RCLCOLPB

We are not nearly as knowledgeable about India as many others on this board, but those of you considering a group tour (particularly Adventures Abroad) might find this useful. We spent the first week in the foothills of the Himalayas, and the next 2 weeks in North India (Dehli, Agra, Varanasi, Rajasthan, etc.).

PART 1: Prior to trip, reasons for choosing Adventures Abroad, books we read, and films we watched

PRIOR TO TRIP

We had decided, after much investigation and discussions with friends, to take a guided tour rather than arranging for guides and drivers in each city. (A paralegal in my wife’s office who had come back from an exotic backpacker trip around the world reported that getting a train from the New Delhi train station was the hardest thing he had done in his entire life, which convinced us that individual travel, which we had always done before, would probably not be a good idea in India.)

We selected Adventures Abroad (AA)’s IN6 tour (their North India tour plus an optional Sikkim pretrip) mostly because it matched closely with the itinerary that my father had planned twice (with Sikkim as a substitute for Nepal, which still seemed too dangerous to travel to), and because a friend from India thought it sounded like the best itinerary, and because we were concerned about internet and Better Business Bureau reports that OAT sometimes overbooked their trips and gave notices of changes only a few weeks before departure. They assured us when we booked a long time ahead that although they had the right to cancel the trip up to 2 months before the trip if they did not have enough people signed up, but when 3 months and then 2 months arrived, it was not clear that they would have enough people (and getting clear information from the AA office was not as easy as it might have been—for example, 3 months ahead someone assured us that the trip was guaranteed, but a couple of days later they said that was a mistake).

We were somewhat amazingly able to get frequent flyer tickets on Singapore Airlines (SIA) using Delta miles, except that we could only get one business class seat, but we figured it was still worthwhile even though we could not sit together and we would have to alternate use of the business class seat, in part because SIA was supposed to be great (which it turned out to be, particularly in business class, though the service was very solicitous throughout, the audio and movie system was great in both classes, and it seems like there was more room between seats than in other airlines’ economy class sections). What we did not focus on when making the booking was that the itinerary was somewhat crazy. We knew we were going to have 2 day-long layovers in Singapore, but that sounded interesting even though it made for more vacation time than we probably should have taken. But we did not realize that the “nonstop” flight from JFK to Singapore stopped for refueling in Frankfurt, so we ended up flying over our destination Kolkata on the way to Singapore, and on the 5 hour trip back from Singapore to Delhi. And the return flight also required a 5 hour trip from Delhi to Singapore, a day and evening layover in Singapore, and a flight back over India to Frankfurt.

A couple of weeks before departure, we received an email indicating that there was a minor change in the itinerary due to cancellation of an Indian Airlines flight from Varanasi. Even though the changed itinerary didn’t seem to make total sense in terms of how much could be done in one day, we figured they must know what they were talking about (which did not turn out to be the case).

FILMS WE WATCHED

Khosla KaGhosta re real estate swindling (Bollywood film that I watched on plane home)
Water
Earth
Fire
Born into Brothels
Octopussy (for sights of Udaipur and chase on auto rickshaw through the market—otherwise not a great movie)
Gandhi
Bollywood, Bollywood
Passage to India
The Namesake (after we were back home)
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (I watched after we were back home)

BOOKS WE READ

Luce, In Spite of the Gods—fabulous description of opportunities and challenges facing today’s India
Seth, A Suitable Boy (BBC audio)
Rushdie, Shalimar the Clown
Desai, Inheritance of Loss
Gita Mehta, Raj
City of Djinns
Jumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies
Various mysteries by Mann
Chandra, Love and Longing in Bombay

Len

RCLCOLPB

Part 2: Kolkata, and Foothills of Himalayas

SATURDAY 2/17—DAY IN SINGAPORE, NIGHT NEAR DELHI AIPRORT

Arrived at Singapore at about 7 AM. Airport is very modern, quite a contrast to what was in store for us in India. We later learned that they are adding a new, even more impressive, terminal because the current ones are insufficient, even though they put Delhi, not to mention JFK, to shame already.

Checked our luggage at the airport and took a nice, air conditioned cab. Residents of Singapore are obviously very proud of what their nation has accomplished.

Visited the Botanic Garden, which is very nice and includes a gorgeous orchid garden. Definitely feels tropical, except for the Cool House to display orchids from cooler climates.

Took the SIA bus (very cheap if you show an SIA boarding pass) to the area near the Raffles Hotel, and walked to and around the hotel, including a small museum about it. The restaurant we had been aiming for, Doc Cheng’s, was closed for Chinese New Year the next day, but we did look into the Long Bar but did not order a Singapore Sling.

We walked a block to the Swissotel, where we had a good, local meal at Kopi Tiam (recommended by a friend of a friend)—Mango salad, Hainan Chicken Rice, Laksa (coconut based curry noodle soup), about $25 US.

We then headed over to Chinatown and walked around in the midst of decorations and dense crowds shopping for special items for the Chinese New Year.

We were starting to get quite tired, so we headed back via the modern Metro to the airport.

Flew to Delhi on SIA (7-10 PM—5:40 hours).

Were picked up by a nice driver from the Radisson near the airport, which had been recommended by a friend and reconfirmed a couple times by his parents, who live in New Delhi. Quite nice and convenient, though not cheap and I thought it was a little musty for an upscale hotel. But wonderful buffet breakfast—the best of the trip.


SUNDAY 2/18—FLY TO KOLKATA

One of the new expressways being built to connect the 4 major cities of India (apparently the only 4 lane highways in the country) was outside the hotel, and the driver cut across the dirt area under the expressway to make a U turn. The first of many contrasts between old/rundown and modern in India. Another interesting sign: the magazine vending machine at the uninspiring domestic airport was selling the Harvard Business Review.

There was an amazing honking traffic jam on the tarmac as we took the bus from the gate to our plane.

Jet Airways to Kolkata (920 AM-1125 AM)—Jet Airways and Kingfisher both have good service, food, and modern/large planes, though not always on time due to airport issues apparently.

We were picked up at the Kolkata airport and taken to our hotel, Hotel Hindustan International, at the southern end of central Kolkata. The hotel is quite nice, and the location is pretty good, but the rooms face out onto the very busy AJC Bose Road, which has incredible levels of traffic at all time, with everyone honking at least every few seconds. (It also has a newer causeway built on top of it, but the causeway has a lot less traffic than the street below.) I, in particular, was very bothered by the noise all night, especially in combination with time change, and for that reason I do not think this hotel was a particularly good choice. But none of the 6 other tour members seemed to have any complaints about it. Rate card says that rooms are $250, which is somewhat hard to believe.

