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Delhi, Agra, Rajasthan, Varanasi, Kolkata-Winter TR!

Delhi, Agra, Rajasthan, Varanasi, Kolkata-Winter TR!

Old Jan 19th, 2015, 08:46 AM
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Delhi, Agra, Rajasthan, Varanasi, Kolkata-Winter TR!

We are a young couple from the US that visited India from Dec 20- Jan 7th. We visited Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Varanasi, and Kolkata. I am of Indian decent but hadn’t been to India in over 20 years, so this was a very important trip to me. This was both of our first times visiting all these places, and my SO’s first time out of the country. We didn't know what to expect as we had heard many negative things. Later we realized all these negative things were from people that had never even been to India! Aren't we glad we didn't listen to them! We had the trip of a lifetime and cannot wait to go back to see the rest of India! We used Castle and King to book our tour and we were very happy with their services. Here is my trip report! Feel free to ask any questions or if you want elaborations.

Delhi
Our C&K Rep met us at the airport at 1 am when our flight arrived, took us to the hotel and checked us in. Our hotel, Shangri-La, was great. The first day we just relaxed and tried to acclimate to our new surroundings. Breakfast at the hotel was good. It was cold and foggy our entire stay in Delhi (2 full days). We attempted to walk around outside hotel but were told by the door people not to. We walked around a little and came back. In retrospect, we decided we should have. We were just not ready to venture out into India alone at that point

The next day, finally we begin sightseeing! We had to start a little later due to the fog. Our first stop was Jama Masid. It was too foggy for pics. The Masjid was impressive when you imagine just how many people are there to pray when it is at capacity. We just walked around the grounds and then went on a rickshaw ride through Chandi Chowk. This was a great experience. The chill from the wind, the sights of everyone at work and the items for sale, the sounds (honking and motorbikes), the smells (Food and incense) are something that cannot be described and can only be experienced. It was too foggy to see the Red Fort, so we just drove by it. We visited Raj Ghat (Ghandi’s creamation grounds) and Rajpath (where all the government buildings are). Neither take up much time and are nice to see. We went to see the India Gate (a memorial to Indian soldier’s killed in the world wars) which was an educational experience. I feel like now is a good time to mention that in heavily touristy areas people will annoy you to try to sell their little trinkets and such, just ignore them or keep saying “no” and they will eventually go away. Don’t worry about feeling bad, you are here to enjoy yourself. Our guide took us somewhere he recommended for lunch, which was terrible. Wish I could remember the name of the place so everyone could avoid it. Prepare for a lot of honking in all the cities as well as systematically chaotic driving!

Next up was Hamayun’s tomb. This was my first “Wow” moment of the trip. We entered the grounds and walked around seeing some old structures which I thought were the tomb. Our guide ushers us to come forth and we walk through a gateway, and in the distance through the fog is the beautiful tomb. At this moment I say aloud “Wow” and was taken away. We spent a while visiting the tomb and admiring the structure and taking many pics. Our last stop was Qutab Minar, which we enjoyed as well. Great spot for pics and a very interested history. On our way back to the hotel, I asked to stop by Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. We did a walk around the inside of the temple where people were praying and singing. A nice experience.

Agra
Next morning we drove to Agra, which was about 3-4 hours. I think it took longer than it usually does because we stopped at Wildlife SOS Elephant Sanctuary (which we recommend everyone visit). They do great work for Sloth Bears and Elephants. They explained how they saved the bears from being used as tourist entertainment and answered any questions while we viewed the bears and then we drove over to the elephant section a few miles away. Here you can touch and feed the elephants. This was a great experience for animal lovers.

In Agra, we stayed at Howard Plaza, which we do not recommend. It was not clean, the breakfast was poor, and the beds were uncomfortable. Also at this point we had both picked up a bad cough and cold, thankfully meds in India are cheap and they helped a little, but unfortunately we were sniffling and coughing for much of our trip.

