Gertie's Asia Trip 2010
May 4th, 2010, 08:41 AM
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Gertie's Asia Trip 2010
I’m a woman in my 60s and I usually travel solo. I’ve always wanted to go to India. Missed it in the 60s so am trying it now I have the time and a bit of money. Vietnam was closed in the 60s and 70s and I’m taking the opportunity now to visit my daughter who is working there. End of the road is Hong Kong where I have good friends I haven’t seen for 25 years. It all seemed to tie together nicely.
January 22 I set off from TX and stopped in London to see my son. The idea was to return from HK to London for a few days before heading back to TX….
These are e mails I sent to friends along the way. The trip was 13 weeks total. The first week I was in London catching up with exhibitions, theatre and friends, freezing cold and rained on. Then for the next 2 weeks I was in:
SOUTH INDIA
I'm here! In south India! In an internet cafe in Kochi in temperatures of 35+ And lots of humidity.
Great trip, I really recommend Emirates, started off on a big A380, brand new, LHR to Dubai .It's a madhouse at 1am! And so efficient. Connecting flight here was just 3 hours. Free booze all the way, can't be bad.
Kochi airport is tiny and brand new, just the right place to arrive for a first-timer like me. No swine-flu lady in sight. Managed to get all my bits of paperwork sorted OK, thanks for the info! On time, no idea what day or what time it is, I got myself a prepaid taxi to my hotel.
That was my first real glimpse of India. Traffic madness, a truck full of live cattle going to the auction, a church proclaiming it was Jacobite Catholic and part of the Apostolic see of Antioch, kids in uniform going to school, men everywhere dodging the traffic, pollution I'd only heard of before, goats in the road, people sleeping or dead on the pavements, ....
I had booked the GAP Adventures Best of Southern India trip which seemed to cover a lot. Departure Kochi 31 January, return 13 Feb. Decided for a first timer I couldn’t hack India alone. The ‘joining hotel’ was the Casa de Forte in Fort Kochi. This was really the worst bit of the trip. The hotel was inconvenient, very basic, full of mozzies. I’d checked it on Trip Advisor and it was all true. However, I was stuck with it.
January 29
My hotel is OK, not brilliant. AC thank goodness. I met a group of people returning from the trip I'm going on if you see what I mean, and caught up from them on what to expect. We went out to the Mango Tree for dinner, fish in banana leaves and G&T. Lots of bottled water. So far no Delhi Belly but it's early days. Hand sanitizer was just the job.
Have been out and about today with my camera just getting the hang of things really. Very hot, have to keep going into cafes to cool off. Lime soda! At last I'm out of the cold in London. Portuguese churches, Indian style, convents and nuns, goats and cows in the street, haven't seen any shrines yet. Upmarket hotels for mainly European tourists, downtown Kochi is mainly traffic-free apart from Tuk Tuks which I have been dicing with death on . Famous Chinese fishing nets in the harbour, fresh fish for sale, everything imaginable for sale and the hassle factor is predictable sky high.
But the basic India is there underneath. Everywhere smells of burning fires, I think it's the garbage, the street-lighting is minimal, trash everywhere, hand-written signs, no neon, everything looks home-made, gives the impression it's a small rural town. It probably is in comparison to Delhi etc. Don't even mention the smells. People are very very obliging, can't do enough. So hospitable. Smiley and friendly. It feels very safe.
January 30
I join my group tomorrow and set off to places unknown. My new friends said the trip was very good! Bookshops to stock up in, internet cafes, posh hotels to hang out in, SO FAR SO GOOD.
This place is so green and tropical. Things seem to grow as you watch. Boys playing cricket this morning on the Parade Ground, not seen that for a while. Popped into the big cathedral to find 2 weddings going on, so much colour and music, a lot of fun. Then across the harbour on the local ferry, 2 rupees each way (50 to the $) can't break the bank. Sat watching the fishermen with the Chinese nets, a very cumbersome, slow, labour-intensive business for very little result that I could see. Maybe the result isn't the point. Met Jessy Pereira who showed me her local church and the new grave of her neighbour and asked me to take her picture!
When we asked for drinks with dinner last night were told the whole of India was dry for the day in memory of Ghandi. Somehow we managed screwdrivers disguised as orange juice. More wonderful Kerala vegetarian food. Delicious fresh lime soda with home made banana cake.
Hot hot and very humid today. No complaints after London last week, glad I missed your latest snow! Glad also I'm out of zero degree TX.
My group finally convenes tonight and we have sightseeing of the town tomorrow, most of which I've already done. Hope I can cope, I'm not a major group person but...
Off for aforementioned lime soda and cake.
January 31
Amazingly enough yesterday Queen Mary 2 was in port. She must be on a cruise round here. HUGE. There must be a deep channel here. The place was full of well-heeled and well-upholstered Americans.
Have met my group and they are OK ish. We have a super posh air con bus for our travels, it feels very luxurious. Much more upmarket than I expected.
