Just Returned from Northern India
 

Having recently returned from a fabulous trip to India and Bhutan, my indebtedness to fellow bloggers on this site leads me to take the time to summarize my experience for fellow travelers.

Our route: Flew San Francisco to Delhi---United and Swiss business class on miles
4 nights/3 days in Delhi
Flew to Bhutan
9 days, 8 nights in Bhutan (I’ll discuss Bhutan in a separate posting)
Flew Bhutan to Delhi
Overnight train from Delhi to Varanasi
2 nights/2 days in Varanasi
Flew to Delhi—then met by driver to begin Agra/Rajasthan journey
2 nights Agra
3 nights Jaipur
1 night Pushkar
2 nights Jodhpur
2 nights Ranakpur
3 nights Udaipur
Flew Udaipur to Mumbai, then 15 hour layover before flight Mumbai to SFO ( Lufthansa)

Rather than write a lengthy travelogue, let me jump right to recommendations:
1. Hotels we liked: ( Our challenge was to find mid-level accommodations—we had neither the money nor the inclination to stay in 5 star hotels—and nice mid-range hotels seem a bit difficult to find, but for the most part I think we succeeded). Notes that my estimates of rates related to our travels in November and December, when the rupee was trading at about 50 to the dollar ( my one financial benefit of the meltdown of the market---as the exchange rate was 25% better when we traveled than when I planned the trip)


Delhi—stayed at B-nineteen, a very nice 6 room B&B in a quiet residential neighborhood, very near Humayun’s Tomb ( we walked there, which is rare in Delhi). Staff very attentive, rooms were lovely. Had a very ample and delicious dinner one evening on the rooftop looking over the lit ruins of the tombs ( breakfast included in the rate, but they will cook dinner when requested). Owned by an Indian architect and his American wife. About $145/night.

Varanasi—Ganges View Hotel---fantastic!. Gracious and charming old home, converted to a hotel. Rooms were beautifully decorated with old furniture, opening onto a 2nd floor patio that overlooks the Ganges. Excellent location for exploring the Ghats---one can walk anywhere from this location. Excellent vegetarian Indian dinners served there. One of the highlights of our whole trip—providing a comforting contrast to the otherwise culturally challenging experience of this holy Hindu city. About $70/night.

Agra---stayed at the Garden Villa Homestay---a comfortable but simple B&B owned and run by Raj, a very lovely interesting educated man who retired from a career in organizing tours to run this place out of his home. Good food. Location-in an odd neighborhood of Agra, being converted from agriculture to housing, about 8 min drive from the Taj Mahal. Very inexpensive, pleasant. ( about $30/night)

Jaipur-Jas Vilas—very lovely hotel with pool, pleasant outdoor dining area( on our last day given cooler weather we were moved to a large and well-decorated indoor dining room) Rooms were large, clean, nicely furnished. Quiet. Reasonable rates.(about $65/night)

Pushkar—Hotel Master Paradise---nice, comfortable room, good location given easy walking distance into the main part of Pushkar, yet still a bit removed from the center of town so that it was quiet. Not particularly charming but fine. About $35/night.

Jodhpur—Here our paths diverged Travelling with another couple---and on recommendation ended up at Kuchaman Havelli, which my wife did not like ( too dark, to intensely colored, too much in the fray of the city) yet our travel companions did like it. We moved, they stayed. Kuchaman Havelli had large rooms in newly renovated old home, in the heart of old Jodhpur. Rooftop eating area with view of the city and the Meherangarh Fort. About $35/night. We moved to Ratan Vilas, another old home ( of a former Indian polo star)—quieter neighborhood, lighter décor, comfortable large(“superior”) room ( some were smaller). We liked this place---outdoor courtyeard for meals( excellent food) About $45/night. 10 minutes drive into the old city, or to the fort.

