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Again, we think India is one of the world's best-kept secrets: gracious, friendly people, and you are almost guaranteed to see something unique or different on a daily basis. Every day had a least one sight that I found remarkable. Whether it was the farmers hand-shearing their sheep alongside the road or unique temples, there was always something interesting to see.
1. No - India is not filled with people dying along the roads...filth and dirt everywhere (a question asked of us). There is poverty. There are dirty areas. Don't we have the same? There is begging...more so around the very famous tourist spots. Don't we have street people sleeping on the streets of Chicago, Washington, DC, San Francisco...people begging? Get a grip, folks and don't be frightened away by all those "stories."
children in Solang Valley
Continue reading "Traveling Through India Suggestions" »
#1 - The lack of road kill is amazing. Up to today, we've only seen one "smooshed" dog. This is incredible considering the amount of trucks, buses, jeeps, cars speeding along the road with cows, horses, mules and dogs just lying in the center, meandering slowly across, everyone's horns blaring...and they don't move, just look at you! Not to mention all the monkeys! I've seen more dead coons and skins around our suburb in one day then we've seen in all six trips to India.
#2 - Another "funny", entertaining read is the matrimonial section of the Indian Sunday papers. Page-after-page of "Grooms Wanted" and "Brides Wanted" along with detailed ads with exactly what is required!
Several examples (these are actual ads):
Continue reading "Miscellaneous Observations While Traveling Through India" »
It's always late at night, or early morning, when arriving in India. Met, greeted and driven to Le Meridian hotel where we spent the remainder of the night (about four hours) until the early morning train ride to Chandigarh.
Le Meridian is extremely modernistic. Spare and minimal with an unusual lobby. They are still in the process of modernizing the entire hotel. A very good location, close to Connaught Circle, the major shopping areas, Parliment and all other government offices. Before we left the next morning, I had to take a photo of the Ladies Room off the Lobby. I thought the idea of placing the sinks in the middle of the room (instead of along a wall) very creative and the bathroom was beautiful!
Le Meridian Ladies Room
Continue reading "Arriving in New Delhi" »
I narrowed it down to several main areas in Himachal Pradesh: Shimla, Dharamsala(Dharmasala)/McLeod Ganj, Manali, a three-day easy trek, Kullu and Kangra Valleys. Starting and ending in New Delhi. With the days spent flying halfway around the world, this came out to a four-week trip.
Next step...what tour operator to use. I asked two different operators (we've used both before) to cost it out and see what came up. India is not a country that ex-Marine and I feel comfortable traveling around by ourselves. Safety is not the issue...it's the hassle-factor...let someone else handle the problems with our input.
Tomas, at Footloose Travel, had the best price for the same itinerary. Our Ladakh trip with Footloose last year was excellent and we felt comfortable with his contacts and "hand-offs" in India.
Himachal Pradesh
Continue reading "Planning A Trip Through The Himachal" »
India is such a immense country to visit. With its size, diversity, climate, cuisine, and terrain, it is almost impossible to experience everything in one trip. Perhaps, if you have a year to travel...but, even then, you'd have to be extremely selective.
"ex-Marine" (husband, Steve) and I have always said that India is one of the World's best kept secrets and Conde Nast 2006 Readers' Travel Awards seemed to agree. It was just ranked the "fourth top travel destination."
Himachal Pradesh is a mountainous State of India, located in the Northwest Himalayas. Flying from Leh, Ladakh to New Delhi last year, the plane flew over the Himachal and I looked down on steep, snow-capped mountains, glaciers, green valleys and thought, "I want to go there."
location of Himachal Pradesh in India
Continue reading "Where Is The Himachal Pradesh?" »
In the late afternoon, another flight to Delhi and a room at the Radisson Hotel near the Airport. Delhi's airports are separated into two buildings, domestic and international, about a mile or so apart.
International flights commonly depart at the oh-so-lovely hours of 2:25 am, etc., which is why we paid for a room. Your other alternative is to sit at the airport for hours since hotels kick you out by noon, and even if they give you a late checkout, they certainly won't let you stay until midnight!
It was such a shame to waste a first-class seat utilizing only the reclining seat to sleep in. (The last thing either of us wanted was dinner or wine at 3:00 AM!)
Continue reading "Back to New Delhi, and The Trip is Over..." »
Some of the other game spotted at Bandhavgarh National Park were different deer, and jackals in the brush ...View image...and alongside the road. Jackals are supposed to be difficult to spot but we saw them almost every day.