February 1
Did the Jew Town today and the synagogue. Yes, fantastic tiles . Spices and smells everywhere. This is the Malabar Coast after all. Interesting little area, I think there's a Salman Rushdie novel set here. Lots of history.
Weird and wonderful Kathkali dancing tonight, shades of Kabuki. Guy with a bright green face. Another one doing wailing music like they do in Japan. The group wasn't thrilled!
Off into the tea plantations tomorrow. Not sure how much civilsation there will be there.
Well, I think at last I'm getting my ear in. For the first few days I couldn't understand anything anyone said. Not always easy though.
February 3
Have been on the toy train to Ooty, to a tea plantation and on a little safari in a nature reserve. All that yesterday. Now in Mysore. Looks fantastic, very colourful and noisy. We have a good hotel right by the maharajas palace. Very hot again after a few cool days in the Nilgiri Hills....blue remembered I think.
We have been travelling by bus in grand style, have a wonderful driver and his assistant who seems to have 2 functions: one to give various hand-signals out of the left-hand window and the other to put out the red carpet when we get on or off the bus. I kid you not! I feel like an Old Queen, (‘speak for yourself’ said one of our group who is just that from Seattle). Otherwise it's the same kind of mixture as ever, some moaners, some people over-anxious, but I think it's OK, everything is done for us. It's certainly the way to do a country like India where everything is such hard work and the hassle factor is so high.
No stomach upsets yet (don't speak too soon) . Loving the food....
February 4
Mysore
The market is all colour, sound and smells, people, action, fruit and veg, household stuff, spices, cereals...and that was just what I saw before sensory overload.
We have been round the Maharajas palace and to various shrines with elephant-headed gods and the like. Hot hot hot. The food and also the weather. India really teems with people they are everywhere all the time yelling in my ear and waving things in my face. The muezzin was at it at 5.30am this morning, a bit unexpected, at least by me.
Have been snapping away from the bus as all the colour and chaos passes us by. We feel like kings and queens on our posh bus while India goes on around us. I wouldn't fancy it all alone though.
G&Ts were good last night, I think I'm off for another soon.
February 6
We survived the Night Train to Chennai, the beach where the 2004 tsunami did a lot of damage, and now we're in Mamallapuram ( I think) where there is a wild beach and a wonderful hippie style cafe that does yogurt and fruit, coffee and tea and Kingfisher beer. I'm on my way. First go at non-Indian food after an intensive week.
Hotel has a pool even. My companions and I went for fresh fish dinner last night and hopefully tonight. So cheap!
10 days in and I'm lovin' it!
February 10
French bakery in Pondicherry yesterday followed by lots of temples today complete with elephants. Everything imaginable seems to go on there. We are in Madurai now with more temples to come. Long driving days with plenty to see as India goes on around us. Beautiful tropical scenery with palm trees and bright green vegetation and red earth. Should be very fertile and rich but somehow the total disorganisation means it's all a mess! And the garbage....and the livestock all over the place. Fantastic hot weather, up to 30 and quite humid. We are about to cross back from the Indian ocean to the Arabian sea for our last few days.
February 13
We have just finished the first trip ...a final day cruising the backwaters of Kerala. Really beautiful. Stayed in a 'homestay' which was run by local people who have relative in Manchester! Great food and atmosphere. Set among rice fields and a totally different way of life. Water transport only, very quiet.
Group stuff always gets to me after a while but it was mainly OK. I would certainly recommend this as a painless way of seeing a lot of India in a short time with all the stress taken out. Our guide smoothed the way, organised hotels and transport, found us clean loos and restaurants and generally pandered to our every whim.
Backwaters was a break from the hustle and bustle of India but I'm right back in it now. Taking a break in a posh hotel at Cochin airport before flying to Goa tomorrow for Mardi Gras and goodness knows what.
January 22 I set off from TX and stopped in London to see my son. The idea was to return from HK to London for a few days before heading back to TX….
These are e mails I sent to friends along the way. The trip was 13 weeks total. The first week I was in London catching up with exhibitions, theatre and friends, freezing cold and rained on. Then for the next 2 weeks I was in:
SOUTH INDIA
I'm here! In south India! In an internet cafe in Kochi in temperatures of 35+ And lots of humidity.
Great trip, I really recommend Emirates, started off on a big A380, brand new, LHR to Dubai .It's a madhouse at 1am! And so efficient. Connecting flight here was just 3 hours. Free booze all the way, can't be bad.
Kochi airport is tiny and brand new, just the right place to arrive for a first-timer like me. No swine-flu lady in sight. Managed to get all my bits of paperwork sorted OK, thanks for the info! On time, no idea what day or what time it is, I got myself a prepaid taxi to my hotel.
That was my first real glimpse of India. Traffic madness, a truck full of live cattle going to the auction, a church proclaiming it was Jacobite Catholic and part of the Apostolic see of Antioch, kids in uniform going to school, men everywhere dodging the traffic, pollution I'd only heard of before, goats in the road, people sleeping or dead on the pavements, ....
