India Trip Feb 1-18/18
 

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We just returned from a wonderful trip to India starting from Delhi and ending in Mumbai. We were 4 -6 people during parts of the trip. We did some arrangements ourselves and also used the help of Indian Panorama for the southern portions ( Tamil Nadu and Kerala). It was busy but smooth. In the north we used an excellent driver , Ramesh Kumar of Indiatravelbycar who met us at the airport in Delhi and was with us until we flew out of Jaipur on Feb 6th. He arranged several of the guides for us and was at our disposal for the 6 days. In Delhi we stayed at Lutyen's Bungalow for two nights, a homey bed and breakfast well located in New Delhi. We had a full day of sightseeing with a guide including many of the highlights(Jantar Mantar, Humayuns Tomb, Chandni Chowk (rickshaw), Rashtrapi Bhavan...well timed so that we could see the Qutb Minar when the lighting was best. We had a great dinner at a neat restaurant called Sodabottleopenerwala in Khan Market (casual, great food,upstairs, Parsi cuisine, some staff are hearing impaired). We left for Agra the next day and stayed one night at the Radisson Blu Taj East Gate which was fabulous- beautiful and reasonably priced hotel with excellent service, We went to the Agra Fort that afternoon and hired an excellent guide Asif Khan on site. He recommended we view the Taj Mahal at sunset from a rooftop terrace in town whose name escapes me at the moment. The next morning we viewed the Taj Mahal in its sunrise splendor at sunrise with a prearranged guide. It was so beautiful and lucky for us there is no scaffolding at the moment. Personally I feel one night in Agra is sufficient. We went back to the hotel for breakfast and then left for Fatehpur Sikri on route to Jaipur. It was a really special stop and not out of the way. Ramesh arranged for a great guide for us for the short time we allocated. We then made our way to Jaipur where we stayed 2 nights at the Trident Jaipur. (Nice hotel with good service and food a bit outside the walled town).Traffic was crazy due to a Moslem conference that was ending but Ramesh managed to deal with it in his calm manner. We had another excellent guide the next day and spent time at the Amber fort ( a real gem), and the City Palace Museum. The Anokhi Museum and store was closed this day. We also went to the Albert Museum the next morning on our way to the airport. We ate at Palladio Jaipur and Peshawi ITC Hotel both which were good. We did not have time in our itinerary to explore other towns of Rajasthan.We flew to Chennai the afternoon of Feb 6th where we met our new driver Krishna arranged from India Panorama. I will continue later.

Jft, thank you so much for this--been wondering how it was going for you, after your earlier planning thread. I'm impressed not just by the trip, but also that you can be writing a report the day after return!! You've packed much interesting detail in to a succinct descripton.

Looking forward to more about South India, as I'm starting to plan another trip to there next January. Interested in continued reading about the sites, as you've done above: places you saw, lodging, your helpful guides and drivers, as well as if Kerala and Tamil Nadu, seemed different (slightly less frenetic?) than the north.

Thanks again, and welcome home!

Welcome home! What a beautiful photo and a great start to your trip! Sounds like you packed a lot in and had some wonderful experiences!

I, too, am eagerly looking forward to your report, a bit selfishly, as we will also be making a trip to Kerala and TN next year. So, like CaliNurse, anything you can share about experiences you liked or didn't would be greatly appreciated!

Welcome home. Great photo.
Waiting to hear more. Looks like you really enjoyed the trip and had good drivers to assist you.
Looking forward to more details as well as shopping experiences.
Have a good rest now and enjoy the amazing experience.

