a constantly, incessantly used tool. All the trucks and carts have signs on the back that say "horn please" You get used to it and pretty soon, don't even notice the never ending horn blowing. However, you never really get used to the trucks coming at you in the wrong lane, pushing you onto the shoulder or worse. Then there are the camel carts, the bullock carts, the goats, the cows, the autorickshaws traveling the wrong wan on the shoulder. Our driver told us that a tourist was killed the day before on the road from Agra to Jaipur--so the roads are not without serious risk. We had the BEST driver in all of India. His name is Kewal Kumar. He speaks great English, is funny as can be and knows more about local sites than most of the tour guides. We are driving a couple legs and flying the rest. Kewal drives and meets us at the next destination when we fly. It is so great having the same driver.

You need to stop at the border to Uttar Pradesh. "The border" is just pulling over to the side of the road with various other vehicles. At the border are dancing bears, monkeys and vendors selling peacock feather fans (does anyone buy those things?) and various unrecognizable trinkets. The police try to shake down drivers at every turn. Our driver was stopped so many times and had to pull out all his tax forms---there are many, many tax forms in bureaucratic India.

Agra is a dirty, congested town. It took us forever to get to the hotel due to "rush hour" on the two lane road. However, the activity outside the windows is so fascinating. Ten camels with great decorations on the heads and backs are making far better time than we are while carrying immense amounts of straw on their backs. We have a very good guide who is a Muslim and who proudly told me, immediately upon introduction, that he had made his pilgrimage to the Hajj. He just as proudly told me he had one wife who he had married when he was 18 and she 16 and that they had eight children. He also pointed to a condo he had just purchased that was still under construction where he would be moving his family. He paid $40,000 cash that his sons helped him raise. At present he lives with his parents three brothers and all their families. He is trying to get his daughters married off as well as his sons. He explained the entire selection ritual.

Ok, we have now arrived at the Oberoi Amarvilas. What a change from the city of Agra--and what a relief. The hotel is beautiful and restful. We went back out into the city with our driver to photograph the Taj Mahal from the other side of the Yamuna river where I took some of the best pictures of my entire trip. Children playing cricket with the Taj in the background, camels walking with the setting sun in the background, girls gathering sticks for fuel. It was mesmerizing. Our hotel room has a beautiful view of the Taj as do all rooms at the Amarvilas.

December 22nd: We left our terrace door open and around 6:00 in the morning, you begin to hear the chanting of morning call to the mosques. It is a nice sound that you hear every morning throughout India. This morning, we visited the Red Fort (there was too much early morning fog to visit the Taj), which is a gorgeous fort. Later we visited Itmad-ud-daulah tomb (also known as "the baby Taj" and a precursor to the Taj Mahal.). At sunset we visited the Taj Mahal, which is incredibly beautiful. Great photos, but I like the ones on the riverbed yesterday better.

Photos: http://www.photosite.com/patpom/India/

Off to Jaipur in the morning.....

More trip report soon.

great start....anxious for more as you have time....a friend convinced us at lunch that we should stay at imperial...craig had previously tried to no avail....but now i am neutral about it...

bob

Wonderful report so far. I like your witty style and the descriptions are so vivid. Can't wait for the rest.

Fabulous photos!

Enjoying your report and your photos are fabulous!
Make sure you tell us how you booked this trip (private tour? A la carte?).

Gday BH. Very funny trip report so far. You survived India! And sounds like you enjoyed the ride so far! Keep up the great posts, please!

Good stuff Pat. Thanks for sharing.

Bob, the Imperial is great. I would certainly stay there again. I loved it and the staff is just appropriately polite (as opposed to falling all over you at the Oberoi hotels). It took me a while to get used to the cotton stuffed beds in India, but by the end I loved them.

I love your report too...perfect timing for me, as we are just beginning to consider India for our next trip.

Great report, especially Varanasi, i know exactly how you felt...

December 22: The five hour ride to Jaipur is not quite as wild as the ride between Delhi and Agra. However, we cracked up when, as well were thrown back and forth on a one way dirt path that had been washed out by the monsoons and asked what the "road" was called, our driver said "the national highway" And it WAS the national highway! Our driver cracked up as well. However, since this was the road where a tourist and guide had just been killed, we pulled our seat belts tight and were glad we were in an SUV and not an Ambassador. There are at least six accidents along the road as we travel--trucks collided, tractors overturned, cars in ditches. Stopped at Fatehpur Sikri along the way. Very interesting.

Random thought: There are no cats in India. Seriously, never saw a cat anywhere. Dogs are ubiquitous as are goats, pigs and cows, but no cats.

We passed a group of tents along the way to Jaipur and I mentioned how beautiful the women were. Our driver Kewal dryly said "that is a red light district" Oh, my....

Field after field of mustard flowers. We stopped to give some children pens and stickers. Make sure to bring pens and stickers to India. Finally arrived at Oberoi JasVilas. Two magnificent elephants with gorgeous jeweled blankets on their back are at the entrance and salute as you arrive (the contrasts in India are crazy). Jas Vilas is gorgeous, but would have preferred staying in Jaipur proper at the Rambaugh Palace. Jas Vilas is great for a resort destination, but not the best for site seeing. Went to see the Samode Havali and would recommend it highly. Gorgeous courtyard, great locations, nice rooms. Not a posh as Jas Vilas or Rambaugh, but very nice and half the price.

December 23rd: Visited Pink city, astronomy center and Palace of Winds. Later took elephants to Amber fort. Tip: since the accident in September when a guide was stomped to death of an angry elephant, they have decreased the number of elephants by half and only let them do three rides a day. Therefore, if you want to get an elephant ride in the morning, you need to get there by 7AM. However, if you go at 1PM in the afternoon, there is hardly any crowd at all and you get right up. We actually walked up to the fort in the morning (it is an easy walk) and then took the elephant ride in the early afternoon just for a photo op. We had a great dinner at an unbelievably low price at a restaurant called "Indiana" in Jaipur. Great local dancing. Piping hot, excellent food. Casual. Would highly recommend.