I had booked the GAP Adventures Best of Southern India trip which seemed to cover a lot. Departure Kochi 31 January, return 13 Feb. Decided for a first timer I couldn’t hack India alone. The ‘joining hotel’ was the Casa de Forte in Fort Kochi. This was really the worst bit of the trip. The hotel was inconvenient, very basic, full of mozzies. I’d checked it on Trip Advisor and it was all true. However, I was stuck with it.
January 29
My hotel is OK, not brilliant. AC thank goodness. I met a group of people returning from the trip I'm going on if you see what I mean, and caught up from them on what to expect. We went out to the Mango Tree for dinner, fish in banana leaves and G&T. Lots of bottled water. So far no Delhi Belly but it's early days. Hand sanitizer was just the job.
Have been out and about today with my camera just getting the hang of things really. Very hot, have to keep going into cafes to cool off. Lime soda! At last I'm out of the cold in London. Portuguese churches, Indian style, convents and nuns, goats and cows in the street, haven't seen any shrines yet. Upmarket hotels for mainly European tourists, downtown Kochi is mainly traffic-free apart from Tuk Tuks which I have been dicing with death on . Famous Chinese fishing nets in the harbour, fresh fish for sale, everything imaginable for sale and the hassle factor is predictable sky high.
But the basic India is there underneath. Everywhere smells of burning fires, I think it's the garbage, the street-lighting is minimal, trash everywhere, hand-written signs, no neon, everything looks home-made, gives the impression it's a small rural town. It probably is in comparison to Delhi etc. Don't even mention the smells. People are very very obliging, can't do enough. So hospitable. Smiley and friendly. It feels very safe.
January 30
I join my group tomorrow and set off to places unknown. My new friends said the trip was very good! Bookshops to stock up in, internet cafes, posh hotels to hang out in, SO FAR SO GOOD.
This place is so green and tropical. Things seem to grow as you watch. Boys playing cricket this morning on the Parade Ground, not seen that for a while. Popped into the big cathedral to find 2 weddings going on, so much colour and music, a lot of fun. Then across the harbour on the local ferry, 2 rupees each way (50 to the $) can't break the bank. Sat watching the fishermen with the Chinese nets, a very cumbersome, slow, labour-intensive business for very little result that I could see. Maybe the result isn't the point. Met Jessy Pereira who showed me her local church and the new grave of her neighbour and asked me to take her picture!
When we asked for drinks with dinner last night were told the whole of India was dry for the day in memory of Ghandi. Somehow we managed screwdrivers disguised as orange juice. More wonderful Kerala vegetarian food. Delicious fresh lime soda with home made banana cake.
Hot hot and very humid today. No complaints after London last week, glad I missed your latest snow! Glad also I'm out of zero degree TX.
My group finally convenes tonight and we have sightseeing of the town tomorrow, most of which I've already done. Hope I can cope, I'm not a major group person but...
Off for aforementioned lime soda and cake.
January 31
Amazingly enough yesterday Queen Mary 2 was in port. She must be on a cruise round here. HUGE. There must be a deep channel here. The place was full of well-heeled and well-upholstered Americans.
Have met my group and they are OK ish. We have a super posh air con bus for our travels, it feels very luxurious. Much more upmarket than I expected.
February 1
Did the Jew Town today and the synagogue. Yes, fantastic tiles . Spices and smells everywhere. This is the Malabar Coast after all. Interesting little area, I think there's a Salman Rushdie novel set here. Lots of history.
Weird and wonderful Kathkali dancing tonight, shades of Kabuki. Guy with a bright green face. Another one doing wailing music like they do in Japan. The group wasn't thrilled!
Off into the tea plantations tomorrow. Not sure how much civilsation there will be there.
Well, I think at last I'm getting my ear in. For the first few days I couldn't understand anything anyone said. Not always easy though.
February 3
Have been on the toy train to Ooty, to a tea plantation and on a little safari in a nature reserve. All that yesterday. Now in Mysore. Looks fantastic, very colourful and noisy. We have a good hotel right by the maharajas palace. Very hot again after a few cool days in the Nilgiri Hills....blue remembered I think.
We have been travelling by bus in grand style, have a wonderful driver and his assistant who seems to have 2 functions: one to give various hand-signals out of the left-hand window and the other to put out the red carpet when we get on or off the bus. I kid you not! I feel like an Old Queen, (‘speak for yourself’ said one of our group who is just that from Seattle). Otherwise it's the same kind of mixture as ever, some moaners, some people over-anxious, but I think it's OK, everything is done for us. It's certainly the way to do a country like India where everything is such hard work and the hassle factor is so high.
No stomach upsets yet (don't speak too soon) . Loving the food....
February 4
Mysore
The market is all colour, sound and smells, people, action, fruit and veg, household stuff, spices, cereals...and that was just what I saw before sensory overload.
We have been round the Maharajas palace and to various shrines with elephant-headed gods and the like. Hot hot hot. The food and also the weather. India really teems with people they are everywhere all the time yelling in my ear and waving things in my face. The muezzin was at it at 5.30am this morning, a bit unexpected, at least by me.