We walked over to the Victoria Memorial Hall, surrounded by a park with many local residents in their finest for a weekend visit, and garbage cans in the shape of animals that said “use me” and, like in most of India, were barely used. We saw the first of many construction workers with materials on their heads. The Victoria Memorial ($3.50 for foreign nationals, much less for Indians) was mobbed with almost entirely Indian visitors. Interesting exhibits re British colonial times, and ironic quotes from Queen Victoria about how the British were going to do such good things for India. One couple wanted to take our picture.

Took a taxi to the BBD Bagh area (the colonial and current state capital area), which like much of Kolkata seemed rather rundown in a post-colonial sort of way. It was very quiet, unlike every other part of the city, but perhaps that is only because it was a weekend. We later read that they are planning to spend a lot of money to fix the old buildings up, but they are apparently currently used, so it probably is busy on weekdays.

Walked over to the river and walked through Millennium Park, which was also attracting a lot of nicely dressed locals.

The contrasts in the city are, of course, amazing: the people in the parks and Memorial seemed like they were doing fine economically (Millennium Park cost 5 rupees to enter); some of the apartments in the neighborhood north of our hotel are undoubtedly very expensive; yet there are many extremely poor people on the streets all around and camped out under the causeway. And the electrical wires tangled above all the streets were remarkable.

We took a taxi back south to the Park St. area, which has a lot of interesting looking clubs and restaurants and the Oxford bookstore, and then walked back towards our hotel with a stop at a nice retail store having a big sale. Saw the first sign in hotel for an astrologer, who are very important in India.

Met our guide for the optional pretrip to Sikkim—Subhash Tamang (Himalaya Expeditions), based in Darjeeling (0354 22 56626)—and the 6 other people on the pretrip. We walked over to the Maharaja Restaurant, supposedly Bengali, a few blocks away at King Edward Ct., 55 Chowringhee Rd., with him. Subhash stopped at a place to have special Bengali sweets for me on the way back to the hotel.


MONDAY 2/19—KOLKATA TO DARJEELING

Breakfast at hotel as every day on the trip—very similar buffets with a wide range of Indian and western dishes (and fresh fruits, which we didn’t eat).

We took an early morning walk on our own through the neighborhood north of the hotel, aiming for the South Park Street Cemetery (Christian) which was closed but seems to have interesting, colonial style above-ground graves. We saw signs admonishing cleanliness close to typical heaps of garbage. We passed a private school that was a mecca for hundreds of cars coming to drop kids off, close to a nice little oasis park in the midst of the bedlam. Our street under the causeway was particularly jammed with traffic (and cows) though the causeway itself had almost no cars on it.

Bus to airport, and then flew to the market town of Siliguri (Bagdogra Airport), which we later saw on TV is a big source of prostitutes for Kolkata.

The bus was big enough for our small group, but the seats were too small to accommodate more than one person each. Also, it was neither heated nor fully enclosed, and it got quite cold.

First view of a roadside scene that was repeated in many villages we drove through on the trip, with many tiny stores. As we progressed on the 3 hour trip to Darjeeling, we started climbing on a narrow, pretty road paralleling the Darjeeling Hill Railway that we took the next day. We got out of the bus at a place marked as an elephant crossing, and began to see nice scenes of hills with tea gardens on them. Cars, buses (with people riding on the tops of the buses, apparently at a lower fare), trucks (overloaded wide and high, individually decorated on the fronts), etc., got scarily close to each other and to the train when it passed. There were numerous signs along the road in this part of the country admonishing safe driving, but they were only in English (e.g., Looking for Survival, Do Not Believe in Fast Arrival; and Hurry Burry Spoils the Curry).

Darjeeling is a pretty, bustling town, set on the side of a hill.

Our hotel, the Mayfair Hill Resort, was very nice with a main central building where the restaurant and lounge are (originally a Maharaja’s palace), and smaller buildings where ours and some of the other rooms were located. The hotel is in the midst of a significant construction project, which we were told was a number of months behind schedule. We had a 2 room suite, with a fireplace in the living room. The only problems were that it was really off season, and the hotel (and most other buildings and the bus) were not set up for cool weather. So even with a space heater in our bedroom and the fireplace in the living room, we were pretty much always in cold environments, except in bed with delightful hot water bottles. Also, apparently due to an exceptionally late snow storm a few weeks ago, it was much cloudier than it usually is in February, so it seemed unlikely that we would be able to see the Himalayas. This was particularly upsetting because we had seen photos of the Himalayas from Darjeeling, and the tour description alluded to beautiful views “on clear days.” The guidebook says you get the best views of Kanchenjunga (the 3rd tallest mountain in the world at 28,208 feet) from November to March, but it seems like November might be the better bet.

Dinner at the hotel. .


TUESDAY 2/20—DARJEELING

Subhash was dubious that there would be any point in driving to see the sunrise from Tiger Hill as described in the itinerary for clear days, and he was unfortunately right. The Himalayas were still obstructed by clouds. Plus the path was still snow covered.

We took the cute steam Darjeeling Hill Railway (Toy Train) part of the way down the mountain to Ghoom; cold, but nice scenes of people along the way, many of whom look Nepalese. Not a fast trip, in part because the train had to stop a number of times to replenish the water supply for making steam. We stopped on the way at a memorial park, and later at a modest little museum about the Railway.

We then went to the Ghoom Monastery built in 1875.

We then went to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, which is located within a zoo with local species, including leopards and red pandas. It is amazing to see the modest equipment that early explorers used to climb Everest; apparently present day mountaineers would not consider climbing with that kind of equipment. Statue of Tenzing Norgay, a native mountain climber who gets a lot less press in the west than the western climbers. The zoo had a “no horn” sign, which actually seemed to be abided by in this peaceful setting—quite a contrast to the rest of India. We fortunately followed Subhash, our guide, to the HMI (rather than going off on our own); Subhash went to HMI, leads treks, and made the museum’s artifacts more real. We had cookies for lunch—Subhash didn’t seem to allow for much else while we were with him.

(Our guide said at some point that when he traveled to London he was struck by how clean the streets were; he had grown up with litter everywhere, but he had never noticed it until he saw the comparatively litter-free London.)

We stopped at the Tibetan Refugee and Handicraft Centre where Tibetan refugees live cooperatively, but the crafts rooms were closed for the Chinese New Year.

Drove by tea plantations, but they were not open this time of year. Very pretty scenery with many layers of mountains, but still no Himalayas visible.

The 2 of us got dropped off at the bottom of the town, but we got turned around and walked the wrong way for some distance. We then walked up through the town, stopping to buy Darjeeling tea at a small, recommended shop, Nathmull’s, which has a very wide range of prices/qualities. The main square (Chowrasta), not far from the hotel, is pedestrianized and has a small but interesting bookstore.

Mayfair Hill Resort.


WEDNESDAY 2/21—DARJEELING TO GANGTOK (SIKKIM)

The next morning was much clearer, and we were hopeful that perhaps the Himalayas would appear. The view from the hotel was beautiful, but the Himalayas are in the other direction.