The next day it was time for sign seeing again. We were finally going to see the Taj Mahal! We could not go at sunrise as planned because of the fog. I think we got there around 10 and there was a little fog but it added to the experience and made it almost dream-like. We loved the Taj Mahal! Probably our favorite thing from the trip, though it is hard to pick just one. What amazing and beautiful architecture! We are still in awe from the experience. That morning, we had stopped by one of the shops at the hotel where the man showed us how he makes marble inlay work. This added to our appreciation of the inlay work at the Taj Mahal. One thing which we thought to ourselves the entire trip about everything we saw, is how amazing it is that these structure were built centuries ago using no modern technology. If anyone has doubts and feels it may be overrated, still go! It is definitely not overrated. After the Taj Mahal, we visited Agra Fort. Also amazing with beautifully decorated walls and marble and stone buildings and great views. Our last stop for the day was Fatehpur Sikri. It was clean and quieter than the other sites we had visited. Recommended as stop if you are on your way to Jaipur.

Off to Jaipur! To be continued…
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 09:01 AM
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Thank you SO MUCH for starting the report. Reading it with great interest, as our trip begins soon, also with C&K.
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 09:05 AM
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I know I haven't gone into much detail, but it's just so hard to do. The experience just cannot be put into words, you just HAVE to be there. You're gonna have a great trip! Where will you be visiting?
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 09:19 AM
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Similar to you but not Kolkata. Looking for your perspective about places you particularly liked or things that were not worth the time. And of course, shopping tips! I'm torn about whether to go to Amber fort, not sure I want to do the elephant ride up there, hope you write about your visit there (or why you skipped it).
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 09:31 AM
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Go to Amber Fort! We loved it. We did not do the elephant ride as we do not believe in exploiting animals. The car will drive you to the very top, you do not have to walk. I will go into our visit in further detail on the TR.

If you can (not sure how this works), request Islam as your guide for Agra. The pics he took of us are magical. Also our driver Bishnu was amazing. We felt so safe the entire time. Ranjit was great in Varanasi.

Forgot to mention, we ate at McDonald's in Agra and the Paneer McSpicy was delish! Everything was really spicy though! At this point we didn't have time to go eat at the restaurants I wanted to go to. We were so exhausted by the end of the day.
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 09:35 AM
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Also forgot to mention, Delhi always smells like smoke. You do get used to it and it didn't bother us but just expect it from the moment you step into the airport.
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 09:50 AM
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Also, there were no mosquitos and we did not take any malaria prophylactics. We did bring Nu rehydration tablets, which came in very handy on days we forgot to drink lots of water. All the hotels we stayed at had free bottled waters in the room and most had free bottled water for breakfast. C&K provided water as well. We did not worry about brushing out teeth with bottled water.

Most, if not all, of the sites we visited had public bathrooms which cost 10 rupees. They were clean enough for public restrooms and had western toilets. The only places that didn't have western toilets were in small villages. I suggest googling and practicing how to use an eastern toilet just in case you need to use one. My SO had an unplanned encounter and had apparently not listened to the directions I had given him before we left LOL. It's pretty common sense though.

I keep remembering things one at a time so please excuse my sporadic posts
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 10:13 AM
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very helpful so far, thanks again for the kind of details you are writing about.
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 10:46 AM
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Enjoying your perspective on India. Please continue...
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 11:01 AM
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Enjoying your report. Glad c&k worked well for you... Who selected the hotels?

Brushing teeth with bottled water is a must do!!!!

Elephant ride was a highlight for my wife. We have done it on 2 indian trips to Amber... This is NOT an "exploitation" of the elephants. They are very limited in how often they make the climb.
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 11:01 AM
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Above from rhkkmk
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 11:37 AM
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Bob, you must have really loved Amber Fort if you went twice.
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 01:52 PM
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Lovely report!

We also brushed our teeth with bottle water -- something our agent and the hotel staff also told us to do. We were fortunate and had no illness, and knew others who did, so I'm pretty convinced that this is the smart thing to do.
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 05:24 PM
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C&K suggested the hotels and I looked up reviews. All were their suggestions and Howard Plaza was the only one we were disappointed in. Granted it wasn't TERRIBLE, but we would have rather paid a bit extra and gotten something better.

