Trip Report - Six Week Journey
Mar 9th, 2011, 03:47 AM
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Trip Report - Six Week Journey
This is the second (and final) report on 6-week post-retirement trip by two 60-something pals about which I sought, and received, helpful advice from this forum.
Part One (previously posted)
- Arrived Delhi with airport pick-up arranged from Palace Heights Hotel. Changed money at State Bank of India. No issues at all.
- Palace Heights Hotel -- Not the Imperial or whatever, but entirely civilized & good choice assuming you (1) want to stay in the Connaught Place area and (2) don't care about having a view. Rooms comfortable, quiet and clean. Wifi. Staff helpful.
- Had dinner our first night at Karim's in Old Delhi; no question that we had arrived in India! If you don't want to go too far, the Embassy restaurant, right next door to the hotel, was also quite good. We were told later by an Indian guy that at one time it was THE place to go for dinner in Delhi. Maybe so, but must've been some time ago.
- Easily got local SIM card from Vodaphone for my unlocked GSM cell phone. As discussed elsewhere on this forum, you need to provide passport copy, photos and local address/reference, but the hotel should suffice for this. Works like a charm for local calls and also international. Can top up anywhere. Of course, nothing beats skype for calling home when wifi available.
- Overnight train from Delhi to Varanasi. 1AC, booked in advance via Cleartrip. Rather a relief when our names and berth assignments, which weren't on the Cleartrip e-ticket, were posted right where they were supposed to be on the train. Glad we scoped out the New Delhi railway station in advance to avoid the scam referenced on this forum whereby rickshaw drivers take you to some sort of ticket office vs to the station itself.
- Varanasi - stayed at Hotel Haifa near Assi Ghat. Step down in price (Rs 1500 vs I think 6800) and quality from Palace Heights, but basically fine for what it is. Stayed three nights. Absolutely agree that it's better to stay near the river than in the Cantonment area, as it is a nightmare to get back & forth, at least during rush hour, which so far as I can tell seems to be endless. Went out to Sarnath. Guess it's worth it as something to do but unless you are into Buddhist stuff I suspect your life would not be incomplete if you gave it a pass. If you do go, strongly suggest taking a car, not a rickshaw. Traffic insane. The Monkey Temple, meanwhile, was kind of cool -- and right in town.
- Flew (Jet Airways ) to Calcutta (also booked previously on Cleartrip). Stayed at Astor Hotel. Good location and all amenities, but one might be wise to request a room with a view out the front rather than get stuck in a dark one. Probably would have switched to Fairlawns just for the atmosphere but they were booked. Did a little "Calcutta Walks" tour around Dalhousie Square which was interesting but given what things cost in India seemed a tad expensive (Rs 1500 per person) for a walk around the block. Calcutta is as fascinating as I remember from my last trip 15 years ago, and with a fairly low hassle factor. The little ferry from Babughat to Howrah is an easy way to get a river view.
- Paid the price for not making arrangements in advance in that we were unable to find good last-minute plane/train availability from Calcutta to Madurai via Chennai as originally envisioned, so we abandoned that idea and found a flight on Indigo to Kochi via Mumbai. Stayed at Bernard's Homestay in Ft. Kochi. Agreeable in all respects. Seems to be a wide variety of equally nice places all around. Ft. Kochi pretty relaxed and a nice respite from the Delhi/Varanasi/Calcutta craziness. First rate meals at Dal Roti and can't beat Old Harbor Hotel for lunch or drinks. Did half-day backwater cruise which is available all over town. Boat ride is nice, but probably not worth the hour-long ride in nasty traffic to get there if you're going to be heading further south anyway, where I gather backwater boat trips are readily findable.
- Did 2-night trip from Kochi to Munnar. Arranged car and driver through guest
house. Wise decision vs taking bus. Stayed at High Range Club and very glad we did. Truly an experience - a real throwback to Raj days. Went up to Top Station for views and also did the four-hour tea plantation "trek" arranged through the Tourist office in Old Munnar. Very rewarding and a bargain to boot. Munnar area boasts relative tranquility, clear blue skies, bright yellow sun, cool crisp air. A little different from, say, Delhi!