On the drive east of town, we finally saw beautiful views of the massive Himalayas, focused on Kangchenjunga at 8585 meters. Very breathtaking! It is a pretty drive on precariously narrow roads into the Teesta Valley and along the Teesta River. But the bus is cold, because it has no heat and holes to the outside in front of the driver.

We stopped for lunch at a town at the Teesta Bridge checkpoint while the bus driver dealt with customs for entry into Sikkim. Once in Sikkim, we travel along a pretty valley with views of terraced farming.

We checked into the hotel (on a narrow street with bus restrictions, so we transferred to cabs lower down in town). The 2 of us took a walk through the upper reaches of town, including a nice park with gazebo in Ridge Park, and lots of cute babies and kids coming home from school who were eager to talk with us and loved having their pictures taken and looking at the pictures in the digital camera screen. Definitely seemed prosperous relative to places we had been so far, and certainly compared to places we went to later in India. Nice views to the east from the Ridge—the town is basically set between the Himalayas (only sometimes visible) to the west and lower mountains to the east.

We walked around the Royal Palace, past a Call Centre Training Facility, through the Tashi Ling gate (very Buddhist temple looking), and to the end of the cable car (“ropeway,” which we ended up never taking).

Walked down a steep, stepped street past a fancy looking multifamily building with an unofficial garbage dump right next to it—in general in India, people seem to keep their own homes clean, sweeping their front stoop every morning, but don’t hesitate to litter anywhere nearby, particularly hillsides. Not far from a sign warning of up to 6 months in prison for anyone found dumping garbage or spoils.

We passed many admonitions from Sikkim government agencies, only in English, such as “You have not inherited the land from the past but borrowed it from the future, Dept. of Forest & Env.” And “Power wasted, energy wasted, hard work wasted, sweat wastd (sic), resources wasted, money wasted, so save power! Use light only when required. Power save is money save. With best compliments, Energy & Power Deparment, Govt. of Sikkim.” Other signs we saw later included: “You are in a ‘litter or spit free zone’,” “Hello Friends. You are requested not to throw the following items with a view to preserve ecology and environment: mineral water bottles, chips packets, pan masala pouches, bread packets, bubble gum and wrappers, ground nut shells, pan [beetle] and cigarette butts,” “Amway Now in Gangtok,” and “Dos and Don’ts of Leprosy.”

Walked down to the market street (bought a lock for our carryon suitcase) and back to the hotel. Dinner at hotel.

Hotel Chumbi Residency, convenient location a little above the main shopping part of town, pleasantly furnished, with what turned out to be breathtaking views of the sunrise over the Himalayas when it cleared (as it did the next morning).


THURSDAY 2/22—GANGTOK

Woke up to gorgeous sunrise views of the Himalayas from our room at Hotel Chumbi Residency (we did laundry there for 359 rupees).

Nice views of mountains from various places as we walked around town and down to the enclosed market.

Walked up with the group to a permanent flower show (not in season) and back to the Ridge Park (more cute kids).

Got on bus and drove to Enchey Monastery, the first of several Buddhist monasteries in Sikkim. Young boys with shaved heads—very cute—stay at the monastery for short stays, apparently. Hundreds of prayer wheels.

We then visited the Institute of Cottage Industries where young Sikkimese people are taught traditional crafts, and girls were teaching boys, with some difficulty, to dance for an upcoming performance, and mannekins in traditional Sikkimese dress. Bought handmade paper.

Visited the Institute of Tibetology, which has many rare books, etc., and a display of photos re former kings of Sikkim.

Instead of waiting until tomorrow as stated in the itinerary, Subhash responded to the request from some members of the group for more activities by going to Rumtek today so we could get to Kalimpong earlier tomorrow and do more things there than in the itinerary (which really just called for us to go to the hotel). We drove out in the country (with views of Gangtok) to the Rumtek Monastery, a large complex on the opposite side of the valley from Gangtok. My wife cut her shin on the transom going in the gate.

Walked over to the Taste of Tibet restaurant in the market area, which was a good, inexpensive restaurant (a friend of Subhash joined us for part of dinner).

FRIDAY 2/23—GANGTOK TO KALIMPONG

I walked into town, looking for the supposedly nicest hotel in town (which I never found) and for postcards. Postcards are, amazingly, almost impossible to find. Based on what I was told at a newsstand, I went to a stationary store, asked for postcards, and they brought out a pile of cards. I had gotten confused about the time, so I got back to the hotel with only a few minutes before the tour group was leaving, with very little time for breakfast.

Long drive to Kalimpong. We stopped to look at a terraced farm being worked with a few cows.

Nice scenery back through the valley along rivers.

I had a toothache, and when we arrived at the hotel in Kalimpong my wife and Subhash walked into the center of town with me to go to a dentist. It seemed suspicious that he didn’t have any other patients and could take me without an appointment, but he turned away other patients while I was there, so we were probably lucky on timing and he may have been providing special treatment for a visitor. He seemed very good, and spent close to an hour with me, took X-rays, and only charged $8, and his advice that it was a gum issue seemed correct because by following his advice I did not have a toothache again for another month. But it was probably the first sign of the need for a root canal, which fortunately I did not need in India as it would have disrupted the trip, though it would certainly have been much cheaper. The prescriptions he gave me cost only a few dollars—the pharmacies don’t keep any record of the prescription and don’t bother with putting pills in new bottles—you just get the number you need wrapped in the prepackaged aluminum foil.

We walked back to the hotel, getting somewhat confused about which street we had come on (some people helped point us the right way), and passed the fairly common sight of a person carrying a lot on their head.

Himalayan Hotel—south of town but within easy walking distance, at least during the day. An old historic main building where the restaurant and some rooms are located (we thought the room we saw there was nice in an historic way, but one person on our tour complained that it was not as nice as the newer rooms where the rest of us stayed). Most of us were in rooms in modern buildings which were very nice, with views of pretty gardens. (Probably views of Himalayas when it is clear enough, which it wasn’t.) Had the lunch outside that had been waiting for us, and relaxed on our porch overlooking flowers for a little while.

Kalimpong is famous for producing flowers, and we went to one of nurseries to walk around (they just let the public in). This one was adjacent to the owner’s beautiful mansion. People were washing off the tulip bulbs.

Drove past a military base (this, like Sikkim, is relatively close to the Chinese border) to Zong Dog Palria Fo-Brang Gompa monastery, up on Durpin Hill (probably has a nice Hamalyan view sometimes, but it was clouded in). The head of the sect is being disputed between two people, so things are apparently in great flux and contention (and have been for about 19 years). Interesting statues and paintings and offerings inside. As we were about to leave, Subhash said that if we stayed a little while longer we can see the evening service. A young boy who seems to be the proctor called people to prayer with great effort, and then it turned out the prayer includes some wild instruments, such as an extremely long trumpet.

