tripplanner001

Kimbedly, thank you. Hopefully I will like India enough to plan return visits.

rajch

Visit Hyderabad as well, it is a good blend of historic tourism places and modern tourist attractions. The climate is good and transportation is easy via metro train.

devindrabhandari7382

[QUOTE=rajch;17450607 The climate is good and transportation is easy via metro train.[/QUOTE]
In winters it is good. I'd not recommend Hyderabad in summers.

tripplanner001

Here's my current iteration of the itinerary for late November and early December. I still need to shave two nights.

Mumbai, 3 nights
Fly to Udaipur, 4 nights
Fly to Jaipur, 4 nights
Hire car and driver to Agra, 2 nights, stopping at Fatehpur Sikri
Train to Delhi, 4 nights
Fly to Varanasi, 3 nights
Train to Bodhgaya, 3 nights

thursdaysd

What are you planning to do in Mumbai? Why four nights in Udaipur? Are you visiting Shekhawati from Jaipur?

tripplanner001

Thursdaysd, very valid question. I've not laid out our options well enough to be able to provide a coherent answer yet. My goal is to settle on a distribution of days based on what is there to see and do in each location and then make refundable hotel reservations. From that point, I will focus on details if it looks likely that we're going to go. This is different than how I used to plan, which is to lay out itinerary and plans first and book accommodations once that's all settled. These days, seems like available options get booked months in advance, which is what is driving the strategy.

jacketwatch

You may consider shaving one night each in Jaipur and Udaipur.
That would do it for you.
I'd keep 4 nights In Delhi as there is much to see and do there and given the traffic that extra day may be useful.
Good luck.
Larry

tripplanner001

Larry, thank you.

Bihar question: Do folks have an opinion about which is a better base among Rajgir, Nalanda, Vaishali, and Patna? We thought about day tripping from Bodhgaya but it seems like we should split it up and base in one of these cities in addition to Bodhgaya.

jacketwatch

Sorry can’t help you but you may want to PM Mr. VP Singh who is a member here and is a TA. I’ve used his services in India before and was very pleased. The following is his business website;

https://www.legendsandpalaces.com

CaliNurse

I agree100% with Jacketwatch: take one night away from each of the four-night segments in Jaipur and Udaipur.(Fwiw, I prefer the latter.)
And yes to 4 nights in Delhi!

Like JW, no personal experience of Bodhgaya area.

Have you decided on India instead of Japan?

devindrabhandari7382

I think Patna would serve a good base for the places you mentioned. The places are within 100 km range from Patna and connectivity is good.

tripplanner001

CaliNurse, no, I have not decided either way. Japan is my first choice. Still deciding between India and Vietnam as my second.

devindrabhandari7832, thank you. Patna seems to have the best rail options from Varanasi and to Gaya, which is useful. From what I've read, seems like much of ancient Pataliputra is no more though.

Thank you to everyone for helping me refine my itinerary. My current iteration is:

Delhi, 4 nights
Jaipur, 4 nights
Agra, 2 nights
Lucknow, 3 nights
Varanasi, 3 nights
Patna, 3 nights
Bodhgaya, 2 nights

Will aim to hire a car with driver from Jaipur to Agra so we could stop at Fatehpur Sikri along the way. The rest seem easy enough to go by train.

If a new flight opens up between Agra, Jhansi, or Khajuraho to Varanasi, I may sub out Lucknow, but for now it seems the easiest stop between Agra and Varanasi.

Except for Patna and Bodhgaya, refundable hotels are booked.

Thank you again.

tripplanner001

Coming back to this thread, we wound up visiting Japan this past November and are now actively considering India for November / December 2024. Right now, we have refundable accommodations booked in several of the following cities and expect to make some changes as we finalize our planning, which I hope to do in the next couple of months:

Delhi, 4 nights
Bodhgaya, 3 nights
Varanasi, 3 nights
Agra, 2 nights
Jaipur, 4 nights
Udaipur, 4 nights
Mumbai, 2 nights

As the flights we are looking at would arrive in Delhi in the middle of the night, we would book the extra night so we could check in right away and have a few hours to rest and relax, sleep or not, before beginning our day. Depending on flight times from Delhi to Bodhgaya, this would give us 2.5 to 3.5 days in Delhi. I'm looking at whether it makes sense to drop a night from Udaipur and add it to Mumbai - perhaps. Our priorities are Bodhgaya and Agra, and we want to visit some of the forts and palaces in Rajasthan - hence, Jaipur and Udaipur. Anything you would recommend differently? I'm also going back to some of your trip reports, especially progol's and thursdaysd's flagged here, and may have some questions from it. Thanks.

progol

tripplanner, much as I loved that first trip to India where we went to Delhi, Varanasi and Rajasthan, I don’t think the cities are so beautiful that you’d want to linger in them for that long. We really liked Udaipur a lot (and this I think of as one of the more attractive cities), but I don’t think you need more than 3 nights there or in Jaipur.

