I am a former journalist turned postgraduate researcher. Having been born in Guyana and raised in Canada, I have lived in the UK since 2014. While I love to binge streaming films and series, I enjoy watching documentaries. My passion is to travel. I firmly believe we should all have at least on holiday booked at all times; it helps to make normal life more bearable.
With more than 1.5 billion people,
it would be pretty hard to find somewhere off the beaten track and very quiet
in India, but these places do exist.
Ramathra Fort is a 350-year-old fort
with six rooms in a building and six tents on the courtyard for guests.
One such place is Ramathra Fort in
Karauli, Rajasthan. The fort is located about 200 km south of the Agra to
Jaipur Highway. It is not an easy drive. While you do start off on somewhat tarmacked
roads, you end up on gravel roads and then on single-lane roads where your
driver has to negotiate his way around oncoming traffic, often trucks with just
enough space to fit both vehicles.
But, they say the best places are
hardest to get to because people don’t want to be inconvenienced. The 200-km
trip takes about five hours, which at times will make you question your sanity
for adding this place to your trip. But don’t worry, it is well worth it.
After a five-hour car ride over
every bump and hole in the road, you emerge in the shadow of a fort jutting out
of the side of the Karauli hills. You vehicle pulls into the double gate where
you are met by the owners of the Fort. The Fort has been converted into a hotel
with luxury suites, deluxe rooms, and luxury tents on the courtyard.
That time driving and questioning
yourself becomes all worthwhile when you take your sour lemon drink and climb
up on the rampart and look out at the mustard fields in the farms below and see
and hear nothing. You just take in the peace and quiet and watch the odd wildlife
meander around the fields all the while thinking: “Is this India?”
Just north of you is the Golden
Triangle of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur with a population of almost 20 million. Add
in tens of thousands of tourists and you have a chaotic mess of people, yet,
here you sit on this rampart wall, not far from the maddening crowds and it is
peaceful.
After several weeks in India, you
will come to treasure these times when you can escape the chaos of the cities.
There isn’t much to do you at the
Fort other than exploration. The owners work in conjunction with the families
in the nearby Ramathra Village by buying food from them and employing some of
them to work at the Fort.
One of the nicest activities is a
guided walk through the village accompanied by a worker who lives there. It is
a truly intimate journey into village life in India. The villagers are
welcoming and friendly and many will be curious about your and willing to take
photographs.
Chances are you will be able to
sample peanuts which are harvested in the villages, a nice snack during your
walk.
You can also have a rowboat on Lake
Karauli or go bird watching. The row, bird watching, and village walk are all
included in the cost of your room. There are also wilderness drives, picnics,
camel rides, and massages on offer for a nominal fee.
Ramathra Fort was a place suggested
to me by a tour organiser and one that I would never have thought to visit. It
is a highly recommended stop and one that will be much-needed after the chaos
of the cities.
Cost: £160 to £260 per
night depending on the season. Price includes all meals, room, village walk,
rowboat ride, and bird watching.
Tip: If you want a short
break, two nights is a good amount of time to book here. Your driver will bring
you here in the mid-afternoon in time to head out for a row on Lake Karauli and
back for dinner. The next day you can do the three-hour village trip in the
morning, relax in the afternoon, and do a bit of bird watching.
Searching for the best prices for airfares is a personal preference. Go with what you comfortable doing.
A simple internet search today
inundates our browser with offers for similar products. For example, a flight
search suddenly fills your social media with advertisements for things like
Jack’s Flight Club or Cheap Holidays all promising you unheard-of discounts.
Are they worth it? I decided to have
a try at Jack’s Flight Club which I am sceptical about considering how many
positive reviews they seem to get.
Does it work? Yes and no. It all
depends on how you book for fares.
Jack’s scours the internet looking
for fares and then passes them on to you when you sign up for a subscription.
You then are instructed how to find those fares which usually seem to be going
through an aggregator like Google Flights, Skyscanner, or Kayak and booking the
cheapest flights.
The problem for me with this setup
is that I only book flights directly with airlines. There are too many horror
stories of someone seeing a great deal only to find out that it was fake
because suddenly the offering tour company no longer has that price, suddenly claims
foreign exchange has added so much that it is no longer a deal, or doesn’t
actually put through the sale properly and by the time the issue is resolved it’s
no longer the price.
Booking directly with the airline
means you have problems.
While I am sure the complaints are
the exception rather than the norm, I believe those of you who can find real
value and have problems booking with online travel agencies may find deals with
aggregators.
