On the road again - to Incredible India.
 

It's nearly 9.00 am on January 14, and here I am sitting at our local airport awaiting a boarding call. It will be a very long day. Door to door will likely be close to 24 hours.

We'll have 22 nights on the ground in India, although 2 are in airport hotels. They're unavoidable due to flight schedules, and just one of the joys of travel, ha.

Many thanks to CaliNurse and Progol for recommending Tim at Indian Panorama. He has been a wealth of useful information and helped me to decide what to cut.

Here's the itinerary...
14 January arrive Chennai 23.50 stay at nondescript airport hotel.
15 January pick up by IP driver and drive to Pondicherry via a lunch and temple stop at Mahabalipuram. Stay at Hotel du Parc in the French quarter, 2 nights.
17 January drive to Kumbakonam stay at Paradise resort, 2 nights.
19 January drive to Tanjore, stay at Tanjore Hi, 2 nights.
21 January drive to Chettinad area, stay at Bangala in Karaikudi 2 nights.
23 January drive to Madurai, stay at JC Residency, 2 nights.
25 January drive to Periyar, stay at Wildernest resort, 1 night.
26 January drive to Pala, stay at Anna's home stay, 1 night.
27 January drive to Alleppey, stay at Emerald Isle, 3 nights.
30 January transfer to station for train ride to Cochin, stay at Arches Hotel, 2 nights.
1 February fly to Varanasi via New Delhi, stay at Ganges Palace hotel 3 nights.
4 February fly to Chennai via New Delhi, stay at airport hotel.
5 February fly to Singapore, then overnight flight home departing 22.25.

There's lots of two nighters, which we're comfortable with. We travel light (7kg each) and only unpack the necessary. We'll have a bag to shove stuff into last minute, then just jump in our car. Most of the drive times are only 2 or 3 hours. Of course there will be stops along the way, I hope to wander into a few villages a la rje.

We have a guide for a day in Tanjore/Trichy, a couple of walks booked in Madurai, and a morning boat trip on the Ganges with Varanasi Walks. Other than that nothing is set in stone. I have made copious notes while reading various trip reports here, and from other sources. The notes and LP digital edition are on an iPad mini as a go to guide.

Please chime in with suggestions or questions, especially for restaurants, sights, or if you can recommend any apps or websites I can use while on the ground.

Bon voyage to us !

Safe travels. Have a wonderful trip!

Have a great trip! Good luck with the flights.

Bon voyage! Looking forward to reading all about it.

Have a wonderful trip! I always enjoy your trip reports. And do let us know how the money issues work out for you.

Thanks for your responses. Thursdaysd, the first flight has been delayed, now leaving 11.10 rather than 9.20. It's not a bad thing really, we had seven hours to kill in Changi, so now a bit less. The other sort of bonus is they often make up delays in the air, so perhaps we get a six hour flight instead of seven. The flight that worries me most is MAD - SIN on the way home. We're booked with Air India, I thought how bad can it be ? Pretty bad for some people it seems...oh well.

Your itinerary looks fantastic, the "pace" looks perfect. You are probably on plane by now, so hope you get this "Bon Voyage" message as you break up your loonnnngggg travel day. LOL--love the name of your MAA hotel "the nondescript." (-:

IME, Tim and indeed, all Indianpanorama's ground staff are quite protective of their clients (at least, the elderly ladies like me!). If you've ANY problems/ concerns once there, do not hesitate to contact them--they respond quickly (I've had to do this twice in five trips--immediate results!) Once safely in the car with your driver, you'll receive get a nicely organized folder/packet, with your hotel/train vouchers in date order,.It will list relevant contact numbers.

Wise that you chose that Varanasi hotel--right on the walkway by the Ganges, which is THE place to be . ( I wasn't-- booked myself, didn't listen to Tim's advice about location, and regretted it.) Great idea of yours to add Varanasi.

Hotel Arches is in a perfect Fort Kochin location (just around the block from where I last stayed). Great spot for having a wander. Even if it's a bit "touristy," (big deal!) have a go, if you have time, at pulling up one of the Chinese fishing nets--you'll never look at them the same way again! Lots of tailor type shops nr hotel--easy to get inexpensive but nice top-trousers cotton sets, or mens' shirts, have them altered, and get later in the day.

I'm envious!! Looking forward to your report, of course... of places I've been and loved, and the many places on your itinerary I've yet to see. (Fingers crossed for a quickie trip this summer!)

The Bangala is world-renowned for its Chettinad cuisine. Yummy.