Have been snapping away from the bus as all the colour and chaos passes us by. We feel like kings and queens on our posh bus while India goes on around us. I wouldn't fancy it all alone though.
G&Ts were good last night, I think I'm off for another soon.
February 6
We survived the Night Train to Chennai, the beach where the 2004 tsunami did a lot of damage, and now we're in Mamallapuram ( I think) where there is a wild beach and a wonderful hippie style cafe that does yogurt and fruit, coffee and tea and Kingfisher beer. I'm on my way. First go at non-Indian food after an intensive week.
Hotel has a pool even. My companions and I went for fresh fish dinner last night and hopefully tonight. So cheap!
10 days in and I'm lovin' it!
February 10
French bakery in Pondicherry yesterday followed by lots of temples today complete with elephants. Everything imaginable seems to go on there. We are in Madurai now with more temples to come. Long driving days with plenty to see as India goes on around us. Beautiful tropical scenery with palm trees and bright green vegetation and red earth. Should be very fertile and rich but somehow the total disorganisation means it's all a mess! And the garbage....and the livestock all over the place. Fantastic hot weather, up to 30 and quite humid. We are about to cross back from the Indian ocean to the Arabian sea for our last few days.
February 13
We have just finished the first trip ...a final day cruising the backwaters of Kerala. Really beautiful. Stayed in a 'homestay' which was run by local people who have relative in Manchester! Great food and atmosphere. Set among rice fields and a totally different way of life. Water transport only, very quiet.
Group stuff always gets to me after a while but it was mainly OK. I would certainly recommend this as a painless way of seeing a lot of India in a short time with all the stress taken out. Our guide smoothed the way, organised hotels and transport, found us clean loos and restaurants and generally pandered to our every whim.
Backwaters was a break from the hustle and bustle of India but I'm right back in it now. Taking a break in a posh hotel at Cochin airport before flying to Goa tomorrow for Mardi Gras and goodness knows what.
May 4th, 2010, 08:58 AM
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The next bit I organized myself with help from Dogster and Thursday on Fodors. Flew with Kingfisher Kochi to Goa and stayed in the Panjim Inn. They picked me up at the airport. Stayed there 3 days then moved to Dona Paula Beach Resort for 3 more days of hanging out.
February 14
GOA
Quite an amazing place this.
So Portuguese, rather like Macau. All crumbling, doesn't look like anyone has touched it since the Portuguese built it. I'm staying in an old Portuguese house done up as a Heritage Inn and eating at another which is presided over by Linda De Souza who has won countless awards here for Goa/Portuguese home cooking. Yummy.
Apart from doing all the old colonial stuff, have been on a tour of the beaches today, looking a bit worse for wear since the 60s. Got the seat of honour on my tour bus i.e. the front suicide seat. No seat-belts, window wide open, dicing with death every moment. Not for the faint-hearted. Indian drivers make the Italians look like Sunday drivers. Anyway, I made it. A truly Indian experience, I was the only gaijin on the bus, we stopped at all-Indian places to eat (and loos) and I made a lot of friends. The proof will be in the tummy tomorrow!
I'm staying in Panjim but today we went to Anjuna, Calangute and Vagator. On the whole I'm glad I'm staying in town. Tomorrow move to Dona Paula resort where I hope I can just lie by the pool and do nothing for 2 days.
The resort on the beach in Goa is patronised by Thomas Cook holidaymakers from the north of England. They were the same ones I met in Turkey last year: large, bright pink, tattooed and shrouded in smoke. Fish and chips and full English breakfast all the way.
February 14
GOA
Quite an amazing place this.
So Portuguese, rather like Macau. All crumbling, doesn't look like anyone has touched it since the Portuguese built it. I'm staying in an old Portuguese house done up as a Heritage Inn and eating at another which is presided over by Linda De Souza who has won countless awards here for Goa/Portuguese home cooking. Yummy.
Apart from doing all the old colonial stuff, have been on a tour of the beaches today, looking a bit worse for wear since the 60s. Got the seat of honour on my tour bus i.e. the front suicide seat. No seat-belts, window wide open, dicing with death every moment. Not for the faint-hearted. Indian drivers make the Italians look like Sunday drivers. Anyway, I made it. A truly Indian experience, I was the only gaijin on the bus, we stopped at all-Indian places to eat (and loos) and I made a lot of friends. The proof will be in the tummy tomorrow!
I'm staying in Panjim but today we went to Anjuna, Calangute and Vagator. On the whole I'm glad I'm staying in town. Tomorrow move to Dona Paula resort where I hope I can just lie by the pool and do nothing for 2 days.
The resort on the beach in Goa is patronised by Thomas Cook holidaymakers from the north of England. They were the same ones I met in Turkey last year: large, bright pink, tattooed and shrouded in smoke. Fish and chips and full English breakfast all the way.