There are no sure answers to the
question of where to find guaranteed cheap rates for flights. There are only
factors that can help you to find cheap flights:
Time of year: Flying to
somewhere during their offseason will save you money.
Day of the week: The day of the
week of your flight influences the cost. The best days of the week to fly are Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Thursdays tends to be when people who take long
weekends travel; Fridays and Mondays are prime days for business travellers,
and; Sundays are when people tend to return from holidays.
Legacy versus low cost carrier:
That’s up to you too. Remember, you get what you pay for so cheapest may not
always be best.
Technology has become an integral
part of our lives to the extent that some of us feel extremely inconvenienced
if the wifi is out of order or the mobile data system is disconnected for
repairs.
We rely heavily on our gadgets when
we go on holiday as aids to help us navigate unfamiliar surroundings, find
off-beat places to see, or to find restaurants that come highly recommended.
In this post, I will explore five
must-have items you need for your travel:
Gadgets: If nothing else, your
mobile phone can act as your multimedia device as a GPS system, internet, and entertainment.
Any of the known brands of mobile phones is fine. There aren’t too many
advantages of using, for example an iPhone, over a Huawei. An iPad is also a
good device to have. If the airplane charges you for entertainment (as is the
case on some regional airlines) or there is nothing you really want to see, an
iPad is handy because you can download your content and watch anywhere you are.
Portable charger: Have you ever
noticed that you never have enough battery power? On my first trip to Japan, I
did a day trip to Hiroshima. I got back to Shinagawa Station and took the wrong
exit and realised I needed to go back to the station and go to the other side
of the station. I also noticed I had 1 percent battery left. Now, I pack a
Poweradd Pilot X7 20,000 milliamp Hour battery pack. It has two USB ports so I
can charge my phone and modem at all times. Word of warning, airlines do not
allow external chargers on the plane that are more than 20,000 milliamp Hour
power. I found that charging an iPhone X from 50 percent to full takes about an
hour if I am not using the device.
Travel wifi hotspot: I have
written about these on many occasions. If you don’t have an unlocked phone
which can accommodate a new sim card, then a modem is for you. All airports I
have flown into have kiosks set up to sell you sim and modem data plans for the
duration of your trip. These are worth it for European travellers in Asia
because most European providers allow for local service in other parts of
Europe. For example, O2 users can use their phone as normal in most European
countries.
Electronic accessories case:
Our devices come with chargers and cords. Sometimes we use earphones, we have
other devices or external storage units such as USBs or hard drive. A case
allows you to put everything into one bag that you can put in your carry-on bag
so you aren’t rummaging around your bag for a cord or a USB stick.
Headphones: Unless you’re
sitting in first or business class, the quality of headphones in economy is substandard
at best. A set of noise cancelling headphones can make your journey a little
more bearable by creating an oasis for you where you can shut out the world
around you. The key manufacturers include: Bose, Dr Dre, Sony, Harmon Kardon,
Bang & Olafussen, and Bowers & Wilkins. All of these companies make
some excellent noise cancelling headphones. The most important quality you want
from a set of headphones is comfort. You don’t want those things hurting your
ears halfway through an eight-hour flight. I have a pair of Bowers &
Wilkins PX Noise Cancellation headphones. A pro tip is to buy your headphones
at the airport. An app can be downloaded
that allows you to use presets for the noise cancelling feature. When I was
shopping for mine, the cheapest price I saw was £350. I had the brainwave to
check the price at Dixons at Manchester Airport. The price there was £270.
Dixons at Manchester Airport allows you to click collect shop. You can choose
what you want, have it set aside, and pay for it when you are at the airport.
Air travel is expensive enough as it is. Here are some tips to keep your costs down.
Today’s air travel is a pain in the
arse. You have to show up two to three hours early, check in, go through an
invasive security screening and then sit there airside in the terminal building
with nothing to do but sip on overpriced drinks because you still have 2.5
hours to kill before your flight leaves.
So how could we travel effectively
in the modern era to take advantage of the best deals and small hassles? Here
are five tips to help you keep your costs down:
Some carriers and low cost
carriers, such as BA and EasyJet, are offering carry-on only deals at lower
prices than it would cost you to check in a suitcase. So why not travel with a
carry on and a backpack? Shops like H&M, Zara, Mango, and The Gap are
global brands. Chances are that there will be at least one branch wherever you
visiting. Why not pack lightly and pick up a few things when you get there? At
the end of your trip, donate your purchased or even your older clothing a local
charity. Wherever you are going will probably have convenience stores and
pharmacies where you can pick up shaving gels, deodorants, toothpaste,
mouthwash, etc. And they are probably much cheaper than your local shop. For
example, on a visit to 7-Eleven in Thailand last year, I picked up these
amenities for about £7. In Boots in the UK, shaving gel alone can be £3.50.
