WHY INDIA---RHKKMK
 

i only used this title to grab your attention...don't expect me to fully answer the question...

we had been toying with the idea of an indian sojourn for a couple of years based on reports from some classmates here in needham (yes we are townies), and from craig and jeane's experiences, plus encouragement from bonita, patricia (boston harbor), lcuy, paulo and lyndie, among others.....

so in the fall of 2005, or in late summer really, i began work on a 6 week trip which would include both india and a return to thailand...our 40th anniversary is on december 18, so i thought i would include a few days at the end of the total trip at the peninsula in bangkok to celebrate....unfortunately the airline did not agree with my decision and i had to reschedule everything as no seats were available....more on this later..so we agreed on a november and early december timeframe...

i made contact with 3 delhi based agents to assist me---all from fodors.... compass tours was the first that caught my eye, and with craig's and lcuy's good experiences with them....they presented a very comprehensive proposal and together we worked with the basic concept they presented...along the way i also received a proposal from bonita using one of her favorite agents--le passage to india and finally i saw a posting from paul o'reilly about his experiences with castle and king...

along the way i added a four day stay in kathmandu to the 12 day trip i had agreed upon....later after the continued troubles there in the spring of 2006, we cancelled this portion of the trip, or rather postponed it for a future date...

so after a lot of back and forth i pretty much got each of the agents to the same exact trip and then we priced it out....castle and king came in as the cheapest, so immediately i thought that i could not possibly trust them....how could it be that much cheaper??
so then the "fun" began as i studied each proposal more closely...they were almost identical, except for some of the hotel choices....all of the hotels were however in roughly the same classification---i would call them 4 star rather than the 5 star ones like the imperial in delhi....hotels are the most expensive part of a trip to india i found....this turned me off quite honestly...

so after this exercise (this trip caused me the most planning grief ever), i selected castle and king as i could not see any differences in the final product....and here i will say that they scored a 100% rating....everything turned out perfectly...you will see....and for those of you who know me or my writing here you know that is an almost impossibility!!

i had quite a bit of difficulty getting the FF tickets i wanted from northwest....finally i got an agent who said, "would you consider Air France?"...my response was, sure...

it became even more attractive when i discovered that 3 of the 4 flights were nite flights offering a decent sleep alternative, rather than the midnight arrival in bkk and the 6AM departure.....we left boston about 8PM, arrived in paris about 5:30AM, rented a car for the day and left paris about 11:15PM and arrived in bkk about 4:40PM....coming home the flight left bkk at 11:30PM and arrived in paris early morning with about a 5 hour layover and arrived home about 3PM...i could not have asked for a better schedule....we had to switch the days around a bit to accomodate the airline (aren't they supposed to accomodate us??)...so we ended up with an oct 27 departure and a dec 6 arrival home....and still we have the anniversary at home (think of the money i saved on the peninsula) and plenty of time to prepare for christmas for karen....she was not all that keen on the dec 20 homecoming i had planned...
so once this was in place then i could firmly schedule india and all of our thailand activities...

as i have choosen to post this seperately from the main trip report you need to know that we flew from bangkok to delhi on november 7 on thai airways, after about a week in bangkok....i arranged this flight through eddie at seatours in bangkok ([email protected])...he provides excellent service and gave us e tickets which simplified the delivery process.... i was able to make one schedule change to the tickets also at no charge...i paid with an amex card on line...cost about $900 for two coach seats as i remember...

while at the penn on the 6th, i asked that they reconfirm the tickets...the conc. suggested it was not necessary...i insisted, and it is a good thing i had as the flight times had changed by one hour....we might have missed the plane...the plane was now scheduled for 7:50PM which gave us a full day in bangkok....

a taxi man we had used a day earlier came for us....the taxi ride was 45 minutes to the new airport from the marriott resort and spa....the meter cost was 290 B plus the 65 B tolls....good price...

the airport is very efficient....the distances inside are quite far however....allow plenty of time...there are, at least, moving walkways in this new airport to assist...bathrooms are scarce however so use one when you see it....there are bathrooms at the gate areas however...the gate areas are quite comfortable and well air conditioned...

there are tons of shops in almost every area of the airport and food emporiums too...your exit tax is still 500 B per person until february, 2007 when it changes to 700 B i believe....after that they expect it to be included in the ticket price at some point....

karen has not noted it but i think the flight was late leaving but he made most of it up enroute.....the staff on the plane were not at all friendly and we really did not enjoy the flight much....seats were tiny, even for karen, and close together...we attempted to sleep for a while....

delhi airport's arrival area is bleak to say the least with very little a/c...dirty windows, etc...

no immigration cards were handed out on the flight (i think the flight was about 4 hours)...this caused quite a problem...you descend an escalator into the immigration area....at the bottom of the escalator are a few writing desks to fill out the immigration cards, but because no one had one people were at the bottom of the escalator and there was no room for those of us on the stairs so i thought...oh, my god we are going to die here on these moving stairs in delhi, crushed to death...no one was hurt but it was a bad scene....

it took about an hour for immigration with the filling out of the forms, etc and then collecting the luggage...we had to wait for the luggage too even after all the time spent earlier in immigration....

as it was late and we had a long day, and not much sleep, we were blurry eyed...we exited customs and there must have been 200+ sign carrying people there in this small room.....we could not see our name...i went back and forth 3 times....i thought to myself---yea i picked the cheap guy and he has stood us up.....he was right there all the time and i just could not see the name amongst so many...

so finally we were met and on our way...castle and king had sent both a greeter and our driver....

craig had reported people grabbing your luggage and the like, but we experienced none of that....the greeter took our cart and off we went to the parking lot where our car was approaching us....great service...