We went into Kalimpong to walk around the active market with Subhash, which was fun except that that shortly after we got dropped up by the bus, while Subhash was getting a package that my wife was getting delivered from work, one of the other tour group members disappeared. The package had arrived at our Gangtok hotel right after we left and was sent by taxi to Kalimpong (for $5). We all looked all over the crowded market, until eventually Subhash found out that the missing group member had gone back to the hotel without telling anyone. We saw a sign in a clinic saying that “Here sex determination is not done, it is a punishable crime.” Presumably is done most places, and apparently girl births are about 80-90% of boy births depending on the state.

Dinner at hotel.


SATURDAY 2/24—KALIMPONG TO DELHI

Drove to Siliguri airport along pretty river valley. Saw many monkeys begging for food along the road—Subhash said that, like people, they are basically lazy. If they can get food so easily, why forage in the woods? He believes the same will be true for Indians, as they have the opportunity to buy more labor-saving devices. (Scary but not surprising implications for global warming, etc.—such a low percentage of Indians own cars now, but with Tata coming out with a car for less than $2K soon, that will undoubtedly change in the future.) Subhash said that he has no shower in his house—they use a bucket, which we had in our hotels as an option. He thinks that Indians will luxuriate in showers if they can. He also doesn’t have a car, but he and his wife are planning to move to the country to set up a spiritual center; his wife is now in school in Katmandu.

We stopped at a gas station with a matching little temple, where there was a wandering holy man (Sadhu).

RCLCOLPB

PART 3: Delhi, Agra, Varanasi, Khajuraho, Orcha

When we landed in Delhi, we were met by our guide for the remainder of the trip, Melissa Kelly, a young woman from Vancouver Island (Duncan, BC, the same town where two of the tour group members live) who has been doing research for a master’s degree from a university in Sweden on the Punjabi diaspora. We were also met by a representative from BTS India ([email protected], 91 11 26966182), which is the company that AA arranged this North India tour through. (They also use another company for some of the same trips, which apparently results in a different set of hotels. The use of local agents seems to be a difference between AA and OAT, which apparently has its own operations in the countries where it has tours, repeats its tours much more frequently, and has tour leaders from the local country rather than from Canada, etc., though Subhash was local for the pretrip.)

We were told that the itinerary was going to change because it turned out that Holi, the holiday of colors, was the day after the elephant festival (which it turns out is always true), and that somehow that required us to go to Agra for a long day the next day, rather than visiting the attractions there on the way from Varanasi to Jaipur as in the original itinerary. The change would also cut our touring time in Delhi to ½ day, which I was somewhat unhappy about, particularly as I had been reading so much about what to do there. (It turns out the real reason for the change was apparently the cancellation of the India Air flight from Varanasi, and the fact that the original thoughts re resulting itinerary changes would not work, particularly as major attractions are closed in Agra on Friday.)

Took the bus to Hotel Ashok, 50B Chanakyapuri, a huge hotel with a number of restaurants and a shopping arcade and a fancy business center. (Was never any sign of the second copy of the document that her office had sent to my wife.) It is in New Delhi south of the government area, with no neighborhood to walk to, and no nearby subway. Would not have been particularly convenient if we had time for our own outings, but we did not. Our room in what must be the renovated wing (far to the right as you face the front of the hotel) was fine, but rooms in the other wing did not sound that great. We did not find it to be nearly as bad as the pans on Tripadvisor.com, and we found the service to be fine, but it definitely does not deserve its apparent 5 stars or justify the price (apparently $200+). But then the “real” 5 star hotels may well cost $350 or more. We saw somewhat creepy men in the halls of the hotel, presumably to provide service but more likely looking for tips. In general on the trip, the tour was supposed to have covered tips, but that was somewhat uncomfortable because everyone delivering luggage was looking for a tip.

We had thought about trying to go out to a top notch restaurant on our own, but decided to join the group for the included dinner (at one of the restaurants in the hotel) because it was late and My wife wasn’t feeling that great. After dinner, my e-mailed back her comments on the order.


SUNDAY 2/25—DAY TRIP TO AGRA, STAY IN DELHI

Woke up very early to take the bus to the Delhi train station (quite insane outside and inside, as promised). The train (Shatabdi Express) had reserved seats (we sat next to someone from Russia), with views of very poor neighborhoods and people facing the morning as we went out of Delhi, and breakfast.

We were greeted by our local guide in Agra, Mewn Kahn, who gave lots of facts, which I liked, but many on the tour thought he gave too much information, and another tour group member (who had just read a book on the subject) thought he offered too many myths as facts, but that is probably almost inevitable with guides; his presentation was also not particularly understandable.

Taj Mahal was very beautiful—nothing tops Muslim architecture, as we had experienced in Spain. Although sunrise at the Taj had been touted, in reality this time of year (I would think most or all of the prime visiting season) it is foggy to overcast in the morning, so you would not see the sunrise. While we were there, it changed from cloudy to sunny. One amazing thing is how much intricate detailing of inlaid stone there is on the white marble.

Drove over to Agra Fort, which is also beautiful with a combination of red stone and white marble. View of the Taj along the river from one of the balconies. Impressive multiple arches that are very nice from multiple angles.

Drove to Fatehpur Sikri, about an hour west of Agra, with views of women carrying materials on their head and the generally crazy street scenes with huge numbers of small stores and everything imaginable on the street that we saw all over India.

Fatehpur Sikri is a huge, deserted red sandstone city, in many complementary architectural styles. The explanations for why it was deserted are not really clear (should see what the book the other tour member recommended has to say about that).

Passed active food markets complete with cows, etc., which seem to become lively every late afternoon because people probably shop for dinner every day.

Went to a “factory” and showroom for inlaying stones into marble, the successors to the craftsmen who made the Taj—Akbar International, Fatehabad Rd., akbarinternational.in. (It is amazing what a high percentage of people in cities like Agra and Jaipur are apparently working in crafts industries catering to tourists.) We bought a very nice hot plate with an orange inlay (a translucent stone used in the Taj) for $78.

Got back to hotel very late, with dinner on the train. It was amazing how good the vegetarian train and plane food was (no matter how short the flight).

Hotel Ashok, New Delhi

MONDAY 2/26—DELHI TO VARANASI

Took bus for a morning tour of Delhi and New Delhi. Drove first to Old Delhi by the outside of the Red Fort, which is reminiscent of Agra Fort. Then through old city with amazing maze of electric cables above the streets and then past the nearby main mosque (Jama Masjid).

We went to Raj Ghat, where Gandhi was cremated, a very peaceful oasis in the midst of a very busy city.

Drove by main governmental buildings and got out to walk around Delhi Gate.

We then went to Humayun’s Tomb, another beautiful example of Mughal architecture—almost as beautiful as the Taj.