Part Two
- Back to Ft. Kochi for a day before heading further south. Caught train from Ernakalum to Alleppey. Train was fun though bus reportedly faster. A few days earlier we had run into a rumpled but seemingly knowledgable old Brit who recommended a place in the backwaters near Ambalapura, a town maybe 15 kilometers from Allepey itself. We followed his advice and despite some apprehension as the rickshaw chugged further and further away from the railway station & civilization (as it were), we could not have been more pleased we did. Wound up at a homestay called "Riverside Retreat." Right on a lush canal, walking paths to little village and big temple, local canoes & posh houseboats passing by, timeless backwaters life going on all around. Sorely tempted not to leave. Ever.
- Moved on to Alleppey for a couple of days. Stayed at Sona Guest House, within walking distance of downtown. Allepey not much except that it's so easy to hire little boats on the spot for various trips into the surrounding waterways.
- From Alleppey, took the local ferry to Kottayam, then train to Varkala. Word to the wise: if you do this, double check that the train from Kottayam actually stops at Varkala, rather than going straight through to Trivandrum. Nothing that can't be rectified by doubling back, but for us it was a long, steamy hour crammed in 2nd class. Good news is we had a spot standing near an open door. Bad news is the spot was also near the toilet.
- Killed a few days at Varkala. Sun, swimming, and fresh fish for every meal. Cliff-top strip unpleasantly chock-a-block with tourist restaurants, Nepalese & Tibetan junk shops, etc.. But walk a few hundred yards and that stuff recedes quickly to be replaced by real fishing settlements and an endless, relatively empty, palm-fringed beach. Post card stuff. Vaguely reminiscent of Kovalam 30 years ago. But given that a tropical beach holiday wasn't a big priority for this trip, we probably could've skipped Varkala and spent more time in grittier India.
- Flew from Trivandrum for a stopover in Mumbai. I gather we were lucky to be able to get a room in Bentley's Hotel in Colaba. A little on the shabby side (OK, a lot on the shabby side) but this was more than offset by the experience of actually "living" inside one of those crumbling Victorian structures that seem so atmospheric when viewed from the street. If you are a city person, Mumbai is one where you could spend considerable time and not exhaust the possibilities of things to see and do; if you are an Art Deco fan, you will be entranced. Miami Beach has nothing over this place. We did take the unfortunately yet accurately labeled "slum tour" organized by Reality Tours (written up in various guide books). Highly worthwhile experience. By no means exploitive or voyeuristic. Afterwards, popped over to the rooftop bar at the Intercontinental Hotel on Marine Drive to catch the sunset. Will take a while to sort out the contrasts of that particular day.
- Another Jet Airways flight, this time to Jodphur to begin a Rajasthan swing, the final leg of our journey. Can't understand why Jodphur gets short shrift in travel literature; it has a lot going for it, albeit nuanced. The must-see places like Merangheh Fort and the Umaid Bhawan Palace surely are must-see, especially the fort, but to us the beauty of the place lies in the streets of the old city & buzz of the market area. Maybe not as in-your-face intense as Varanasi, but still replete with the full India kaleidoscope, plus dramatic views of the fort from around every corner. Low to nonexistent hassle factor. Guest house (Yogi's) was terrific; really felt like we were in the middle of things. Which in fact we were.
- Did two-day side trip to Jaisalmer. Well worth doing. Early morning train from Jodphur was easy to book at the last-minute, took maybe four hours, and was fairly empty in Sleeper Class. Despite some misgivings, we disregarded environmental concerns and stayed inside the fort. I am embarrassed to report that I am happy we did. Unforgettable experience. Real life in the fort, especially in the early morning & evening, fascinating to watch as it takes place against a backdrop of magnificent old sandstone buildings and captivating vistas. Commercialization nowhere near as bad as I had thought based on guidebooks. Skipped the whole camel trek bit after seeing a few safaris pull in. Couldn't tell who looked more miserable - the poor camels, or the Westerners riding them. We did take an afternoon jeep trek out into the desert, presumably to watch the sunset over the sand dunes. Except for the fact that we now know what the world looks like 50 kilometers out of Jaisalmer, it was a waste of time and money. Desert was like a boring part of Nevada, and the dunes were pathetic. Maybe a multi-day excursion would get into some interesting scenery but for a few hours it wasn't Beau Geste.
