jules39

We have been home nearly a week now & I have not written anything about our trip yet so I thought if I at least start this thread with a brief introduction to our trip then that will prompt me to write more at a later time. In advance I will tell you that I am not good at writing these. I don't keep a diary so will be writing mostly from the brief notes I have but I am more than happy to elaborate on anything for any of you who have questions. First of all this was our 4th trip to India. The last trip however was really just a one week stop in Calcutta for work so the last time we really travelled there was 10 years ago. As any of you who have visited India would I think agree, India is total sensory overload. The sights, the sounds, the smells, absolutely everything. It is what helps make a trip to India so unique. We both agree that India is not a relaxing gettaway!!! It is totally amazing though!! J

jules39

After a bit of research & emailing backwards & forwards we decided to use an opterator in India to book a car & driver & we also ended up having the op book our hotels. This just ended up working very well for us. When I priced the hotels separately & came up with a total cost for all the hotels they really did not charge me a lot for the service & then everything was taken care of. We only had 24 days & were in Rajastan at peak time & didn't want to be looking for hotels on the fly so just got it all taken care of & it worked out perfectly. So after alot of googling & reading on different forums we contacted a couple of operators in India & ended up choosing Yatrik.com I can't remember who recommended them on this forum but a Big Thanks! Yatrik did a great job for us. Everything went perfectly & when we were bumped by one hotel they had it taken care of quickly so that it was no hiccup to us. Ajay & I emailed back & forth a lot & he was always great at answering my questions & changing things for us as we changed our minds on things. The car (Toyota Innova) & driver (Anand) they provided from Delhi for the first 2 weeks of our trip were wonderful. Then the transfers we had in Varanasi & Orchha were also perfect. They gave us a cell phone to use for the duration of the trip which was handy for when we had the driver drop us somewhere & we din't know how long we whould be or where we would end up walking too so we would just tell the driver we would call him when we were ready to be picked up. We would definately use Yatrik again would recommend them to friends. For a relatively short trip in a country that can be difficult to travel in if you do want to keep some sort of schedule the car & driver is definately the way to go. We did have one train trip (Agra - Jahnsi) & a flight from Khajuraho to Varanasi on Kingfisher. More to come.....

Marija

Jules--glad you enjoyed your trip. We also used yatrik.com and had Anand as our driver. Unfortunately, since yatrik does such a good job, you probably don't have any inspirational "how we brilliantly managed a major glitch" episodes in your trip report. Nevertheless, I'm awaiting the rest of your tale.

thursdaysd

Glad you had a good trip. Looking forward to more.

Kathie

Jules, I'm looking forward to your report, as we are planning our first trip to India.

althom1122

Anxiously awaiting details! I'm considering a trip to India and will be reading everything I can. Thanks.

dgunbug

Looking forward to reading any info that I can use to convince my husband to take me to India!

rhkkmk

looking forwaed to the details

jules39

OK I need to get another post in! Our itinerary.....
Delhi 1 night
Mandawa 1 night
Bikaner 1 night
Manvar desert camp 1 night
Jaisalmer 3 nights
Jodpur 3 nights
Jaipur 2 nights
Agra 3 nights
Orcha 2 nights
Varanasi 3 nights
Delhi 1 night.
We deliberately chose not to spend anytime in Delhi because we have had a few days there in the past & wanted to use our time elsewhere. The trip was a combination of new places & returning to places we had been to before but felt we wanted more time to soak up. Basically everywhere from & including Jaipur were revisits.
We really enjoyed driving between most places even though there were some 5 hour - 6 hour drives. We broke the drives up with stops & we enjoyed being able to just stop in a small town or just along a road if we saw something interesting. It is amazing how much life you see as you are making your way through a small town. Mustard was in flower while we were there so there were always huge fields of yellow flowers between villages. I can totally understand that many people would not like the drives you just have to know what you do like to do. It suited us perfectly. The first few nights were all "one night stands" (so to speak!!) Just before we left I did wonder if this was going to really knock us about after the long flights, but as it was it worked out just fine & I am glad they were at the beginning rather the end of the trip when I was happier to not have to move on everyday.