Ranakpur-Here we decided to upgrade our planned stay at the Ranakpur Hill Resort ( which looked very nice, quiet pool, but a bit simple) to a cushier stay at Fateh Bagh Hotel—elegant, restored old palace moved to this location ( 65,000 pieces) and reconstructed. Beautiful grounds with pool, attentive staff, ok food. Ranakpur is a small village near a famous Jain temple, set in a picturesque location in the hills. Very beautiful village and area, great outdoor setting. Not much to do there beyond seeing the Jain temple—but a nice respite from many days of intense touring. We loved this hotel. About $100/day, including breakfast and dinner.

Udaipur-Stayed at Jagat Niwas Palace---another palace converted to hotel, right on the edge of the lake in Udaipur, easy walking distance to everywhere. Beautiful large lakefront suite. Hotel has an excellent restaurant on the rooftop—the site for beautiful sunset views over the lake. We were very pleased with this hotel as well. About $90 for lakefront suite/night.






2. Our Driver:---we had an excellent experience with our wonderful, smart, attentive, thoughtful, and extremely responsible driver Veeru, a 25 year old married man ( he has a young daughter) from Delhi. One’s driver is a key and important part of one’s travels—and the relationship is interesting and different than we’re used to in the States. We had originally planned to work with 4-Wheel Drive Rajasthan but as our trip approached we heard about a young driver who works independently ( actually with his father)—with 2 very excellent recommendations from 2 acquaintances who had traveled with him. Based on their recommendations we called Veeru and he was immediately very helpful in making some key suggestions about changes in our itinerary ( we had tried but been unable to get 4-Wheel Rajasthan to comment in any useful way about our plans)—which led to our adding Ranakpur and Pushkar ( both of which I would strongly recommend seeing). Veeru met us at the Delhi airport, guided us around Delhi for the 3 days we were there , suggesting to us what to see, and where to eat ( very conscious of our need for proper hygiene to stay healthy). He later met us once again at the airport upon return from Bhutan, to shuttle us to the overnight train to Varanasi ( invaluable---we would have never found the correct train car without his assistance---NOT clearly marked in any way). He once again met us at the airport upon return from Varanasi—and then began a 12 day tour with us of Agra and Rajasthan. Always prompt, completely dependable, an excellent and safe driver. We trusted his judgement about what to see and do, for the most part, though of course at times we made modifications to the plan based on our own interests and level of travel fatigue. At times he had helpful suggestions about particular hotels that he had connections with ( through his and his father’s prior travel experience)Veeru takes his driving profession very seriously---and his efforts helped to make our journey enjoyable, safe and enjoyable. His name—Virender Kumar ( “Veeru”_) with email: [email protected].

3. The Cities: We either liked or loved all of the sites we saw, but as the our travels progressed the 4 of us traveling together all felt that we had too much time in large cities. (Delhi, Varanasi, Jaipur, Jodhpur). The large or mid-sized cities in Northern India ( at least these cities that we saw) have interesting sights, but the cities themselves can be unattractive, or highly polluted with bad air, crowded and intensely busy. String them all together, as we were doing, and one comes to crave a bit of open space in a pretty setting, or even the sighting of blue sky. So we were greatly pleased to get to Pushkar, a small town with a lovely setting that had some physical beauty, and to Ranakpur, a charming village also with a scenic setting amongst some beautiful hills. And then Udaipur is also very beautiful. Our recommendation is that travelers make sure to include the smaller towns in the itinerary—which might include Mt. Abu, or even Jaisalmer. On retrospect we might have skipped Jaipur as the least interesting of the large Rajasthan cities.
4. Other impressions of the cities we saw:

Delhi—large, crowded, not particularly beautiful, but with very interesting sights to see—Humayun’s Tomb, the National Museum, the India Gate, the Raj Ghat ( site of Gandhi’s cremation), and the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid ( largest mosque in India), and the Qtub Minar complex near the city ( beautiful and impressive huge tower built in the 16th century, surrounded by ruins. All wonderful.