- Bus back to Jodphur for another day. Let's just say not the most comfortable travel experience. And we, unlike many of of fellow passengers, had actual seats. A true slice of Rajasthan, though.
- Opted for car & driver to take us to Pushkar. Great ride through back roads. Pushkar seems like Mecca, so to speak, for young Israeli (and other) hippie-types. Beyond laid-back. Felt like the 60s. Beyond that scene, the magic of the place is undeniable, especially if you avoid the main market street. But like many other places in India, all you need to do is walk a few yards and it gets pretty real, pretty fast.
- On to Jaipur. Certainly a different order of magnitude from the other Rajasthan spots we hit but still India and thus still a hodgepodge of contrasts and assaults on the senses, even if playing out in context of a relatively prosperous & modern (for India) urban environment. Umaid Bhawan hotel probably the best hotel of the trip, and Niro's restaurant, where we ate twice, a strong candidate for the best restaurant food. Lunch at LMB in the bazaar, drinks at Rambagh Palace, with the Hawa Mahal in between, made for a good afternoon. Amber Fort, which I inexplicably missed on my two prior visits to Jaipur over the years, deserves all the hype it gets.
- Train to Delhi, from where I am posting this. A couple of days at the Marriott in Gurgaon (nice pool, nice gym, nice transition to the real (?) world!) and then home.
Observations
- This trip more than exceeded our expectations. Six weeks seemed like a long time when we planned it but turned out to be barely enough to scratch the surface. All in all, we found independent, adult travel at a reasonably comfortable level (not extravagant but not rock-bottom either) to be more manageable than I had assumed. Clearly, though, India ain't Switzerland, and unless you insulate yourself in a 5-star tourist cocoon, independent travel here has its share of challenges as well as rewards.
- From our limited experience, warnings about hordes of seamy scam artists, overly aggressive touts and myriad rip-offs seemed a little overblown. The Indians with whom we came into contact were invariably helpful, courteous and friendly. And they like Americans! Never felt threatened. At the same time there's no shortage of characters looking to separate you from your money, getting from one place to another can be complicated, and everything takes more time than you might imagine. Standard third world street smarts are required at all times. No more. But no less.
- Overall, and this is hardly a novel observation, India is a study in extremes. It's stimulating in all ways, jarring in a lot, weird in many, grim in some. The ongoing sensory bombardment of sights, sounds, smells, crowds, colors, animals, children, images and realities takes a while to get used to. And the pollution is no fun. But we found that if you're able somehow to look beyond the chaos and the poverty, it's possible to see why so many travelers are drawn back here again and again. Of course, being able to look beyond chaos & poverty is neither an attribute nor easy and, for some, probably impossible. Whether you have the ability, or the desire, to suspend certain sensitivities is a question that might wisely be asked by anyone contemplating a visit to this place that so defies easy categorization. For us, for better or worse, we managed to do so, and believe we came away with a more interesting experience as a result. In any event, whatever adjectives we wind up using to describe our India adventure, "boring" isn't likely to be one of them.
Thanks to all on this forum who provided advice.
Part One (previously posted)
- Arrived Delhi with airport pick-up arranged from Palace Heights Hotel. Changed money at State Bank of India. No issues at all.
- Palace Heights Hotel -- Not the Imperial or whatever, but entirely civilized & good choice assuming you (1) want to stay in the Connaught Place area and (2) don't care about having a view. Rooms comfortable, quiet and clean. Wifi. Staff helpful.
- Had dinner our first night at Karim's in Old Delhi; no question that we had arrived in India! If you don't want to go too far, the Embassy restaurant, right next door to the hotel, was also quite good. We were told later by an Indian guy that at one time it was THE place to go for dinner in Delhi. Maybe so, but must've been some time ago.
- Easily got local SIM card from Vodaphone for my unlocked GSM cell phone. As discussed elsewhere on this forum, you need to provide passport copy, photos and local address/reference, but the hotel should suffice for this. Works like a charm for local calls and also international. Can top up anywhere. Of course, nothing beats skype for calling home when wifi available.