we then got to meet anoop, our driver....he had been suggested by paul, and arvind, the owner of castle and king, had assured me that we could have him also.....he proved to be the best thing about our trip....more on him as we go along...

as we left the airport area, we soon learned about indian traffic and conditions....no cows or animals at first, but plenty of erratic traffic patterns and more horn noise than anyone could believe...

it was quite smoggy and foggy along the road...

our delhi hotel was the hotel nikko metropolitan....a fine 4 star...the approach was lovely and the uniformed doorman was a sight to behold---india from the 19th century....we arrived at the hotel at about 1:30AM....

karen made one note about our plane arrival....while the plane was still on the main runway people left their seats and opened the overheads and started to walk toward the exit door...no one said a thing....welcome to india...

so we hit the sack---a very comfortable bed--twin beds i think...

we had agreed upon a pick-up time for the morning and a meeting with arvind, the castle and king owner...i think it might have been 9....

am i allowed to take a break for some dinner?? tough....back later

each day our hotel provided us with a buffet breakfast.....the nikko has a lovely breakfast room which looks out onto the pool and rear garden area....the breakfast itself was quite nice...

during breakfast we met two ladies from texas...one of them had had a hip replacement in delhi....india has become a medical destination....her procedure cost a mere $7000....she has no insurance so this was a huge savings for her....she claimed the facilities were first class and she knows because she had had a botched earlier job in the usa... she also bought a package from the hospital which allowed her 10 days at the nikko with in room therapy (PT) provided by the hospital....she was doing great!!

there were some labor problems in delhi that day, based on forced sealings of shops and restaurants which were illegally built, so traffic was very bad and avrind postponed our meeting...

the driver was there when we emerged and he brought schla sharma, our tour escort ([email protected])...she is occasionally available for private guiding....she is a very bright and energetic woman with tons of knowledge to impart to you....

she started with some basic indian history, briefly....we drove by the astronomical observatory and on to the qutab minar, the first and largest islamic mosque in delhi...it is quite a sight....

on the way there we experienced our first minor traffic accident, when a motor bike ran into us....no one stopped...just a small scratch in our toyota SUV (which was very comfortable by the way)....

entrance was 250 rp.. (about 44 rp to the $)..

lots of birds and indian parrots flying around..

we saw many parts of the former wall that surrounded delhi...

next we went to Humayun's Tomb...quite interesting really...

next was a short stop at a "tourist store"...ugh...

there was a huge police prescence around delhi because of the strike by the shop keepers in response to the closings....we found it quite tense...police carry huge sticks and think nothing of beating people with them....little regard for human life in india...

we took lunch at a small mall frequented by tourists...the restaurant was quite good and is named Pindi....the indian food was quite delicious....$16...

next we visted the central cottage industries craft store near to the imperial hotel....if they don't have it, it does not exist in india...good place for base line pricing as noted by craig and lcuy...

we next drove along the ceremonial road past many huge government buildings built by the british and past the president's house....the india gate is found at the opposite end of this wide street from the presidental palace....

this concluded day one of touring...we really enjoyed achla....she is informative and funny with a great sense of humor and a 21st century outlook...

after our return to the hotel we visited the craft shop in the hotel basement....quite a nice shop with very high quality items...

we had a reservation at bukhara at the sheraton in delhi for dinner....i had made the res by telephone from home....when we arrived they had no record of us but fit us in....this is one of the premier restaurants in delhi and is very busy....there was a contigent of secret service people there as i believe an under secetary of state from the usa was visiting....don't know why he would have that protection however....we saw his wife the next day out shopping with the same protection people...

the dinner was quite good but very expensive....by the way the same menu is served at the sheraton in agra and in jaipur for at least 1/3 less, so save your visit for there....the atmosphere is nice but not that nice to pay all the extra and you sit on little stools which are quite uncomfortable, imo...

dinner for two 4526 rp (44 to the $$)

we let the driver go for the nite and we took a taxi back to the hotel...our first experience in an ambassador car--indian auto....

end of day 1...

Great info so far, Bob. I really appreciate your level of detail for this trip.

lovely breakfast downstairs again...arvind arrived at 9 to greet us and see how day one went...i paid him via credit card....he had not requested a deposit...

achla arrived at 9:30 and we were off again....this time it was a tour of the other section of delhi....first we visited the cremation site for gandhi (sp??)...my guide book is enroute via air freight so some of my spellings will be off, in addition to my usual misspellings....thank you andy for pointing this out...

from there we visited the jami masjid, india's largest mosque...20,000 people can worship there at one time...

next we boarded a cyclo-shaw for a ride through the streets....fat me was quite a sight and locals enjoyed the sight....karen and achla enjoyed a sharred ride, but i was by myself...we were on our way to the red fort through chandi chowk shopping area....

achla got us right to the front of a very long line of indians to get in....the line was about 2 blocks long...it was all quite impressive....i will have tons of pictures, probably by next week for you to see if you wish...

each of these major sites is an architectural site in itself...the carving and coloring are fantastic...and they have endured for centuries...

after this we let the guide go so that we could spend the rest of the day on our own with the driver and doing some shopping...

first we visited the santushi shopping center in the military complex....very nice shops....we had a delicious lunch there at basil and thyme as suggested here by cicerone, i believe...970 rp...

karen had her first encounter with anokhi here....this is one of the best shops in india for westerners...great prices and great products...

i bought a nice wallet at a wonderful leather shop as well...

next we visited two carpet shops....we had decided earlier to look for a new dining room carpet... in the second shop we put a deposit on one carpet that we liked....more on that later...

from there karen asked anoop to take us to the palika bazzar (underground)...boston harbor had told her about a fabulous shop there to buy 'chickan work' clothing....this is mostly a white cotton clothing with huge amounts of stitching on it, also in white...so sort of white on white... she bought a ton...anoop found the shop easily with the aide of several locals once underground...we had the exact address...