Just carry our toothbrush and razor and pick up everything else.
Many airlines charge you for
seat selection. Never pay for seat selection unless there is a specific seat
you need or several of you travelling which means sitting close to each other.
The other time I would pay for a seat selection is if I have a short connection
time and I need to get off the plane quickly then I will pick one as far
forward as possible. Selection becomes free when online check in opens. If you
aren’t bothered about where you want to sit in an airplane, then wait and save.
Invest in a water bottle. The
going price of a 600 ml bottle of Coke airside is about £3 which is the cost of
6 cans in most supermarkets. But you aren’t allowed to take liquids through
security so they have you. Or do they? Investing in a nice sturdy water bottle
means you can fill up for free at water fountains when you are airside. After
all, medical experts say that you need to keep hydrated when flying.
Airlines charge you for food
especially on short flights and low cost carriers. Pick up some food from your
local supermarket. Food items are permissible at security unlike liquids, so
pick up a sandwich and some snacks for the flight. Airside food is much more
expensive.
Invest in a travel wifi
hotspot. We love to post photographs of our travels when we are away on social
media. While wifi is common in most locations, it tends to be pretty basic and
cannot accommodate heavy uploads. Companies like Tep
Wireless will rent or sell you a modem. If you travel a lot it is better to
buy a modem. For example, if you have a 10-day trip to Thailand, Tep offers a
1GB 3G unlimited service at US$8.95 per day and a 3GB 4G unlimited service for
US$10.95 per day. On a 10-day trip, that works out to between $89.50 and
$109.50 for your holiday. If you buy a modem, Tep charges $129 for the device
and $7.95 for 1GB or $9.95 for 2GB per day on a pay per use deal. If those are
still too expensive, local providers can be cheaper. Smile Telecommunications
in Thailand has an offer of US$6.50 per day for 4G service which works out on a
10-day trip to $65 including the device rental price. You just go to their website,
and fill in your details including which airport you want to pick up your
device. Dropping off the device at the end of the trip simply means returning it
to where you picked it up. The kiosks are open 24 hours a day so you don’t have
to worry about closure.
The sun rises over the horizon in Varanasi as people enjoy a boat cruise on the Ganges.
Varanasi, the holiest city for
Hindus, is one of the longest inhabited cities in the world, dating back to
1100 BCE. It is a must-see sight on any northern Indian travel itinerary.
The Ganges River flows through
Varanasi from its source high atop the Himalayas at the Gangotri Glacier to the
canal waters of West Bengal that flow into the Bay of Bengal.
It is a place where devout Hindus
come to worship and bathe in the waters of the holy river. It is also a place
where Hindus want to be cremated when they die.
For the non-Hindus, your day in
Varanasi starts very early, as in, 4 a.m. early because you want to be up and
out of your hotel before sunrise. Most days out in Varanasi begin with a
sunrise cruise on the Ganges as you pass by thousands of devotees bathing in
the river, purifying their souls.
Now, for the non-morning people,
there are sunset cruises but why would you want to do that? When the sunrises
are as majestic as they are over Varanasi, it’s worth getting up early to see a
blood-red sun rising over the horizon.
Also at that early hour, it is a
surreal experience to wander around the narrow alleys of Varanasi in which
virtually every building is some sort of shrine or temple. You can see people
receiving their blessings for the day, people making offerings to the gods, and
the odd cow or so having free reign over the city.
But be careful to move to the side
when told as many funeral processions pass through the streets of Varanasi as
mourners take their loved ones to the river to prepare for the evening’s
cremation ceremonies.
Another sight to see in the area is
Sarnath which is sacred for Buddhists because this is the first place Buddha
spoke after achieving enlightenment. It is about 10 km from Varanasi and
accessible through your tour guide or even tuktuk.
Getting in:
The airport is primarily for domestic flights with the exception of
a few daily flights to Nepal and Thailand. Varanasi Junction, Manduadih, and
Mughal Serai Junction are the three main train stations serving Varanasi and
are reachable from major cities around the country.
Getting around:
Certain parts of the city are only accessible by foot such as the
ghats at the Ganges and the labyrinthine alleyways leading to the ghats.