We strongly believe that the elephants are exploited and chose not to support it. The daily trek they make may not be THAT bad, but it's the behind the scenes treatment that is worrisome. You can even see the bull hook holes in their ears! If you want to interact with elephants, we really enjoyed Wildlife SOS!

Jaipur
We stayed at Samode Haveli which was awesome. We came in late and barely made it to the Christmas Eve dinner (which I thought was on Christmas day so thankfully we didn't miss it entirely). The food was great, as was breakfast.

Amber Fort was awesome! The view was spectacular. It was warmer in Jaipur than it had been in Delhi and Agra, so the weather was pleasant. So many amazing interiors at the fort! The Mirror Palace is beautiful, as are the other palace spaces. We really enjoyed the fort.

City Palace is nice, but lackluster after the Fort. There are many artifacts to look at. It's basically just a museum and worth a quick walk around.

Jantar Mantar is cool to walk through. It didn't take very long to visit.

Hawa Mahal is just a facade to drive by. Nothing to visit there.

We ate at Dominos (don't judge us, this is what we wanted to try lol). The pizza was ok, on the same level as the US. My SO ordered a chicken taco and was not impressed. I am veg so I can't comment on this, but he had a hard time getting white meat chicken (as opposed to dark meat) everywhere we ate. So if you are a picky about this, be aware. Even if you ask you will get both.

Writing this is making me miss India already I've seriously looked at our pics at least once a day since we got back.

Jodhpur

We visited Jaswant Thada Memorial first. It was a short visit as there was not much to see here. It was a pretty building with a nice view of the city.

Mehrangarh Fort was great, just like Amber Fort. Beautiful interiors and gold painted walls and great views of the Blue City.

From there we walked down to the city. Motorcycles weaving through the the narrow alleyways was definitely an experience.

Our guide took us to Maharani Textiles, where they showed us pieces that were supposedly one of a kind designer pieces (highly doubtful). I did end up buying a throw, which I probably overpaid ($195) for but it is beautiful and I will admire it forever.

After this we visited Umaid Heritage Art School, which I requested we make time for. We were impressed by the art work and ended up buying a painting of an elephant on an old postcard. We were very disappointed when we found the same types of paintings (no lesser quality) in several shops in Rajasthan for a tenth of the price!

We checked into our hotel, Pal Garh. Just like Samode Haveli, the room was huge with 2 beds and a huge marble bathroom. We even had our own courtyard! Breakfast was ok. All of the places we stayed at had fresh squeezed juices every morning. Yum!

The next morning we went on the village safari. We drove through the farm lands, saw buffaloes, deer, and elk (can't remember exact name). We picked some wild berries and ate them. We visited a potter's home and got to spin the potter's wheel and play with the clay. We visited the weaving " union" where they sold pretty colorful rugs (around $200). The final stop was for the opium ceremony at a friendly villagers home. Yes we got to try opium, but no it didn't do anything! Prepare to drink out of his palm! (They used bottled water for us). It was interesting to learn about the Bishnoi, who's village we vistied, and their principals of non-harm to all living beings.

FYI, we brought some emergency cash, but ended up withdrawing money from ATMs and using credit cards when possible. I got good rates from the ATMs which were available in every city and even inside some hotels. The ATMs are in small rooms that you go in one at a time. We found all shops catering to tourists with more expensive items accepted card.

Now off to Udaipur!
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Old Jan 19th, 2015, 06:43 PM
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Ok way too many sad faces in my last post.

Ranakpur

On our way to Udaipur we stopped at Ranakpur. Our driver introduced us to a guide which asked us if we wanted a live guide or an audio guide. We said a live guide and he went to buy the tickets (we gave him the money) and when he came back told us no live guides were allowed inside and he would answer any questions when we came back out. This was kinda shady and I'm not sure what to make of it. I guess at least we didn't have to wait in line for tickets. Apparently the audio guide is included with admission. There was also a camera fee.

The temple is beautiful and surrounded by lush greenery.

The countryside scenery to Udaipur was different from our previous rides. It was green and mountainous and beautiful.

Udaipur

We checked into Jagat Niwas Palace that evening. We had a lake facing room the first night. The view was great. The room and bathroom were smaller than the previous but standard sized. I think this was the hotel where we couldn't get hot water at times. We went up to the courtyard restaurant where the view was great but the food was mediocre.

