ClarkB

Finally got around to following up my real-time teaser reports (see "leery husband" thread) with a proper trip report of our northern India swing. Like war and other painful experiences, the bad memories tend to recede with time; it would not have been a fair report to post within hours of returning home and violently emptying my stomach repeatedly in the wrong direction. There were some aspects of the trip that were enjoyable - a few, at least.

As another poster accurately noted, you tend to come back saying "never again," but then you review your photos later and it all seems to have been not so bad. Still, I can safely say I'll never go again! My opinions, however, are my own - the wife and kids enjoyed pretty much all of it, being considerably less jaded and impatient than me. But India is a place for people who really want to see it and don't mind the considerable hassles, unbelievable squalor, and very low ratio of interesting sights to long, uncomfortable journeys.

After some hiccups and dropped balls in the planning phase, we ended up with a well-meaning and seemingly attentive small tour company based outside of the major cities. But this turned out not to be a brilliant choice, as we had a few relatively minor but annoying planning issues to deal with, including an itinerary lacking in logistical details, one really crap hotel, a plethora of very long drives without adequate lunch stops, and guides of varying quality. Having said that, the owner was open to our constructive criticisms, and we gave him honest feedback rather than slamming him on this forum, and I think he will use it to improve the service. We sort of thought he was used to sending Indian families around India and therefore was not as familiar with western tourist expectations, but he claimed most of his customers were from the US and Europe, so maybe we were victims of trying to squeeze too much into a relatively short trip (although it seemed never-ending to me!)

Delhi-Kanha Park

We landed in Delhi just after Christmas and got a break with the notorious December fog in that part of the country, landing on time and breezing through the modern Indira Gandhi airport (quite a bit nicer than the dump that passes for an international gateway in Mumbai). Our agent was there to meet us on time and convey us to a generic Hilton halfway between the airport and city center. The next day we toured Delhi, which I found mostly unremarkable excepts for a few things. It was fun, and a good initiation into the chaos of India, to take a bicycle rickshaw ride through the narrow alleys of Old Delhi, dodging pedestrians and motorbikes going about their daily shopping activities in colorful stalls underneath a spaghetti of electrical wires and cavorting monkeys. Humayun's Tomb, a model for the Taj Mahal, was nicely laid out in a park-like setting. The Jama Masjid (old modque), and Mughal temple ruins at Qtub Minar were OK, the latter notable for its 12th-century brick tower. But the Gandhi Ghat memorial was rather nondescript, and a quick drive-by of India Gate and the government square didn't allow much of a chance to see it in the frenetic Delhi traffic.

And oh what traffic it was. I would have thought that growing up in LA would have inured me to the stress and annoyance of big-city gridlock, but India takes it to a whole new level - terrible roads, choking dust and truck emissions, incessant horn-honking, hair-raising near-misses, and destitute children in rags approaching at every red light, walking between the cars in six-lane roads, carrying infants and tapping on windows for a handout. Not a relaxing or enjoyable experience, but I suppose useful for the kids to see how privileged they are.

My highlight in Delhi occurred that night - after a long day in the car, I surprised myself by asking the concierge for a dinner recommendation outside the hotel. He suggested a restaurant near Connaught Place called "Veda" (I've since been told it is a chain with international locations, but I have not verified that). We hopped in one of those toy cars they call taxis - it would make a Soviet Lada look luxurious -- and about $8 later we were dropped off on another dusty, torn-up street corner, dodging potholes, mudholes, sewer holes, construction holes, and just plain holes, and made our way to the restaurant door.. Once inside we were treated to, without a doubt, the best Indian meal I have ever had in my life. And I've lived in London for many years and had a lot. Try the Manchurian cauliflower. A spectacular and reasonably priced meal that we talked about for the rest of the trip.

And in the interest of a fair and balanced report, I have to say the food just about everywhere was quite good. Even with the Indian diaspora in London, you don't get anywhere near the variety of dishes we found in India, particularly the vegetarian kind. We had a bit of both, but tended toward veggie in the hopes of minimizing any stomach problems. By some miracle and careful attention, none of us got sick the entire trip, even the kids. At least, until I got home, when India wreaked its revenge on me, probably because I saw the light at the end of the tunnel at the airport Radisson in Delhi on the last night, and let down my guard.

Next come the tigers and the start of our version of the Amazing Race, without the amazing parts...