FOOD: Wonderful! Cannot think of a bad meal we had! Ate Indian for every meal except breakfast. Never felt the "need" for food other than Indian. Delicious!! We ate a lot of meals in our hotels. If we were in a place a few nights we would try hotel & other places. Breakfast was included everywhwere we stayed. There was always an Indian selection & eggs & toast. I am a tea drinker & was unable to drink the tea in India! It was way way too strong for me but I do like it very weak. Even when I asked for boiling water & the tea bag on the side it was still too strong when I just waved the tea bag over the cup! It seams the tea bags made in India have a lot more strength for my taste! After a few days I just had the instant coffee at breakfast, that was OK for me!! My hubby just drank bottled water. Did I mention the food was wonderful!!! Oh, we did eat some chicken while there & did have some tikka & tandori that was incredible. We did eat mostly veg though & a LOT of paneer dishes, just couldn't get enough of those! Also nann bread. Since we often didn't stop for lunch until about 2 or 3 we would often just have a drink and nann bread to get us through until dinner. This always through the waiters for a loop when all we wanted was bread & nothing else no matter where we were from small town cafe to hotel! The nann was different everywhere you went but it was always good. I have to admitt that at one point we had had so much garlic nann in a 2 or 3 day period that we had to have a "garlic nann free" few days to get over the amount of garlic nann we had had! Some of the garlic nann has huge chunks of garlic in the bread that it tastes hot & gives you a fierce thirst later on but it is so good!!

HOTELS: We tried for heritage hotels in most places which was great. I will comment on the hotels in each town as I talk about the towns.........

jules39

Delhi/Mandawa: We were very lucky with our flight into Delhi. For the week before Delhi had been hit by thick fog with lots of flight delays. We landed pretty much on time at about 1150pm. However it did take until 130am until we had our luggage it was just that slow coming off the plane & we were only waiting for 2 small bags! No poblems with customs/immigration & then there was Bala our Yatrik rep & Anand our driver for the next couple of weeks waiting for us so we were at the hotel by 215am or so. Stayed this night at Svelte Personal Suites. The room was nice with a little sitting area, good hot shower & very comfy bed!! I will note that when we returned to Delhi for our final night Yatrik (who had booked this hotel for us at my request) moved us to a different hotel of higher class because they had had some complaints about sevice etc at the Svelt & the Svelt weren't willing to give us late check out on our last day. We really weren't there long enough to form an opinion but the room was nice. The next day we headed straight out of Delhi. Through the crazy Delhi traffic! Once out of Delhi we turned off the main road & then started to make our way through smaller towns towards Mandawa. The only real stop we made this day was for lunch but we knew this was just going to be a travel day. Got to Mandawa about 330pm & the town seemed to be really busy at this time. Decided we just wanted to check into the hotel & then to a little aimless wandering to get the feeling of the place. So that is what we did! Staed at Mandawa Castle which is a heritage place. We had a nice room with huge 4 poster bed, sitting room & huge bathroom. Took a wander around the castle & a little of the town before we decided it was time for a pre-dinner nap! I forgot to mention under my food comments that in India dinner does not seem to start until 730 in most places. The next morning we took a walking tour around the town. We actually got a guide which was not a bad idea since we were only going to spend a couple of hours & he took us straight to some havalis & roof tops that offered great views. This morning Mandawa was blanketed in fog which was very beautiful as it gave a very magical feel to the town. This day also happened to be India's republic day so as we were wandering back towards the hotel with our guide he directed us into a school yard where there was some sort of talent concert going on for the event. We only stayed for a few minutes but you could just see that the youg girls who were performing had been working up to this day for a while & were so excited to perform. It was great. We then just took a slow wander throught he streets of the town. Stopping to see the shoemaker at work, & just general life going on. On one corner there was a "stall" with small clay pots filled with water where locals came to get drinking water. From Mandawa we went to Fatehpur another small town with lovely havelis. We walked around here for about an hour. On to Bikaner.....