The next day, our first stop was Animal Aid Unlimited! They have helped thousands of street animals and provide shelter and rehabilitation to injured animals. Such a wonderful place. The memories of the sweet handicapped dogs will stay with me forever. We started missing them the moment we left.

Unfortunately our guide did not seem very enthusiastic about showing us around and we got the feeling he didn't want to be there.

We took the boat to Jag Mandir. It was beautiful! We had some coffee and just enjoyed the views. (Clean bathrooms! FYI most places have TP but some run out so carry around a few sheets just in case). Lake Pichola is lovely. The weather was perfect and it was a nice relaxing and romantic break from the busy sightseeing we had been doing. A great way to spend the afternoon admiring the lake and small garden. Not much to see here in terms of signtseeing, but a must do none the less.

We took the boat back and proceeded to City Palace. City Palace was probably the busiest tourist spot we encountered on our whole trip. It was mostly domestic tourists and it was so crowded. The palace has pretty rooms and some artifacts but the crowds really put us off.

After our guide left, we walked to the city center. We went to the Jagdish Temple for prayers. Aarti starts at 6:30pm. This was nice because there were no tourists, just regular people praying. Also, unfortunately at the touristy temples the "priests" will "pray" for you and expect a tip. Annoying! We did not encounter this here so our experience was not tainted.

We walked around and did some shopping. This was our first night we had time to experience the city. I was excited to practice my Hindi to haggle! We bought some small gifts. We found the best prices here and a variety of things to buy. We ate at Govinda's and had the Paneer Tikka sandwich which was delicious and some cake which was good.

The next day we took a flight back to Delhi. We were picked up by C&K and transferred to the other terminal (the domestic and international are a few miles away. They have a free shuttle bus you can take, Beware cab scams that try to get you in the cab by telling you this is the shuttle. Also, please be aware the weight limit for checked bags on domestic flights is 30 lbs).

From Delhi we took a flight to Varanasi. We checked into the Radisson late afternoon, which was nice. Our guide insisted we not waste much time so he could begin showing us around. We were happy to have an enthusiastic guide again! He took us to the river and walked us around. It was foggy and colder in Varanasi. People were starting to gather for the Ganga Aarti. We paid 100 rupees each for rooftop seats our guide recommended. The ceremony was lovely. We were caught off guard by a priest offering prayers but decided to give him a few rupees and continue.

The next morning, we set off early for the boat ride on the river. It was foggy and cold but a great experience. Somewhere on the walls of the bank is painted "Fortunate are the people who reside on the banks of Ganga", a phrase that will stick with me forever. We walked through the streets and then went back to the hotel for breakfast. After breakfast, we drove through the Hindu University. Not much to see there, but it was interesting to see a campus in India. We stopped by the Birla Mandir, which was another quick stop. Our guide took us to a silk shop. Benares is known for its silk and the things at the store were beautiful. We bought a scarf ($35, think we overpaid. You can get lesser quality scarves for around 4 bucks), a tie ($5), and saree ($150ish).

Then we were off to the airport to take our flight to Calcutta. When we get there, we find out its cancelled! It was the day before New Years Eve and we had a party in Calcutta to attend where we were meeting up our friends before a wedding. Thankfully, the C&K rep was able to get our ticket transferred to the next day. We booked another night at the Radisson and checked back in. We ate at the Great Kebab Factory inside the hotel. They bring you several courses and it's all you can eat. The meal and desert were really good! My SO said it was the best chicken he had in India.

The next day we relaxed before attempting to fly out again. We spent hours at the airport waiting for our flight to leave. Meanwhile, we did some shopping and ate everything we could get our hands on. Our flight finally was schedule and we were off to Kolkata! Please be aware the flights get cancelled/ rescheduled frequently due to fog, so you should frequently check the status. Our flight out from Kolkata to Delhi randomly got cancelled. Thankfully I had a text alert so was able to book another flight. T Mobile worked for free in India!