ClarkB

Part 2

The next day we returned to the airport for our 2-hour flight to Jabalpur, an unattractive garrison town, on a Kingfisher ATR prop jet. This time the fog got us, delaying us 90-minutes such that when we arrived in Jabalpur around noon, there was no time for lunch. As I had skipped breakfast, that meant about 20 hours between meals, so I was already an unhappy camper. The next 4 hours were spent dodging all manner of people, cattle, tuk-tuks, motobikes, trucks and other obstacles to get to Kanha National Park. Most of the drive was on two or even one-lane roads, so I doubt we travelled more than about 100 miles in those four hours. Brutal. We arrived starving and road-worn at the Tuli Lodge, and although they were trying to rush us into the park for the late-afternoon game drive, they pitied us enough to prepare some food first. The drive was uneventful - no tigers, a few varieties of deer and birds, and thus not an encouraging start to our hoped-for tiger sightings. Fortunately, that drive was the exception.

We returned to our lodging to discover a rather run-down bungalow in serious need of some paint and spiffing up. Our traveling companions, used to Abercrombie and Kent-style accommodations, were really pissed and demanded an upgrade. Surprisingly, they got it, but when I tried that gambit, I was refused (the tour guide was enlisted in their case, and I was too tired to make a big deal of it). Their upgrade was a very nice room in a separate building, with a 4-poster bed and nice furnishings, while ours was something from a 1950s Butlin's campground. Anyway, the lodge put on a good spread that night for dinner, as they did each night, so we forgot about it. I was much more concerned with the prospect of arising at 4:30am to take the jeep to the park gate (3 minutes away), and then having to wait another HOUR AND A HALF in the dark in an open jeep (and it was quite chilly this time of year at that hour). But this was the only way to be one of the first in the park and enhance our chances of seeing a tiger. As this was the wife's "life dream," what could I do?

Happily, the tactic worked, and we saw tigers on each of the next three drives. On one occasions a tiger was spotted off the trail (the jeeps have to stay on the dirt roads), so we were driven out to some elephants, which we proceeded to board, and they walked into the bush to where the tiger lay, yawning and obviously unperturbed by being surrounded by three or four elephants with tourists sitting on top of them. Needless to say, the photos are spectacular. Check the box on wifey's Dream list. Now I can get back to bitching every five minutes!

So with our success in seeing tigers on multiple occasions during that 2.5 days, I can recommend Kanha for those who share my wife's dream. I'm not sure if there is a better place to stay than Tuli, but if you do go you should ask for a room in the deluxe bungalows. Other than that, the bed was OK, the shower worked, and the food was good, so it served its purpose if being unremarkable (unlike some of the fabulous places we stayed years ago in Kenya and Kruger Park in South Africa, which was more along the lines of what I expected - again, do your homework on India).

The next day, New Year's Eve, was not a lot of fun - another 4-hour drive in the afternoon, a seriously dodgy "five-star" hotel in Jabalpur (necessitated by the fact that there was only one Jabalpur-Delhi flight per day), plus a BONUS excursion put on by our tour guide that was truly miserable. After waking at 4:30am, driving the park in the morning, the horrible drive back to Jabalpur, another 4pm "lunch", he insists we get back in the car for an hour-long drive to some river/lake/canyon with stunning "marble mountains". It turns out to be a sort of rock quarry, where we climb into a rickety rowboat and paddle around this lake for 45 minutes. A total waste of time. We finally get back to the hotel, where New Year's Eve festivities are about to begin, order some awful room service meals, cover our heads with pillow to block out the deafening roar of Indian party music, and don't make it anywhere close to midnight.

Next on to the Taj Mahal, but not without the vehicular equivalent of the Bataan Death March first!

Kathie

I'm enjoying your report. It's a good cautionary tale.

thursdaysd

Thanks for coming back with a TR. Looking forward to the rest....

Great that you saw the tigers, though.

Interesting that it was the Radisson that did you in. The only time I got sick in six weeks on my last visit was at my splurge hotel.