May 4th, 2010, 09:01 AM
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From Goa I flew with Kingfisher to Delhi for the next trip which was with Intrepid. I had booked this at the request of a friend who was supposed to be coming with me but who backed out at the last minute. I felt the whole thing wasn’t my choice but again, I was stuck with it. I had booked (unseen) a day in Delhi before the trip and 2 days after the trip finished. In retrospect, this was a mistake, at least the way I did it…
February 20
DELHI
Then had my first real dose of culture shock: Delhi. What a mess. The Intrepid Hotel was TJS Royale in Karol Bagh. Enough said to people who know! Never again.
I lived in Asia for 12 years in the 70s and 80s so thought I could handle culture shock: not so. This was the kind of India I had feared. I felt everyone I dealt with was trying to cheat me, as a tourist you are really at their mercy. That’s why I booked the tour. There was chaos everywhere, everything was difficult, the place was falling to pieces and filthy, smoggy, noisy, polluted in every sense. Goodness knows how they are going to get it together for the Commonwealth Games. All construction work I saw was being done by hand.
On my first day I stepped outside the hotel and got caught by a tuk tuk driver who said he would take me to the Tourist Information Office. Ha! I’m sure I got ripped off royally as I ended up taking a day city tour of Delhi with a private driver for an exhorbitant sum. On the positive side it was a good way to see a lot of sights in a short time. Which I did. Here are my comments:
Spent the day yesterday being driven around the sights (Delhi isn't a walking city) and trying to get my head round it. Noisy, crowded, filthy, smelly, so far I can't find anything to recommend it. Even the sights were exhausting and full of kids on school trips. Great fog of pollution over it all. Saw an ad on the metro with pictures of posh hotels, shops, restaurants etc but it's all apparently 25km out of the centre in the burbs.
We leave tomorrow for Agra and the Taj Mahal. That had better be good!
February 21
My new group is OK. Lots of older people like me! Group leader is much more laid back and seems to have a policy of leaving us to our own devices...quite a challenge here. Managed the metro today and feeling very pleased with myself. Oh well, it can't all be tropical resorts I suppose. No Delhi Belly yet at least.
February 24
RAJASTAN
Here we are in Jaipiur via Agra and the Taj. Great to get out of Delhi but I have to go back at the end…
Have been climbing around lots of Mughal forts and castles, Rajastan is all red! Walking around local villages and gawping at and getting gawped at by locals...Dressing up evening last night in aforementioned castle with women in saris and men in Rajastan get-up. Quite odd. Camels and elephants on the street, not to mention the usual goats, cows, sheep. India is all-pervading...
This tour is much more downmarket than the previous one, strange really, as it's more expensive....
March 3 Udaipur
Have been out in the sticks here, in the absolute middle of nowhere for a few days. Lots of red forts, spectacular ones at Jaipur and Bundi and today in Udaipur. Staying in forts and castles and palaces. I could get used to it apart from absence of mod cons. Scenery is quite like Arizona without the drama. Very dry, whole lakes have dried up.
My group is falling apart around me, colds, mozzie bites, tummy troubles, all that. One of them even had the doc today. Guess who's still OK? It must be all my fault. A diet of non-stop Indian food seems to be doing the trick. Plus the odd Kingfisher and G&T.
Lots of lovely arts and crafts here and possibly some shopping. Yoga, henna, palm reading, all the usual. I'm just thankful to have found the internet.
From here it's a camel ride in Pushkar then back to Delhi. I wish I could find a way to avoid it....
I think I'm ready to move on from India....
March 7
Just back in Delhi after a couple of days in Pushkar. Lots of camels and desert Lawrence of Arabia stuff. Very dusty. Big big market with all the usual tourist stuff and also full of old hippies who look like they've been there since the 60s. Full of pseudo Italian restaurants serving very strange pizzas. And lots of Israelis. Whyever?
Overnight train to Delhi was quite an experience especially for my group who hadn't known what to expect. Hope I don't have to do it again.
At that point I was stuck with 2 extra days in Delhi which I had previously thought would be a good opportunity to see it. My group had disintegrated and gone to the 4 corners. I spent the time pottering around, went to the National Museum, which was a big disappointment as about half of it was closed, picked up presents in the market, sat about and read, and counted the minutes.
Flew out on Malaysian Air Delhi to KL with a change for Saigon. Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive.
Would I go to India again?
NOT YET. Maybe later! I’m glad I went and I’m glad I saw as much as I did. I think it was the best way to do it for me. It was a compromise between travelling solo and doing what I like and having the way smoothed for me in a country which is full of hassle.
GOOD THINGS
The food. I loved it. Ate 3 Indian meals a day for 6 weeks.
Most of the people were great. Smiley and helpful. Cheerful.
The weather. A perfect time of year.
The prices. It’s a cheap place to travel. The tours I did were at the lower end of the scale but we met people on upmarket tours staying in the same hotels as us.
GAP Adventures. Super guide, excellent transport and staff. Very good hotels after the first one.
LESS GOOD THINGS
Pollution of all kinds. Smog. Traffic. Noise. Garbage.
Delhi. Is it a big city problem?
Problems of huge population means everywhere is crowded and every job has too many people doing it.
Intrepid. No comparison between the two trips. I certainly wouldn’t use them again. They were the more expensive and the more disorganized.