December 25th: We were at Raj Vilas for Christmas and they did a nice job celebrating the holiday. Unfortunately, most of the major shops were closed for Christmas day, so we didn't get to do any jewelry shopping. However, I more than made up for that in later jewelry purchases

Off to Jodhpur....A favorite city--tied with Vananasi as my favorite. More tomorrow

simply a wonderful report...i am anxious to visit india later this year...

What a wonderful trip report. I am getting my vicarious thrills, reading your vivid stories and seeing your beautiful photos. Can't wait for your next installment! Thank you for sharing in all the details.

Superb report, BostonHarbor. But I am confused - did you mean Jas Vilas or was it really Raj Vilas (the latter being an Oberoi property, considered among the world's finest)?

Patricia, magnificant report - brings back clear memories of our trip. Looking forward to hearing about Jodhpur and the rest.

Agtoau,

Yes, I meant Raj Vilas, not Jas Vilas. Thanks for catching that. I am still a bit jet lagged.

I thought the Raj Vilas was gorgeous and we enjoyed our three days there, but I believe would have enjoyed being in the city of Jaipur proper and thought the Rambaugh Palace might have been a better choice for us in Jaipur.

We stayed at three Oberoi properties and they were great. Raj Vilas is a superb resort with a great spa and yoga. It is all in what one is looking for.

December 26th: This morning we head out to the airport to head to Jodhpur, our driver will meet us there.

Our flight is purported to be "on time" ("on time" being a relative term in India). The flight monitors have ads with Persian cats dancing around interspersed with occasional flight information, but always missing gate information. Electricity randomly going off and on in the terminal. However, we are getting use to IST (India Stretch Time) and people watching in the airport can be pretty interesting.

The "on time" flight rolls in about 90 minutes late. "Cowboy Bob" is not the pilot. Things are looking up.....

The flight between Jaipur and Jodhpur is only 40 minutes and they actually serve a meal. They're incredibly quick getting the food out and collected, and almost everyone takes a meal.

An interesting behavior I have noticed on these flights in how many times Indians press the flight attendant call light. In the US, you don't dare push the flight attendant light unless the passenger next to you is having a heart attack. On Indian Airlines, the call lights are being pushed constantly and the flight attendants take it in stride. We took 8 flights (including connections) while in India and at least 100 flight attendant call lights were pressed on our flights. I know this is an inconsequential finding, but I love observing these tiny cultural differences.

Check into the Taj Hari Mahal Hotel in Jodhpur. More strings of mums, mystery juice and more tikkas on our forehead, but we are getting used to these things now and graciously accept( my belief is, you should always graciously accept the juice, even if you don't drink it--just keep talking and put it in front of you on the table. They keep you busy signing things and checking things so no one will notice you didn't drink the juice). I drank the juice in every hotel and never had a minute of stomach upset.

Other than drinking bottled water and not eating street food, I am just living normally in India and the GI tract is doing just fine. It is too exhausting worrying about the avoidance of diarrhea. The food is so magnificent, I think I have actually put on a pound or two. I can't believe I have actually GAINED weight on my first trip to India. (Yes, I ate lots of meat too, Chicken Tikka, lamb, local fish, lobster. Fabulous. Garlic naan, yummmmm.

I loved this Taj Hari Mahal hotel! It was great. Rooms are huge. Pool is gorgeous.

We have a fabulous guide in Jodhpur. He showed up dressed all in black with black Jodhpur pants and great camel leather shoes (see photo in Jodhpur photo file). Off to Mehrangar Fort, which is my favorite fort of all the ones we saw. It literally takes your breath away. You look down upon the ancient "blue city" of the Brahmins.

Tomorrow a polo game where we are asked to be private guests of the Maharajah of Jodhpur! Such fun.....

December 27th: Jodhpur

This morning we go on a safari to a Bishnoi village. This 450 year old tribe are environmentalists and live in harmony with nature. No electricity or refrigeration other than this interesting ancient clay cooler (see pictures in Jodhpur photo file). We had an "opium ceremony" and drank opium tea (supposedly it was actually Opium--who knows) as well as were served an "authentic Rajasthan lunch" (some hot bread and pickled eggplant-type cold stew), while sitting on a charpoy (rope bed) outside in a dusty courtyard. It was fun. At this point we figured if we didn't get sick we would never get sick. We did not get sick. The rural people are so gracious and lovely. Gave more pens and cartoon stickers to the children. Their beaming faces when they see stickers are so darling. The children always run and get their little brother or sister so that everyone is included. I brought LOTS of stickers

This afternoon we went to a polo game after going back to the hotel and cleaning up. Our guide had us take a seat and a few minutes later a big Mercedes pulled onto the field. Out jumped a sporty looking fellow in a polar fleece vest, ascot and cowboy hat. Our guide said "come with me and I'll introduce you to the Maharajah of Jodhpur" So, we sauntered over to the Maharajah and shook his hand and exchanged pleasantries. He asked me a few questions and then said "why don't you join me for the game" So, my friend Louise and I sat with the Maharajah and he explained every play during the game. What a great, regular guy--Oxford educated and doesn't sell royal access (through paid dinners and parties like the Maharajah and Maharana of Jaipur and Udaipur do.) (see Jodhpur file at http://www.photosite.com/patpom/India/ )

The commentary during Indian Polo games is wonderful. Two chukkas (polo play periods) are in announced in English and two are in Hindi. Examples of commentary:

"A lovely backhand!"
"A lovely solo effort gone to waste"
"Two youngsters in a tussle"
"Hit with a feeble backhander"

It was great fun!

Late afternoon we returned to Maharani Arts Emporium where I had dropped $1400 the day before on wonderful goods. I just had to buy more stuff for my sisters. Maharani Arts is the ONLY store you need to go to in all of India, in my humble opinion. Jodhpur is where all the major exporters come to place their orders for weavings and fabrics. At Maharani Arts there is no bargaining, but you can get authentic (not copies) Gucci, Hermes, Donna Karen, Missoni, Kenzo (breadspreads, shawls etc),and on and on for about 10% of the International prices. An Hermes Pashmina hand woven bed throw that is presently selling for $4500 in Paris can be bought there for $233. I bought plenty! They only sell design overruns on the premises and do not bargain--the designers allow them to do this, but only if people come to the shop. Prices are more than fair and are fixed. All the celebrities load up here with hundreds of Hermes and Gucci items (pictures everywhere of the gliterati). There is no junk--only 8 rickety floors of very high end stuff. Thank God it was my last day in Jodhpur or I could have done even more damage. They ship at very reasonable prices and everything arrived in perfect condition. I do not regret one purchase that I made at Maharani Arts Emporium. The really fabulous part of Jodhpur that you don't realize until you get there is that there are essentially no beggars or touts because there are fewer tourists. That little fact makes the city so much more enjoyable.