Re money: adear friend is in Mumbai now and has,knock wood, had NO money problems --either at ATMs (there's sufficient cash in them, and queues of only 1-3 people) or exchanging her USD currency for rupees at a good rate. The only limitation is on the amount of rupees per ATM transaction--4500 rupees, or about $85 Aussie AUD. (It is per day, but not sure if the ATM knows if you've withdrawn your daily allotment, if you try different ATM on same day.) Fingers crossed for you, and for me (I'll be there next month).

Happy, happy trails, Sartoricl!!

Looking forward to your report. Hope you have a great trip!

Its great that you are planning to visit India for longer duration..since you are going to Varanasi why not plan for Darjeeling trip which is a lovely place to visit in India..you will also get an opportunity to explore the beauty of Darjeeling..you can go via train from Varanasi junction to Darjeeling.. If you are fond of Motorbike rides then you can enjoy unique type of rides which begin from Darjeeling to Bhutan http://www.ravenbhutan.com/bhutan-to...otorbike-tours Just keep 3 to 4 days in hand while going to Darjeeling for better experience

You have great itinerary, I am looking forward to hearing about your trip as it unfolds. Good Luck !

Oh, sartoric! That looks like a fabulous trip -- you came up with an itinerary that sounds divine! You are visiting some places I had hoped to get to (and plan to get to eventually!) so I'm thrilled to know you are going and look forward to your thought when you're done.

I'm so glad you're including Varanasi -- I still consider that one of the most remarkable places we visited in India.

Have a fabulous trip!

I'm pleased to hear our plan looks good, thanks for the responses and well wishes.

Scooting to Singapore.
I like Scoot for a few reasons.

1. They are a budget airline owned by Singapore Airlines. For me, that's a reasonable assurance they maintain and fly airworthy planes, (all Boeing 787 Dreamliners for the OOL - SIN route).
2. They can be very cheap when fares are on special (OOL to MAD for USD $200).
3. They service my local (smaller than the capital city) airport, which is closer and saves a bit of time getting to the airport, and also makes it easier to cadge someone into giving us a ride.
4. They hub through Singapore - arguably Changi is the best airport in the world.

Then, there's a few things that aren't so likeable.

1. The cabin staff seem poorly trained in some areas. I won't go into the detail of today's debacle, but it took four flight attendants and their supervisor about an hour to fix their error. I did get forty five apologies, and then they still forgot to heat my food. There have been other debacles in the past. Don't even think about asking for a complimentary ice cream as compensation, it won't happen.
2. Expect extreme nickel & diming for everything - luggage, food, wifi, lounge access. I understand it's a cost/benefit thing, and that's how budget airlines offer cheaper base fares, but it's almost like they enjoy doing it. My pet peeve, is a new one. It's compulsory "Scoot Thru" if your connection in SIN is less than 8 hours, even with no checked luggage. I've made a connecting flight, different airline to check in, border control, security etc in less than 1.5 hours with luggage. They're almost stealing that $20 pp I reckon.
3. OOL doesn't have air bridges, if it's raining you get wet, and you have to climb stairs.
4. Changi is a great airport with lots of things to do to kill time, but it's also very very expensive.

So here we are in Singapore for another few hours, Saturday 14 January, a day we have christened the Scoot cascade. Our flight from Gold Coast delayed 3 hours due to late arrival, our 22.30 flight to Chennai, delayed 2 hours due to late arrival, and I heard at least 5 announcements of delayed (due to late arrival) Scoot flights while at Changi.

Our flight to Chennai was chockers, I'd estimate 80 % Indian males, a few women, 6 other westerners and us on an old 767, with pretty severe turbulence for the duration of the 3.5 hour flight. But hey, we got here, through immigration and customs and to our hotel by 2 am local time. I didn't see an ATM at the airport, mind you, I was a bit tired by then. The journey to India took 27 hours door to door, and I'm knackered.

The journey starts now !

Quite the trip getting there. But as you said, "the journey starts now!"

What an adventure, sartoric! The 'getting there' is a story all on its own!

So excited for you! I'm looking forward to following (the trip report and, eventually, the trip itself!).

Let the journey begin!

Glad to hear you made it. Hope you get a good night's sleep.

Looking forward!

Phew, what a schlep to get there. What a relief it must've been to put your he'd on the pillow at said "nondescript hotel." And how amazing that you had the energy to write about it!!
Hoping you're de-knackered by now (Monday early early a.m. in India) after your first real "on the trip" night's sleep, in--if I'm understanding the schedule correctly--Pondicherry.

oops/. put your head on pillow. lol.

What an exhausting trip!

Now relax and enjoy!

Every trip has some challenging moments, so you have already paid your dues for this trip. The rest will definitely be wonderful, and I wish you a safe trip. I'm looking forward to hearing about your impressions of Pondicherry.