February 20
DELHI
Then had my first real dose of culture shock: Delhi. What a mess. The Intrepid Hotel was TJS Royale in Karol Bagh. Enough said to people who know! Never again.
I lived in Asia for 12 years in the 70s and 80s so thought I could handle culture shock: not so. This was the kind of India I had feared. I felt everyone I dealt with was trying to cheat me, as a tourist you are really at their mercy. That’s why I booked the tour. There was chaos everywhere, everything was difficult, the place was falling to pieces and filthy, smoggy, noisy, polluted in every sense. Goodness knows how they are going to get it together for the Commonwealth Games. All construction work I saw was being done by hand.
On my first day I stepped outside the hotel and got caught by a tuk tuk driver who said he would take me to the Tourist Information Office. Ha! I’m sure I got ripped off royally as I ended up taking a day city tour of Delhi with a private driver for an exhorbitant sum. On the positive side it was a good way to see a lot of sights in a short time. Which I did. Here are my comments:
Spent the day yesterday being driven around the sights (Delhi isn't a walking city) and trying to get my head round it. Noisy, crowded, filthy, smelly, so far I can't find anything to recommend it. Even the sights were exhausting and full of kids on school trips. Great fog of pollution over it all. Saw an ad on the metro with pictures of posh hotels, shops, restaurants etc but it's all apparently 25km out of the centre in the burbs.
We leave tomorrow for Agra and the Taj Mahal. That had better be good!
February 21
My new group is OK. Lots of older people like me! Group leader is much more laid back and seems to have a policy of leaving us to our own devices...quite a challenge here. Managed the metro today and feeling very pleased with myself. Oh well, it can't all be tropical resorts I suppose. No Delhi Belly yet at least.
February 24
RAJASTAN
Here we are in Jaipiur via Agra and the Taj. Great to get out of Delhi but I have to go back at the end…
Have been climbing around lots of Mughal forts and castles, Rajastan is all red! Walking around local villages and gawping at and getting gawped at by locals...Dressing up evening last night in aforementioned castle with women in saris and men in Rajastan get-up. Quite odd. Camels and elephants on the street, not to mention the usual goats, cows, sheep. India is all-pervading...
This tour is much more downmarket than the previous one, strange really, as it's more expensive....
March 3 Udaipur
Have been out in the sticks here, in the absolute middle of nowhere for a few days. Lots of red forts, spectacular ones at Jaipur and Bundi and today in Udaipur. Staying in forts and castles and palaces. I could get used to it apart from absence of mod cons. Scenery is quite like Arizona without the drama. Very dry, whole lakes have dried up.
My group is falling apart around me, colds, mozzie bites, tummy troubles, all that. One of them even had the doc today. Guess who's still OK? It must be all my fault. A diet of non-stop Indian food seems to be doing the trick. Plus the odd Kingfisher and G&T.
Lots of lovely arts and crafts here and possibly some shopping. Yoga, henna, palm reading, all the usual. I'm just thankful to have found the internet.
From here it's a camel ride in Pushkar then back to Delhi. I wish I could find a way to avoid it....
I think I'm ready to move on from India....
March 7
Just back in Delhi after a couple of days in Pushkar. Lots of camels and desert Lawrence of Arabia stuff. Very dusty. Big big market with all the usual tourist stuff and also full of old hippies who look like they've been there since the 60s. Full of pseudo Italian restaurants serving very strange pizzas. And lots of Israelis. Whyever?
Overnight train to Delhi was quite an experience especially for my group who hadn't known what to expect. Hope I don't have to do it again.
At that point I was stuck with 2 extra days in Delhi which I had previously thought would be a good opportunity to see it. My group had disintegrated and gone to the 4 corners. I spent the time pottering around, went to the National Museum, which was a big disappointment as about half of it was closed, picked up presents in the market, sat about and read, and counted the minutes.
Flew out on Malaysian Air Delhi to KL with a change for Saigon. Bliss it was in that dawn to be alive.
Would I go to India again?
NOT YET. Maybe later! I’m glad I went and I’m glad I saw as much as I did. I think it was the best way to do it for me. It was a compromise between travelling solo and doing what I like and having the way smoothed for me in a country which is full of hassle.
GOOD THINGS
The food. I loved it. Ate 3 Indian meals a day for 6 weeks.
Most of the people were great. Smiley and helpful. Cheerful.
The weather. A perfect time of year.
The prices. It’s a cheap place to travel. The tours I did were at the lower end of the scale but we met people on upmarket tours staying in the same hotels as us.
GAP Adventures. Super guide, excellent transport and staff. Very good hotels after the first one.
LESS GOOD THINGS
Pollution of all kinds. Smog. Traffic. Noise. Garbage.
Delhi. Is it a big city problem?
Problems of huge population means everywhere is crowded and every job has too many people doing it.
Intrepid. No comparison between the two trips. I certainly wouldn’t use them again. They were the more expensive and the more disorganized.