Off to Udaipur....

What a great trip report!! I'm heading to India next week and my son will be joining me after my work is done for a 10-day trip to Delhi, Jaipur, Sher Bagh, Agra and Varanasi. I've printed your report for us to study.

Question: when you say 'take pens and stickers', what exactly do you mean? Kids stuff? Sheets of stickers? I've never heard this before but I'd love to take some with me. I've been told to take individually-wrapped candy for the kids. Is that good too? Thanks for your advise and wonderful descriptions!

Hi Parker,

Yes, I mean stickers for kids. I bought a number of rolls of 1 3/4 inch fish/happy face/animal stickers and cut them up in groups of four stickers. The kids just loved them--even the little children begging beamed when they saw the stickers.

Many asked for candy (particularly chocolate), which I didn't have, but wished I had brought some chocolate flavored, individually wrapped hard candies. A warning however, as soon as you start handing anything out, you might (will) be mobbed. There is some sort of radar that indicated a tourist with a soft heart.

I had gone to Office Depot and bought three boxes of the really cheap pens (the ones with "office depot" advertising on them). Everyone in India wants a pen. I gave them along with the stickers to kids along the rural roads through the car windows. Children would be standing along the road making motions of writing on a pad of paper--indicating they wanted a pen. It was nice to have them on board.

Sigh... how glorious to wake up in Agra and listen to the morning chants, especially if you can see the Taj from your room.

And just as glorious, sunrise ont eh Ganges


I didn't hear about the guide getting stomped to death at the Amber Fort. When was this?

Wayne- It was in September. Big news in India.

Great trip report! You went to many of the same places and hotels as I did, so it's fun reading your views.

It's funny, I thought the Imperial beds were a bit firm my first visit, but loved them on the next. Not sure if the room was better or if I was just used to India beds by then.

I loved the Samode Haveli in Jaipur, the location was wonderful and the building and grounds were so pleasant.

December 28th--31: Udaipur is just beautiful. The lakes are brimming with water for the first time in years and the weather is perfect. Udaipur has both mountains and many man-made lakes built hundreds of years ago. We are brought to the Oberoi Udaivilas which is gorgeous and has a wonderful Banyon Spa. We are here for four days and plan on spending a couple day just for manicures, pedicures, facials, massage and yoga. All the treatments and the yoga is fantastic. Yogo classes are given on the roof of an ancient palace on the Udaivilas grounds that overlooks Lake Pichola. Exquisite.

We have been traveling so much that we decide not to do the five hour round trip to Ranakpur to see the famous Jain Temples. I know many people will say we missed a great site, but frankly, five hours on dusty, bumpy, exhausting roads was just over the top for us at that point. Besides, by this point in the trip we had seen so many temples that we were a bit "templed-out." However, I hear that the Jain Temples at Ranakpur are spectacular. Next time.....

Rather than the trip to Ranakpur, we drove a shorter distance to the Devi Garh Hotel and had lunch. We wanted to see the Devi Garh. It is about to get more famous as the British model/actress Elizabeth Hurley is about to take over the entire hotel this spring as the venue to marry her Indian fiancé. The Devi Garh is gorgeous and it was a toss up to us whether we would rather be at the Oberoi or the Devi Garh. The Oberoi setting on the lake is spectacular, but the Devi Garh had hiking in the nearby mountains, camel safaris etc, so it might be a better choice for the very active looking for unique activities. The Devi Garh has a phenomenal pool with lots of beautiful people and a marvelous restaurant. Very modern design, but much less severe looking than in the brochure. The staff is a bit less solicitous than at the Oberoi--I prefer the less solicitous approach.

Speaking of Temples. Seriously, after the first five cities we put a hard-stop on Temples. After the first ten temples, all the Shiva Lingums (Linga?) begin to look the same. (The Shiva Lingum is the phallic representation of the God Shiva and the only representation in the Shiva temples). To temple purists, please forgive me. Yes, I enjoyed seeing the temples and mosques, but it is no different than the being dragged to the 15th cathedral in Europe. I preferred walking the lanes and vegetable markets and seeing children's faces rather than seeing another temple.


We are in Udaipur for New Years Eve and the celebration is great. Wonderful food outside on the patio at the Udaivilas with dancers and musician and great fireworks over Lake Pichola.. Off to bed as we have an early flight to Mumbai (Bombay).

There is not a great deal to see in Udaipur. It is really just a very pretty place with a wonderful vegetable market and a massive, inpressive palace. You can see everything in a day. (The old James Bond movie "Octopussy" was filmed on location here and was great fun to watch one evening while we were in Udaipur.) It is a great place to take a rest, but if you are limited in time, I would probably skip Udaipur. I'm sorry that we didn't get to see Jasilmer as it sounds fabulous. I think I would have preferred it, but then the R&R was really nice at this juncture in the trip--tough call.

Off to Bombay--sorry to say goodbye to our driver. He's been great. Sent a lot of stuff in the car with him to take back to Delhi where we will catch our flight in a few days back to the US.

We must go to India!! How did you plan your trip...thru an agent? Who? Your trip sounds like the one we must take. Glad you had such a great time and thanks for the report.

Had a chance to look at your photos - I really appreciate the ones taken at the places I have not been to (yet) - I see why you loved Jodhpur...

Just curious why you chose to post your pictures on PhotoSite - I think you are the only other person I know of that has used this site - I have never seen it mentioned in the popular press...

January 1, 2006: Flight to Mumbai uneventful and of course we were served another meal. I continue to be impressed by how quickly they can get drinks and food out and picked up in less than an hour. We are now on the Jet Airways. What a difference! We decided to eat a veggie meal. It was great. I love Jet Airways. Because there has been a terrorist attack in Bangalore all the airlines are on even higher security. You get frisked at least twice before getting on an airplane.

