Thailand & India-alive and loving it in Rajasthan
 

Hello & happy holidays to everyone who assisted us with info & knowledge re our continuing trip to Sthn Thailand & India, especially James A for In on the Beach, Karon (Phuket) recommendation. Was a great little gem! Several others have posted here and we must say the info we received was top notch.

Koh Samui was a delight. We hired a motorbike and two cars on separate days and travelled to many beaches, markets & shops. Mae Nam Beach was our favourite followed closely by Choeng Mon. Koh Seng restaurant at Mae Nam was fabulous. No other tourists, only rich Thais. Seafood as good as anywhere in the world! Two of us ate whole fish, 500g prawns, 1 plate of crabmeat fresh from the shell, for 1200 baht incl beer.

Must also report Railay Bay Resort(Railay West near Krabi) is a dump, to anyone considering staying there. So many guests, including us, complained bitterly about the quality of the accommodation, no hot water, overflowing sewerage in the grounds, poor food etc. The place is overpriced and a bad choice. Avoid it & Railay Village, imho, like the chicken flu!

Railay has become a bit of a tourist trap! Too many day trippers from Ao Nang! Ao Nang was a pleasant surprise, since our last trip, and even though the beach is still crappy, we enjoyed our night there before our flight to BKK. Lots of good restaurants and the Villa on the beach (forget the correct name) is first class! Will post correct name of this place when we retrieve our other bag from luggage storage in Bangkok.

We have laughed our way through the past week travelling to Delhi, Agra & Jaipur and would not have missed India for all the tea in China! Our Indian Airlines flight was superb. Great food and service, staff were accommodating and even moved an Indian guy from our three seat row so we could have more space! We were astounded. We expected to fly in the luggage hold & be strapped in with parachutes attached.

Anyway Agra (because of the Taj, Fatehpur Sikri & the Red Fort, not the touts) & Jaipur have been our favourites so far. Hotel Sheela (1 star) was fabulous for 400 rs and heaps of hot water. It is 50m from east gate of Taj. Up at 6 am in the dark to see the Taj by torchlight! Sun rose and gave us such a splendid view of this magic and unmissable monument to love. I cried with the beauty of it!

Shatabi Train 6am from Delhi to Agra a good way to travel. 2.50 hrs not inc fog waiting time!

RTSTC bus from near Agra Idgarh bus station to Jaipur areal hoot for 137 rs pp. Maniac driver (as per usual)- valium helped me enormously!

Agra & Jaipur are both really cool now. Temps at night & early morn of 8-9 degrees C and days around 22.

Jasvilas in Jaipur is a good choice.

Off to Rambagh Palace Hotel for Christmas brunch tomorrow. Gorgeous hotel. Wish my old man was a rich one! Car to Deogarh soon and then Ranakpur & Udaipur for a few days.

India is a great destination if you are a seasoned traveller. It requires patience, a HUGE sense of humour, not worrying about paying 100 rupees too much! Many Indians have surprised us with there great attitudes to life. I'm talking about autorickshaw drivers, taxi touts, railway staff. We're glad we chose to organise this trip ourselves, independently. We are experiencing the best and a little of the worst of India as we hoped we would!

Seasons Greetings & all the very best for 2005 from us to you all. Namaste!

Lyndie, I am happy to hear how well your holiday is going and am especially THRILLED that u are enjoying India and are able to take minor inconveniences in your stride. Glad u enjoyed the Taj - IMO it is a MUST do on a first trip to India and I am always taken aback when people find it less than overwhelming. Hope the rest of your trip is as much fun and look forward to more news.

I'm not at all surprised that you're enjoying India, Lyndie.... from previous posts, I have divined that you have a keen sense of humour, which is the very first thing to pack when you're off to India (especially Rajasthan!)and an outlook which is warm towards other people rather than demanding. You will get a chance for a full workout of both these character traits.

Glad you liked the Hotel Sheela.... we paid 500 rupees, how did you manage 400? Did you have to wake up the attendant to get out of the chained gate in time for the 6 a.m. Taj entry?

That time slot, by the way, is the only way to see the Taj..... however, I can't recall crying until I saw all the tourist buses arrive and all those school groups pour in around 8:30. They don't care how many people they pack in, do they, as long as the money rolls in!

Hope you enjoy Udaipur (I know you will!) Are you seeing Jodhpur as well? I think it is more fun than Jaipur, and we had one of the best lassis anywhere while we were in Jodhpur. But the thing about lassis, as you have probably found, is that no two places do it alike. Different textures, different flavours, different ingredients. Every one is an adventure.

But Jodhpur is where our sense of humour really came to the fore. Right near the main town square is a doctor whose surgery is open to the world... waiting room, consulting room (all the one room, actually, which is a bit bizarre all by itself; how would you feel being diagnosed and examined with four people sitting on kitchen chairs waiting for their turn?), everything in full view of the street. You have never seen anything quite like it.... it looks like Mel Brooks's version of the Cabinet of Dr Caligari. For days afterwards, every time I thought of it, I'd start giggling again. By the time we reached Jaisalmer, I couldn't remember what was real and what I'd just invented in my mind while reflecting on the horror.

Have a great Christmas, and please keep on reporting back!

>That time slot, by the way, is the only way to see the Taj..... however, I can't recall crying until I saw all the tourist buses arrive and all those school groups pour in around 8:30. They don't care how many people they pack in, do they, as long as the money rolls in!
>

LOL! I know that feeling - I remember going there on a full moon night but holy cow everyone in Agra was right there on those grounds. No romance there !!

Lyndie, Not sure if you are in an area that was hit by Tsunami/earthquake. Please post & let us know you are ok. Thoughts and prayers are with you and all affected by this devastating tragedy.

Hi fellow travellers. Lovely to hear from you guys & gals?!!!

Awoke to the news of the terrible earthquake in Sthn India and the tsunami in Sthn Thailand, this morning. No television at Deogarh and cable in Udaipur is out at the moment. We are safe and well and hoping all fodorites & everyone we've met along the way are safe and well, also. What a terrible tragedy for anyone living or visiting these areas. Thanks CFW for the good wishes and hobbes & Alan for the great responses.

I had to post re Deogarh Mahal Palace-it is so beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. Worth the diversion. The accom, food, staff etc are first class. We however, did not enjoy the drive on NH8 from Jaipur to Udaipur! The trucks and buses fight to see how many car they can force off the road! Looks like a great game if you're up above the road in a big vehicle!

My advice to anyone considering hiring a car and driver from Jaipur to Udaipur-is don't. Already planning our next visit. Will train, bus & fly more. NO MORE CAR TRIPS ON HIGHWAYS FOR ME! Nearly killed at least four times! Should be dead already!

Udaipur is a lovely little town with fab food at the Garden Hotel restaurant. Our hotel, the Sarovar, is mediocre. Planning on extending and staying at Kankarwa Haveli-glorious location & lovely rooms for around US50 per night. Anyway must run (Don't have the runs!). We are both so fit and relaxed-but have picked up bad colds from the train to Agra.

All the very best and will post more when internet access queue is not so long.