May 4th, 2010, 09:01 AM
#4
Hi gertie - great to see your TR get underway. Glad to hear you were coping with India successfully - and even enjoying it.
Jealous that you got to ride the toy train to Ooty - I dropped it from the itinerary last time but am hoping to do it this year. What did you think of Ooty? I've read that's it's not really worth visiting.
Jealous that you got to ride the toy train to Ooty - I dropped it from the itinerary last time but am hoping to do it this year. What did you think of Ooty? I've read that's it's not really worth visiting.
May 4th, 2010, 09:12 AM
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Agree. I didn't think it was worth visiting apart from the amazing name. I've got a picture of the station sign somewhere.
The tea plantations in the area were interesting and very scenic/restful.
The tea plantations in the area were interesting and very scenic/restful.
May 4th, 2010, 09:42 AM
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sounds like a real adventure for you... and yes india is difficult especially your first time...
i loved delhi.... you don't mention seeing all the wonderful sights there or the shopping which is fantastic...???
i loved delhi.... you don't mention seeing all the wonderful sights there or the shopping which is fantastic...???
May 5th, 2010, 05:22 AM
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Well I really enjoyed that, gertie. What a mixture of impressions India gave you. Yup, you walked right into it in Delhi. Everybody gets taken for a ride - sometimes literally. Of course, I'm particularly pleased you like the Panjim Inn. Was the old patron around?
Even tho' tours aren't my thing, I totally understand why you did them, one way or another. How would you sum up your companions?
Even tho' tours aren't my thing, I totally understand why you did them, one way or another. How would you sum up your companions?
May 5th, 2010, 05:45 AM
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lol lol lol. Yup, it was a leading question. I never have the slightest hesitation at slandering my travel companions. lol. But I do disguise them. O.K. You're forgiven. Put Vietnam in a different thread, I reckon. Wait a day or so. That'll give people a chance to read this one.
You didn't mention what hotels you stayed in. People love to hear about that. I'm curious.
You didn't mention what hotels you stayed in. People love to hear about that. I'm curious.
May 5th, 2010, 02:56 PM
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What a great report! Your comments about smells in India are spot on. The first night (we arrived in Delhi), I lay in bed all night trying to decide what the smell was. After about 24 hours, I remembered --- burning land fills! Delhi isn't as bad as Agra, though, as Indian cities go.
But I loved India and can't wait to go back -- other items on the agenda for the next year, but am hoping for 2011.
But I loved India and can't wait to go back -- other items on the agenda for the next year, but am hoping for 2011.
May 5th, 2010, 04:34 PM
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Indianapearl, I've just found and read your trip report. Wonderful. I think you and I had very similar impressions and we both like a G&T. I wish I'd read it before I set off. I'm sure having a dedicated car and driver is the way to go in India for the less experienced like me but I can't afford things like that travelling alone.
Dogster, I can't even remember all the hotels. They were arranged by the tour people and were mainly OK. Some in Rajastan were Heritage properties and very interesting. I'm more interested in what's going on outside than the hotels!
The more I think about it, the more I reckon my style of travel does not appeal to most Fodorites. Most travel with someone else and most can spend more $$ on the trip. It also doesn't really appeal to Thorn Treers. I think I fall between the two.
Dogster, how about if I do a Gertie in Asia Part 2 as a compromise? It's on the way.
Dogster, I can't even remember all the hotels. They were arranged by the tour people and were mainly OK. Some in Rajastan were Heritage properties and very interesting. I'm more interested in what's going on outside than the hotels!
The more I think about it, the more I reckon my style of travel does not appeal to most Fodorites. Most travel with someone else and most can spend more $$ on the trip. It also doesn't really appeal to Thorn Treers. I think I fall between the two.
Dogster, how about if I do a Gertie in Asia Part 2 as a compromise? It's on the way.
May 5th, 2010, 06:55 PM
#14
Much easier if you do it all as one thread. Otherwise, a few weeks from now they'll be separated, and readers won't know to look for the other. that, and I forget the details and can't connect your comments to the context of the whole trip.
May 5th, 2010, 08:21 PM
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By the sound of it, everybody wants you to continue here, g. You'll have to decide.
Yup, your style ain't necessarily the group-think for Fodor's, I agree - but there are lots who read and do exactly what you do. You'd locked yourself in on both those tours before you even looked in here, so couldn't really use our 'services' lol. There is/was/will be a TON of stuff absolutely applicable to you, but you didn't know to read any of it.
That's O.K. - its all a learning curve.
As a matter of interest, I'd say that you can get a safem, clean car/driver, one stop shop for 2,500 - 3,000 rupees and hotel for about the same. That's 5,000r a day. Which is $110 a day. What did your tours cost you?
It's so great you came back in here and gave us your report, gertie. The history of all my travels is that I tend to go to a place the WRONG way first, then, having failed, see it as a challenge and return, now knowing the RIGHT way. lol.
Some of your reactions [Delhi for eg. were as much a product of being cocooned with the group - then suddenloy flung back into the real world - and the real world in India is a lot more real than most other places, eh? lol.