that finised day two of touring and shopping....we returned to the hotel for showers in anticipation of dinner at the spice route restaurant in the imperial hotel.... the restaurant and food were both magnificent...the hotel is also magnificent...i can see why craig and jeane rave about it....but quite honestly the nikko fit us better...dinner= 3866 rp...and the price was less than 1/2 of the imperial price...

the next morning we enjoyed another lovely breakfast but a bit more leisurely as we had arranged the morning pick-up for 10AM....anoop was early and awaiting our departure, at about 10:15....

the city was tense as strikes were back on today....police were on every corner....we were glad to be leaving for agra this morning...

anoop gave us the good instructions for driving in india:

'GOOD HORN; GOOD BRAKES, AND GOOD LUCK'

the road was colorful all along...they call them highways but i would call them byways....every minute there is a new photo opportunity along the way...the traffic is simply crazy...cars, bikes, animals, people all going in different directions and the horns......and finally we see cows, not in the pasture but on the roads and on the median strips--everywhere....

women do a lot of the road work and it seems so strange to see them in their colorful saris out there...

about 1/2 way to agra we stopped at a very decent road side stop for some lunch and bathrooms....we chose our foods very carefully there....i think i had grilled cheese...

the road side kept us busy with wonderment all along and the scenery was interesting as well....

we arrived at the sheraton in agra at mid-afternoon....we checked in and anoop came back for us about 4PM....he took us down an unpaved road for our first real view of the Taj....

from there we visited a leather shop...i ordered a custom made long jacket and karen bought a jacket as well ($175 and $128)..decent leather but not italian by any means...i also ordered two belts...

we then visited another carpet shop...later i was to learn from my notes that this is the same carpet shop where patricia (boston harbor) had bought her carpets...anyways, we found the perfect carpet there...8X10 tribal with less than the normal pattern, which was what karen was seeking, and also with western colors: no orange, no turquoise, no bright reds, etc...
we bought it....about $2000....price includes shipping....it arrived two days ago: air shipment via UPS...

our day was made...

dinner was in the hotel at the Peshawri restaurant....same menu as bukhara in delhi, but much cheaper: 2403 rs....one item we were served was not all that great and they removed it from our bill without me asking... we toured the kitchen afterwards, which we found very interesting....the cooking methods were especially interesting...the staff were all very friendly and very pleased for us to join them in the open kitchen and to take pictures, etc...

early to bed...again very comfortable beds and a nice room with marble floors...

Loving this report, Bob!

Anyone surprised that economic unrest follows Bob? I would pay cash to see him in a rickshaw. I know Karen has a picture for us.

breakfast in the dining room...average...we were not overly impressed with any of the sheratons, except for the one in pattaya thailand...not as bad as ROS however...

Rashid, aka raj, our guide for the day, which we named "TAJ DAY" was there at 8:30.....the tour called for us to visit the taj at sun rise but because of the fog it had been suggested the nite before that we go later and this turned out perfectly...

vehicles are no longer allowed near to the taj for pollution reasons---yuh like it is not carried by the wind.....so you are driven to a parking lot where electric buses drive you closer to the taj and then you must walk the rest of the way--5-10 min. walk....

let me speak a bit about the weather....karen had been fussing about clothing for india for months....finally we had decided that it would be much cooler than thailand so that we needed some slightly warmer clothing....i.e. things for 50-65 degrees F....WRONG....it was uncharacteristically hot and humid for our entire stay....probably 70 to low 80's and quite humid...no problem...just less layers and i never used my sweater once, let alone my scarf...

raj knew just how to best approach the monument and told me the very best places for the pictures....he was 100% correct....karen noted that instead of the usual central route to the building, down the center, he took us down one side of the garden in full shade which allowed us a much different and cooler perspective....we also visited the center to see the reflections in the pool but mostly we stayed to the side...

i think we spent about 2 1/2 to 3 hours there...i have a ton of pics...

the taj is fantastic and a real monument...it is one of karen's top 3 things from the trip, but it did not make my list...i loved seeing it however...

boston harbor put me onto amazing mail on line...do you know it? you can upload pics to them and they then make them into post cards and mail them from the usa in a day to your mailing list...cost about $1.10 per card with full personalization....they also store your mailing list....easy, fast and reasonable.... i sent a card to our friends/family with a pic of us and the taj...

we had lunch at a local place called riao restaurant near clarks hotel--990 rs...we ate vegetarian...good

after that a visit to a marble factory....interesting and VERY expensive but beautiful work, especially the table tops...

next was a visit to the "baby taj"...for craig this was a highlight of his tour to agra and we agree...we got in a huge traffic jam, not on the bridge which was clogged, but in town trying to avoid the bridge....it provided the day's entertainment...we did return via the bridge so we were able to have that weird experience as described by other fodorites...

next we visited an embrodiery shop...way tooooo decorative for us...
quick exit...

we let raj go after a fun day with him...

we returned to the hotel and climbed up the tower at one corner of the hotel to get a better long distance view of the taj....it was quite nice and peaceful up there...

next we were off to the leather shop to pick up our jackets and stuff...
the sewer of my jacket wanted to have his picture taken with me....when he stood up i noticed that he was completely deformed from the waist down...but he was able to sew beautifully....he did a great job on my jacket....easily the largest one he has ever made...

anoop took us to amarvilas for our dinner res at 7:30.....this place is magnificent also....it was deserted or so it seemed.... we ate at esphahan restaurant...we each had a Thali for dinner...i had a veggie one and karen had the meat one...it was an all inclusive meal with appetiser and dessert as well as the tasting menu itself....very delicious...3000 rp...good music too....

the place is simply over the top in every way...i can see why it is a destination place and "the place" in agra...

as reported agra is a dump....and i mean dump...it makes siem reap look like palm beach...

karen notes that we found mosquitos all over agra and in the hotel as well...

i should also note that we took malerone for the entire stay in india and also for the week afterwards as suggested for anti-malaria protection...