Mumbai has a dramatically different feel than Delhi and a real cultural shift from the last ten days in Rajasthan. We drive by all the great British-era buildings that are crumbling, but still remain dignified. Staying in the heritage wing in the Taj Mahal Hotel. Gorgeous and very cosmopolitan. Indian teenagers in jeans and tight sleeveless tops with bra straps showing. Chic tourists in designer clothes. Stunning Indian women in VERY expensive saris and Punjabi's. French designer shops in the lobby, multi million dollar diamonds for sale. Toto, we aren't in Rajasthan anymore.....

Lunch by the pool a the hotel which is a must. You really get a feel of what it must have felt like during the British period.

Took a public boat out to the Elephanta caves. It was New Years day and a big mistake to go to the caves that day. It is an hour ride. I happened to ask the guide about life preservers. She pointed to the tires on the side of the boat (that are nailed to the side of the boat as bumpers). Oh well....too late. Great view of Mumbai harbor. May be my last view of anything.....

It is horribly hot and the crowds at the Elephanta caves are almost indescribable. Another Shiva Lingum. All domestic tourists--shoulder to shoulder. You need to walk up a long pier and then hundreds of steps to get to the caves. It is interesting, but I would never do on a holiday. I feel hot and filthy for the first time in India.

A really funny thing happened on the way to the boat. A British woman was walking with her husband and was dangling a bottle of coke between her fingers as she walked. Our guide suddenly said "there goes the coke!" A baby monkey casually walked up to her, grabbed the coke and ran back to a tree where she opened the bottle and leaned back and drank the coke. Would be a great ad for Coca Cola. .

Back down the steps, back down the pier. We are now wilting. Walk across five boats to get to the outside boat. Posted sign: Maximum 40 persons. Actual persons on boat: 100. Life preservers: 0 Landed safely and all is well. Need a shower bad.

Our guide is Jewish and a terrific guide. I only mention her religion as she is one of the only 4500 Jews left in Bombay (which is the largest Jewish enclave in India). Very interesting conversations about being Jewish in India.

January 2nd: Today we did a Bombay city tour. Decided to continue skipping temples and rather spend more time "feeling" the city and driving around this massive city. Drove to the high rent district where $1 million gets you a tiny flat. Saw the Parsi park in the middle of the city where their dead are left to be taken away by vultures. Visited the famous famous dhobi-wallahs (washer men/women) where they do laundry everyday for thousands of residents of Bombay. I have no idea how they keep everything straight, but they do.

We decided to do some shopping where east meets west and went to a high end store called "Melange" It is almost impossible to find this shop, but I bought a fabulous "crinkled silk" skirt that will be perfect to wear when I'm home. They altered it and had it delivered to my hotel that evening. You can get lots of cheap stuff in Rajasthan, but it is difficult to wear in the US. In Bombay and Delhi they have great "Indian inspired" western wear that is perfect for when you are back in the US.

We have decided to stay in Bombay an extra day and skip one of the cave days in Arangubad (we are getting a bit "caved-out" as well)

We go to "Indigo," a terrific restaurant in Bombay, for dinner. It is right out the back door of the Taj Mahal. We put on high heeled shoes and dress up. It was fun. . Food was spectacular. We continue to have Cosmopolitan martinis every night (our regular habit in India along with Kingfisher beer (which is really good, light beer). I had their famous Lobster risotto and it was fabulous. Appetizers, Cosmos, wine, dinner and dessert came to around $85 for two of us. Expensive for India, but it was worth it. We sat on the rooftop patio and the night breezes were wonderful.

As we left Indigo, the street level floor was filled with 20-something beautiful Indians in jeans and and women in tank tops. You would think you were in LA.

Regarding what to wear in India: I would disagree with some of the warnings I was given before I left. Except maybe for the really rural areas, no one cares what you wear. I frankly don't think they even care in the rural areas. I saw "Goth" dressed English and Americans in Jaipur with low cut skirts, belly button rings and black Goth makeup and they didn't even turn heads. Many young Americans wear exactly the same outfits in India as they do in the US, including tank tops--the Indians don't seem to care what you wear. Yes, they stare, but Indian men just stare at everyone--constantly--no matter how old you are or what you are wearing. You get used to it and don't notice after a while. If you are going to temples or mosques--cover your shoulders. Otherwise--just wear what you wear in the US. They don't care. One person said to me "Indian girls wouldn't wear that", (when in Varanasi a girl was wearing a sleeveless tank top with bra straps showing) but he didn't care that a tourist was wearing it. The Bollywood posters all around India make whatever you are wearing look astoundingly modest anyway.

January 3rd: Today we spend the day walking around Bombay by ourselves. Found a great store called "Fab India" which has branches all over India. It was founded by an American in the 1960's who married an Indian. Great fabrics by the yard and shirts and stuff, unbelievably cheap. If you are decorating a home, I would fly to Delhi (a bigger Fab India store than Bombay), I would buy everything for the house. You would save so much money the trip would be paid for 10 times over.

It was a nice day just walking without any guides and without a plan.

Tomorrow off to Arangubad and the Ellora caves

continue to enjoy it...

karen is wondering about specific clothing for november/december....we have seen your pics, but any discussion about weight of clothing---how warm, etc...??

Hi Bob,

India was having a bit of a cold snap when we were there and the days were in the mid 60's rather than in the low 70's. As you can see by our pictures, we wore thin, insulated vests over our long sleeve T-shirts almost everyday in Rajasthan. We found the vests to be the singularly the best piece of clothing that we brought. We never needed our jackets over the vests except in the really early mornings in Varanasi.

The nights were quite cold, but if you want to eat outside, all the restaurants have these wonderful wood burning habachi-type heaters that they put next to each table that keep you you really warm, along with the great atmospheere. They do this outside at both a the big hotels along and most of the small restaurants in the cities. It would drive the fire marshalls in the US to absolute insanity, but it is like having a great dinner next to a roaring boy scout fire. You can't go out at night without a jacket or a thick cashmere wrap. I found my cashmere wrap over my vest worked perfectly.