- Overnight train from Delhi to Varanasi. 1AC, booked in advance via Cleartrip. Rather a relief when our names and berth assignments, which weren't on the Cleartrip e-ticket, were posted right where they were supposed to be on the train. Glad we scoped out the New Delhi railway station in advance to avoid the scam referenced on this forum whereby rickshaw drivers take you to some sort of ticket office vs to the station itself.
- Varanasi - stayed at Hotel Haifa near Assi Ghat. Step down in price (Rs 1500 vs I think 6800) and quality from Palace Heights, but basically fine for what it is. Stayed three nights. Absolutely agree that it's better to stay near the river than in the Cantonment area, as it is a nightmare to get back & forth, at least during rush hour, which so far as I can tell seems to be endless. Went out to Sarnath. Guess it's worth it as something to do but unless you are into Buddhist stuff I suspect your life would not be incomplete if you gave it a pass. If you do go, strongly suggest taking a car, not a rickshaw. Traffic insane. The Monkey Temple, meanwhile, was kind of cool -- and right in town.
- Flew (Jet Airways ) to Calcutta (also booked previously on Cleartrip). Stayed at Astor Hotel. Good location and all amenities, but one might be wise to request a room with a view out the front rather than get stuck in a dark one. Probably would have switched to Fairlawns just for the atmosphere but they were booked. Did a little "Calcutta Walks" tour around Dalhousie Square which was interesting but given what things cost in India seemed a tad expensive (Rs 1500 per person) for a walk around the block. Calcutta is as fascinating as I remember from my last trip 15 years ago, and with a fairly low hassle factor. The little ferry from Babughat to Howrah is an easy way to get a river view.
- Paid the price for not making arrangements in advance in that we were unable to find good last-minute plane/train availability from Calcutta to Madurai via Chennai as originally envisioned, so we abandoned that idea and found a flight on Indigo to Kochi via Mumbai. Stayed at Bernard's Homestay in Ft. Kochi. Agreeable in all respects. Seems to be a wide variety of equally nice places all around. Ft. Kochi pretty relaxed and a nice respite from the Delhi/Varanasi/Calcutta craziness. First rate meals at Dal Roti and can't beat Old Harbor Hotel for lunch or drinks. Did half-day backwater cruise which is available all over town. Boat ride is nice, but probably not worth the hour-long ride in nasty traffic to get there if you're going to be heading further south anyway, where I gather backwater boat trips are readily findable.
- Did 2-night trip from Kochi to Munnar. Arranged car and driver through guest
house. Wise decision vs taking bus. Stayed at High Range Club and very glad we did. Truly an experience - a real throwback to Raj days. Went up to Top Station for views and also did the four-hour tea plantation "trek" arranged through the Tourist office in Old Munnar. Very rewarding and a bargain to boot. Munnar area boasts relative tranquility, clear blue skies, bright yellow sun, cool crisp air. A little different from, say, Delhi!
Part Two
- Back to Ft. Kochi for a day before heading further south. Caught train from Ernakalum to Alleppey. Train was fun though bus reportedly faster. A few days earlier we had run into a rumpled but seemingly knowledgable old Brit who recommended a place in the backwaters near Ambalapura, a town maybe 15 kilometers from Allepey itself. We followed his advice and despite some apprehension as the rickshaw chugged further and further away from the railway station & civilization (as it were), we could not have been more pleased we did. Wound up at a homestay called "Riverside Retreat." Right on a lush canal, walking paths to little village and big temple, local canoes & posh houseboats passing by, timeless backwaters life going on all around. Sorely tempted not to leave. Ever.
- Moved on to Alleppey for a couple of days. Stayed at Sona Guest House, within walking distance of downtown. Allepey not much except that it's so easy to hire little boats on the spot for various trips into the surrounding waterways.
- From Alleppey, took the local ferry to Kottayam, then train to Varkala. Word to the wise: if you do this, double check that the train from Kottayam actually stops at Varkala, rather than going straight through to Trivandrum. Nothing that can't be rectified by doubling back, but for us it was a long, steamy hour crammed in 2nd class. Good news is we had a spot standing near an open door. Bad news is the spot was also near the toilet.