jules39

Bikaner....Stayed at Laxmi Niwas Palace. The is a true heritage hotel, complete with bar hung with hunting trophies!! It is a facinating place to explore all the nooks & cranys. There are some excellent views from the roof. When we arrived in the afternoon we decided to go to the fort. Junagarth Fort. Some beautiful rooms but especially enjoyed just taking in the view from the roof area. The next morning we headed out of Bikaner to the "Rat Temple" in Deshnoke. I have to say that if you are here in mid summer think twice about visiting this temple because I can imagine the smell could be pretty overwhelming then. We had been warned about the smell & I have to admit I did not find it too bad, but...it was early in the day & cool! It is a strange place but also a place you would find in no other place but India! There are LOTS of rats. Is it worth a visit? I don't know the answer to that but this is what I can tell you.....I would not go there again but I have told everyone about it since we got home!!!!

dogster

This is great jules. You sure are burning around a lot, but who cares? I'll be really interested to follow this.

live42day

I look forward to hearing more!!!

Kathie

I'm enjoying going along with you on this!

rhkkmk

loving it, keep it coming

jules39

No time tonight! Thanks for the encouragement I will get back to it soon!

jules39

This is going to take me weeks!! From the rat temple we headed to Manvar. Got to the resort in time for lunch & after that we headed out to the desert camp where we stayed for the night. http://www.manvar.com/camp.htm We actually really liked this place. From the resort they took you on a jeep out across the sand dunes to the camp. There is not much around it & it was so peaceful & a relaxing little oasis in India! On the dirve out & back we saw antelope & desert fox. They had camels at the camp if you wanted to take a ride. We decided to relax on the tent "porch" & enjoy the peace & quite. Hubby went over to the camels & had some fun chatting with the drivers & taking some photos. Before dinner they do a cultural dance thing around the campfire during which they brought around some great snacks!! Dinner was also good. Had a great nights sleep. The camp was not full at all when we were there. I can't imagine you would spend more than one night as there is really nothing to do in the area. AT one point we looked at staying at a desert camp outside of Jaisalmer, when we later saw these tented camps we were so happy that we decided just to stay at Manvar & not stay at a tented camp near Jais, at least the ones we saw were just one next to another & did not seem nearly as peacful. The next morning the jeep took us back to the resort about 9am where Anand was waiting for us. First stop of the morning was Khichan to see the Siberian cranes that migrate here every year between Oct & March. This is no wildlife sanctuary! There are buildings all around the dry desert landscape. There are a few ponds which the birds like & the local kids come a running to help you look at the birds! There were a lot of birds & the kids were a delight to talk to so it was a fun stop. From there we continued on to Jaisalmer. The landscape got drier & the sanddunes seemed more numerous & the towns smaller & more spaced until we got to Jaisalmer. Got to Jaisalmer about 130pm. Stayed at the Hotel Rawakot. This is a newish place but it was nice. Had a good view of the fort from our room. That afternoon we went out to visit the artificial lake area & then went & walked through the old town for a couple of hours. Not the fort but the old town area around the fort. Walked through residential, local business & tourist streets. Very medieval feel. The residential area was beautifully clean streets & likewise the homes. Lots of lovely polished stone floors in peoples courtyards. On a few of the streets it seemed to be the time of day when the women were gathered at the front of their homes talking to each other with the younger kids around. The kids were shy until you gave them & a smile & you usually got a huge one back. Their mothers encouraging them to wave to us. Often the women would smile hello to us before we even got the chance. It had such a lovely feeling to it. As we walked through school started to let out & the kids were just so great huge beautiful smiles the little ones shy but still wanting to say hello. The local business areas were separated by trade. Silvershiths in one area, metal workers in another etc. Admired the outside of lots of havalis & did go into one which had great roof top views of the fort. More of Jaisalmer to come....

ileen

Wow! Really enjoying this armchair travel. Feels like I am right behind you. Great writing, keep it up.

jules39

Thanks ileen. I think I am going to have to speed it up though or I will never get it done!!!