Mubai and Arangubad were very warm and humid in the mid-high 80's.

Patricia - you may have missed my question posted between your two posts yesterday:

"Had a chance to look at your photos - I really appreciate the ones taken at the places I have not been to (yet) - I see why you loved Jodhpur...

Just curious why you chose to post your pictures on PhotoSite - I think you are the only other person I know of that has used this site - I have never seen it mentioned in the popular press..."

Hi Craig,

My staff have all used Photosite for the past couple years. I read about it in Business Week magazine I think. It has received quite a bit of press and awards (see the "press" section of their site). I run a software company and my development staff says there isn't a better photo site on the entire internet. I really dislike Yahoo photos. Photosite has hands down the best display. THe basic level is free and it is really cheap for the premium levels. I have an 7 megapixel camera and it uploads ultra high quality for printing hard copy. photos. My opinion, there isn't a better photo site on the Internet and I have tried them all.

I subscribe to Business Week but I must have missed the recommendation. We used Photosite for our India pictures because of its high quality, no ads and the ability to prevent quality downloads of our copyrighted photos. In a recent Wall Street Journal article on photo posting sites, Photosite was not mentioned.

Final entry to trip report:

January 4th: Visited Ellora caves that are only a 45minute ride outside of Arangubad. Astounding. Have great pictures. However, we are glad we made the decision to skip Ajanta. They are over a two hour ride and I have had just about enough of caves. They are great, but begin looking alike. Yes, I know there are cave purists that would disagree, but that is my opinion as a non-cave fanatic. My bottom was gropped for the only time in India at the Ellora caves. Go figure.

Back to the hotel and spent the afternoon by the nice pool.

January 5th: Early flight to Bombay and on to Delhi. Hot breakfast is served on the 30 minute flight to Bombay. It was Jet Airways, so we indulged. Delicious!

Stuck in the Bombay airport for four hours due to "fog" in Delhi (it is smog, but they prefer to call it "fog"). Fortunately we didn't travel yesterday as flights were diverted to Lucklow and passengers had to spend the night on the plane! So, we are not complaining.

We get back to the Imperial and have a wonderful dinner at the Indian restaurant at the hotel. We dress up for our last night. Almost all the men are Western and in coat and tie. A rarity on the tourist track.

January 6th: Our last day is totally focused on shopping!

Our Yatrik.com travel agent president personally takes us to the best shops in Delhi where the local "gliterati" shop. Wow. the most gorgeous multi-story "malls" I have ever seen in my life--bar none. Not even LA or NYC has this level of high end shops in one place. They are called M-1 and M-2 for their addresses. Interestingly, the buildings are sort of a co-op of the designers. Also went to a great boutique shopping area in South Delhi called Hauz Haus. After this great tour with Ajay our agent, we now really like Delhi and have totally changed our initial jet-lagged opinion three weeks ago. Would visit Delhi again, actually prefer it to Bombay.

Bought some great stuff at the designer shops. Expensive for India, but not touching US prices.

Had the hotel room until our flight at 11:30 PM. Headed to the airport around 8:30PM. Airport does not seem as wild as when we arrived, but I am sure it is that my attitude toward complete chaos has changed.

Non stop flight to Newark smooth as silk. Great food, wine and slept for 7 hours in very comfortable sleeper chair. Love Continental Airlines.

India is fascinating. More so, in my opinion, than China. However, I think you need to visit other countries in Asia before India. It is not a good first country. Unlike other Asian countries, it takes some real getting used to in the first week.

Back at home, my new prescription Meltonin drug has kept me 100% jet lag free.

Bottom line:

My first week in India, I couldn't wait to get home. By my third week, I love the country. I will be back to see other areas, to revisit Jodhpur and get to Jasilmer, and particularly to shop

Thanks again to all the great fodorites who provided me with priceless information and tips before I left for the trip. You made everything so much more enjoyable.

Have posted some new pictures: http://www.photosite.com/patpom/india/

thanks for the great pics and for the wonderful narative, plus the weather/clothing report...

now how can we convince you that thailand should be next....you would love the even better shopping and easier way of life, plus the natural beauty??

Would greatly appreciate more information on the M-1 and M-2 shopping complex in Delhi. If you email me the name of one or two of the stores in this area, I can google the name and find the exact address.

celeste60--will get the shopping info to you when I am back in Boston on Tuesday where I have all my information from the trip (am in Vermont right now). You will be completely blown away by these shops, and this is from me, a complete high end shopaholic.

Bob, Thailand will be my next stop. I will plan on getting the whole scoop from you

I'm interested too! Sounds much nicer than anywhere I found, although FabIndia and the Cottage Industries Emporium both emptied my wallet a bit!

lcuy,

FabIndia and The Cottage industries are to M1 and M2 what Target is to Neiman Marcus. These shops are simply mindboggling. They are for the wealthy locals. I did not see one any other tourist there other than us, but they could not have been more gracious. No bargaining, but really good prices for super high end goods. Also Hauz Khas Village had some great shops. I also found the best place in all of India for "chiken" embroidery shirts (the great white on white embroidery work out of Lucklow. This is the high end, best quality cotton stuff that is gorgeous. I will list all the best shopping places on tuesday. I collected all the cards, so have all the detail.

I was in india about a week after you were. Same itinerary by the sound of it! I loved Jodhpur too. Thought it was so beautiful and really peaceful. I liked it much better than Jaipur so would recommend it highly.

I greatly appreciate it. I will be in Delhi for one day in Feb and definately plan to visit the stores. Last year when I was in delhi, I found some very beautiful cushion covers at a store in the santushi complex.

Loved your trip report! My husband and I are going to India in Feb and are currently planning to visit Delhi and Udaipur in 8 days...Mainly because the Imperial and Udaivilas seemed like the nicest hotels in India.

Our perfect trip usually involves shopping and dining.

Should we just stick to Delhi? and skip Udaipur at this point?

Maybe try Agra or Jaipur, instead? for one night, or two?

Also...two questions...what is the new melatonin drug, and what type of computer cord do we need to take to get online successfully?