Varanasi—Definitely a high-point of our trip. A fascinating Hindu holy city. The four of us had intense and varying reactions to our 2 days there—from repulsion to exhiliration. I was enthralled by the exotic sights and experiences as we walked the ghats along the Ganges---but also weary of the intensity of the experience ( the masses, beggars, crowds, animals, cow-dung) after 2 days of activity. And being driven around Varanasi ( and to the airport) was the most harrowing of our India driving experiences).

Agra---the Taj Mahal surpassed all expectations---which I think is quite remarkable given how much we all have the image of the Taj burned into our travel subconscious mind. Highly recommend checking out the Taj also from across the river ( the back side) at sunset. We liked the Red Fort of Agra also. But we felt that Agra had little else to offer.

Jaipur---the Pink City. Interesting old area of the city with bazaars and the City Palace ( still home to the Maharajah). And the Amber Fort—which was one of the only sites we saw with active restoration work. Interesting to see Jai Singh’s 18th Century observatory ( giant structures built to track the motion of various heavenly bodies including the world’s largest sundial). My one regret of the trip—not taking the elephant ride up to the Amber Fort---we passed on this thinking we’d have another opportunity to ride an elephant---but never did. Sure, hokey tourist experience----but in retrospect a hokey tourist experience I would have liked to have. Of the 3 cities we saw in Rajasthan ( Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur) this was the least interesting. Though we were told shopping would be best in Jaipur, we preferred Udaipur for shopping for most items

Jodhpur_--the Meherangarh Fort is beautiful and impressive—and there is an excellent audio tour. Great sights of the Blue City ( though the blue areas are diminishing over time, as more modern familes want to paint there buildings other colors, so we understand). The old city area is also colorful, interesting ( we walked down from the Fort into the city)—but overwhelming in spots with crowds, tuk-tuks, horse-drawn carts, motorcycles, all spewing diesel fumes. ( well the horses didn’t actually spew diesel fumes).

Pushkar—a holy Hindu town around a small picturesque lake. Interesting and beautiful to see---especially at sunset, sunrise. A busy street around the lake with shops, stalls, food vendors—with wedding parades passing by periodically. Seems to be a hang-out for young foreign travelers from all over the world—some coming to stay for months to study in Ashrams, to learn ayurvedic healing. Hindu temples also worth seeing including one of the few Hindu temples in the world devoted to Brahma. We all loved our one day and night there—thinking that another day would have been good.

Ranakpur-As I’ve said, a charming small village notable for the Jain Temple built at the base of some lovely hills. The Jain temple is spectacular and tranquil. The hills around are beautiful, scenic, calming. Clean air and blue skies. A good place to do some walking . ( had we had more time we might have taken a day-long trek to another temple site).

Udaipur—described by some as “the Venice of India”---for its siting around a series of lakes, with lakeside palaces abounding ( most of which have been turned into hotels). Meandering narrow streets back from the lake, towards the City Palace. Good place for shopping for all sorts of Indian goods. Friendly to tourists. Excellent food in a number of rooftop restaurants perched over the lake. We were travel fatigued here in our last stop----thus missed some of the sites around the city. But 2 of us took a cooking class through The Spice Box---a small spice shop in town---fun, low key, authentic food, and a teacher who took his role very seriously.

thanks for the review

Thanks for the report. Useful list of hotels - the Taj and the Oberoi aren't in my price range either! - and interesting reactions. Varanasi was one of the high points of India for me, but I agree India can be overwhelming at times.

I'm planning a similar trip (Bhutan via Delhi plus Agra and maybe one or two other places) so I'm finding your report very interesting and useful.

Thank you - great to hear about some of the mid price hotels and what you liked - the 5 star all sound wonderful but well probably too expensive for me! Great easy read report.

Thanks for that great report. I will be visiting India in late Feb/early March in many of the same places.
I too had singled out Jagat Niwas Palace for a nice meal in the terrace restaurant while in Udaipur - glad you liked the food.
Does one need a reservation in advance (we will not be staying there)?

jgr22,
I just sent Veeru an e mail at the address you gave above - it was returned as undeliverable.
Is there something missing from the e mail address you posted?
Thanks.