Great to see this! Glad to hear you enjoyed the chaos on the roads, lol.

Loving the report as we are off to India in 53 days! You mention that your guide books are on their way via air cargo. Can you tell me if it will be difficult to box up some of our shopping and ship home to australia? Im thinking of packing a box and bubble rap in case this makes it less bothersome. We are travelling onto Nepal after India so will have to ship our shopping home somehow. Im expecting to be shopping at various (ie. lots!) of shops and places so getting one shop to ship for us isnt a good option.
Any tips or advice in this regard would be wonderful
Awaiting the next installment of your report (and photos)

Great report so far. I notice your spelling is much improved and you're using bigger words than you normally do. Is it the jet lag or is Karen really writing this?

in the past i have always had to keep it very simple for andy to read but i have told him most of this already so i have raised the bar a bit... my misspelling give you all lots to think about...

shipping...we sent a huge box from thailand and we had extra weight so we threw in a ton of stuff, including the guide books....it was packed by a shop that we bought about 16 kilos of stuff from and the standard price was for 25 kilos...i did not pack it...

it is coming UPS air...there are tons of companies you can use for this but it is expensive....this box cost about $190 US to ship....shipping is very expensive...
i will also be writing about luggage overweight in my full report on thailand so you might want to look for that next week..

sunday nov 12

left hotel about 9...raj joined us for the trip out to fetehpur sikri (sp), the abandoned city about an hour out of agra towards jaipur....he was our guide for that portion of the trip...

water was the reason for the abandonment of this city--lack of it...

i should say something about the road conditions....some roads are ok and others are fair....you can have a nice stretch and then a terrible one....construction is everywhere and largely it is manually done...

we had a nice tour of the deserted city and then bid goodbye to raj as he returned to agra...

we were off to jaipur....
again we stopped about 1/2 way for some lunch... karen notes the bathrooms were very clean...

upon arrival in jaipur we noticed a decided difference in the city from what we had observed in agra...much nicer all around and probably larger...more business oriented...

we checked into the sheraton....here we had club rooms... at agra we had been in the emperor rooms but here we had a step higher ranking...we saw no difference really...i paid for these rooms directly as i had found a good deal on the starwoods site for $100 per nite inclusive including breakfast and arvind allowed me to substitute this for the hotel he suggested at my expense... we were looking forward to this 4 day stay and in club rooms to enhance it....well the rooms were the same as regular rooms as far as we could see (not bad, but not what we expected) and the cocktails were almost a joke and there was no club lounge...more on this later...

anoop came back for us about 5:30....by this time we were fast friends....clowning around all the time with tons of jokes and really enjoying each others' company....he is a special guy and if i should return to india i would hire him in a minute and forget any guides...he is perfect in every way....

i wanted to do some internet so he took us to a friends' house which turned out to be a house over a jewelry shop which the family owned...i did internet for 30 minutes or so for free and karen had a tour of the shop, buying one set of pearls for a bangkok project she was working on (she needed 3 large fresh water pearls) at thai stone, our bkk jeweler...she also got an introduction to the multi-generational family and a tour of the house...no pressure but it was a bit awkward and i told anoop that i could not use the internet there again as it was so awkward really....he understood...

while i do think he received commissions for anything we bought, i really do not care....its all part of the deal really...

after i was finished she also bought a typical indian silver necklace too...

after that we went to parampana restaurant for dinner and anoop joined us...this is on the road to the amber fort... it was very good and only 1300 rp for the three of us...

we were back at the hotel by 9PM...

up for breakfast and over to the restaurant for a very disappointing buffet....it was just tired...the egg station was disorganized and took forever to make eggs and there was a long line....not the club experience we had hoped for...i plan to tell sheraton about this.....i did meet with the general manager later on but more about that later...

we met the new guide Dev at 8:30 to begin our days touring....we found him slightly difficult to understand at times, but he was a very nice guy and he did move us around nicely....

our first stop was at the palace of the winds.... this is a picturesques building front used in ancient times as the vantage point for the ladies of the court to observe parades and the like without being seen...this is only a picture stop....there is shopping in this area if you so desire...

next we headed to the amber fort....this huge hillside set of structures is usually approached via elephants by tourists and we also did this....there are about 99 elephants which are allowed to make 3 trips up to the fort daily....the poor elephant that took us had his duty cut out for him.....he struggled but eventually we made it....honestly it was much more fun than the elephant ride we had had several years ago in chiang mai thailand....more comfortable too....our elephants name was ruby...karen points out that our elephant caused a bit of a traffic jam...

we had an extensive tour of the main parts of the fort...it is quite interesting and huge....you are up high and it sort of reminded us of the china wall, because of the wall covering the surrounding hills....

anoop and dev had driven the car up another road and he was waiting for us up top....many people walk down....ugh!!!

we left via car and headed for a local restaurant....i seem to have mixed the previous nites' restaurant up with this lunch restaurant, but no matter...

i took some pictures of the water palace on the way to lunch...water is way low and i think you could have walked out to the palace this year...

after lunch we went to the city palace which also was very interesting...the former rulers still live in a portion of this building....boston harbor was in fact his guest at the polo match last december....we had no such luck...

i was too tired and hot after visiting the palace so we skipped the visit to the observatory next door...

just a note about ATM's....we found that many atms will only dispense about 4000 rp per transaction....that is very annoying....some of the larger banks machines allow 10-15,000 withdrawals...citibank and other international banks...

we returned to the hotel and relaxed a bit....sat out by the pool...karen took a dip...

at happy hour we returned to the hotel's bar which also served as the club bar....

without going into a long song and dance, the facilities are completely inadequate for a club situation....this nite our free drinks were fine, but the hors d'oeuvres consisted of a small and i mean small dish of prenuts, about 15 potato chips and the smallest dish of salsa i have ever seen---about 3 tablespoons full...
to top it all off two tour groups came into the bar and their leaders gave speeches....THAT DID IT FOR ME... when we returned to the room i wrote a note to the general manager....
the service was not good either...

anoop picked us up and we went to rambagh palace for dinner at the savarna mahal restaurant....

there were only 8 of us in the dining room....the place is very attractive and very old world....craig had a bad experience there, but ours was just the opposite....the service was gracious and attentive and the food was excellent...4050 rp....

that's it for tonight...