Hello daisya2,

The prescription melatonin drug is trade named “Rozerem” (ramelteon). I did not have jet lag either way--unlike my China trip where my jet lag was horrible for 10 days post my return. It is a very new medication, so your physician may not know about it yet. It is non addictive and it certainly worked for me.

If dining and shopping are what you enjoy, I would probably skip Udaipur. The Udaivilas is great if you just want to lounge in a lovely hotel, but Udaipur is just a pretty lake town. We really couldn't find any good restaurants. They were marginal at best. The shopping is even less.

Delhi has great shopping and terrific restaurants. I would have liked to try a few more of the restaurants. The Imperial hotel in Delhi is wonderful and the "Spice Route" restaurant off the lobby is fabulous. The restaurant "Olive" is also excellent. There are good restaurants and good shopping everywhere. Please note, you may not like Delhi when you first arrive. I hated it. I needs to grow on you and you need to have a really good guide.

You could really do Agra as a day trip. There is really nothing there other than the Taj and you can take a train in the morning and back in the evening. It is a very ugly, noisy, city. The Amarvilas is really nice if you want to stay, but it might be easier to leave your stuff at the Imperial and do a day trip. If you want to drive it is a four hour trip with a nice, clean place to stop midway to get out and use the restroom. The train is two hours each way. Leaves at 6AM, returns early evening. We wish we would have done a day trip rather than staying in Agra, but that is our opinion. Others enjoy staying to see the Taj at both sunrise and sunset. There was too much fog, so we couldn't see it in the morning anyway.

I would choose Jaipur and the Raj Vilas far over the Udaivilas. Jaipur is far more interesting than Udaipur and has some really nice restaurants and great shopping, especially jewelry. Drop by "Tholias" Jewelers (next to the Gem Palace)Great stuff.

I'll have a list of all my favorite shops shortly once I get the list together. You can get regular pashmina shawls, mirror bags etc almost anywhere, but you need to be careful about the quality of the "pashmina" However, there are great high end places to find fabulous stuff that are expensive for India but a steal for westerners. I paid over $200 for a stunning pashmina embroidered shawl that I had sent to my home with some other purchases. After I had sent it, I kept wondering if I had been "taken" and overpaid. However, when I received it, I couldn't believe the quality of the fabric and the perfect embroidery. It is simply gorgeous and worth every penny that I paid for it. I also spent less than $15 for other "pashminas" The quality is all over the map. You just need to be aware that they also sell synthetic junk as pashmina. Ask them to light a match and burn a bit of the fringe. Pashima will not burn.

I love the expereince below. It is sooo India.

-----
I happened to ask the guide about life preservers. She pointed to the tires on the side of the boat (that are nailed to the side of the boat as bumpers). Oh well....too late.
----

My husband and I just returned last Saturday from a 30 day trip to India and Bhutan. Your witty post was a wonderful way to help us visualize and relive so many of our experiences! From your comments about Air India to the pens (which we didn't bring), everything was so relevant. What a delightful trip. We, too, were not enamored of Delhi at the onset but quickly fell under the magical spell of this fascinating country.

Thanks for sharing this lovely report. Being Indian (settled in UK) I love reading what non- Indians think of India and it a pleasure to read everyone's experience. Living in India one never is aware of the differences that outsiders see. For eg. my parents live in Mumbai, in one of those 1million dollar flats mentioned, its not tiny, but for that money here in my town in UK I would get a massive house....but in the same compound (i.e in which the building is) live two families in temp housing who serve as the cleaner and liftman for the building. I grew up playing cricket with kids in the building forecourt and it never occured to any of us that how different my life to my friends life was, until I came to UK and saw India from the outside.

Its very interesting to see the experiences of folks visiting india. I am from Bangalore in the South currently living in the US. I wish more people would visit south india. Lots of culture and heritage. Anyways that was my two cents

Hi raptor and lordofthejungle,

We met great people in India and are looking forward to our next trip. The next trip will be very different from our totally (required)touristy first trip. One of my good friends is a professor at Harvard and is from Chennai. She describes the north and south of India as almost different countries. And, south Indian food is the best!

In hindsight on this trip I would have skipped Udaipur and Arangubad and would have preferred to visit Kerala and Goa instead. However, that itinerary could have been pushing it, and it probably makes more sense just to focus on the south next time.

Now we need your trip reports on how you view your visits to the US

Thanks for a great trip report, and for sharing your pictures. They are really beautiful. What kind of camera did you use? We are going to India in 2 weeks, and would like to get a new digital camera with a decent zoom.

I have never been to the USA, but would love to visit. My sister is settled in Maryland so am sure it will be sooner rather than later. Trip report of my experience in UK, now thats a good idea. It will be quiet long as I am now a British Citizen and in UK for more than ten years.

Oh the reason I came here was to give a sad news. People eager to visit M1 and M2 in Delhi pls dont be heart broken: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4670254.stm

we are planning a spur-of-the-moment trip to India and I found your wonderful report. It really helped give us a flavor of the country. We'll be taking the same Continental flight as you, so are not dreading the trip quite as much, even tho' we have to start the journey in Seattle.

Thanks so much

We have traveled a lot, but have no experience with India. in our late 50's - just so you know we are not teenagers with backpacks!!

We arrive in Delhi March 8 and leave March 27 (late pm) back to Paris. Are there places to avoid because of the heat? We would appreciate all and any suggestions of where is a must and where we can avoid. Like you, we get "templed" out after a while, but I doubt I could get my husband to spend as much time shopping as you did!!

VB307,

regarding my camera, it is a Canon Powershot S70 which is a 7 megapixel camera with a combined camera and digital zoom. They now have an S80 with 8 megapixels. I have owned two powershots and love them for how small they are and how many features they have. They also take wonderful movies with sound (large screen)

lordofthejungle-I cannot believe they tore down those spectacular shops at MG1 and MG2. The buildings were gorgeous and the shops incredible. I know they were tearing down "illegal" buildings all over Delhi when I was there, but I thought they would all be horribly decrepit buildings, not modern gorgeous ones. Wow.

BostonHarbor, what a great report! I enjoyed every bit of it and you have only added to my desire to go to India.

In fact, I must copy and paste this to save for when I plan. I'd love to hit all the areas you did before heading off to Mysore.