Normally, your tour van will pull up along one of the outer roads and you will
walk to the river.
Where we stayed:
There are a wide range of hotels and other types of accommodations
across Varanasi. On our trip we stayed at the Gateway Varanasi which is part of
the Taj group. It is a very large hotel on 40 acres of gardens complete with
peacocks strutting about the laneways. In tune with the religious nature, the
hotels are in the shape of a swastika, the extremely sacred symbol of Hinduism which
is not to be confused with the sign of hate by the ignorant far right that
hijacked it.
Safety:
Varanasi is a very safe city. There are a few scams about which you
should be aware such as the rickshaw and cremation ghat scams. In the post
about scams, I wrote about the taxi scam which is also the tuktuk scam and
the rickshaw scam. The driver will attempt to con you into believing that the
hotel, sight, restaurant, etc., you want to visit is closed down/burned in a
fire and try to take you somewhere else where they earn a commission for
bringing in people. The ghat scam occurs when people will attempt to tell you
that they are cremators, will explain the process, and take you to areas that
afford you unique views of the area. In return they will ask you for 500 rupees
to pay for wood for the poor.
Harassment:
As a tourist city and a religious city, Varanasi attracts thousands
of visitors everyday which means that you are fair game for touts and beggars.
If you don’t want to spend money or give to beggars don’t say no, don’t even
look at them, and don’t acknowledge their existence. When we visited the ghats,
a man selling necklaces approached our group and our family friend said “maybe
later” to his offer. We took a 45-minute boat ride which dropped us about 1.5
kilometres from where we started and the same man was standing there trying to
sell her the necklaces. He walked 1.5 km to find us and continue his sales
pitch. He followed us through the alleyway, which which time we had somehow
attracted the attention of three other touts and several beggars. They are
relentless and will not leave you alone until you get back into your tour
vehicle and leave. Even if the vehicle waits there, they continue to inundate
you with offers. I think our friend relented and bought one of his necklaces
for about 80 rupees. Talk about the world’s worst salesman, 3 hours to make an
80-rupee sale in a place where tens of thousands of people pass through in a
day.
Respect:
For non-Hindu tourists, always remember Varanasi is a holy city and
a place for pilgrimages and funerals. If you see a funeral in progress, have
some decency and don’t go threading around them to get Instagram moments. It is
extremely rude. How would you feel if you are mourning at a loved one’s funeral
and someone came in for a selfie?
Tips:
There is a lot of mud, cow manure, and water around Varanasi. Also,
you will go into and out of many temples in the city. As such, consider wearing
flip flops because you will have to take them off all the time and they are easy
to clean.
The Bara Imambara complex is a tribute to the Mughal architecture brought to the area by the Awadhis.
About a 90-minute journey by air
from Kolkata, we come to the city of Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh and the
home of the Awadh culture.
Lucknow is the northern Islamic city
in India which has a rich culture and a deep history. The art, cuisine, dance,
and music of North India can trace its roots to the Awadhi culture. It was the
site of the 1857 First War of Independence from the British. The Lucknow
Residency, which housed the British Raj in the city, still bears evidence of
that first battle with pock-marked buildings where cannon fire hit the walls.
Getting in
From air, you can arrive in Lucknow at Chaudhry Charan Singh Airport
with flights from Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, and other major Indian cities. Flydubai
(Dubai), Oman Air (Muscat), Saudia (Jeddah, Riyadh), and Thai (Bangkok) fly to
international destinations.
By rail, Lucknow Train Station is an
important one with trains from the capital through to the northeast. Allahabad,
the location of the Kumbh Mela the largest gathering of people on the earth,
lies on this train line.
Sightseeing
The Awahdi culture gives way to many significant Islamic sites in
Lucknow. Key is Bara Imambara complex which is an impressive tribute to Mughal
architecture that was built in the late 1700s. The complex includes the Chhota
Imambara, a mausoleum built for the third Nawab of Awadh in 1837. Foreigners
must pay 500 rupees (£6) to enter the complex.
La Martineriere College is a
boarding school with a rich history. The boys school started in 1845 while the
girls school opened in 1865. La Martiniere is the only school in the world to
have been awarded battle honours for its part in the defence of Lucknow during
the war in 1857. While you cannot really go into the school, you can walk the
school grounds and the outside hallways which go by the classrooms The children
are well disciplined and will stop to greet you as you walk by their
classrooms.
Gomti Riverfront Park is another
nice place to go for a wander near Gomti Nagar. Concerts are held in the park
some evenings. This is a great place to see some spectacular sunsets.