Hello Paulchili:

I don't think one needs a reservation for dinner this far in advance--while we were there, we got reservations early in the day for good dinner seats. We also had a very lovely dinner at a restaurant called Ambrai, not on a rooftop, but on a lakeside patio. Regarding the email address, an alternate email address is:[email protected]
Let me know if you have other questions---and travel safely!

jgr22,
Thanks for the reply - I will try the new e mail address.
I meant a same day reservation for the restaurant would be OK?
Thanks again,
Paul (fellow Bay Area resident)

Thank you for the report. We may be going back to India next fall/winter and I would like to go to Bhutan as well. How is the VISA process for that country? I think it used to be a bit restricted. Thank you.

Great report - thanks for sharing.

We're going to Bhutan and India with OAT. We are told to have, I think, $45 each to give to the guide when we arrive and the visas will be taken care of by the guide. Not sure if this is planned ahead of time when we booked. Sort of makes sense that it was and that paying the fee is just a fomality.

Thank you stainless. Do you know if the proceedure is the same if you fly in on your own? I would think, as air to Bhutan is through Druk air only (AFAIK) that one would have the VISA taken care of by the airline. Any ideas on this? Thank you. Larry :-)

"Do you know if the proceedure is the same if you fly in on your own?" - if you are thinking of traveling to Bhutan independently you need to rethink. You have to have a driver, a guide, and an itinerary, arranged ahead of time, even if you are only one person. You won't get plane tickets otherwise, and unless things have changed you have to either arrive or leave by plane.

Thank you. Do you know how one goes about doing this? I would think you would have to contact some sort of "official" agent for this purpose. Can it be done thru Druk air?

Do a search here on Bhutan (make sure you read dogster's lament). You need a tour, either a "proper" tour with an outfit like Geo Ex, or a customized tour arranged by a FIT operator or through a Bhutanese agency. See www.tourism.gov.bt, also take a look at the Lonely Planet guidebook.

Hi Jacketwatch:


I haven't posted my Bhutan suggestions yet---but I'll weight in briefly here. You can only travel in Bhutan with travel arranged through a Bhutanese travel agent, who will arrange guide and driver and visa and flights in and out. We worked with a lovely, bright, interesting and attentive travel agent named Kencho Dorjee, with Snow White Tours ( which we picked after reading the postings here on the Fodor's site). I highly recommend her travel services---you can find out more at her website:

http://www.snowwhitetours.com.bt/

If you use a US travel agent, they then have to make their plans through a Bhutan agent, thus you're paying for 2 agents--not necessary.

Let me know if you have other questions....

JGR22

Thank you. Thats the info I needed. :-)

A sophisticated, worldly and extremely cashed-up tourist might choose to log on here:

www.amanresorts.com/amankora/home.aspx

They might find that visas, documents, huge government daily taxes, accomodation, grovel and services are all dealt with amazingly smoothly, without having to resort to research or effort of any kind. Which might suit.

A second, marginally less expensive and highly recommended one stop option is this:

www.uma.como.bz/paro/default.asp

Frankly, if I had my Bhutan days again, I'd do it this way, cut to the chase and reduce the risk.

Yup, it costs mega-bucks. If you've got 'em, do it this way. They will deliver the Bhutan you want.

jacketwatch,
I will be in Bhutan this April, so I cannot give you a first hand experience yet, but my e mail dealings with Tibet Travels and Tours (with Kalden Norbu) have been excellent (the proof is in the pudding though, as dogster knows).
You can check them out at:
http://www.tibet-travels.com/bhutan-...utan-tours.php
and see how they compare with snowhite tours.

Hmmm. Is one restricted to what the driver says you can see or go to or can you go pretty much whereever you like to go?

You would have to ask them directly, but I suspect you can go anywhere you want (probably for a price).

jacket, if you're serious about going to Bhutan you really do need to do some basic research. Start with the Government tourist policy. Go to the links up above. Are you aware there is a Government tax of $250 a day while you're in Bhutan?