Just some background- we were 2 couples around age 60 who flew direct on Air Canada's 787 from Toronto to Delhi(around 14 hours). My friend's son who lives in Mumbai was able to join us for most of the trip which was great. A lot of the restaurant recommendations came from him and his wife. The temperature in the Golden Triangle part of the trip was about 24/15 C, and sunny but smoggy especially in Delhi. You needed a sweater at night. The air quality in Delhi was not great. We had some paper masks with us ( just the kind to filter air not the N95 tight fitting ones that make you feel sick) but usually a scarf over your face worked during bad moments or nothing. Khan Market where we ate in Delhi had some nice shops and had we more time I would have spent some time shopping. Jaipur is known for jewellery and we stopped at Ratnavali Arts recommended by the guide ( I don't think he got commission) which was a reputable store and where we made some purchases. Heritage Textiles in Jaipur had lovely blankets, pashminas, clothes etc and our friend had some shirts and a nehru vest made which was delivered to the hotel the next morning. I had made a mistake in my first post. We ate at Peshawri ITC in Agra and the second restaurant in Jaipur was Handi Fusion which was excellent( casual, not expensive)
Personnel from India Panorama met us at the airport in Chennai and introduced us to the driver and gave me an India SIM card for my phone. We added data to it. We checked into Raintree Anna Salai which is a new, clean business hotel with an extensive breakfast. Chennai was a transit stop and we had no plans to sightsee there. It seems to be quite an industrial city although I am sure there are areas to visit but not where we were. We went to a lovely restaurant called Amethyst which is this hidden oasis with a huge verandah in a park-like setting hard to notice from the busy street. You need to drive to get to it from the hotel. They had a huge dessert selection as well. The following morning our driver picked us up in the Tempo Traveller which is like a small commercial bus on route to Pondicherry (Puducherry). At this point we were 6 and it was great as it has lots of space and lots of windows. We stopped at Mamallapuram which is an amazing Unesco world heritage site about an hour or so from Chennai. Our friend's son hired a guide on site and negotiated a reasonable rate. Mamallapuram is worth a visit- it is a 7th century port city carved out of granite rock built by a Pallava king.
Later we made our way to Puducherry where we checked into a lovely small heritage hotel called La Maison Perumal which we had booked ourselves. It offers a cooking demonstration in the early evening which was nice. Many of the nicer hotels are quite small in Puducherry and fill up quickly during peak season. This one came up at the last moment ( we had enquired in November and it and its sister hotel were full) and we were happy with it. I would recommend booking hotels in Puducherry early. Puducherry was a French colony until around 1954 and has a different feel to it than other areas. It has a lovely promenade on the water as well as some nice architecture and a nice town to walk around. We enjoyed drinks and snacks at Coromandel Cafe which has great hummus and a lovely atmosphere on the verandah as well as indoors for dining. We ended up there twice as one evening we had dinner reservations at our hotel and unfortunately that night it was a very limited menu which did not work our for some members in our group. The other night we ate out at Le Dupleixe which has a lovely atmosphere as well. India Panorama had originally tried to book our rooms there however it did not have vacancy. The next day we went to Auroville for awhile- interesting hippy like ashram and later we went to the market area. I love food markets. I would have to say that the vendors seemed unhappy in this market compared to others in different countries I had visited. I liked Puducherry and it was a nice contrast to the more hectic areas where we had been.
The next morning we left on our fairly long drive to the Chettinad area south and west of Puducherry. The driving is not easy in India and Krishna was up to the task. He is an excellent driver and a kind, caring, professional man. Both of our drivers made sure there were plenty of water bottles in the vans at all times. Toilet paper is something that is worth having on hand as well. Between the honking and the traffic I was happy to leave the driving to someone else.
The Chettiar Mansion area is a hidden gem. The arid dusty area about 2 hours drive east of Madurai in its heyday had thousands of ornate mansions of the Chettiar merchant community. I think they were built around 1905 and most were abandoned around 1947 after the war. We stayed at Chidambaras Vilas booked by India Panorama which is a real treasure. The hotel is in great condition, service was wonderful, food was very good. For a small fee they did a lovely cooking demonstration. It has a lovely pool which was great as the south is hot! Also an older man who works there can give tours of the non-hotel rooms and take you up to the tower. We had a lovely dinner one night at the Bangala which is another lovely heritage hotel in Karaikudi.We also toured a few other heritage houses and saw a palace from the outside. I think there is another hotel called Visalam ( a CGH Earth) which we did not see- it is more modern. A couple of our group stayed one night at another hotel( I think Chettinadu Mansion) but it was not nearly as nice. Wandering out of our hotel walking through the dusty streets and seeing remnants of grandeur was very interesting. Karaikudi was more of a busy town and was about a 20 minute drive from our hotel. We stayed 2 nights and then left Munnar with a stop in Madurai. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...442f1b781e.jpg

Mamallapuram
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Puducherry
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Chidambaras Vilas

Thanks again, JFT. Eenjoying and appreciating your insights, descriptions, reviews, and photos. E.g.g, glad to read you consider Mammalapuram worth a stop.
Re: La Maison Perumal--did you think the find the location was ok for Pondicherry? I ask as it's a bit outside the "French Quarter" -it sounds like you saw plenty in any case!
Looking forward to descriptions of Madurai and Munnar!!
(Did you perhaps mean to add the word "for" in front of "Munnar" in your last sentence?)