Where to stay
The Taj Mahal Lucknow is a majestic hotel highlighted by the domed tower than sits atop the reception area. In the back of the complex is a large swimming pool and rest area.
On this trip, we stayed at the Taj Mahal Lucknow which is a colonial
building on 10 hectares of land with a domed tower over the reception area. The
in the offseason and shoulder season, a two-night stay costs about £180 and
£300 in the high season. The Taj Mahal has two restaurants with the Oudhyana
serving traditional Awadhi cuisine which has four dining options: a la carte
menu, Awadh Dastarkhawanse which is a selection of small plates, Ganga-Jamuni
Zayeka which is mixture of contemporary and traditional tastes, and the put
your hands in the hands of the chef where you leave it to the chef to create
your dining experience based on the ingredients in the kitchen and what is at
its freshest.
One of the things you will find is
that you tend to eat many of your meals at your hotel. If you stay at a
five-star or four-star hotel, these are most likely where the best restaurants
in town will be found. Prices in these restaurants tend to be slightly cheaper
than Indian cuisine in your home country but vastly more expensive that in
India. Chances are you tour guide will take you to a tourist-oriented
restaurant for lunch where prices are much lower but it is still a somewhat
sanitised experience as you are eating in a restaurant filled with other
tourists. The reason is that your tour guide wants you to spend your time
seeing the country rather than doing a toilet tour of India. The one time you
do get a more authentic experience is on the roads when you stop at truck stops
or roadside restaurants where it is the locals who dominate the landscape.
Safety:
Lucknow is a very safe country and you will be unlikely to encounter
problems. The usual warnings do exist such as being aware of your surroundings.
The Victoria Memorial is a remnant of the British Raj. When the British ruled India, Kolkata was a capital city.
You will experience some form of
culture shock when you enter India. We arrived in Kolkata on a red-eye flight
from Dubai at about 8 a.m. Our family friend arrived the evening before and
told us about the hundreds and hundreds of people she saw sleeping on the
pavements of the streets as she was drive to the hotel.
We only saw anecdotal evidence of
homeless people as people were putting their homes away and getting ready for
the day. One of the toughest things is to be in your hotel room and look down
to see children, women, and men asleep beneath your hotel window.
After a short rest, we went on a
boat ride on the Hooghly River which was probably the best thing to do in a jet
lag stupor when you don’t really want to do too much. A relaxing boat ride
provides you a glimpse into the life in Kolkata.
We had just missed the Durga Pooja
based on the evidence of statues and floats being broken down along the
riverside. Durga is a Hindu festival in Kolkata held in October to honour the
goddess Durga. The pooja is a four-day event. The celebrations include pomp and
ceremony and parades to the most powerful form of the Mother Goddess.
On our way back to the hotel, we
drove by Eden Garden, one of the iconic and largest cricket stadia in the
world. It conveys a very tribal atmosphere underpinned by the need to put up a
cross link fence between the stands and the cricket pitch.
We made a stop at Mother Teresa’s
Mission which sits at the opening of one of India’s largest slums. The nuns
continue to provide for the poor partly financed by donations you make at the
museum on the mission’s grounds which includes the tomb of Mother Teresa. It is
a truly spiritual place as many people come to pay tribute to the humanitarian,
some even lie prone in deference.
Our full day in Kolkata the next day
included crossing the Howrah bridge which separates Howrah from Kolkata over the
Hooghly River. Howrah is a somewhat sleepier place compared to the hustle and
bustle of Kolkata.
The Kalighat is one of the major spiritual sights to see in Kolkata.
A trip to Kolkata is not complete
without a visit to the Kalighat and the Kali temples. Kali is the Goddess of
Destruction and has a very large group of worshippers among Hindus. There are
many other spiritual journeys to take in Kolkata such as the Fire Temples of
the Parsi and the Jain Temples that lie along the Hooghly River.
For food, we had to try Fleury’s
which is a Kolkata institution serving tea and pastries since 1927. The other
foods that are must-tries in Kolkata are the Bengali fish curry and the Hakka
Chinese dishes that are extremely popular in the Greater Toronto Area. Dishes
such as chili chicken and Hakka chowmein started in Kolkata and cost a fraction
of what they cost in the west. Bengali fish curry is one of the amazing dishes
of north-eastern India.