ClarkB

The next morning we flew back to Delhi, bought a bunch of junk food in the airport as our lunch, and were off on our FIVE-HOUR adventure ride to Agra, home of the illustrious Taj Mahal. This trip was simply endless, and our consumption of salt, sugar and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils from our junk-food lunch was really starting to wear on us. I had read about the high-speed train, but as it only left at 7am, that was out of the question unless we wasted another night in Delhi. Plus we had seen photos of the "first class" section of an Indian train, and it was not enticing. So we gutted it out on the roads. This was where we lost (figuratively) our companion family. Although they were headed to the gloriously luxurious Oberoi Hotel, steps away from the Taj Mahal, this ride put an end to future travel by car for them. I was close to bailing out as well, but our hotel, the Gateway, proved to be a nice surprise.

I'm not in the habit of shelling out $1000/night on a hotel wherever I am in the world, and as the Oberi would not fit our family of four in a single room, those two nights would have set me back a budget-busting $3000. But as nice as the Oberoi was, the Gateway did not disappoint -- good food, pleasant staff, and a large and comfortable room with a view of the Taj from maybe a quarter-mile away through the ever-present haze. And the next day turned out, not surprisingly, to be the highlight of the trip. As our friends said, if they just built an international airport in Agra, you could fly in there, see what is unquestionably one of the great man-made sights on earth, and fly the hell out of there without having to endure all the misery of travel in India.

We got to the Taj reasonably early the next morning, and lucked out in that the previous day, a Sunday and New Year's Day, drew something like 50,000 people to the monument to love. We had at most a few thousand. We also had a rare sunny day with blue sky, so the photos came out beautifully. It is impossible to describe the beauty of this building, so I won't, other than to say the pictures do not do it justice. Previously on the forum someone talked about coming to India for a month and deliberately avoiding the TM, which would have to be one of the dumbest things you could do, regardless of how hipster anti-tourist you want to appear. This place is spectacular.

After a non-rushed walk around and through the monument, we drove to the Agra Fort a few miles away, which helped put the history of the Mughals (and the Taj itself) in perspective, as you look down the river to see the TM from the fort. Another wonderful dinner at the Oberoi followed, and the next day we were off on another 5-hour drive to Jaipur - only there were four of us instead of seven. Our companion family, much to my envy, pulled the ripcord, called the agent and got a car back to Delhi and flight home. They'd seen the pinnacle, no point going back to the valleys of death. In fairness, a couple of them had car-sickness problems and a bit of trouble with the spicy food (not making them ill, just not to their taste). Both of which are horrible afflictions if you are in India, because the Indian food was fantastic, but trying to order western food was pretty hopeless (except maybe at the Oberoi). And this was the wrong vacation for anyone who has trouble with long car rides. So we were on our own at that point.

Next, to romantic Rajasthan and Jaipur...

ClarkB

An hour or so outside of Agra, and finally we see a bit of the peaceful, green countryside of rural India. As we pass from Uddar Pradesh into Rajasthan, rolling hills abound, covered in yellow rapeseed in bloom as far as the eye can see. Rectangular brick kilns dot the landscape. Finally, a two-lane divided highway (dual carriageway to the Brits) with fewer potholes, combined with the pastoral scenery, enables us to relax and enjoy the drive for once. I also notice this is the first time, other than inside Kanha Park, that we do not see garbage everywhere. And I mean everywhere, piled up by the side of the road, people walking through it, cows eating it, just disgusting. I know this is the forum for the anti-judgmental scolds, but, as someone who has traveled the world and seen many places and cultures, many as or almost as poor as India, I've never seen a place where there is less emphasis on picking up or disposing of trash. Well, I guess we'll just dump it here in the middle of the street! That was one of the most disheartening things to see there, because it tells you a lot about how people live and what they value. Clean streets is not one of India's cultural values, and I don't think it is simply a matter of poverty.

On arriving in Jaipur, a hilly town with the massive Amber Fort dominating the view, we check into a lovely old boutique hotel and former palace, the Samode. A nondescript side entry belies the Indian-gothic exuberance of the interiors. Being an old palace, the rooms are scattered all over, up and down narrow winding staircases and through Moorish-looking courtyards. After the grungy Tuli Lodge and the grim, downmarket business hotel in Jabalpur, the Gateway and the Samode were a huge step up. We were given a huge room with a 4-poster and two twins for the kids, and the whole thing had the feel of one of those mock-historical 1920s-era Hollywood apartment buildings you might see in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. Again, the dinners they served were terrific; no need at all to venture out into the dark and smoky night.