Yes, I ment for Munnar.
We really liked La Maison Perumal. It is a bit off the main area but really a short walk.You can reach the far end in 20 minutes on foot. It is on a small street and is really quiet. It is worth choosing your route as one of the streets you can take to the main tourist area is noisy and hard to walk on. The main area of Puducherry that tourists frequent is really not very big. Probably the L'orient would have been fine but we were happy to have made the change.

I'm glad to know you liked La Maison Perumal - that's at the very top of my list!

I'm so enjoying seeing the photos as part of the TR -- I really feel like I'm experiencing the places you're visiting.

Lovely photos and a great report jft, really takes me back. Thanks ��

thanks so much for starting this TR so quickly and for including so much detail, as I'm yet another fodorite with India on my radar for next Jan/Feb.

Can I make a small plea though? I am struggling a little with reading what you have typed - an extra line in-between each paragraph would make reading it a lot easier.

It was my one of the biggest dream to visit Taj mahal. It is really beautiful. A true symbol of love.

Sure. I will for future. I am not sure I can edit past posts. How was Italy?

I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed your trip very much by seeing your posts, along with TajMahal there are many other interesting and beautiful destinations in India like Kerala, Goa, Sikkim, Ooty, Kodaikanal etc.. If you are interested in visiting these places, please let me know so that i can share the details of these packages.

We stopped for about an hour and a half at the Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple complex. Our time was limited as one in our party had a flight to catch as well we had a long drive ahead of us to our hotel in the Munnar hills. We didn't have time to explore Madurai other than visit the temple.

Truly this complex is a marvel, with I believe a total of 14 towers of different heights. You need proper attire to enter and they are very strict ( and inconsistent as to what you can bring in with you ( the female attendant wanted my friend to check a roll of toilet paper! I could leave my socks on, others were told to remove them). We interviewed and got a guide close to the entrance. It was a Sunday so many local families with kids were attending in their Sunday best and there were a few bride and grooms there seated near the entrance hall. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...38d31f2571.jpg

south temple
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Bride and groom
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wow, wonderful photos jft - i love the colours - and thank you so much for the paragraphs.

Italy was great, thank you, but quite a lot colder than India!

You have truly snapped some great photographs!
Thanks for sharing.

Still following! I love your photos! And very interested to read your experience visiting the temple complex. And to see the bride and grooms - wonderful!

Pictures from first part of trip
 

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Visitor at Qutb complex
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Qutb complex
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Probably my favourite site, the Qutb Minar Complex. Best seen towards the end of the day when the lighting was superb.
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Chandni Chowk
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Presidential Palace, New Delhi ( morning smog)
I will add some photos from my earliest post. I hope the attachments are included

love these photos! the shot of the little girl is just wonderful; a touching moment and connection!

Thank you for the additional photos, Jft. I'm iewing with great memories of some places, and great anticipation of others.
Re: your first photo, I love the bird flying above the Taj Mahal!
Thanks for the continuing narrative---looking forward to Munnar, Cochin, and backwater tour descriptions when you have a chance.
Re: the wedding: last year in Ahmedabad Gujarat, a wedding party was most gracious about me taking photos. I read later (haven't fact-checked though) it's considered a good omen for the marriage when a foreigner is involved in the celebration.

Do you miss India?

We dropped one member off at the airport, had buffet lunch at the Regency Hotel which had good bathrooms ( one of our criteria for choosing restaurants) and then continued on our way to the Munnar Hill Region.

Later in the day the drive got quite beautiful as the altitude increased.Although the bus is not as smooth as a smaller vehicle it was so wonderful having huge windows all around.Krish,our driver, stopped in places to show us the cardoman plants with the pods near the roots as well as our first sightings of the tea plantations and pepper vines.
After a long day of driving the Panoramic Getaway Hotel was such a treat.It was a beautiful new hotel much nicer than in the pictures. Best of all it had 2 gorgeous outdoor HEATED pools, an adult and a family one. We arrived at sunset with a gorgeous sky that evening.

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Sunset from Panoramic Getaway Hotel
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First view of tea plantation with Malabar pepper vines on trees
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Wall at entrance of Panoramic Getaway

Absolutely beautiful, jft! What great views those are!

yes beautiful. is this the one:

The Panoramic Getaway

Yes. We also stayed one night at Chandy’s Windy Woods( long story why two hotels) which had its pluses- cooking demo, tour of tea fields, great food I think the Panoramic Getaway is a much more luxurious property and it was a bit of a come down to change.