Thanks for all the details and wit, I am now off to check out your pictures.

I've just spent the most enjoyable hour reading your terrific report. It is amazing how many of your feelings I shared when I traveled in India many years ago. Your report has gotten me thinking about going back. Can you let us know how you came to the decision to use Yatrick? Any idea at all of the cost, just the total paid to the agency? thanks so much! Oh, that shopping...even better than I remembered...!

BH-fantastic report. Exactly the right amount of detail. It was evocative without becoming tedious. It definitely moved India up on our list. The stickers and pens were a great idea. What inspired you? Unfortunately, the deliquency penalty does not apply because you started less than a week from your return. However, if you follow any of Bob's Thailand advice, you will wish you had paid the penalty. My wife and I are going to supervise a portion of his next trip to Bkk to minimize his effect on diplomacy.

Gpanda, good to hear from you. We sat next to each other at the Boston GTG if you remember--I was charmed .

BostonGal, ekscruchy and GPanda, I'm so pleased you enjoyed the report. India is an incredible place. I loved it. AsI have described it in another thread on the Asia forum, traveling in India is "the trip that keeps on giving". You really can't get India out of your pores. It stays with you and you can't stop thinking about it when you return.

Oh, yes....A great tip for photo nuts!!(as you may tell by my photos I am a charter member of this club . I found a service called My Publisher www.mypublisher.com I organized my India pictures using the free software they provide--easy as can be. I then sent the completed photo file to them, and four days later recieved the most spectacular coffee table book of my photos you have ever seen. You simply cannot belive the quality of this product. It is stunning--like something you would by at Rizzoli. (note: I have nothing at all to do with this company, I am just astounded by the quality of the product and I am tough)

For those of you planning a trip to India, I'd be happy to give you any additional tips. I used a company called Yatrik.com They are based in Delhi and were great. Our driver Kewel was fabulous!!

Of course I remember. I think we discussed Sarah MacDonald's book "Holy Cow". It just appears that I'm not paying attention. We're probably going to schedule another GTG in September or October. This is in addition to Bob and I scheduling our fall trips so that we're both in BKK 11/29-12/2.

Boston, again, thanks so much for that wonderful report. It got me really up for a return visit to India. If you get a chance, please let us know what was the deciding factor in your choice of Yatrick. They certainly have an interesting web site! Did you have a recommendation from someone who had used them? Based on your experience, they certainly seem like the company to consider when planning.

Hi ekscruchy,

I found Yatrik.com via an American company (absolute asia) who uses them to do most of their high end tours. The president of Yatrik.com is Ajay Sharma is terrific and even spent our last day with us personally taking us shopping to all the "in" places of the Delhi chic crowd.

In each town we had the best guides and were able to make changes on-the-fly by calling Ajay on a pre-paid phone he provides each client upon arrival. For instance, we decided to not go to a particular site outside Udaipur as we were tired and didn't want a five hour round trip. We had lunch included at that site, but figure that was simply our loss. Our local guide called Ajay in Delhi and he called the Devi Garh hotel (that we wanted to see) and arranged the lunch there instead. Again, when we wanted to stay an additional day in Bombay and one less night in Arangubad, Ajay (on a sunday) arranged the change in both airplanes and hotel without an additional charge. I couldn't recommend them more highly. The made traveling in a tough country a piece of cake.

I just heard about some explosions in Varanasi, one at a Hindu temple.

It saddened me, but it also made me want to come back to this report and reread it again in all its wonderful glory. There is nothing like India

What a great report Boston Harbor. We are going there this Dec. Can you tell me approx what car, driver and guide costs per day in Delhi/Jaipur and Agra. I have heard that quality of guides and drivers are very variable? Do you have contact information for the good driver/guide? How would we book them?

BostonHarbor,

excellent report.

I created a new website called
Firsthand Travel Story , where you can post your trip reports.

http://www.firsthandtravelstory.com

wow, vthalakola, you are a fast reader. You were able to read this entire trip report and comment on it within 2 minutes? That's the amount of time between your last advertising post and this one. Speed reader?

I just returned from a 15 day tour of India. I have loved reading your report. I agree with so much of what you said...we went to most of the same places. For those wanting to travel India, I would recommend Jet Airways. Our travel agent was Compass Tours located in Delhi. Our contact was Durjay. We were a party of 4, our guides and drivers were excellent. We were met promptly at each city. I cannot say enough about the tour company. Our trip began Jan 21. We traveled to Delhi, Amritsar, Dharamshala, Varasasi, Khajuraho, Orchha, Agra, Jaipur,Udaipur and Mumbai. I agree do not go to the elephanta Caves. You will love India. Thanks for the report...it's awesome.

I have just read your posting on and like many
others, I found your experiences to be of great interest and very
helpful. My wife and I are traveling to India in 1 week. It will
be our first trip there and we are very excited about what to expect.

I am particularly keen to buy some rugs in Delhi. I noticed that you
said you purchased and shipped Kashmiri rugs. You say that you
negotiated a fabulous price but would you mind telling me how much I
can expect to pay. I imagine the price varies for differing sizes but
a ball park figure would be helpful. Also, would you happen to have
the name and address of the shop where you purchased your rugs?

Any information you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Hi Barnetda,

You will have a great time in India. The list price on my rug which is a 5'X 7' was around $1800 (would be $4-5000 in the US. Because I wasn't looking for a rug (I seriously wasn't), I kept saying how gorgeous it was, but that I simply had no place for it. We were the only customers in the store on that Sunday and the price kept coming down despite my completely honest protest that I really didn't want a rug. Well, when it got down to $1000 (this is a seriously stunning rug in gorgeous shades of red and black in a tribal pattern), I figured I'd give my present oriental to my niece and put this new one in its place. I then bought a coordinating runner for the halway (also tribal Kashmiri)and that cost around $550 more or less.

I am not a rug expert, but my traveling companion is and she couldn't believe the buy I got on this rug. Of course, there are almost limitless variations on the quality of rugs, so it is difficult to compare without having them physically in front of you.

I was really happy with their service and the way the rugs were packed and delivered to my home.