Recommended hotel:
We stayed for two nights with early check in at the Oberoi Grand
Hotel. This five-star hotel is in the middle of Kolkata offers a step back to
the days when the British Raj used Kolkata as its capital. The old world hotel
is well appointed including a swimming pool in the middle of the complex from
which you cannot hear the outside world. The hotel is sight of the
threesixtythree restaurant with all day dining and a Thai restaurant called
Baan Thai. In the offseason, a two-night stay is about £250 while the price is
£360 in the high season for two nights.
If you are on a backpacking trip,
most of the hostels can be found around Sudder Street. There are still
British-era clubs in existence such as the Tollygunge Club, Calcutta Club, and
Saturday Club where it is possible to rent a very lavish Raj-era room. However,
you can only do so through a member.
Getting in by air
Fights to Kolkata land at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International
Airport. The airport is served by all Indian domestic carriers as well as Air
Asia, Biman Bangladesh, Bhutan Airlines, Cathay Dragon, China Eastern, Druk
Air, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, Singapore Airlines, Sirlankan, and Thai Airways.
By rail:
There are three main stations in Kolkata: Howrah Junction, Sealdah,
and Kolkata. While Howrah Junction is technically not in Kolkata as it is in
Howrah, it is the largest railway station in India with 26 platforms accommodating
600 trains every day. Most of the long distance trains from the west such as
the Delhi trains will stop at Howrah.
Safety
By western standards, Kolkata is a relatively safe city. There are
areas such as Sudder Street where drug dealers tend to do business, but they
tend to keep to themselves. Bag snatchings are rare but they occur so make sure
your belongings are safe.
The Taj Mahal is the most iconic sight in India. Located in Agra, hundreds of millions of people visit the tomb every day.
One of the most visited countries in
the world is India. It offers mystery, folklore, ancient civilisations,
cuisine, and so much more. For my next blog series, I will focus on India as a
traveller’s dream.
I will go from the perspective of
creating a bespoke holiday because, unless you are a very savvy traveller, you
will need help navigating India’s bustling streets, overflowing infrastructure,
and the culture shock.
This is based on my Indian journey in
2011 which I took with my parents and a family friend. At the time, I was still
living in Canada when I planned this journey.
Best time to go
We decided the best time to go would be in October around the
Canadian Thanksgiving. It was not quite high season in India which meant prices
would be a bit cheaper than a few weeks later. The high season in India tends
to be late October to mid-March when the temperatures begin to rise into the
40s. This is when most people will visit India when it is “pleasant” in the
30s.
Air travel
I had been reading all about how great Emirates Airlines were back
in those days. They had made air travel great again (wink, wink). At the time,
they were beginning to roll out their superjumbo Airbus A380 on several routes,
but they were still flying the Boeing 777 to Toronto. So, we decided to fly
with them though Manchester and to include a short visit with my sister and see
the babies Jasmine and Oscar.
We decided to fly business class on
this flight which, at the time, was very reasonable. This was when Emirates was
undercutting the competition by offering fares competitors couldn’t match. Now,
they offer high fares and their service suffers greatly. A perk of flying
Emirates business class is the chauffeur drive programme where they send a car
to pick you up. In the Manchester area, it is a 50-mile radius which meant
Sheffield was well within the zone.
Entry into India
For this one, I did a lot of homework at night to try and understand
how the optimise our time in India. The vast majority of people who go to India
will need a visa. So I started looking into the process which required filling
out an online form, printing it, taking it and your passport to an office and
getting your passport and visa back in about two weeks. Today, it is much
simpler with an e-Visa where you buy the visa online, print the PDF, and carry
it with you. It usually takes a few hours to get an e-Visa.
Researching
Based on my research, I knew that India was way too big to see in a
three-week trip and that I would have to limit it to a region or two. With
life, we have no guarantees which means seeing the most iconic areas on your
first trip. That meant including the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur)
on this trip. The vast majority of people who visit India will visit this
region first. What you do beyond that makes your trip special.
I also felt that we should visit the
former colonial capital of Kolkata, as well as the northern Islamic city of
Lucknow on our trip. Because my grandfather was a practising Hindu, we felt
Varanasi should be put on the trip.
So now with Delhi, Agra, Jaipur,
Kolkata, Lucknow, and Varanasi in mind, we had the skeleton of a trip and I started
to look at suggested itineraries that people have posted on Lonely Planet,
Tripadvisor, and other travel websites. I kept seeing people talk about certain
travel companies that specialise in Indian tours that will put together a
formal trip with hotels and internal transportation. I chose the British-based
company Cox
and Kings for advice on the trip. Other companies that are very reputable
that would provide similar services include Greaves India, an American and
British-based company that we used on our second trip to India; Kuoni, a British agency with offices
across the country, and; Wild
Frontiers, based in London.
