Essential India

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• GJ

  Gerald
  Written on January 21, 2018

  3.5 - Good

  My Fiancé and I did the 8-day golden triangle tour which was a great way of seeing a lot in a relatively short space of time. We only had 5 people on our tour which was perfect for having company whilst not making it too difficult to make group decisions on what to see and do. Transport: The tour bus was great with comfy leather arm chairs and aircon. The driver was very careful and safe and didn't use the horn at all which made for comfortable travel days. Accommodation: Was mostly OK 3-star hotels with good clean rooms and tidy bathrooms. The hotel in Delhi, where we stayed at the beginning and end of the trip, was disappointing. It was in an area that did not feel particularly safe to walk around in, especially for women. We also had to be changed rooms on both occasions that we stayed there as the rooms smelt very strongly of pesticides which made breathing very difficult for both of us as mild asthmatics. I was struck down with acute gastro, along with another tour member, after eating at the in-house restaurant at our hotel in Jaipur. You kind of expect that you may get sick in India, but you expect that hotels should be a safe option. The hotel did not seem to be overly concerned that multiple people got sick from their food. The hotel in Agra was the highlight of the accommodation, being modern, clean with great restaurants and being walking distance to the Taj Mahal. Sights: Everything on the itinerary was worth seeing and thoroughly interesting. We missed out on seeing the sights in Jaipur (due to gastro) so can't say much about them. Thanks to our Tour guide we were able to see several sights that weren't on the itinerary which involved the Spice market in Old Delhi, Chand Baori (Step well) in Jaipur which involved spending time with a lovely old couple at their home. Tour Guide: Our tour guide was okay, but my fiancé found that the tour guides account of Indian historical facts wasn't entirely accurate since my fiancé had studied Indian history. The guide was generally friendly and approachable, but I was disappointed that he didn't make an effort to learn my name and completely ignored me when we were saying our goodbyes. However, on a positive note, the guide catered for our demands as a group i.e. making sure the places we stopped for food and toilet breaks were clean and tidy, organising drinks etc. Travel Talk: The only concern we had was the local payment option where we were told to carry Rs 26,000 in cash and was told there was no online option to make the payment while booking the tour. Carrying that much on your person isn't convenient or safe in India. Due to demonetization in India early 2017 the higher denomination notes weren't available in the ATMs and you would need to withdraw the amount in smaller denominations which meant large numbers of notes. Also, while booking the tour online, we felt it was a bit misleading that the local payment amount wasn't included in the tour price.

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