Bob,

I am really enjoying your report--more please!!

One wonders whethere Anoop would write a consistent report of his "time' with Bob. He must have felt like it was a stiff sentence imposed by a merciless judge. Driving in India with Bob and pretending you like him. Cruel and Unusual in the worst way.

Can't you just see the staff giggling in the background when they served the skimpy Hors d'Oevres to Bob? It must have been hilarious. Perhaps the potato chips were numbered.

No explanation for the improved spelling and polysyllabic words. Brain transplant? Oh, I know. He got to hang around with Beth and me in BKK for 8 days and osmosis transpired.

Bob - What a treat to wake up this morning and find that you have started your India report - it is great reliving some of our experiences and hearing about yours...

Keep it coming!

Bob
Great report! Quick question.. does one usually travel by car around India? I've noted your notes about the roads. Might train or air travel be preferred? Someday I might make it to India.
Carol

tuesday, nov 14

a busy day....down to breakfast and a large group had entered the restaurant before we got there and we had to wait over 10 minutes for our eggs....that did it....we were escorted to a large oval table with 6 or 8 chairs....soon we were surrounded by a tour group...we did not mind talking with these english folks but we did object to the fact that we were supposedly getting the "club" treatment which in my mind does not involve waiting for your breakfast and sharring your table with people that you had not choosen....this enhanced my letter to the general manager...

we did meet a young couple from the next town to us at home (newton) and quite enjoyed sharring their trip info...

we met anoop about 9:20 and he jokingly reminded us that we were LATE....haha

our first stop of the day was at a dry goods shop near to the palace of the winds....name of the shop is Venus...karen was interested in shoes, of which she bought several pairs, inclucing ones for the grandkids and our daughters, plus some indian printed table cloths (very very inexpensive)....we had done foot drawings of each kid before we left home in anticipation of finding some shoes...most are decorated with "gems" and embroiderery--girls only....we spent over an hour there and were the only "farangs" (westerners) there...

from there we headed out of jaipur for our visit to the town of samode...we had scheduled a luncheon at the samode palace hotel....

there is an entrance fee of 500 rp for non-residents which anoop knew about....we paid it and then it was deducted from our lunch tab....

btw, whenever i ran low on cash anoop would loan me money until we hit an atm....he was very generous in this way and we really appreciated it...

we had a tour of the old grand rooms of the palace before lunch....quite interesting...tons of stairs and long hallways to get from area to area...durbar hall was a highlight of the tour with its painted ceiling and walls, some of which were studded with mirrors allowing the light to dance around the room....

we enjoyed lunch in their lovely dining room....a couple of small tour groups were also there and partook of the buffet lunch but we choose a la carte....

we did have a tour of one bedroom which was quite lovely...karen notes that it would be a choice for a future stay...

we made one stop on the way back to jaipur at a fabric printing shop where we purchased one more tablecloth for a daughter...

back to the sheraton for a shower and over to the bar for drinks....more tour groups and i had a bit of a melt down and complained to the duty manager when we were not waited on for over 10 minutes--he seemed not to care...this sealed it, i would deliver my written message to the hotel general manager...

anoop dropped us off at the jai mahal hotel for dinner in the cinnimon restaurant about 7...we were the only diners in this small but lovely restaurant....we spent quite a long time talking with our charming waiter...we had the degustation menu...it was a soup to nuts affair and very delicious...dinner took over 2 hours...a nice leisurely evening..3898 rp

earlier in the day at the dry goods shop karen had purchased two indian "suits"--pants and tops, which needed to be tailored from the flat fabric....they were fancy indian fabrics studded with "gems" and painting....anoop was very unhappy that the tailor had not finished them on time as promised (due to a 3 hour power failure) so after he dropped us off he returned to the shop to pick them up for us...anoop also took a huge bag of laundry to a local laundry for us....$3.75 for quite a lot of laundry...

carol---india is huge so often one must fly or take a train (which is faster than driving)...craig had stated to us that he felt you really missed a lot by not going much of the way by auto and i agree with him....added to this air flights are often delayed for hours because its india and because of weather especially during december and january, the prime tourist months in the north of india...

i am just not a fan of train travel, although on the trip from delhi to agra you can cut the travel time in 1/2 by using trains...i just think, that for me, i would miss too much sitting on the train...

suv's are the only thing to use however....while the ambassador cars are cute and fun, like the 'deux chaveaux' in france, they are not practical or comfortable enough for the long drives....and the drives are very long because of the slow road ways and construction which seems to never end...truck traffic is very heavy also...you need something big to hold your place on the road...

you would love the shopping, although much of the offerings are not suitable for the western taste...

bob

loved being with brad in bkk!!

Have to disagree about the trains. Yes, you should certainly do some travel by car to get close to the countryside, but traveling 2AC on the trains is a great way to meet local people, while still seeing countryside during the day. Overnight trains are also an efficient use of time, and for those of us with less money save a hotel night.

Bob-I'm really enjoying your report. keep it coming!