Jft, can you clarify? Which was the "comedown"? Was it because you preferred the "more luxurious" hotel? Which had the better surrounding scenery of hillside /mountains/tea plantations?
Beautiful photos! The Getaway is right next to a very popular homestay called Royal Mist and now, seeing your pix from Getaway,I see why people love its views. Are those scenes omnipresent in Munnar region?
Looking forward to the remainder of your report and photos!

Both hotels had nice views however the views directly from the rooms at Panoramic Getaway are better as the Chandy's Winding Woods has a large patio which interferes with the view. They also have multiple elevators at Chandy's which is annoying.
It is cooler in the Munnar hills so if you like to swim the Panoramic with its heated pool lit up at night the stars in the sky is very relaxing. They also had the living wall of plants at Panoramic and overall the property is stunning.
The Chandy's pool was not inviting at all and looked neglected. I think price wise they are similar however Indian Panoramic booked the first night and we booked the second on Agoda so it is hard to tell. Foodwise I thought Chandy's was better( really good) and the service in the dining room was excellent and I think spa treatments are cheaper ( Although I did not try them at either). Chandy's has a tea plantation right beside it. Chandy's has some nice activities ( cooking demo, walk on it's property in am and pm , sari demo). They also have this weird artificial forest that the guide takes you through on your 5pm walk. The crowd is a bit different two with more Indian guests at the Chandy's I would say. I am glad we experienced both but after the hectic drive from Chettinadu and on through Madurai, the Panoramic hit the spot. I don't usually care about luxury.

Late morning from Chandy's , my husband and I set out with the driver to a recommended hike however supposedly you need a jeep to get to it and I had neglected to get very specific directions. The driver pulled into the tourist office in what I think was Munnar and the office gave us directions to follow this river walk instead. Well somehow we got ourselves lost and couldn't find the bridge to take to meet the driver. Finally we flagged down a tuk tuk and asked him to drive us to the main road. We were way off track walking in the wrong direction and were extremely happy to see our driver on the other side of this bridge.
At 5pm we took the walk on the property of Chandy's and at 6 enjoyed a cooking demo on the patio. There was a large bus group from Germany staying at the hotel. Later there was a Sari demo which only my friend and I attended. The lovely staff put one on me and that convinced me that the pinning and folding would be too complicated for me so no sari shopping this India trip! Dinner was a buffet- we usually prefer not to have buffets but in some remote places sometimes you don't have a choice. It was quite extensive and delicious though.

Next morning we left for Cochin. The drive was still very pretty in the hill region but not as dramatic as the one from Madurai direction. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...99874cc880.jpg

River walk
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view from patio of Chandy's Winding Woods

JFT, thanks so much for details of what you did and did not like about the different Munnar-area hotels. Those types specifics really help (me, at least) deciding where to stay . In a place like Munnar there's so much choice of hotels, homestays, and small inns, it's hard to narrow it down.
Getting lost on the river walk must have been quite unnerving!!! Glad you emerged ok, and got a lovely photo --was this before or after knowing you were going in the wrong direction ? (-:
Looking forward to your report on Ft. Cochin and the "Salmon" backwaters tour.

On the way to Cochin the driver asked us if we wanted to stop at a herb farm or ayurveda farm. We were interested and quite enjoyed it. The guide who was lovely explained and identified a lot of different trees and plants during our walk. Of course you could shop after at their store. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b78ae6cf4b.jpg

I should have taken notes!

The ride to Fort Cochin was windy and then very trafficky once you reached Ernakulam. We were happy to reach our hotel Xandari Harbour in Fort Kochi. It had a lovely pool overlooking the harbour which was a welcome reprieve after the busride and the heat. After checking in we took a walk to see the Synagogue and surrounding area before it closed. Cochin was a big merchant town in its day- I need to read up on its history and what still takes place.https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5bf39dc5a3.jpg
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Bazaar Road

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one of the boats docked by our hotel

lovely pics of Cochin and description of your journey there. It's a place I'm really looking forward to seeing. funny about the herb farm - they, or spice gardens, seem to crop up on every asian tourist itinerary - I will be avoiding the next one as I've still got the spices I bought from the one in Sri Lanka about 5 years ago.

Love the photos, in particular the man in the doorway on Bazaar Road. His patient posture and clothing are so evocative of Kerala.
Looking forward to your description and photos of the backwaters tour !