- Killed a few days at Varkala. Sun, swimming, and fresh fish for every meal. Cliff-top strip unpleasantly chock-a-block with tourist restaurants, Nepalese & Tibetan junk shops, etc.. But walk a few hundred yards and that stuff recedes quickly to be replaced by real fishing settlements and an endless, relatively empty, palm-fringed beach. Post card stuff. Vaguely reminiscent of Kovalam 30 years ago. But given that a tropical beach holiday wasn't a big priority for this trip, we probably could've skipped Varkala and spent more time in grittier India.
- Flew from Trivandrum for a stopover in Mumbai. I gather we were lucky to be able to get a room in Bentley's Hotel in Colaba. A little on the shabby side (OK, a lot on the shabby side) but this was more than offset by the experience of actually "living" inside one of those crumbling Victorian structures that seem so atmospheric when viewed from the street. If you are a city person, Mumbai is one where you could spend considerable time and not exhaust the possibilities of things to see and do; if you are an Art Deco fan, you will be entranced. Miami Beach has nothing over this place. We did take the unfortunately yet accurately labeled "slum tour" organized by Reality Tours (written up in various guide books). Highly worthwhile experience. By no means exploitive or voyeuristic. Afterwards, popped over to the rooftop bar at the Intercontinental Hotel on Marine Drive to catch the sunset. Will take a while to sort out the contrasts of that particular day.
- Another Jet Airways flight, this time to Jodphur to begin a Rajasthan swing, the final leg of our journey. Can't understand why Jodphur gets short shrift in travel literature; it has a lot going for it, albeit nuanced. The must-see places like Merangheh Fort and the Umaid Bhawan Palace surely are must-see, especially the fort, but to us the beauty of the place lies in the streets of the old city & buzz of the market area. Maybe not as in-your-face intense as Varanasi, but still replete with the full India kaleidoscope, plus dramatic views of the fort from around every corner. Low to nonexistent hassle factor. Guest house (Yogi's) was terrific; really felt like we were in the middle of things. Which in fact we were.
- Did two-day side trip to Jaisalmer. Well worth doing. Early morning train from Jodphur was easy to book at the last-minute, took maybe four hours, and was fairly empty in Sleeper Class. Despite some misgivings, we disregarded environmental concerns and stayed inside the fort. I am embarrassed to report that I am happy we did. Unforgettable experience. Real life in the fort, especially in the early morning & evening, fascinating to watch as it takes place against a backdrop of magnificent old sandstone buildings and captivating vistas. Commercialization nowhere near as bad as I had thought based on guidebooks. Skipped the whole camel trek bit after seeing a few safaris pull in. Couldn't tell who looked more miserable - the poor camels, or the Westerners riding them. We did take an afternoon jeep trek out into the desert, presumably to watch the sunset over the sand dunes. Except for the fact that we now know what the world looks like 50 kilometers out of Jaisalmer, it was a waste of time and money. Desert was like a boring part of Nevada, and the dunes were pathetic. Maybe a multi-day excursion would get into some interesting scenery but for a few hours it wasn't Beau Geste.
- Bus back to Jodphur for another day. Let's just say not the most comfortable travel experience. And we, unlike many of of fellow passengers, had actual seats. A true slice of Rajasthan, though.
- Opted for car & driver to take us to Pushkar. Great ride through back roads. Pushkar seems like Mecca, so to speak, for young Israeli (and other) hippie-types. Beyond laid-back. Felt like the 60s. Beyond that scene, the magic of the place is undeniable, especially if you avoid the main market street. But like many other places in India, all you need to do is walk a few yards and it gets pretty real, pretty fast.
- On to Jaipur. Certainly a different order of magnitude from the other Rajasthan spots we hit but still India and thus still a hodgepodge of contrasts and assaults on the senses, even if playing out in context of a relatively prosperous & modern (for India) urban environment. Umaid Bhawan hotel probably the best hotel of the trip, and Niro's restaurant, where we ate twice, a strong candidate for the best restaurant food. Lunch at LMB in the bazaar, drinks at Rambagh Palace, with the Hawa Mahal in between, made for a good afternoon. Amber Fort, which I inexplicably missed on my two prior visits to Jaipur over the years, deserves all the hype it gets.