BTW, can you provide a link to the website that sends postcards from your uploaded photos? Sounds fun. Did they arrive quickly?

karen reports i started the day by complaining at breakfast that i had to pay for a bottle of water when we are club room guests....the charge was removed by the restaurnant manager, who by now knew that i had written a letter to the general manager...

annop arrived with karen's new suits all tailored...they are a bit out of character for her....her mother's comment on seeing them when we returned home, "where are you going to wear that??" her reply...maybe as pj's??

so we were off to sanganer, a small town outside of jaipur which is famous for its cloth printing....anoop had asked the sheraton doorman for a suggestion on where to visit there and he suggested one shop...we found it on the main street quite easily... first we were taken to the near-by factory--a short walk up the street....we saw a demo of hand cloth printing and we made(printed) two squares of our own with an elephant print in three colors....each color is a seperate application of print..the company name is sakshi..they also manufacture the famous blue pottery of the region...we saw demonstrations of both products....next we were asked by one of the owners if we were interested in seeing the dyeing of the cloth....karen responded yes and this turned out to be one of the highlights of both the day and the trip...anoop drove us all a couple of blocks to a huge open area of several acres where the processes were taking place...we walked across sand expanses to view the the process....in the distance we could see high colorful lengths of cloth hanging drying from hangers 3 stories high....all bright colors...

we approached an area of tubs....the tubs were concrete containers about 2 1/2 to 3 feet deep and about 10 feet square...each contained one man who was stomping on cloth that was being dyed in different colors (how do you feel about red or blue or orange legs??)....from there the cloth was moved to wash baths and also to hot baths...finally it is manually drawn through a final bath and wound up in a roll by a hand crank and this squeezes out the excess water and sets the dye...

we spent quite a while watching the different processes and seeing the ladies and some men loading the fabrics on camel drawn carts to be hauled away....the whole operation was huge....we were introduced to the young forman of the job who told us a bit more about what they were doing...

after this tour we returned to the shop to view the finished products....it was an interesting experience also...in this town there is no electricity until 11 AM each day, so we looked at items in the basement shops by gas fired lamps....sort of added to our unique experience...

karen went a bit wild here buying some pottery and several items of cloth, mostly tablecloths and scarfs....

after our wonderful and very interesting morning (this was the only thing karen had asked to do on the india trip except for a visit to the Taj), anoop drove us back to jaipur....we went back to the parampara restaurant for lunch based on our good meal earlier there...

after lunch we visited a gallery which is owned by the same sakshi family that we had visited in the AM....nice stuff but nothing we wanted...

anoop took us to a small tea and spice emporium and we bought a few items to bring home...they are in our air shipment so we will see how the customs people react to these "flavorings" as i so listed them...

next was a visit to the original anokhi store....this very cute shop has tons of items geared to the western taste....karen went a bit wild here as well...

back to the hotel....a telephone message and a written message were waiting for us from the front office manager... he requested that we schedule a meeting with the general manager.....i telephoned him and we arragned a meeting in the main lobby for early evening...

by this time, we were known throughout the hotel, as my note to the manager had been a major topic of discussion in the daily management meeting that morning i guess...shall we say heads rolled!! personally, i blame the general manager for not have been more on top of things in the first place and allowing a disgrunteled guest to make the complaints...

the GM was a charming older indian man of refinement....his daughter lives in seattle and we spent some time talking about his month long trip to usa this past summer...then we got down to the business at hand and i expressed my concerns, all of which he acknowledged as legitiment gripes... he promised fixes in every case, except he stopped short of promising a seperate club lounge...we parted as friends after he insisted on giving us our last nite free and throwing in some laundry and internet charges i had charged to the room....i was very reluctant to accept this as i did not want it to appear that i was complaining for this reason....but of course i was finally delighted to accept this and to have his recognition of poor services provided...

next we entered the bar for our evening drinks....what a difference....no more tour groups....we saw them being herded off to seperate function rooms for their briefings...the hors d'oeuvres were plentiful, including 3 seperate hot dishes and of course the small dish of salsa--about enough for a flea....what we did notice however was that we were the only ones who received them...i took this as a bad omen....the staff was all over us and wanting small talk...i thought this too obvious as well...but they were trying at least...the duty manager came by to see if everything was going fine...andy will of course paint this as my whole reason for making the complaints...what would you expect from an attorney...??

all day we had been trying to decide if our last dinner would be at indiana restaurant as suggested by boston harbor and others, or whether we should go to spice route (not the one at the imperial, but a stand alone jaipur restaurant owned by a former tour guide)....finally on the way to dinner we had the door man flip a coin for us so as to decide on the restaurant....spice route won out...anoop joined us for dinner at my insistance....most drivers want to eat alone in restaurants with the other drivers for privacy and a rest from the customer chat, plus they receive deeply discounted prices for their meals...
at best the food was only ok....the restaurant is quite nice however with both inside and outside seating...we ate inside--a/c for me...we laughed a lot during the meal....he (anoop) is a real joy!!! dinner 1918 rp

in retrospect i wished i had stuck with my original plan and gone to indiana restaurant...

the link to the postcard company is:

www.amazingmail.com

i can't wait to use it again...thanks again patricia...lets schedule a lunch??

trains...i agree with your statements, but i can't imagine an overnite train experience when i really needed a good nites sleep...but i can appreciate the $$ side of things also....and the food seems to be a huge problem also from all reports??

i'll stick with the auto experience with a charming driver like anoop!!

have to do some yard work...last mowing of the year and some leaf collection---neglected while we were gone....K is putting the xmas lites out on some of the bushes and trees also...i will get yelled at if i don't go outside....it is supposed to be as warm as 50 today so this is a good day to do it...

i will finish this report later today, i promise, and maybe even start the thailand report...the thailand report will be full of fodorite sightings....