These operators have people who are
experts on the areas you are interested in visiting who work exclusively with
Indian tour operators, are very familiar with India, and will ensure that your
holiday is exactly what you wanted.
Basically, I worked with a dedicated
tour agent to fill in the blanks on my skeleton plant. He advised four
additional places that would help create a smooth transition especialy because
this trip was from the east to central Indian. He added in Khajuraho, Orchha,
Ranthambhore National Park, and Ramathra Fort.
Khajuraho is the site of several
ancient temples similar to what you would see at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. It is
a very small village that is only known for the temples which means an
overnight stay is all you need. We flew into Khajuraho from Varanasi and made
our way through the rest of the trip by van from Khajuraho.
Orchha is a medieval town in Madhya
Pradesh. It is best known for for its fort. We stayed for two nights at the
Amar Mahal, a small hotel laid out like an Indian palace with views overlooking
the town below.
The medieval town of Orchha is known for palaces and forts and takes you back in time.
Ranthambhore National Park is in
Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan and a tiger reserve. It is one of the few places in
the world where you can view Bengal tigers in the wild — if they are out. They
tend to hide away in the foliage. We stayed at the Vivanta by Taj Sawai
Madhopur which is a five-star hotel that used to be a hunting lodge. Getting up
at 5 a.m. having a snack of biscuits and tea or coffee before climbing on board
a jeep and trekking into the forests transports you back to the days of the Raj
and gives you an idea of what it might have been like to be in that era.
My favourite was Ramathra Fort. It
is a place that, unless you know about it, you probably won’t even know it’s
there. Ramathra Fort is in Karauli, Rajasthan, about 200 km south of the Agra
to Jaipur highway. The further off the beaten track you get the more rugged the
drive until you come to a part where one gravel lane serves two directions of
traffic. Imagine a heavy goods truck and a small van trying to get by each
other with 20-foot dead drops on their side of the road. But the journey is is
worth it when you arrive at the Fort which is a hotel with two suites and eight
luxury tents, when you climb up on the rampart wall, look out at the mustard
fields and see no one. Other than the sounds of animals around you, it is peace
and quiet which is even more amazing when you consider that just north of you
is that Golden Triangle with millions and millions of people, bustling traffic,
and non-stop activity.
Tips for planning India
India is one of the places I
would recommend you do not cut costs;
Five-star hotels in India are
not that expensive. You can find great hotels in the five-star range from less
than £100 per night.
Northern India is very
different from Southern India which I will get to in the next post. Where the
south is more laid back, you will be inundated by beggars and touts in the
north and they are relentless. In fact, when they approach you, you shouldn’t even
look at them much less say anything. “No or no thank you” does not work with
them.
A combination of transport
types will allow you to experience India in dfferent ways. We did flights,
train, and road travel.
Always remember to drink
bottled water. You should use it to brush your teeth as well. Caution is a good
thing.
Remember to consult a travel
clinic before you leave to make sure you have your inoculations.
Go vegetarian for the first few
days of your trip to ease the Delhi belly.
Avoid street food as much as
you can. See previous point.
Accept that your tour operator
in India, tour guide, tour manager, driver, etc., make a fixed small wage and
top up their pay with commissions. This means you will be taken to clothing
shops, souvenir shops, perfumeries, etc. to buy things. Every purchase you make
means a commission for them.
Tipping can be almost as
expensive as your journey when you consider that you will have to tip your tour
manager, tour guide, driver, and driver’s assistant. Rule of thumb is that the
tour manager gets about £10 to £20, your tour guide gets about £8 per day per
adult on the tour, £10 per adult per day goes to your driver, and £2 per adult
per day to your driver’s assistant.
In Part 2, I will outline the
planning for the second journey to India which I did in 2013. Subsequent parts
of the series will outline various places I visited and which are highly
recommended.
One of the biggest turnoffs for
travellers is a scam. Locals see unfamiliar tourists as opportunities to make
money.
A few tips can help you to become
savvy travellers and make it more difficult for scammers to take your
hard-earned money. After all, you worked all year to afford your holiday, why
should someone ruin that for you?
Taxi scams
This one tends to be prevalent in various forms in Europe and Asia.
In Europe, it tends to occur at the airport because there are so many
government regulations that mean trying to scam passengers in the city becomes
difficult.