We then drove the airport and took a plane to Varanasi.

We were greeted by our guide (see below) and drove to our hotel, Hotel Clarks. The first room was rather musty, but we asked to be changed to another one, which was much better, though my wife thought that it was still a bit musty, and had very hard beds. Certainly not 5 stars, but perfectly fine. A little out of the heart of town, but in an area with other stores, hotels, etc. Would probably be fascinating to stay right on a ghat though.

My wife had to work on the computer—internet service was extremely expensive at the hotel.

I went out for a walk, and was propositioned by a tout for a pashmina store; I got away by promising to tell my wife about him.

My wife’s shin seemed to have gotten infected, and I had sprained my finger trying to open the bus window that morning, so the hotel called a doctor (it has been a long time since we had a house call!). The doctor, Dr. S.P. Gupta, came quickly and seemed very well qualified and spoke good English, and he was apologetic about charging us $12 each. A hotel staff person went to get the prescriptions for us, which were also very cheap (drugs $10 for my wife and $3 for me) and we both got better over the next number of days.

The group went over to the Taj Ganges, the nicest hotel in town, for a nice dinner—one way by cab, back by auto rickshaw (like a tuk tuk in Bangkok).

TUESDAY 2/27—VARANASI

Excellent guide, probably the best on the trip. Jadeep Srivastava, B.A., LL.B., 0542-2414762; mobile 9839185409. He stated that the 4 classes in India are poor (HOUSEHOLD income less than $3K per year—but remember how big the typical household is), lower middle class ($4.5K-$6K per year), middle ($6K-$12K per year), and upper middle to rich ($15K+). We saw other data indicating that 500 million people have incomes of less than $1 per day.

Took a bus into the old city before sunrise, and then walked through the narrow streets to a boat. Fascinating boat ride as the ghats woke up, bathing and washing clothes and swimming in the very high coliform water, and views of people being cremated on funeral pyres with the oldest son with shaven hair playing the key role. There was a huge wood pile—apparently it takes a great deal of wood to cremate a body, which is depleting the forests. The government built an electric crematorium, but few people use it in Varanasi (different in the big cities). The oldest son also has to negotiate for the sacred flame with the keeper, who is one of the few untouchables who makes a lot of money; there are only two traditional crematoriums. All just remarkable—we can see why my father was so eager for us to come here.

Walked through narrow streets, left our cameras with Melissa, and went through heavy security to see the Golden Temple. Apparently significant threat of Muslim terrorist issues. Also passed Government Bhang (pot) stand and, of course, cows.

Went to a “factory” and shop for shawls, etc., Mehta International, close to Radisson Hotel. My wife bought a wool pashmina with a wonderful design and a beautiful silk shawl.

Took bus out of town to Sarnath, a very important Buddhist site with a huge stupa and another one that supposedly has Buddha’s remains. Also a very good museum.

Melissa and our local guide took us on a fabulous optional trip back to the Ganges after dark, getting there and back via auto rickshaw. Drove through an incredibly crowded, colorful, and seemingly endless market that would have been difficult to navigate on foot. Elaborate ceremonies on two competing ghats. Music, people praying, etc. My wife and others had foot massages on the boats. As in the morning, we all put lit flames on the water to float away. Totally amazing, many cremations, and unexpectedly moving. (2439-2453)

Hotel Clarks

Got back late and ate at hotel.

WEDNESDAY 2/28—VARANASI TO KHAJURAHO

Took bus to airport, and eventually got on plane to Khajuraho.

Checked into Radisson Jass Hotel south of town. Quite nice, seemed rather new though it really isn’t. Interesting architecture, furnishings, and bathroom fixtures. Was an Oberoi originally, and has had several other brands before becoming a Radisson. (Hotel name on itinerary is not current.)

Went to tour the western temples, built between 950 and 1050 AD. Intricate carvings, with an emphasis on the erotic a la Kamasutra, in a lovely parklike setting. The elderly guide plainly gets quite a kick about pointing out the most X rated carvings.

Bought another memory card for my camera (as I was taking so many pictures) from a tout who owns a photo shop recommended in Lonely Planet. I asked him whether he also sold extra rechargeable batteries for my camera, and he said he could get one and would find me later at the dance performance. He apparently took his motorbike many miles to get it for me, and he did find me as we were departing midway through the performance. (Memory Card Memory Stick and handicraft [Khajuraho Handicraft Emporium], near State Bank at western temples.)

Went to an evening dance performance with the temple lit up behind.

Dinner at the hotel took forever although it had been preordered—a problem with most non-buffet meals we had.

THURSDAY 3/1—KHAJURAHO TO AGRA VIA ORCHA

Began the day by touring the eastern temples in Khajuraho, which are Jain and not nearly as erotic.

Took 5 hour bus ride to Orcha. Trying to get into town, we got virtually stuck because of another bus going towards us on the narrow street.

Founded by a king in the 16th century. Walked around the palace, a synthesis of Hindu, Mughal, and Indo-Saracenic. Big courtyard, we walked up the steep stairs to the top, impressive paintings on the ceilings. Not in as good shape as other forts/palaces. Trying to get a World Heritage designation so they can more actively fix up. Small halfhearted improvement efforts were underway. There is a hotel that is part of the palace, but hard to tell how nice it is.

Drove a half hour to Jansi and took the Shatabdi Express again, this time back to Agra. (Although we got pretty good at shaking off the hordes of beggars and hawkers while touring sites, mostly by continuing to walk without acknowledgement or eye contact, the hardest place was waiting for trains, where you couldn’t just move on and were faced for a long period with dealing with children and lepers [with truncated limbs] begging. But never felt dangerous.)

Hotel Clarks Shiraz, Agra. Fine—nicer than the Clarks in Varanasi. It has a restaurant and outdoor area that supposedly has views of the Taj, and I went up their at sunrise time, but like most mornings it was totally fogged in and invisible.

RCLCOLPB

PART 4: Rajasthan

FRIDAY 3/2—AGRA TO JAIPUR VIA BHARATPUR BIRD SANCTUARY

Left early to drive to Jaipur via stop at Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. Took bicycle rickshaws through the sanctuary, which is a very peaceful park spread over 29 square km, with shallow lakes, scrub, and woodland. Saw monkeys and many birds.

Passed a herd of camels on the road to Jaipur.

Stopped, as we did on all long drives, at a so-called “midway” roadside restaurant with a gift shop, a stand selling expensive cookies, and a bathroom with an attendant expecting a tip for every patron. About 6 hours total drive from Agra to Jaipur, not including long stop at bird sanctuary.

Drove through busy Jaipur to Dera Rawatsar guesthouse, on a quiet street a few blocks north of bus station and about a mile west of the old city. Very nice, family-run, heritage property with very pretty rooms and courtyards, and nice owners (the very friendly older woman turned out to be the matriarch, who apparently has been a major mover in Indian women’s liberation).