jules39

We had the next 2 full days in Jaisalmer & loved it. First day started out with a couple of hours in the fort. We had a guide that Yatrik had arranged & I admit I had meant to tell them not to bother with a guide but I forgot. Anyway this guy turned out to be a gem. He was very nice & great to talk to & quickly latched on the the fact that we like to wander, sit & take in the atmosphere & just enjoy being there as well as getting some information about everything. He gave us a good intro to the fort that morning even stopping in at his Aunts house! We then headed out to the stadium for the Desert festival that was happening. This was day 2 of the festival. Here our guide introduced me to the "co-ordinator" of the festival & then showed us where we could sit to watch the activities which was right up front next to the announcers. Great spot! He then left us to our own devices to get a good look at the decorated camels etc appeared to make sure we were OK in our spots before the events started & then would reappear at aappropriate moments to keep us up to datw with what events were coming up & bring a bottle of water or 2! It was hot hot at the stadium but is was a fun day. The time actually flew by with camel deco contest, races, camel polo etc., To be honest I had thought at the beginning with it being so hot I would get bored of it after a short while but hours later the time had flown by. Very very glad we had good sun hats & sunscreen! Where we were settled to watch the events we we surrounded by some other tourists but we also had an Indian family who had come to Jaisalmer for the festival. The spoke little English but between the kids & adults there was always one of them we were "chatting" to at some point. It was great. I think the festival wound up about 230pm & I can tell you it felt good to get into the car that Anand had the aircon running in & cool water!! We decided to go into the old town & get some lunch. Our guide rec'd Trio which I had also seem in a guide book. This was very good. Roof top with views & a breeze & yummie food at a great price. Later that night we had Anand drop us in the old town where we met our guide & wandered through the streets . It was very busy at this time but we wanted him to take us to a place he knew of for good samosas that he trusted!! Well they were excellent! It was so busy around the stall that sold them that he directed us up the street & then asked a store owner if we could sit on the steps of his store & eat our samosa & that we did. Sitting on the steps but tucked back from the street watching the world go by eating these delicious treats!! The store owner was opening one of the packets of pann while we sat there & when I asked about it this started a whole conversation of them explaining the different types in the little packets to us!! From there we walked to a stadium where there was a carnival & then an evening of cultural music for the festival. It was very very load. Our guide got us seated up front & we were nearly wishing he hadn't because of the noise!! At one point one of the speakers burnt out & DH said we just needed a few more to do that to make the noise tollerable & at the same time our guide said something to me. I leaned over to hear him & he said something to the effect of now it may not be so noisy!! For some reason the local were just so excited to see the group that had come from Punjab to perform, the locals loved them. The next day was supposed to be another festival day but when we went out in the morning our guide was there to tell us that a govt minister had died the night before & they had cancelled all festival events for the day. He was obviously embarrassed by this but we were ...OK what shall we do instead...this is India & things happen differntly here. We decided that we just wanted to wander for the day. We wanted to start at the fort again so the guide came with us to the main entrance of the fort & made sure we were orientated & then off we went. We spent a couple of hours in the fort wandering, sitting etc. We then wandered around differnt areas of the old town before having lunch at Saffron. This was very good on the roof of a Havali. That evening we went out to Sam Sand Dunes for sunset. There were a lot of people out there. Probably about half were Inidan tourists & half foriegn. Bit of a carnival atmosphere really. Did manage to find a nice spot to watch the sun go down behind a camel & his owner! One thing to note...we did see things that looked very like ticks in the sand so watch out!!!
One sobering event that happend as we wandered the old streets of Jaisalmer.....we came across an area of commotion in a narrow very busy street as we walked. Our guide happened to be with us. He went ahead & told us that a cycle rickshaw driver had collapsed & they were taking him to hospital, a tuk tuk then went passed us with a very thin & ill man being rushed off. We continued on & saw a large pool of blood. I asked if he had been hit by a motorcyle or something but no he had "collapsed" The next morning our guide told us he had gone to find out what had happened & the man had passed away & he had had TB. Big reality check......