Always be wary of someone
approaching you in the arrivals lounge asking if you need a taxi. Always say no
and go to the official taxi stand. There have been cases of people being left
on the side of highways because they refused to pay an extortionate rate to
travel.
While taxi stands tend to be where
legitimate taxi drivers wait, it does not guarantee you will not be scammed in
some way, especially in Asia.
India is notorious for taxi drivers
to lie to you that your hotel closed/burned down, the sight you want to see is
closed, or the restaurant or shop you want to visit is closed. They do this
because they get commissions from some hotels, shops, and restaurants to bring
in unsuspecting dupes.
The best way to deal with these
people is to insist on going where you want to go or just getting out of the
taxi.
In Thailand, you have to insist that
the driver turns on the meter or else they get creative with the cost. Taxis in
Thailand are very cheap. A fare from Suvarnabhumi Airport to central Bangkok
should cost about no more than 400 baht (£10, CAD$17, US$13, or AUD$19).
Drivers will conveniently forget to turn on the meter so they can charge you
two to three times this price. If they don’t turn on the meter, get out of the
taxi.
In Patong, never use a tuktuk
because they will all scam you because all of the drivers collude and set
extortionate prices. According to the government of Thailand, you should never
pay more than 40 baht/kilometre (£1) in a tuktuk. Yet, these drivers will quote
you at a rate of 100 baht/km. The nice thing about Patong is you are most
likely going to stay in a hotel that is close to Patong Beach and the nightlife
so you are not more than 10 to 15 minutes from anywhere.
A good way to avoid transportation
scams is to prepay for your transport and use public transit to get around.
Yes, you will take longer on the bus or tube but the price is firm. You pay
more for prepaid transport but you won’t be asked for more money.
General scams
The objective of the scammer is to separate you from your money.
They do this by offering you too-good-to-be-true opportunities. Single men will
often be targeted by the honey scam in which an attractive woman or two will
approach the man with suggestions of romance to follow.
They usually lead the dupe to a bar
where drink and have a good time until an extremely expensive bar bill shows up
accompanied by equally intimidating security demanding payment which includes
being accompanied to a cashpoint where they will wipe out your daily balance.
Other scams include someone smearing
something on your shoe and the partner comes along and cleans it for a
ridiculous price.
Gemstone scams also exist where you
are shown beautifully stones and the price is very cheap for the stones. These
turn out to be nothing more than beautifully painted rocks. Instead of a nice
piece of green jade at 90 percent off the market price, you got yourself a
green pebble.
How to avoid scams
Whether you are a seasoned veteran
or a rookie tourist, someone will attempt to scam you. How well they do depends
on you. As I said, you’ve worked hard to save for your trip, don’t give it away
to anyone.
In all cases, a scam begins when
someone approaches you. My take is, anyone who approaches me is treated with
suspicion. The worst is you’ll be wrong, but the best is you’ll be right.
Children are used to rob people so I
must include them in my list. But context needs to be considered. For example,
if you visit the Peace Park at Hiroshima where there are hundreds of school
children who are friendly and want to try out their burgeoning English language
skills with you then they aren’t a risk. But if you’re on the steps of the
cathedral in Milan and some children run up to you with a newspaper, speaking a
language you don’t understand that is when you should move away as quickly as
possible.
Sometimes people genuinely want to
help you but there are many indicators that will be evident that the person is
just being nice and does not pose a threat. My experience shows me that if I’m
walking and someone approaches me then it is suspicious. But if I’m walking and
I have my phone out trying to track where I am going and looking for landmarks
and I am asked where I want to go, chances are that person wants to help. Some
scammers will start this way of being helpful before launching into the scam. I
just walk away saying no thanks. It will anger them but I believe the law of
averages works in your favour. By law of averages, I mean for every nine people
who don’t fall victim to a scam, there will be one. So a scammer won’t waste
too much time on you if it is evident you aren’t falling for the act because,
as the saying goes, there’s a sucker born every minute.
Another easy way to avoid a scam is
to check your bill and change closely. After a few drinks, staff in some places
may try to get creative with your tab. The lesson here is don’t drink to the
point where you don’t care about the price. Always ensure that the bill
reflects your orders and that the change you receive in bars, restaurants, and
shops is exactly what you should receive.
All it takes is one scam to be
successful to turn people off holidays, countries, and cultures. The best way
to have a successful holiday is to plan and that means planning for scams. If
you plan for scams, then you know how to avoid them.
Taking the road best travelled 