- Train to Delhi, from where I am posting this. A couple of days at the Marriott in Gurgaon (nice pool, nice gym, nice transition to the real (?) world!) and then home.
Observations
- This trip more than exceeded our expectations. Six weeks seemed like a long time when we planned it but turned out to be barely enough to scratch the surface. All in all, we found independent, adult travel at a reasonably comfortable level (not extravagant but not rock-bottom either) to be more manageable than I had assumed. Clearly, though, India ain't Switzerland, and unless you insulate yourself in a 5-star tourist cocoon, independent travel here has its share of challenges as well as rewards.
- From our limited experience, warnings about hordes of seamy scam artists, overly aggressive touts and myriad rip-offs seemed a little overblown. The Indians with whom we came into contact were invariably helpful, courteous and friendly. And they like Americans! Never felt threatened. At the same time there's no shortage of characters looking to separate you from your money, getting from one place to another can be complicated, and everything takes more time than you might imagine. Standard third world street smarts are required at all times. No more. But no less.
- Overall, and this is hardly a novel observation, India is a study in extremes. It's stimulating in all ways, jarring in a lot, weird in many, grim in some. The ongoing sensory bombardment of sights, sounds, smells, crowds, colors, animals, children, images and realities takes a while to get used to. And the pollution is no fun. But we found that if you're able somehow to look beyond the chaos and the poverty, it's possible to see why so many travelers are drawn back here again and again. Of course, being able to look beyond chaos & poverty is neither an attribute nor easy and, for some, probably impossible. Whether you have the ability, or the desire, to suspend certain sensitivities is a question that might wisely be asked by anyone contemplating a visit to this place that so defies easy categorization. For us, for better or worse, we managed to do so, and believe we came away with a more interesting experience as a result. In any event, whatever adjectives we wind up using to describe our India adventure, "boring" isn't likely to be one of them.
Thanks to all on this forum who provided advice.
Mar 11th, 2011, 07:58 PM
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Fantastic report, BRK.
Fantastic mixture of a trip! Good to read reports from travelers who enjoy "roughing it" a bit in the off-the-beaten path places. Interesting--Riverside Retreat hoestay is highly rec by one of the Aussies on Indiamike, says it is on the most beautiful stretches of the backwaters.
WHERE did you stay inside the Jaiselmer fort? Did i miss that? There are several guesthouses there.
Glad you got to eat at Dal Roti in Ft Kochi. YUMMY!!!!!!
Fantastic mixture of a trip! Good to read reports from travelers who enjoy "roughing it" a bit in the off-the-beaten path places. Interesting--Riverside Retreat hoestay is highly rec by one of the Aussies on Indiamike, says it is on the most beautiful stretches of the backwaters.
WHERE did you stay inside the Jaiselmer fort? Did i miss that? There are several guesthouses there.
Glad you got to eat at Dal Roti in Ft Kochi. YUMMY!!!!!!
Mar 12th, 2011, 03:15 AM
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CaliNurse: Thanks for your nice comments. Stayed at Moti Palace in Jaisalmer fort. Room was 600 rupees but with million-dollar view. And yup, absolutely ate at Dal Roti in Ft Kochi. Several times!
Mar 14th, 2011, 01:38 PM
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Reading your report brought back India I saw, felt and smelled a few years ago 
And yes, I also felt Jodhpur was delightful. Thanks for a concisely written report - just the right amount of detail. What's the best thing about Calcutta? What not to miss?
And yes, I also felt Jodhpur was delightful. Thanks for a concisely written report - just the right amount of detail. What's the best thing about Calcutta? What not to miss?
Mar 14th, 2011, 03:51 PM
#14
Great report! I loved your observations and, yes, just the right amount of detail. Makes me want to go back (of course, any mention of India makes me want to go back!).
I haven't been to southern India, but it's on my list. After recently finishing Shantaram, I also want to go to Mumbai.
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences.
Karen
I haven't been to southern India, but it's on my list. After recently finishing Shantaram, I also want to go to Mumbai.
Thanks so much for sharing your experiences.
Karen