Ditto to the above! I’m loving your report and photos! The photo of the man through the doorway is wonderful and I adore your lovely guide at the herb garden!

I’m curious what you thought of your hotel in Cochin and its location. Was it easy to explore the city from there?

For us the location of the hotel was good as we like to walk and walked everywhere. It is not the classiest of neighbourhoods but I had no problem with that.

I liked the hotel but there were things that could be better. The location of the restaurant on the water with the pool beside it and the restored structure were really nice. There is a grassy area there as well.

Our rooms were on the main floor each off a small courtyard. We did have a few mosquitos in the room and my husband got a few bites. We saw them light a fire at night I think for the mosquitos.
In restrospect we should have been diligent with mosquito repellent but this was the first place during our trip where we ran into an issue. The rooms were good size and modern but made of a lot of concrete material ( I can’t remember what the composition was). There are also no TVs in them but this was not a problem for me.
I also thought the service was lack lustre. The rooms were not cleaned until about 3pm and the restaurant staff seemed indifferent. This was out of character with the hospitality we experienced anywhere else on our trip.
The chairs in the restaurant were unsteady and should be replaced. We saw two people fall out of their chairs one being my friend. Once it was a faulty leg and another time it seemed to be one leg was on a slightly different level of concrete.
I will try to finish my report on Cochin later.

mmm, jft. You're not selling that hotel to me. looking forward to the rest of your report about Cochin.

We went for dinner one night to the History Room Restaurant in the Brunton Boatyard Hotel. We had a late lunch that day so had dessert only whereas my friends had dinner. The restaurant was stunning and had a small music ensemble of classical Indian music. Our desserts were good and my friends said their food was excellent.
The hotel also also have an outdoor patio fish restaurant where you pick your fish and they prepare it (reservations a must and I think it may be expensive).
The hotel looked lovely. I would consider staying there. It is a CGH Earth Hotel.i have no idea how much it costs though.
We passed the Koder House and wandered in. It was the home of a prominent Jewish family that was converted into a hotel. It looked nice. Arches Hotel which I don’t think has pool facilities and is more simple (some people on this forum have stayed there) looked clean and well situated.
I am sure there are other good hotels.
Most of our hotels in the south were chosen by Indian Panorama and prices were not itemized. I think their pricing was good as the overall package seemed reasonable. I was mostly happy with the choices but in future I would ask them for what options I had or ask them why they chose a particular hotel.
My friends had lunch one day at the Pepper House Cafe which they said was delicious.

Since we wanted to get a taste of backwaters without spending alot of time on a boat we had arranged for a half day boat trip with Peter the owner of Salmon Tours.
The location is a drive from Fort Cochin (going through the traffic of Ernakulam as you do approaching Fort Cochin from Munnar) and for a fee he could arrange transportation or you can have your driver pick Peter up on the way and he directs him to the location. We a
chose the second option which worked well. The cost is per person and can include tea and snacks or lunch or a breakfast.
It is a private tour for your group which could be very small or larger. We were 4. We chose a morning time with tea and snacks. The website says 8 am start however if there is only one tour booked that day it can be later. I think our driver picked us up at 9.
Peter is a lovely man who is very knowledgeable about Kerala and provided information on
lots of topics including the education system, politics and backwater life.
You take what looks like a larger row boat which is steered by a man with a long bamboo pole. The waterway is not very crowded and with a short time we witnessed different ways people fished ( by net, rake, walking in water, etcetera).
You stop at a home and learn how twine is made from coconut and later return here to enjoy your refreshments. There is a clean washroom on site.
At one point you get off the boat on land and transfer to a narrower one where you traverse more narrow canals. Later you disembark and walk a little where Peter points out some plants and fruits that are grown.
I really enjoyed the peaceful morning and our interactions with Peter and the residents.
Being from Canada I asked Peter why he called it Salmon Tours. He said years ago when starting the company he wanted a name that Westerners would appeal to Westerners.

jft,
Thanks so much for your detailed description of the hotel, Xandari Harbour - I agree with annhig, you've definitely not sold it to me! Rather the opposite! 2 people falling out of their chairs seems to be a real sign that something might not be right! ;) But it does sound like you had a lovely time in Cochin despite a less-than-stellar hotel.

<<Being from Canada I asked Peter why he called it Salmon Tours. He said years ago when starting the company he wanted a name that .....would appeal to Westerners.>>

I love your description of your backwater tour, and especially the reason why it's called Salmon tours!