For that you'll get a guide who may or may not be good, very ordinary hotels and mediocre food, or kinda O.K. hotels and terrible food - or you'll pay an EXTRA $250 - $1000 a day for premium accomodation, great guide and great food. Your choice.

$1250 or $250 a day, you'll still see the same dzongs, the same hills, the same stuff as every other tourist has ever seen. It's a circuit. You won't break out of it. Not for a minute. They don't want you to.

Hi Jacketwatch---I have to state I disagree with dogster's assessment ( and in fact he is just plain wrong on costs) for travel to Bhutan. The government taxes travel heavily--using funds to support infrastructure, and development for the country. The tax is NOT $250 daily. However the government sets a travel fee that travel agents charge---which IS $250 daily per person--( it was 200, we understand it has just been raised to $250)---which then is the charge you pay that includes all services---food, hotel, guide and driver. We took such a tour for 9 days--had a great driver and guide, enjoyed nice to excellent hotels, and the food was spotty. The country is quite beautiful, spiritual and interesting---as there is a palpable tension between the desire for modernization and developement, and the desire to preserve a traditional way of life and an economy that is largely working well. The Bhutanese are a proud people--and it is enlightening to see a benevolent monarchy working well ( the the 4th King instituted a parliament and elections as power is now shifting towards democratic rule).

Jacketwatch:

To further clarify---of the $250 daily fee, we are told that something like 40-60 % does go as tax to the government( we were told different figures by varying people)---but the rest covers your expenses.

Tax or travel fee: forgive my misnomer - it's still $250 a day. So where am I 'just plain wrong on costs'?

And yup, you might have a perfectly fine trip for that. And you might not. You might have a good hotel for that - and you might not. Of the 750 licenced tourist guides you might get a good one - you might not. Which part of my assessment do you disagree with?

I think Dogster was correct.

You can pay the minimum $250 a day and get what they give you...maybe good, maybe not.

0r you can pay more for a premium trip- anywhere from $250-$1000 /day more- and get better.

Thanks for the replies. Its 0545 here and I'm off to work but I will do my homework. Thas why I am asking here but of course there is alot more to do. I like being prepared. I am serious about Bhutan. Later. Larry :-)

Thanks for the great report, jgr22 - loved the format.
The hotel reviews + driver info will be helpful sometime in the (hopefully not too far off) future.

Looking forward to your Bhutan report. Friends going to Bhutan in April for 30 days!! Concerned about "comfort level" of off-the-track plces. What was your experience?

Elainee:

I haven't yet had the opportunity to post on the Bhutan site. Do you mean off-track to be Bhutan in general, or off-track in unusual and more removed places in Bhutan itself?

We were in the most tourist traveled areas of Bhutan ( central western part of the country). Comfort level was good to excellent even in the normal tourist level hotels available through the standard tourist travel rate. Our hotel in Thimpu ( Hotel Pedling) was ok, clean enough, but very hard beds. Stayed in a lovely hotel in Punakha Valley area ( Meripuensam Resort)--older rooms were fairly simple, clean comfortable but some newer rooms were beautiful with large windows overlooking the valley. Then in the Phobjikha Valley, a lovely lodge overlooking the valley--beautiful site, nice rooms with wood burning stoves ( cold at night) very cozy and comfortable-) the name escapes me at the moment. Back in Paro stayed at the Hotel Rinchenling, again simple but comfortable ( and great Indian food). Food in general was mediocre--not the reason to see Bhutan. the people were universally lovely.

30 days in Bhutan sound like a long time to me. But I have never been there even tho it is near the top of my "to do" list. I think most tourists to Bhutan do not stay so long so these friends will go beyond the usual tourist sights. Glad your accomodations were so comfortable.

30 days in Bhutan sounds like a long time to me, too, unless they're doing a long hike. I found the country very interesting, but also very homogeneous - not a lot of variety. I was there for two weeks, and if I hadn't been to a couple of festivals I think I'd have been ready to leave earlier.

Great TR, jgr. Lovethe details you provided. Thank you