The next day our guide picked us up and took us to the fort - despite arriving a bit late (another agency cock-up in communication), we waited about 45 minutes in line to take the elephant ride up the hill -- bumpy and stinky, but a must if you have children along. Then we toured the fort, which was interesting at least for its architecture and views over the town, but I found the history too oblique or uninteresting to me at least - in the US when I grew up, we were taught less about India and its history than probably any other major country or culture (and that's saying a lot, considering how provincial an American public-school education was and probably still is). So my lack of much of a grounding in Indian history made the guides patter a bit dull after awhile, and I didn't think our guides were all that great, either.

After a dodgy lunch in town, we visited the home of the last Maharaja of Jaipur, saw his photos with the House of Windor polo set, etc. Mildly interesting, again mainly for the architecture. Then to some re-built astrological park, where supposedly all the riddles of the universe were solved centuries before Gallileo and Copernicus, but again I wasn't following the guide too well and whole thing looked questionable to me from a scientific-historical perspective, so we blasted out of there rather quickly. Made it back to the hotel in time for a sitar lesson from the dinner-entertainment guy - the hotel seemed not pleased he showed up on his day off to give private tuition, but I got him to teach me the basics so I could play the sitar solos from "Norwegian Wood" and "Paint it Black" - right up there with the Taj Mahal as far as highlights go for me.

The next day we slogged back to Delhi, checked into the sleekly elegant Radisson at the airport, and killed time until our flight home the next day. Perhaps a bit cocky in that none of us had gotten sick, I couldn't resist the fresh lime-juice soda. After enquiring if the ice was purified (yeah, sure it is - the electricity went out at least once per hour there), I sucked it down and paid for it the next night. At least the flight was uneventful and I got to heave my guts out in the comfort of my own home.

Final wrap up to follow...

ClarkB

So, a summary for those other "leery husbands" out there - you have every right to be leery, but there are some things that were must-sees:

Top Five Sights in India

1. Taj Mahal
2. Taj Mahal
3. I forgot what #3 was
4. Taj Mahal
5. Seeing a tiger in the wild, if that's your thing.

Worst Aspects of Travel in India

1. The garbage, dirt, filth and squalor everywhere - this is obvious to anyone with the slightest knowledge of India, but it is simply overwhelming, even when you know what to expect.

2. On the itinerary we had, clearly a well-trodden tourist path, the length and discomfort of the drives were very tiring and uninspiring. Combined with the lack of regular mealtimes because we were trying to optimize the 10 days that we had, this got to be very uncomfortable, and led to the parties splitting up halfway through the tour. If long drives aren't your thing, figure out a different itinerary.

3. The agency is VERY important, as it is hard to do much of anything on your own, certainly not driving. So you're in their hands, and you had better do your homework on them. We delegated that task and paid the price with a well-meaning but seemingly inexperienced tour company. Having said that, after our complaints of the first few days, the trip did get better (certainly the lodgings did), and the guides in each city seemed anxious to make sure we were happy.

4. The food, on the other hand, was FANTASTIC - but too bad you have to worry so much about what to eat and drink. As someone who loves food and looks forward to every meal, this is stressful.

5. Non-complainers and other annoyingly upbeat people like my wife will no doubt have a good time. Since I travel about 50% of my waking hours, I don't need the aggravation, but if you love travel, I can certainly say there is no other place like India, in all the good and bad connotations of that phrase!

Craig

Great report - I was right there with you. You told it like it is. Sounds like the detour waaaaay off the tourist path to Jabalpur was the reason for a LOT of extra driving. But again, it was worth it to see all those tigers - at least for your wife...

crosscheck

ClarkB, A great read...and you're a brave soul to come pack and post after the reaction to your misadventures in the leery husband thread. Adversity and humor reign in good travel writing, and you've nailed it (not vanilla like other trip reports, with traces of the blasé Brit attitude - "we got to the top of Everest, but then, sadly, had to eat our yak"). You're to be commended for taking the whole family - always a challenge - and have done a good job defending the reasons for your grumpiness. Best part: this has not dissuaded me from going to India - still seems worth it for the food, the Taj and a potential sitar lesson. And I've picked up a few pointers about what not to do.

julies

Clark--

This is Julie of the leery husband thread......

