Alan's Passage to India
Oct 13th, 2004, 03:30 PM
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Alan's Passage to India
Alan,
I forget the dates for your passage to India, and hope you and your family have a wonderful trip. I spent a month +/- 15 or so years ago. Tough going, but worth it.
This was pre fax. Everything was reserved by teletype. You couldn't easily make a hotel reservation without a confirmed plane ticket and all the domestic seats were pre empted by the gov't!
Passengers placed their own suitcases in the cargo hold and were then escorted onto the plane. Baggage left on the runway was detonated. This was before the era of suicide bombers.
I esp. enjoyed the temples at Mahabalipurum and Kanchipurum , floating on the river past the ghats at Varanasi, the palaces and processions in Rajathstan and staying at the palace outside of Mysore (for $25) that the maharajah built for his meat eating and alcoholic western guests.
Have fun,
Andrew
I forget the dates for your passage to India, and hope you and your family have a wonderful trip. I spent a month +/- 15 or so years ago. Tough going, but worth it.
This was pre fax. Everything was reserved by teletype. You couldn't easily make a hotel reservation without a confirmed plane ticket and all the domestic seats were pre empted by the gov't!
Passengers placed their own suitcases in the cargo hold and were then escorted onto the plane. Baggage left on the runway was detonated. This was before the era of suicide bombers.
I esp. enjoyed the temples at Mahabalipurum and Kanchipurum , floating on the river past the ghats at Varanasi, the palaces and processions in Rajathstan and staying at the palace outside of Mysore (for $25) that the maharajah built for his meat eating and alcoholic western guests.
Have fun,
Andrew
Oct 13th, 2004, 04:32 PM
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Thanks for that, AndrewDavid.... it will be nice to know someone is thinking of us while we're up in the Himalayas or down in Kerala, backpacks hanging off our shoulders throughout. At sixty-two, you'd think by now I would have given up the backpacker holidays and started staying at places like the Hydro-Majestic!
We leave Sunday morning -- Saturday in your time -- and will be away five weeks. Hopefully, I will be able to sneak a peek at this forum sometime in that period.... it's like a drug, hard to do without; due, of course, to the Andrews of the world... AndrewDavid and that other one!
We leave Sunday morning -- Saturday in your time -- and will be away five weeks. Hopefully, I will be able to sneak a peek at this forum sometime in that period.... it's like a drug, hard to do without; due, of course, to the Andrews of the world... AndrewDavid and that other one!
Oct 13th, 2004, 04:37 PM
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Hi Alan, I hope you have a wonderful time in India also. All the frustrations of India are worth it - it is such a beautiful country.
Did you decide to go to Jaisalmer in the end? If so, I hope you enjoy it - I still think it is one of the most amazing and stunning places I have ever been to.
Looking forward to hearing all about it when you get back.
Did you decide to go to Jaisalmer in the end? If so, I hope you enjoy it - I still think it is one of the most amazing and stunning places I have ever been to.
Looking forward to hearing all about it when you get back.
Oct 14th, 2004, 11:33 AM
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Geez, LizF is in France, Alan is going off to India, a friend of mine just visited South Africa, Mauritius and Oz...and I'm stuck in the office.
Alan - best wishes to you in your travels. Have a great time!
Alan - best wishes to you in your travels. Have a great time!
Oct 15th, 2004, 02:51 PM
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Thank you for your kind thought, michi. I am indeed back from a sometimes tiring but always interesting visit to the fabled Middle Kingdom, where I discovered that a little Mandarin can be a dangerous thing and will often get you delivered to the wrong hotel. In due course my thoughts on Tsingtao beer, the heroic cabbies of China and the Oscar-standard (i.e. hammy) performances of the Professors Emeritus of the Chinese Traditional Medicine Research Factory will appear on the Asia board.
I'm just languishing here in the background because nobody, as usual, is showing much interest in visiting the National Capital (currently looking its best and minus the migratory 'politicus' species).
Alan, if you see this, have a great time in India. You probably grew up on Kipling's Mowgli stories too. Don't forget your pith helmet and Bombay Bloomers, and make sure you have a few Gin Slings with the Memsahib on a suitable verandah. I'm sure you'll also have something to contribute to the Asia board on your return.
I'm just languishing here in the background because nobody, as usual, is showing much interest in visiting the National Capital (currently looking its best and minus the migratory 'politicus' species).
Alan, if you see this, have a great time in India. You probably grew up on Kipling's Mowgli stories too. Don't forget your pith helmet and Bombay Bloomers, and make sure you have a few Gin Slings with the Memsahib on a suitable verandah. I'm sure you'll also have something to contribute to the Asia board on your return.
Oct 15th, 2004, 05:32 PM
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"Happy Trails" to India! Just read where you are leaving very soon. Many thanks for all your help with our accommodations in Sydney.We have been hearing from The Australian Heritage Hotel and they seem great.
A trip to India is on our list and we'll be anxious to hear about your journey.
A trip to India is on our list and we'll be anxious to hear about your journey.
Oct 15th, 2004, 10:43 PM
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Well, John in Miami confirms it - everyone's going somewhere but me... 
Even John in M has been somewhere.
I'm sitting here listening to the broadcast of the cricket from India, Aus vs India in Chennai (Madras), and it sounds extremely hot and unpleasant.
Very pleasant it is right now in Sydney.
Even John in M has been somewhere.
I'm sitting here listening to the broadcast of the cricket from India, Aus vs India in Chennai (Madras), and it sounds extremely hot and unpleasant.
Very pleasant it is right now in Sydney.
Oct 16th, 2004, 02:15 AM
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Just want to let you all know that I have been reading every one of these posts -- I stopped replying to each in turn, because every time I replied, I'd bring the thread up to the top again, and there's my name in lights (embarrassment time!) But, of course, the thread kept resurfacing anyway!
This will be my last look at this forum for a few days, at least, as I'd imagine our senses will be quite overwhelmed by the sights and sounds around us without me seeking more stimulation from Fodors! But, at the risk of making the thread surface just one more time, I thought that I really should thank everyone for all those good wishes. I appreciated them more than this acknowledgement can possibly show.
Now it's time to pack!
This will be my last look at this forum for a few days, at least, as I'd imagine our senses will be quite overwhelmed by the sights and sounds around us without me seeking more stimulation from Fodors! But, at the risk of making the thread surface just one more time, I thought that I really should thank everyone for all those good wishes. I appreciated them more than this acknowledgement can possibly show.
Now it's time to pack!