Bob - trains - sleep is definitely better in 1AC than 2AC, but 2AC is better for meeting people. How well you sleep depends on how often the train stops, and how many people in your section get on/off. The food is in no way a gourmet experience, but I ate the veg thali a number of times without problems. I didn't eat food from vendors.

Amazing ! Riveted reading
Sounds like the Thai flight was one of the 10 seats across 777's.

I've wanted to go to India for quite some time. Your report is making me think I should push it up on the list.

You were right to complain about the service at the Sheraton Club Room. It doesn't sound like anything worth paying for. I guess I got spoiled by the Mandarin Oriental's Club Room in Kuala Lumpur, with imported French & Australian wines and enough different foods to have a huge meal.

Just once in this lifetime, I would love to be one of the many hotel general managers to whom Bob has whined over the years. I can assure you that an accurate report would contain none of the fawning to which Bob often refers. Justice is mine sayeth the panda. I suspect that the Sheraton general manager's story might differ substantially from Bob's.

For those who cannot read between the lines, Karen is possessed of near infinite patience. Maybe it's the water in Needham.

Bob on a train? Think Laurel and Hardy and collapsable berths. This is a great image. Were it only true.

Bob-
Thanks for the link to the postcard site. Did you happen to send yourself one so you could see the finished product?

I think you were well justified to complain to the GM of the hotel. Sounds like they did the right thing by you.

i did not send myself one but my in-laws showed us theirs and i was very pleased....i had seen the finished product on line before i sent it, and the rendition was 100% accurate...

no wonder pandas are a dying breed...

thursday nov 16

karen reports that when we went to breakfast the staff was falling all over us....no waiting time for anyone for eggs and new efficiency all around...even the staff seemed cheery...maybe it was because they could see my smiling face....??

the restaurnat manager asked me to write my experiences back to him in writing...i agreed...i think he was in trouble with the boss and just wanted something for the AM meeting to say that things had turned around...i wrote him a short note and delivered it upon departure....i also jotted off a short note to the GM with my observations ... the front office manager was standing by as i checked out and pointed out to me the reduction in my bill again and thanked me for my comments...

first stop after breakfast was back to anoki again....anoop just laughed...from there we went to a special pashmina shop...the salesman was replaced by the owner when he saw that karen wanted quality items and was willing to spend money...she bought several...

next we headed out of town towards delhi and our overnite stop at neemrana...the road was quite good actually and the scenery quite nice as well....it took about 2 1/4 hours to reach neemrana, with a 1/2 hour lunch stop just before we arrived there....

we had not stayed in any so called heritage properties thus far and this was to be our token stop....the neemrana fort palace hotel...

out of the small town which is surrounded by modern-day factories (clean modern manufacturing) you wind your way up a small lane to the entrance to the fort....the fort sits atop a hill overlooking the valley...the gates are large and impressive....from there you become a mountain goat....i have never climbed so many steps and narrow passageways and wide passageways in my life....thank god the staff carries your luggage...it was worth the effort however...the place is fantastic...we were given the malabar mahal room which is up two more levels from reception....i believe there are about 9 levels to this hotel...the hotel has about 34 rooms...this room was the first one remodeled by the english man who owns the fort today....it is more than a room really....it is a suite...doors are opened by use of a padalock...you step into a huge bedroom full of antiques...the bed was large and very comfortable...there were a number of interesting display items all around the room and in lighted cases as well as tons of antique furniture....off of the bedroom was a room with a writing desk in it....also off of the bedroom was a long corridor which lead to the huge bathroom which also was very unique...the w/c was in a small room off of the bath and up two steps...a very small room and not great for men...enough said...there were tons of windows of all sizes in the suite and many overlooked the valley....the room was perfect....

one note---if you go there spend at least two nites...one is not enough to enjoy the place....3 would be ideal...a great place to relax...

they have a fantastic outdoor swimming pool and good food, so there is no reason to leave once there and believe me you would not want to walk in and out that often...

we had arranged to meet anoop at 3:30 at the gate for a visit to the local village...this proved to again be one of the highlights of our trip...

we stopped along the way to buy a large bag of candy for the local kids...we drove through the business part of the village....outside of town we stopped at an abandoned "step well" which is about 400 years old....it is thus called because it is dug down into the ground and there are many levels or steps to it...there were 9 levels to this well....you could not see the bottom and today it is dry...very interesting..

from there we headed to the living area of the village...we parked and were immediately invited into one family compound...unknown to us, anoop had paid the family a small fee for us to be welcomed...they seemed genuinely interested in showing us around...the family lives along side their live stock and needless to say everything is very primitive...there is a generator for electricity...cooking is in open fireplaces or just on the floor...the bedroom was simple....most of life is spent outside in the courtyard....it was not really a house but a series of cubes set around the courtyard...we gave the kids candy and more came running in....i took tons of pictures...

next we crossed over the dirt lane to another compound...here lived at least 4 or 5 generations of a family...in their courtyard there were two cows, a few goats, chickens and a ton of kids and two very old and feeble grand parents....the lady of the house gave us a demo of cow milking...tons of kids here to and more streamed in from the village...tons of candy given out here...they surrounded karen and held their hands up to receive it...

we then walked down another lane and into another compound....while in there karen scratched her leg on a board and it bled a bit....as the compound was full of dung from the goats she was sure she would die...no problems so far...this is why you have shots before going on a trip like this!!

needless to say the villagers had a ball looking at my size...instant celebrity...

the villagers were all very friendly and we loved this visit....it was a highlight of our trip...no english was spoken here..

we drove back through the village and i asked anoop to stop for some photo ops....they were fantastic...i spent about 15 minutes shooting every scene i could find and there were plenty...karen stayed in the car and worried about her cut...