We walked towards the old city, along a very busy street with many cows and retail stands (and informal urinals wherever there was a wall), but it took longer than we expected and we headed back before reaching the old city itself.

Lovely dinner at hotel.

SATURDAY 3/3--JAIPUR

I walked into old city, with arcaded major street, and took auto rickshaw back to the bus station, which was near our hotel.

Drove out to Amber, 11 km north of Jaipur, high on the slopes of a hill. 11th century fort and palace complex in a blend of Hindu and Muslim styles. Went up to the top on decorated elephants. Amber has ornate detailing, and pretty gardens and views to the surrounding mountains.

The city of Jaipur was built much later by astronomer king Jai Singh II, in 1727. Stopped for tea. Toured the City Palace, in the center of the city, which is now a museum with manuscripts, paintings, dancers in the central courtyard which also has huge silver vessels, beautiful lattice work, etc.

Then went to the Jantar Mantar observatory, which has massive, incredibly accurate sundials and other astronomical and astrological devices.

Back to City Palace with beautiful peacock walls.

Went to restaurant with woman baking bread and a small room where a wide range of turbans was displayed.

Passed by the Palace of Winds, which is a narrow building that women in the palace could look out from.

Elephant festival, in the stadium close to the City Palace. An annual event that is organized by the Rajasthan tourist organization, and it is seemingly very touristy, but probably at least half of the audience appears to be Indian. Although police make occasional efforts to keep order, most of the time the audience is down on the field observing activities more up close. Events include tug of war of elephants versus people, and spraying colors at volunteering tourists to celebrate Holi.

Hung out at the hotel for a little while, when we met the matriarch of the guest house and tried on a turban.

Drove to a nice restaurant with dancing in the courtyard after dinner, and a puppet show.

Dera Rawatsar guesthouse

SUNDAY 3/4—JAIPUR TO JODHPUR

Some people on the tour went out on the street to get cash, and came back “Holi’d” with paint on their faces, and we got some paint put on at the hotel before our bus departed, but we thought it was unwise to take a walk—apparently some paints used for Holi don’t wash off. Watched TV, which was mostly Holi oriented—Holi phobia, advice, polls showing ambivalence about the holiday. There had been talk when we first arrived in Delhi, and in the itinerary we received there, of joining the local people in celebrating the festival, but in general our group did not think that was a good idea, and between the time we arrived in Delhi and Holi, Melissa became increasingly dubious about the idea.

Seven hour drive to Jodhpur. Some paints were thrown at the bus; the bus assistant (an apparently essential part of every tour bus) stopped invasions of the bus by kids who had put rocks on the road. (The driver and assistant sleep on the bus throughout the tour.)

Arrived at Hotel Fortune Ummed, a very pretty, rather new hotel built in a style reminiscent of the historic architecture, with a large, very nice but cold (except for Canadians) infinite pool (where we took a quick swim) on the side close to a large grassy area which presumably is used for weddings (clearly a big source of revenues for hotels in India).

Ate at Mehran Terrace on the terrace of the Jodhpur Fort, with spaced out, candlelit tables high above the city, and the lit fort behind us. Extremely beautiful view and atmosphere, with unmemorable (but okay) food.

MONDAY 3/5—JODHPUR TO JAISALMER

Visited Jodhpur Fort, built on clearly defensible walls high above the city, with an excellent acoustiguide (though the live guide felt somewhat forlorn that we were not using him instead). Very beautiful. Palace seemed to have been particularly well maintained and more museum like (in a positive way) than some of the other palaces. Good views of the blue city below. Very nice museum with carriages for carrying royalty, and good museum shop.

Stopped on the way down to town at Jaswant Thada, a mausoleum with excellent views up to the fort.

Drove by and had a quick photo stop at Umaid Bhawan Palace, which was built during the depression as a “public works” project, and is now largely a hotel.

The group settled down at a restaurant south of the old city, but one other group member and my wife and I decided to take a crowded auto rickshaw with the guide to the narrow market streets of the old city. The guide was obviously interested in taking us shopping (to stores where allegedly Richard Gere and Angelina Joli shopped), but we insisted otherwise. Beautiful colors of fabrics on shops, clothes lines, and in women’s clothes. Ended at Clocktower Square, where we bought oranges and cookies. There is really no “fast food” in stores to buy for lunch as there are in many other countries (e.g., bread and cheese in France), as well as concern that street food is not option for health reasons. Are therefore limited to restaurants that the guide or a guidebook recommends.

Went back to restaurant to rejoin the group, and they were still being served—it became obvious why buffets make so much sense in India. And Melissa had been attacked by bird droppings. We ate muffins at the Ajit Bhawan bakery.

Drove 6 hours to Jaisalmer, close to Pakistan in the desert at the western edge of Rajasthan. Definite signs of defense installations.

Went to Hotel Gorbandh Palace, west of town but an easy auto rickshaw ride away. Nice (but very cold) pool in a courtyard. Our room was at the far end of the hotel, past a hallway with unexplainable photos of Israel. Like many of the hotels, the internet service was nonexistent or very slow at the hotel, so I went into the Gandhi Chowk by auto rickshaw, where there was an upstairs internet café with fine service and the typical very low charges. The driver was happy to return to pick me up at a prearranged time to go back to the hotel, and I used him again early the next morning to go into town and back.


TUESDAY 3/6—JAISALMER

I went into town by auto rickshaw and walked around while the town was waking up. Has a real “hill town” feel, with a fort on the top that has many residents. Hardly untouristy, but felt like a much smaller place than the other places we have stayed (“only” 58,000 population). Walls are painted to celebrate the latest wedding in the household.

Made a quick stop at Gadi Sagar, once the water supply for the town, including a gateway said to have been built by a prostitute. When she offered to pay to have it built, the maharajah refused permission on the grounds that he would have to pass under it to get to the lake, which he thought would be beneath his dignity. While he was away, she built the gate anyway and put a Krishna temple on the top so he could not tear it down.

Views up the fort from the road below.

Toured the fort area within walls at the top of the town. founded in 1156 AD. Jain temple in the midst of the fort, with ornate carvings inside, some X rated even though Jain temples are supposed to be relatively proper. Many cows (some painted) and remnants of Holi.

On the market street just outside the walls of the fort, stopped at a Bhang shop (mentioned in Let’s Go), where I read the funny information on marijuana to the group. The shop owner, Mr. Bhang, showed us an article that wrote him up with picture. Several group members bought cookies. Also stopped at a stand where several people had a street food (spices in the middle of leaves that you suck in your cheek and then spit out), and later we had sweets prepared on the street.

Went to two ornate havelis with numerous levels, nice courtyards, and pretty lattice work, built in the 1700s. At the second one, listened in to the end of a carpet sales effort.