Good for you for coming back with a trip report that reflects your perspectives. I know from personal experience that some people who post on Fodor's can be extremely harsh with those who express opinions that differ from their own, especially when those opinions highlight some of the negative sides of an experience. We are all different and have differing travel styles and expectations and desires from a trip. You didn't like India; that's fine. Also, I have to admit that I can certainly can understand why you didn't want to go to India in the first place. With the amount of traveling you do for your job, it sounds to me as though this type of trip was exactly the opposite of what you needed for a vacation. It should have been all R & R instead.

But, now you've seen the Taj Mahal and your wife has seen a tiger in the wild, so you will never need to return.

This report should also help others because it offers learning opportunities so they don't end up with a highly disappointing trip like yours ended up being. (On a side note, I also came home once from a difficult trip quite sick with a bad intestinal bug I'd picked up, and this definitely initially colors one's thinking about the trip.)

dgunbug

Interesting report and perspective. I also came home sick, overcome with Delhi belly symptoms the moment I entered the plane home and lasting one week. However, IMO India was fascinating along with filthy and disgusting and I hope to have the opportunity to return one day to further explore a society which is totally perplexing to me.

Marija

Are you in India, julies?

annergizer

Loved this report !!!

It reinforced the following for me:

1. always carry snack bars when traveling anywhere
2. always leave husband at home

lcuy

Well, the next time a poster insists they "love to move fast" and has a silly itinerary of 10,000 miles and 8 cities in 10 days, we will know exactly where to point them!!

It is always so discouraging when an India novice just wants to cover everything in their short time, never believing the repeat visitors that try so hard to encourage people to simplify their Indian itinerary. Any Indian trip that involves more time in cars, trains, and planes (and worrying about fog, food, and mechanical breakdowns) than time sitting, talking or walking in the communities is just not going to be as satisfying.

IMHO, India is always better savored in relaxed, small doses.

dgunbug

Annergizer - you said it perfectly!

shelleyk

Loved your report. Really witty, as well as a realistic report of what India can be like for some. I'm going back after a 4 year break, but I definately needed the 4 year break. (My DH propably would prefer a 10 year break). Thanks for posting.

qwovadis

Super Report,thanks! Probiotics work great for the Delhi Belly upon return for me. I always get sick but lose a lot of weight(the good part) and see a lot of wonderful spiritual places pbs.org/thebuddha footsteps when there last spiritually amazing if materially challenging in some areas.

Kathie

One person's dream trip is another's nightmare trip.

ClarkB

Thanks for the comments, gang - I thought by now dogster would have blown a ventricle ripping into me for not following his advice, but maybe he's deep in meditation at the ashram right now.

lcuy, fair point, and we did set ourselves up for this punishment to a certain degree with the itinerary. Again, I blame the agent for part of this in not giving us a better idea of the drive times in the original itinerary discussions; it almost feels like he was hiding those facts. And as noted, we delegated too much and did not do enough of our own research. And in any case, tigers were not an optional add-on in the eyes of She Who Must Be Obeyed!

Knowing what I know now, I probably would have flown directly to the imaginary Agra International Airport and spent a few days there and left. But come on, I've got a job, the kids have school, so we can either see what we can of the world during school breaks even if it's a bit rushed, or else wait until I'm a khakis-and-tennis-shoes retired mall-walker (NOT that there's anything wrong with that) to see these parts of the world. Seeing the wonder and sometimes the horror in my children's faces is part of the reward of being able to do this. Hell, I never even left California until I was 18, so my kids are lucky to be getting these amazing experiences, as I often point out to them. And by seeing a lot of different places, maybe they'll remember something about one place or another and want to come back on their own in college or as adults. So I'm fine with moving at a somewhat frenetic pace in order to get a good overview of a country (even if only a small part of vast India).

The only place I've ever been where I'm happy to sit in one place for a week or two is Hawaii. Which, as we freeze to death in London, sounds like an ideal place for the next family vacation...

BostonHarbor

Ok, I absolutely loved your report. I was laughing so hard had to take a break.

I do love this line:

<i>Next come the tigers and the start of our version of the Amazing Race, without the amazing parts...</i>

I enjoyed India, but then I did stay at the Oberoi's throughout the country and had an amazing travel agency. I called it "visiting India as Bubble Boy" LOL. However, an entire family essentially puts Oberois out the the picture.

Bottom line, you got to see the Taj Mahal and you were able to see your wife's face when she saw her first tiger. Soon, that's all you are going to remember. And, that's a good thing : )

Thanks for making my day with this wonderful and very funny report.