on the lane going up to the fort, there are two silver shops...we stopped and visited both...karen bought in both and was very pleased with her items...

upon return to the fort we did some exploring around and found the main dining room, yet up two more levels from our room...it overlooks the pool and part of it is on a wonderful outdoor terrace...we had dinner there...a delicious buffet by candlelight in the evening air with the pool shimmering below...

after our return from the village we stopped in one of the outdoor bars at the fort for a quick beer...the weather was warm and evening was approaching...


after dinner we spent some time lingering at our table and an aussie couple joined us for a nice chat...

buffet was 600 rp per person and well worth it..

before retiring we arranged for a 7:15 wake up knock on our door in the morning....they serve you coffee and tea on your patio or balcony...ours was a huge patio outside our door...there was a small garden table and two chairs....breakfast was also a buffet and was set up below our patio so we were able to over see its progress as we sat in our pj's on the patio....

we were late returning to the fort that afternoon so we had missed the complimentary tea which is served daily...

turned in early after the good dinner..

friday november 17--our last full day in india...

the wake-up knock came promptly at 7:15...we went out onto the patio and drank our coffee/tea, still in our jammies...

the shower was not the greatest but it did the job... the australian couple joined us for breakfast and we had another nice chat...the breakfast was simple but adequate...

anoop was at the gate at 9AM...our bags were delivered and we were on our way...the drive to delhi was 1 1/2 to 2 hours....along the way two trucks collided directly next to us but anoop managed to avoid any problem with his defensive driving...


our first stop in delhi was at the shop FabIndia....we were underwhelmed (sorry bonita)... from there we went to hauz kaus village where we intended to have lunch and do some shopping...the restaurant, top of the village, had been sealed by the government and anoop thought it best if we left the area because the shop keepers were again on strike and there was the potential for problems...

so he took us back to the pindi plaza for lunch...this time we decided to try chicken inn....it was very croweded and turned out to be the worst meal of our india vacation...

after lunch we went to the kahn market...karen bought a number of pairs of shoes here...i needed an atm but i had trouble with my cards there so we went to another bank where they worked fine...

we then visited one of the "official" tourist shops...spent about 10 minutes there and bought nothing...

i had asked anoop if we could do another drive by of the "official" government buildings as i had not had an opportunity on day one to take any pictures there...we did this and also had a very nice walk around the india gate monument...it was sealed off from visitors because of the impending independance day celebration...

lastly we stopped again at the central cottage industries store near the imperial...karen bought some christmas decorations this time...

arvind came to meet us at a local coffee shop for a recap of our time with his company...i was able to give him a glowing report...we were very pleased with all of the arrangements and with every detail of the trip...

he presented us with a sheet that his wife had embroidered especially for us...he also gave us an indian cookbook which we look forward to using...after a cup of coffee we departed...

we had made a reservation at the dum pukht restaurant at the sheraton for dinner....anoop dropped us off there...this restaurant serves a particular type of indian slow cook meal...the meal was delicious, but the service was not great....3980 rp....

anoop picked us up promptly at 9PM for our trip to the airport for our thai air flight to bangkok at 12:05AM....

we stoped along the way in a parking lot to do a bit of last minute reshuffling of the baggage--new purchases, etc...the drive was less than 30 minutes from the sheraton to the airport...

we said our good-byes to anoop....we were very sad as we had really grown to like and trust him.... HE MADE OUR TRIP PERFECT!!! needless to say i gave him a very decent tip...

i will be posting his e address shortly for any of you who might like to use his services....he does do freelance driving....you would not be disappointed....

now the real negetive experience of india: after clearing immigration we were at a security point and my bag was held up for a bottle of wine in it....this bottle had been purchased in france on our way to thailand along with two others that we no longer had (there is a story about one of those as well)... they claimed that i could not take it on the airplane....why?? karen had a water bottle and so did many others..."security".... i appealed to the supervisor...a thai airways rep offered to take it along with one of our carry on bags and check it---not possible---our carry-ons had to remain with us...so i appealed one step higher...all of this time i was very cool, never raising my voice...the policy was just so inconsistant...this senior army/police officer just stared at me...he said the policy stands....i noticed a bottle of chivas behind his desk...i told him that i did not want my bottle to end up in the hands of an airport employee for their enjoyment...i asked to empty it out....he agreed and pointed out a confiscation barrel where i could empty it out....i asked for a cork screw, but of course they did not have one....so i was told to break it on the barrel....so.....so...i started to bang the wine bottle against the metal container....the damn thing would not break....bang, bang, bang, bang...the barrel rang out loudly....karen said---everyone is looking at you and i said sooooooo...bang, bang...still not broken....i was mad....bang, bang...so finally i just threw the bottle into the container with all my might and it broke in the bottom...did i feel better?????

our flight was delayed for one hour....there was not a seat to be had in the waiting room so we just stood...

contrary to earlier reports the delhi airport is not all that bad...it is conjested and there is a shortage of seats at busy times, but we saw nothing of the chaos that we had expected....is it a place we would choose to relax in....no, but it was ok and not the worst airport we have been in...almost, but not the worst...there was a/c in the departure lounge, unlike the arrivals...

so this was our india tale...in my next post i will make a few comments about the experience...my thailand trip report may start later tonight or maybe tomorrow so stand by if you are interested...

I see Karen managed to forget about her impending possible death to buy some jewelry. Funny how shopping has that effect!

you women are all alike....she made out like a bandit this trip!!

happy holidays to you and eric...

Neemrana Fort Palace and the local village sounded wonderful. Sorry to hear about that bottle of wine - I would have thought about breaking it over the head of the guy that wanted to confiscate it (just kidding). Glad Karen made out well - gotta keep the ladies happy.