Went to lunch at a nice outdoor restaurant, where 4 of us sat on the ground at low tables in a shaded area.

Drove west out of town for a sunset camel trip out in the desert. My wife’s camel is named Babaloo. Dancers and musicians performed for tips. A bit touristy—could see several other similar groups and buses—but still quite beautiful.

Hotel Gorbandh Palace

WEDNESDAY 3/7—JAISALMER TO LUNI

Drove 6 hours to Luni, a very small village not far from Jodhpur, where the main attraction is Fort Chanwa (hotel), a beautiful heritage hotel. Unfortunately, my wife was sick. Nice courtyards and pool in a smaller courtyard, with pretty flowering trees. Dinner at hotel.

THURSDAY 3/8—LUNI TO UDAIPUR

I walked around the village, with a good selection of cows and drying dung, and various small Hindu temples.

Drove 5 hours (overall driving time) to Udaipur. Stopped briefly to photograph a shepherd and his flock.

Made a longer stop at Ranakpur, 90 km north of Udaipur, in a remote wooded valley—very peaceful. It is a white marble complex of Jain temples. Some X rated carvings once again.

Drove through an interesting area with a variety of farming activity. Stopped to see an irrigation system with cows turning a wheel which pulls buckets up from a well and transfers the water to irrigation paths.

Drove to Hotel Paras Mahal, on the south side of Udaipur, farther than ideal from the historic center of town, but not a very long or expensive auto rickshaw ride. A multistory hotel, fine.

Walked across the street to the Vishal Megamart, a multistory, stripped down discount store that was not very impressive, but we heard from a shopkeeper in the palace the next day is a local landmark that he seemed to be excited we were near.

Drove to the Raaj Bagh restaurant, along the bank of a lake with nice views of one of several lakes in Udaipur. We could hear a wedding and fireworks a few doors down, so we went to take a look after dinner. They invited us in, and seemed very happy to have us visit. A hotel had been taken over for the wedding, with the signs covered by signs for the wedding. The first big area had a stage and many seats, with teenage girls dancing to a DJ in the corner. The other area had a huge buffet, which the father of the bride encouraged us to partake in. Women were almost all in beautiful saris, but the men’s dress was more varied and not as fancy generally. As we were leaving, we found ourselves close to the turbaned and elaborately clad (in brocade) groom, who was arriving by horse to be welcomed by the bride’s mother. The groom did not seem very happy. Although we were entreated to stay, we left.


FRIDAY 3/9—UDAIPUR

I walked part of the way and then took an auto rickshaw into the center of town. Beautiful views of the lake.

Went into town with the group, beginning with a walk along the edge of the City Palace with excellent views of the lake and the lake side of the palace, and then over to the Jagdish Hindu Temple, built in the mid-17th Century. One of the very few Hindu temples we visited, although there are many small roadside temples and apparently many in peoples’ homes. We then walked over to take a tour of the City Palace overlooking Lake Pichola, which fortunately had plenty of water thanks to a good monsoon season last year (unlike previous years, when the lake was dry). One part of the Palace, on an upper level, has a pretty garden. The Palace is an extensive museum with beautiful mosaics of peacocks, views, and many other items. $5 charge to take pictures—expensive but well worth it. Also a hotel that was taken over for a wedding.

Lovely (but very slow) lunch in a restaurant in the Palace courtyard with very good lemon water.

Warrior caste guide—and very proud of it.

We then took a delightful boat trip around the lake, including views of Jagniwas Island (now a very fancy hotel) and a brief stop on Jagmandir Island, which was being prepared for an undoubtedly luxurious wedding that evening.

We then stopped at a crafts workshop and store for miniatures, where we bought one.

We took the bus to the north end of town to visit the Saheliyon-ki-bari garden, with very nice fountains and flowers, laid out for women of the court, who were otherwise locked in the harem. Female gardeners in saris (like many field workers).

Stopped at a jewelry store (bought nothing) and then a nearby Pashmina store.

My wife and I went back to the Palace just before it closed to buy a necklace that my wife had seen earlier in a courtyard shop. We looked at the sun set over the lake, and walked around the old city. We found another jewelry shop written up in Fodors (Gehrilal Goverdhan Singh Choudhary, 72 Jagdish Marg, near Clocktower) where My wife bought a “rainbow stone” necklace, and hurried back auto rickshaw back to the hotel.

Took auto rickshaws back to the old city with the group or dinner at the Jagat Niwas Palace Hotel, with an outdoor rooftop restaurant way up on the top with beautiful lake views, including of the fireworks from the wedding on Jagmandir Island. Seems like would be a great place to stay if you could get one of the 2 lakefront rooms, which apparently cost about $100.

Hotel Paras Mahal


SATURDAY—UDAIPUR TO DELHI TO OVERNIGHT FLIGHT TO SINGAPORE

The group that was heading south for the post-trip left early.

My wife and I took an auto rickshaw into town, and visited the Bagore-ki-Havali, a mansion with beautiful lake views that has been turned into a museum, including the world’s largest turban. The Lalghat guest house next door has a great rooftop patio with similar views, though apparently rooms are not necessarily that great (but quite inexpensive and perfect location). Stopped back at the jewelry store to get earrings for my wife and another rainbow stone necklace for my daughter. The jewelry store owner read my wife’s palm.

Took the bus to the airport with those who were not going south, and flew to Delhi.

Had a long wait at the Delhi airport, first in a waiting area across the street from the terminal, and beginning 3 hours before departure, in the terminal itself.


SIA to Singapore (1115 PM to 700 AM Sunday, 5:35 hours)


SUNDAY—SINGAPORE UNTIL MIDNIGHT FLIGHT BACK TO JFK

rhkkmk

read some and now out of time...more later...thanks..

thursdaysd

Thanks for the very detailed report! I'm interested to read about Adventures Abroad, as I've considered using them. It sounds like most of your hotels were away from the main part of town - is that right? And a lot of your meals were buffets? I hadn't realized they didn't confirm tours until two months ahead. How many people were on your main tour?

I was amused to read that the signs on the road up to Darjeeling haven't changed in 6 years!

AsiaDana

Terrific travel report RCL. Thanks very much

RCLCOLPB

There were 16 people on the main tour (a good size, I think), including the 8 people who were on the pretour. Many of the people who joined us for the main tour were going on the south India add-on after we left.

It is fair to say that the hotels tended to be on the edges of towns. Was not a far trip for the tour bus, or by ourselves via auto rickshaw, but at least in some cases I think it would have been more fun to stay right in town.