You do sound like a great gal. I'd happily be in a group with you - but I reckon you'd have a lot more fun on your own. Thursdaysd's adventures are tremendously inspiring. I reckon indiana and you would get on like a house on fire. Hey, you might even be the rare exception that enjoys my company too - so you're not on your own here. Next time you want to head off, jump in here first.
Fodor's has a secret poop people's club. We have many hints to save a buck.
Yup, your style ain't necessarily the group-think for Fodor's, I agree - but there are lots who read and do exactly what you do. You'd locked yourself in on both those tours before you even looked in here, so couldn't really use our 'services' lol. There is/was/will be a TON of stuff absolutely applicable to you, but you didn't know to read any of it.
That's O.K. - its all a learning curve.
As a matter of interest, I'd say that you can get a safem, clean car/driver, one stop shop for 2,500 - 3,000 rupees and hotel for about the same. That's 5,000r a day. Which is $110 a day. What did your tours cost you?
It's so great you came back in here and gave us your report, gertie. The history of all my travels is that I tend to go to a place the WRONG way first, then, having failed, see it as a challenge and return, now knowing the RIGHT way. lol.
Some of your reactions [Delhi for eg. were as much a product of being cocooned with the group - then suddenloy flung back into the real world - and the real world in India is a lot more real than most other places, eh? lol.
You do sound like a great gal. I'd happily be in a group with you - but I reckon you'd have a lot more fun on your own. Thursdaysd's adventures are tremendously inspiring. I reckon indiana and you would get on like a house on fire. Hey, you might even be the rare exception that enjoys my company too - so you're not on your own here. Next time you want to head off, jump in here first.
Fodor's has a secret poop people's club. We have many hints to save a buck.
May 5th, 2010, 09:58 PM
#17
"I'm sure having a dedicated car and driver is the way to go in India for the less experienced like me but I can't afford things like that travelling alone." - well, not essential but would provide a buffer. I just had one for few days, but it does feel silly to me for one person. Not to mention expensive. ($110/day for room and transport in India is a bit high for me, dogster - FYI Intrepid's Classic Rajasthan tour is $1135 for 15 days.)
Like you, gertie, budget is a definite consideration for me. I've seen the term flashpacker lately - that's probably us.
"Thursdaysd's adventures are tremendously inspiring". Now I'm embarrassed. And I'm afraid my next trip is going to be a bit tame, aside perhaps from South Korea.
Like you, gertie, budget is a definite consideration for me. I've seen the term flashpacker lately - that's probably us.
"Thursdaysd's adventures are tremendously inspiring". Now I'm embarrassed. And I'm afraid my next trip is going to be a bit tame, aside perhaps from South Korea.
May 6th, 2010, 05:28 AM
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gertie: I got on Fodor's and indiamike about a year ago. I'd thought that we might need to take a tour because India seemed overwhelming. After encouragement from Fodorites, I planned our trip myself. We spent about 3100 rs/day for a car and driver. Hotels varied considerably, as you saw on my report.
One problem I have/had with travel agencies is the lackluster quality of the tour hotels and destinations. Of course, all the agencies are getting a cut from each guest they book. I'd rather book the hotels myself and save that money for another purpose.
I loved having a car and driver, especially Ram, and would do that again in a heartbeat. I also enjoyed the heritage hotels, even with their idiosyncrasies.
Looking forward to your next installment . . .
One problem I have/had with travel agencies is the lackluster quality of the tour hotels and destinations. Of course, all the agencies are getting a cut from each guest they book. I'd rather book the hotels myself and save that money for another purpose.
I loved having a car and driver, especially Ram, and would do that again in a heartbeat. I also enjoyed the heritage hotels, even with their idiosyncrasies.
Looking forward to your next installment . . .
May 6th, 2010, 05:55 AM
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Just for the record, before I set out I read Lonely Planet and Rough Guide (not all of them), Thursday's blogs, various bits of Thorn Tree and talked to several friends in UK who'd been to India and said 'but you're NOT going on your own are you?'. Couldn't find any friends in US who'd been there. I had a quick look at Fodors but realised I wasn't in the private driver and Oberoi class.
Dogster, this sentence 'Fodor's has a secret poop people's club. We have many hints to save a buck' has lots of scope for typos. lol.
Doesn't everyone feel they make all the mistakes first time round then correct them next time if there is a next time? Certainly happens to me and not only with travel!
Thursday, I've just done a Wikipedia search for 'Flashpacker'. Absolutely perfect except for the unfortunate word connotation. And I do like my little bag-on-wheels like the Little Old Ladies in supermarkets.
Vietnam....
Dogster, this sentence 'Fodor's has a secret poop people's club. We have many hints to save a buck' has lots of scope for typos. lol.
Doesn't everyone feel they make all the mistakes first time round then correct them next time if there is a next time? Certainly happens to me and not only with travel!
Thursday, I've just done a Wikipedia search for 'Flashpacker'. Absolutely perfect except for the unfortunate word connotation. And I do like my little bag-on-wheels like the Little Old Ladies in supermarkets.
Vietnam....