Our naturalist spotted tiger tracks right next to the road and we circled (and swept) the entire park many times looking for this big male with no luck. Up and down hills, around the worker's homes, looking into every bush...still no tiger in sight. The naturalist could tell the tiger had been lying there for a long time by the depth of the paw indentations. This was one big guy!
Tiger prints
Jackal
After our morning game drive was over (no tigers spotted today), it was another 6+ hour drive to Khajuraho.
Continue reading "Khajuraho Temple Complex" »
In the two days at Kanha, we saw three tigers. A very good start and time to drive to Bandhavgarh National Park on one of the worst roads ever. Six hours of agonizing, jolting and swerving over pot holes to go maybe 70 miles from Kanha to Bandhavgarh...less than 10 mph. This also happened to be the only filthy, dirty car with a "guide" (who barely spoke English) riding "shotgun"! The driver was good though.
Once at Banhavgarh, we spent two nights at Tiger Den. The food was good, lots of people staying there, and a beautiful bonfire at night. I have no way of knowing if Tiger Den was "best available" there...it was certainly a nice resort, but there were many, many other places to stay that we passed going to and from the park. FYI, the sign for "Royal Den" touted it as a luxury resort...don't know if it really was.
Bandhavgarh National Park was more mountainous than Kanha. There are also caves in the park with inscriptions dating back to 1BC. This park was created in 1968 and has a wide variety of habitats: sal forests, bamboo grazing land, ridges and streams. It is most famous for its tigers and had the same routine as Kanha.
Bandhavgarh map
We saw EIGHT TIGERS in the two days there. Some people never see one!!
Continue reading "Bandhavgarh National Park" »
Flew Jet Air to Aurangabad and checked into the Taj Residency. The caves at Ajanta are only a one-hour drive from Aurangabad.
These caves, dedicated solely to Buddhism, date from 200BC to 650AD and are cut from volcanic lava on a hillside. The Ajanta Caves are thought to have housed over 200 monks as well as numerous craftsmen and laborers. The caves are remarkable for the quality of their murals relating the life of Buddha. Some showing Buddha's previous births, and others, ordinary family life, the royal court and street scenes. ...View image... There are 30 caves in all but caves 1, 2, 16 and 17 are considered the most important. We visited those and others just as beautiful.
Ajanta Cave 4
Continue reading "Ajanta and Ellora Caves" »
Save up your air miles and use them on Lufthansa to go First Class! There is nothing comparable to a long-haul flight, sitting in a seat that completely reclines into a bed, and having flight attendants hovering - eager to serve you (changes your entire perspective on flying). Not only was it as close to heaven as a person could be on an airplane, but their First Class Frankfurt lounge was to die for.
Lufthansa took a former Frankfurt Airport parking lot and turned it into a $35 million First-Class only terminal. If you have quite a bit of time between flights, Lufthansa picks up and transfers you via a chauffeured Mercedes S-Class or Porsche Cayenne to this site. Once there, you are met by a personal assistant, ushered through their own security and escorted into this magnificent lounge. You can relax on a daybed in your own room, soak in a marble bath or under a rainshower. There are several bartenders and even a drink menu (Mai Tai's, etc.) to order off of. Not to forget, individual tables set with tablecloths and silverware to enjoy something off the constantly changing buffet or from the menu!
Continue reading "Lufthansa First Class to Mumbai (Bombay)" »
With Winter not too far away, it's time for people to start thinking about travel possibilities. One destination, that I keep mentioning, is India. Over the years, I have developed some terrific contacts and unusual tour operators around the world. I also have a wonderful travel agent with her own connections. So, last year I posed the question to Vivian, "Is there another unique area in India that we haven't visited yet? What about the tiger reserves and Khajuraho" ...it only took a few weeks for her to come up with a tentative itinerary.
This itinerary incorporated the State of Chattisgarh, two different tiger reserves in the State of Madhya Pradesh (because there is never a guarantee of seeing a tiger and odds are better if you visit two reserves), the caves of Ajanta and Ellora and Kujaraho.
This sounded ambitious and difficult to fit into 20-days but the Indian tour operator, assured us it was extremely doable.
Location of Chattisgarh in India
Continue reading "Where is Chattisgarh/Chhatisgarh..." »
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