Inveteratetraveler

Hi, As you advised in your response to my query on Tripadvisor under Bjorntraveler, I have read your outstanding review here on Fodor's. I am simply astonished at the contortions companies like Oat and AA go to to arrange airline transporation. The circuitous trip you took is unfathomable considering the many direct alternatives. For example, if one wants to to go Calcutta from the East Coast one can take Lufthansas to Frankfurt from JFK with a direct flight to Calcutta in less than 22 hours. I can do the same thing via Chicago from Kansas City. And if you cosndier the cost, there is virtualy no difference in many cases. Another example, by using Continental. You fly directly to Delhi from Newark or if you use Amnerican, you can fly directly to Delhi from Chicago. For AA's trips they tack on $1400 plus a pretty hefty far for connecting cities in the U.S. For about $1400 I can fly from Kansas City to Delhi with only one stop and return in about half the time it took you via AA. Using your frequent flyer miles with Singapore Airlines of coruse is well worth the trip, especially if one has never been to Singapore. We have been flying into and out of Singaore since the late 1960's and I never grow tired of it, but I would a void this cicruitous trip if I could get a direct flight. OAT does the same thing in even more curious ways. We ahve been looking at going with OAT to Vietnam because of the extensive itinerary and realtively low cost. yet, the tour flies into Bangkok and departs from Bangkok, even though the flight from the West Coast and Chicago is via United Airlines, which has DIRECT service to both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh Cities. (I asked OAT for a clarificaiton; neither of two agetns could explain it.) OAT also has many trips to Africa which go through London in order to get to JoBurg, when United and SAA has direct flights from the U.S. It is all a mystery to me, especially because the difference in airfare is not all that great, even if one incluses one or two in-country flights. By the way, Advantage, a more upscale company with larger group sizes also has a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, which includes a direct flight to Vietnam on United.

By I am off on a tangent in regard to your report. The dates of your trip must have been different from the projected dates for 2008. Day One on AA in March is 8 March, which is the pre-trip you described in your report. This would put us in the Himalayan Mountain area the second week of March, which I presume would be clearer than when you found it. I thank you for the clarificaiton about the hotels. They are mostly to sleep in, as very few guided tours allow one must time to loll around a hotel, but hygience and impressions are important. We, too, are not used to taking tours. In May, we took our first one, with Odyssey Tours, to Morocco. This company is a bit upscale and takes no more than 24 travelers. We liked it and decided for more exotic destiantions, particularly at our age and to a void logistical nightmares, we would go the tour route, taking tours with different companeis to see which one we like the best. We will go with Vantage to the Dalmatian Coastline in September and may go with OAT to Vietnam in December, although I am rethinking that decsion. AA is a newly found company, whcih we learned about through the travel news letter ITN. Are you familair with this monthly publication? If not, you are in for a treat, as it is chock full of advice and trip reports from folks like you. I can arrange to send you a free copy.
My email addee: [email protected].

Back again to your report - this is stream-of-consciousness writing to an extreme, I know. How did you find the food on the trips at the hotels? You mentioned the food only in passing except for the buffet breakfasts and a few hotels. I was sorry to hear by the way about your wife's illness. Belly trouble, I presume. I have traveled to India and Pakistan on business and I never went there without getting tomach problems, but then again I got sick in Morocco while my wife did not.
You mentioned briefly about the bus being small in Sikkim. Was this true for the bus travel during the rest of your trip.? The driving stretches were quite long so I presume the small numbers of your group allowed for stretching out into open space.

I apologize for rambling but it is good to exchange email with a prolific and knowledgeable writer. If you would care to just chat about trips we could also use IM: I have Yahoo: jacklizzoe.

Please do not hesitate to ask us for assistance for any future travel. It wil be a plesure to correspond with you. Regards, Jack Kaufman

gilawi01

Enjoy thoroughly your report. We are planning a similar trip in February 2008 (except the Sikkim area). The other difference will be that we are going to use car & driver for almost the hole trip. This will give us total freedom of what to see and skip, without the troubles of logistics. Would like to read about what were the highlights, enjoy most and dislike the most, and what would you skip if doing the same trip again.

RCLCOLPB

As you noted, our flight itinerary was our fault because we wanted to use frequent flyer miles and we were interested in visiting Singapore--which certainly an amazing contrast to India. I would have been very upset if the tour company put me on that route though.

We are trying OAT again (to Costa Rica) in late December/early January based on recommendations from a number of people, so I hope that will be good and that they won't put us on crazy flights.

It does sound like AA is being smarter about when to schedule the Sikkim trip--March is certainly more in season there, so I assume hotels, etc., will not be as cold. I would guess the odds of views are better, though I don't know that for sure. I would just check the weather data to make sure it won't be too hot in Rajasthan at the end of the trip. I really don't understand why they don't do the southern add-on at the beginning and the Sikkim at the end in February/March.

The bus for the main tour was very spacious--same width as in US, and everyone could have their own double seat if they wanted to. It is a LOT of driving, so I do think taking the Palace on Wheels rather than a bus-based tour of Rajasthan is worth considering if you think you will be frustrated by all of the daytime on the bus. I think it makes a big difference whether you can read on buses (my wife and I can and we treated the bus trips as chances to relax and read, glancing up intermittently, and trying to avoid looking at oncoming traffic if we really wanted to relax ).

Food was fine but very repetitive. I am not sure whether this is a problem with this tour not choosing the most interesting places, but my guess is that it is to be expected in India outside of select gourmet restaurants in the biggest cities. If you are going to be in Calcutta for a few days before the tour starts, I would definitely seek out the most atypical type places, as you will have lots of the typical on the tour.

Re the question of tour group vs. individual guide/driver, I think both have pros and cons, and I am not sure about the relative cost. We thought the companionship of others on the tour was a plus, but I'm sure there is certainly something to be said for having the trip totally tailored to your wishes.

Len

rhkkmk

i enjoyed the full report...many of the problems that you report are the exact reasons why i prefer never to take a "tour"....it is their business to know these things, but yet constantly things are not right or delayed or rerouted and never to your advantage...

impacked

Thanks so much for taking the time to share! Ahhhh, memories.

Inveteratetraveler

Len, You are constantly on the go! I just read your latest comments and note you will be going to Costa Rica at the end of the year. I am taking my wife and daughter to Costa Rica on an Eco tour in Late November and will be sure to give you some feedback. I lived in San Jose for a short period of time, and highly recommend the country. Parts of it are not worth the trouble visiting, such as Limon, but there are plenty of dazzling spots, such as the volcano area around Poas. San Jose is quite a modern city for the most part. Good restaurants and some interesting museums. I looked at the Oat write-up. From D.C. you will undoubtedly be routed through Miami, as I was when I lived and worked in Virginia and spent some time in San Jose. This is a cakewalk compared to what you w ent rhough in India. Straight forward airline routing. I think you will have a good time. Please ask me any questions about Costa Rica and hopefully I will be able to be of some help, jack P.S. Just read your report on Peru. I lived there for three years and visited Cuzco several times. I could not have done better writing a trip report. Hats off to you as a tr avel writer.