I do have the name and address of the shop somewhere and I will find it this weekend and will post. I think I even have the name of the fellow who sold me the rug. He was much easier to deal with than many of the other rug dealers I ran into. He and his father own the concession in this cooperative building.

I smile every time I open my front door now because of this stunning rug in my foyer

Here are 2 of the three rugs I got in Varanasi:
http://waynehazle.com/india/Day3/Pages/s2_23.htm
http://waynehazle.com/india/Day3/Pages/s2_24.htm

The third is of a scene with the Mughals. I keep that in my office and home. My rugs constantly make me smile also. I paid $1000 for 3. I have no idea if that was a bargain or not. One of the guys that worked there came to my hotel. I had looked around at his store and didn't buy anything.

He came to my hotel, said he would give me the price I asked for if I came back that night to buy. We walked back, he reopened the shop. I paid for the rugs and wrapped them up for shipping. He told me not to tell his boss the price I paid or he would get fired.

I am sure that was part of the whole routine & the boss was all too well aware of everything

Bostonharbor:

Many thanks for the info. i would really appreciate the name of the store and if you still have it the name of the salesman. I am certainly not a rug expert but would love to buy a large rug to make me smile when i open the door!
I read your trip report again. I really want to thank you for allowing us to share it. I almost feel like i am there reading your report.

Waynehazel: Nice rugs!! I cant wait to go next week. By the way I read your posts re Rwanda (i think they were your posts). Sounded superb. I own part of a safari lodge in Zambia. We go there quite a lot , next time I think we will take a trip to Rwanda to check out the Gorillas. They sound amazing!

Hi Barnetda,

My rugs are quite different in terms of look to Wayne's rugs. I cannot tell you how many beautiful, different rugs you will see. Here are a couple pictures of my rug and runner. They are Kashmiri tribal patterns which I preferred over some of the other patterns I saw. (note: the rugs are more red and less orange than the camera flash made them look, but you get the general idea of how they look) http://www.photosite.com/patpom/india/KashmiriRug/

I have been looking for my receipts to get the name of the store where I bought them. I'm sure I put them somewhere that I wouldn't lose them If I find them I will certainly post them. However, what I would do if I were you is, as soon as you get to Delhi or Bombay, go immediately to a government run Cottage Industries store and have them show you the different qualities and types of rugs--and the fixed prices they go for. They will be glad to do it--they will obviously try to sell to you, but just say you want to look around a bit more. This way, you will be a smarter shopper when you go to the different rug shops. Just like the "pashminas" that range anywhere from $10 to $300, the rugs are the same. You can get very inexpensive to very expensive.

What I love about the Kashmiri rugs is that they are woven so the fibers are an an angle--so no matter how many years a piece of furniture sits on it, it will never get an indentation. I also love how different it looks depending on what end you are standing on.

Enjoy and have fun. I'm glad you found my trip report so helpful. Let us know what you bought on your trip when you return. We expect a trip report from you as well.

Wow. They are nice rugs. I can see why you bought them and why you smile when you get home!!

If you do find the receipts it would be really helpful. I will keep checking here in case.

I will definately do as you suggest. We will check out the cottage govt store first and see if we can get an idea of pricing.

I will definately file a report upon our return.

Many thanks for taking the time to help us and for posting the photos. It is very much appreciated.

OK, I combed my Mac hard drive at home and popped two pictures up:

http://www.waynehazle.com/rug1.jpg
The Mughal rugs

http://www.waynehazle.com/rug2.jpg
In this one you can see all three that I took home.

Barnetda, I found the address! I can't find the name of the specific fellow who sold me the carpet, but he is the son of the rug concession owner. At this multi level establishment, there are a large number of merchants on multiple floors selling everything from jewelry to pashminas to carpets. I liked the fact that they didn't charge tax or shipping fees to send the carpets to my home in Boston.

Nirula Handicraft Bazar Pvt Lt Address: 12, Doctors Lane,,Gole Market, New Delhi

Even if you don't get to this place, believe me, (as you can see in Wayne's pictures) you will not find a paucity of great carpets in India! The assortment is mindboggling--and they are everywhere. My friend bought some fabulous woven kilm rugs in a rural village outside Jodhpur--they are stunning.

Once again. Have fun.

Wayne: Fabulous rugs. Looks like I am going to be in for some fun. I can see the selection will be incredible.

Bostonharbor: Thanks so much for finding the address. I really appreciate it and will definately visit the shop. I will let you know how we get on upon our return.


Thank you both for the efforts.

I so enjoyed your trip report and pictures. India is now definitely on my list (it's your fault). My trip wish-list just keeps getting longer!

Thanks so much for your postings.

BostonHarbor,

I just read your trip report and loved it. The link to your photos no longer works. Is there any way you can reactivate it as I would really like to see them?

And thanks for posting your report. It really is one of the best I've read here in quite a long while.

You really should do a new post but the bottom line is that photosite.com went out of business and BH has not yet posted her photos on another site.

Thank you for a fantastic trip report. My husband and I are heading to Udaipur and Jodhpur in late December, so your report is very valuable.

I loved hearing about the invitation to the Polo match. My husband would love that. Is there an agency that can arrange that?

Thanks again.

I have updated my India pictures on a new photo storage site. If this one goes under, I may make a visit to headquarters


I hope you are all enjoying your journeys to this wonderful country.

http://photo-url.com/India

Aaaaah,

The little movie clips are great. for a brief second I was transported back...

Hello BostonHarbor,

2,5 years after your trip, I find this incredible blog! I am planning to go to India over next Christmas and New Year and your trip description really helped me to decide where I actually want to go. I only have 16 days so I cannot see as much as you did. I have a couple of questions for you, if you don't mind.

1. Which legs of the trip did you fly and which ones you had a driver? I was actually thinking of using the train to move around but a driver sounds great since he is kind of a guide in the same time and you skip the hassle of getting a taxi to take you to your hotel in each new place.

2. I am planning to go by myself. Do you think it will be safe (I'm quite travelled 28-year-old woman) to travel alone as a woman?

3. Can you give me an estimate of the total price you paid for your trip? I know you stayed in far more luxurious hotels that I plan to do but an idea of the costs would help me a lot in my planning.

Great pics too, by-the-way! Where did you get that background music? It's wonderful!