One of our favorite stops was Bundi - a smaller city in Rajasthan, but one of the most charming, with stepwells throughout the town (though the best stepwell, Chand Baori is elsewhere). We also enjoyed the fort at Jodhpur a lot.

I’m guessing that you don’t have the added time for Jaisalmer, which has a very different flavor than the other Rajasthan towns.

Two amazing stops on our drive north from Udaipur were Kumbalgarh fort - amazingly sited, a beautiful collection of temples, and fantastic views - and then Ranakpur, a Jain temple, with several temples, including the main one with its many carved marble columns. A stunning site.

Of course, I’m sure you will see Sarnath when you visit Varanasi - it is a wonderful place and it does have a serene aura to it.

I would add a day to Mumbai.

If you need a recommendation for an agent, let me know.

progol

Tripplanner,

I think the albums in Flickr are still accessible. Let me know if you have questions as I never did get around to labeling the photos!

Photos from India!

tripplanner001

progol, how did the aggressiveness of the vendors in Varanasi compare to what you experienced in Egypt and Morocco? I found Morocco to be the most aggressive in all my travels, followed by Egypt, and am looking for a basis for comparison.

You had some pretty cool shots. I'm thinking about Bundi after rereading your report.

progol

tripplanner, I agree with you about the level of aggressiveness of the vendors in Morocco and Egypt but I just asked my husband about the aggressiveness of the vendors at Varanasi and he said that he felt the latter was the worst he can recall. It was really focused around what I refer to as the “D” ghat - which I believe is the Dashashwamedh Ghat. It’s a main ghat and where the Arti takes place every night (very worth going to) but during the day, we wandered along the street and the vendors were overwhelming.

i will add that India was the first of the non-western countries we traveled to so we were particularly sensitive to the level of aggression. It wasn’t nearly as bad elsewhere in India, though, as a female, I remember being very uncomfortable waiting on a train station platform because of the intensity of the stares I was getting. Fortunately, the guide waited with us but it was not comfortable.

I found Varanasi to be one of the most “other” places I’ve ever visited and was fascinated by it. I think my husband found it a bit more uncomfortable but it was definitely a place we both were glad we went to despite finding it overwhelming at times.

tripplanner001

progol, thank you. Not the answer I was hoping for in regards to the vendors but I'm not surprised. It is so uniquely Indian that I am having a hard time justifying not including it, especially given the opportunity to visit Sarnath and it is a relatively short hop from Bodhgaya.

progol

tp,
Varanasi is one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever been. It’s not easy but it’s very worth it to see and experience it. India is overwhelming - the visual and cultural contrasts are remarkable. And Varanasi is India squared. But I wouldn’t miss it for the world. If you can include it, do.

CaliNurse

Between now and finalizing the plan, you'll get lots of suggestions no doubt. Here are but two for now, before i forget!

Repeating from my earlier post on this thread: between Agra and Jaipur, stop for a few hours at Abhaneri with its famous stepwell, small "palace" and small village.

Jaipur --please do not miss Galtaji, the Monkey Temple, a bit out of town (driver should take you up hill to get in the "back" way).

Itinerary: I'd delete a day from Jaipur and delete a day from Udaipur. Add a day to Mumbai ( I visited for only one full day and hope to return for longer). The other extra day...as the trip gets planned, there will be opportunities!

Re: VENDORS. I havent been to Egypt, and my time Morocco was many decades ago. But...I found the hassles/pressure in Udaipur near the City Palace to be intense and irritating--shopkeepers galore, just about drooling as you approach. (I stayed on the other, quieter side of the lake--so coming into the more touristed area was a bit more of a shock). Agra: the path to entry gate at Taj Mahal is lined with calls to "buy buy buy "--running the gauntlet. Surprisingly, I don't recall much of that in Varanasi, either during the day, or near the evening Aarti ceremony, although there were many men sitting quietly with bowls--sadhus (or as one guide said, people pretending to be holy ). Best way to avoid including in Varanasii---have a local guide with you for a walking tour. The Varanasi homestay owner's daughter was with me and almost NO one bothered us! Everyone's experiences differ---maybe more so in India than anywhere.

Highly recommend you use a good India-based travel agency. As offered too by Progol, name of an excellent travel planner available on request.