To be continued!
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Old Jan 20th, 2015, 10:50 AM
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We are planning a trip for next Dec around the same time as you were there. Did you find it very crowded that time of year? Would you mind sharing you itinerary - how many days in each place. What places did you visit that were must see? And also, did you find that you were in a car a lot? Thanks for you help.
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Old Jan 21st, 2015, 01:48 PM
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Following along - thanks. Sounds as if you had to be there in December for a wedding, but based on your report and others, it's not the ideal time weatherwise.
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Old Jan 21st, 2015, 02:30 PM
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Following along too. You sure covered a lot of ground, in India no less.
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Old Jan 23rd, 2015, 05:45 AM
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In all my excitement I forgot to give my itinerary!


Delhi-3 nights (first night was because we arrived at 1 am)
Agra-1 night
Jaipur- 2 nights
Jodhpur- 1 night
Udaipur- 2 nights
Varanasi 1, extended to 2 after flight delay
Kolkata - 6 nights

We had to cut short on our touring portion as we could only take so much time off and had to be in Kolkata at the wedding for a set number of days, but still wanted to see as much as we could. If we did not have a wedding, we would have added a day at each city so that after sightseeing, we would have a day to just explore and mingle. Unfortunatly, we only really had time to do that in Udaipur and Kolkata.

Yes, our trip was a bit "touristy" but we are ok with that. We wanted to see the major sites and just because they are on the typical tourist trek doesn't mean they are any less worthy of seeing. We knew going into it we weren't there to sit by the pool and relax, we were there to see some wonderufl things!

I would say we were in the car a lot because it was the best way to get around. Apart from our hotels in Udaipur and Kolkata, which were both right in the middle of the hustle and bustle, everything else was driving distance.

If I had to change one thing, I would have made sure all hotels were near busy areas. It made it so much easier when you could just step out of the hotel and be in the middle of people conducting their daily lives. After a tiring day of sightseeing, the last thing we wanted to do was find a rickshaw/taxi and go to a market etc, and then worring about finding one back at night. For exmaple in Udaipur, Jagat Niwas Palace hotel is a short stroll away from the shops and restaurants and filled with locals, and Oberoi Grand in Kolkata was right in the middle of a busy market. I found booking as much of the logistics ahead of time really helped. It was more enjoyable when all these details had already been worked out because then we could focus on the sites and not worry about how we were going to get somewhere next.

I would say don't be "Scared". Of course be aware and use common sense as you would anywhere, but I wish we hadn't taken as long to warm up. Of course it didn't help that we were jet lagged and exhausted, but I do feel we missed out a bit on just mingling with locals and doing "every day" things.

We didn't mind the cold as we were prepared with the right clothing. In Rajasthan it was really pleasant. We heard it gets really hot during the summer so being from Texas we were glad to have avoided that! The weather was different in each place so I guess it would have been hard to have perfect weather in each city.

We start planning in March and had our tickets booked by then too. We found the prices were up extreme amounts after that.

We didn't see as many beggars as I anticipated. Honestly, maybe 6 or 7 the whole trip. I was expecting a lot more. I remember seeing many more when I went to Bombay as a child in the early 90's. One days we had leftover food (Clean) we gave it to kids who were delighted to have it. There were people that were poor by US standards but it's important to understand India isn't a country where you must have the shiniest newest thing. I admire that they make use of what they have and aren't trying to one up their neighbor. It's amazing to see everyone interacting with each other as opposed to hiding in buildings and homes all day (I'm sure there's people that do this as well, but we didn't encounter them). I think it's important to not compare people to your own lifestyle.

I will get to talking about Kolkata soon!
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Old Jan 23rd, 2015, 08:47 AM
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"T Mobile worked for free in India!"

Can you expand upon this since we also use T Mobile?

Normally in India we buy SIM cards and put them in our unlocked phones.

Was T Mobile actually free to make internal calls in India? We tend to make a lot of calls for lodging reservations and to stay in contact with our driver. Or is it only good for texting?

Of course, now that I think this through, I suspect just using my US number would not be good for people in India trying to call me during our trip because they would be charged international rates.

We're leaving for India soon and maybe we won't need to go through the hassle of getting an Indian SIM. I'm interested to hear what you have to say about all of this. Thanks.
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