Amber Fort, Jaipur
Jaipur
Inside the Amber Fort
Rita (left) on her birthday elephant ride at the Amber Fort
A man with is monkey
Parlaiment buildings in Dehli
Snake charmer on the street in Dehli
Taj Mahal
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Final post about Rita's trip to India
To finish off the last report - I went to a shopping mall in Delhi - just like any Mall you will see in the world except all the security. There are metal detectors before coming into the mall, then the security in the stores is unbelievable- about 3 or 4 people in a store and I am talking about small places. I tried to see if this is always the case or something different, but people say they have had it for a long time.
Walking in Delhi I now see the traffic for real - and the cars, bicycles, motorcycles, cows, goats, etc- every mode of transportation in this place all on the same streets, makes it very hard to move around. I was telling Maha in my office that we thought the traffic in Cairo, Egypt was bad, but there is no comparison. Cairo is like a dream walking between the cars to get to the other side of the street, but here in Delhi you really are taking your life into your hands by doing crossing the road! I did it and put my hand out as I was crossing, but it did not seem to help much. You still had to jump and run to make it. They do have overpasses and also a subway system, but it didn't seem like it was used when you saw the number of people out on the streets. But I am told it is used a lot, just with a huge number of people that come in from the villages it’s hard to tell.
Also, you do see the beggars, all over the place and wonder how these people survive. There is a huge difference in the classes - you have the very powerful Indians that are wealthy and own so much and also they are the ones that control the contracts for outsourcing and then a middle class that is now working in those businesses, and then a poor class and then a very, very poor class.
I think it will take India a long time to get out of this and join the modern world in so many ways. I am ready to leave this place with so many mixed feelings about trying it as a destination, not knowing if I could get all the services that I want for clients, or should this be something that is pushed for the adventurous that do not mind the long bus rides or the trains to move around. There are flights between some of the major cities, but travel to others would need 5 or 6 hours on the road, with not that many rest stops that are clean or provide food and facilities. I would definitely not recommend people to go during this time of year (May through the summer), but to go earlier in January, February or March or late in the fall - any other times would be very hot and not especially relaxing or enjoyable in that kind of heat.
All in all it was an interesting experience, but I am ready to get back to rainy Seattle, to my own bed and also have some cheese. That’s one thing that was hard to find here so if you are a cheese fanatic, like me, not much in this country.
At the Delhi airport waiting for the flight it has been delayed two hours, the shopping is not that great mostly like any duty free shop- so if you want to buy trinkets and local goods do before departing, it is not like most airports that have local handicrafts for sale – just western items, liquor, candy, etc.
Announcement made in Hindi, only way to know was watching all the people line up - no numbers or seating called out, no handicap, or parents with children loading first - it was first come, first on board - you did have seats assigned, don't get me wrong on that.
The flight is crowded. Because of the strike they were waiting for other flights to come in and connect with this one. We ended up leaving another hour later - so the flight was three hours late. I found people on the flight to be very pushy and not polite. I had a woman next to me that was sitting in the middle seat of three seats - I asked her to move to the aisle so we would have a middle seat between us. She said no, this was all hers and I needed to move somewhere else. I sat down next to her and refused to move and she kept poking me with her elbow. Now this is a woman that was about my age and maybe older. Very aggressive, I just thought this is not worth it and moved to another aisle seat. Once the plane left the ground someone else tried to do the same thing and she did the same to her and that woman left. That old lady got what she wanted and slept on the three seats. I was not very nice, when she left to go to the rest room I "accidentally" spilled a bottle of water on her seat......... I then had a good sleep in my other seat and forgot about her. As I say when you get older, you don't care what people say about you or what you do-----I like being older.
Good night
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 4: Well after a 22 hour flight I am exhausted and so happy to be in Seattle with the rain and the cooler weather - getting a cab home and making myself some hot tea with crackers and cheese, and my little Omar jumping up and down excited to see me. There is no place better than home and in your own bed. I will be thinking about India and if we at Caravan-Serai might include it as a destination in the future.
Walking in Delhi I now see the traffic for real - and the cars, bicycles, motorcycles, cows, goats, etc- every mode of transportation in this place all on the same streets, makes it very hard to move around. I was telling Maha in my office that we thought the traffic in Cairo, Egypt was bad, but there is no comparison. Cairo is like a dream walking between the cars to get to the other side of the street, but here in Delhi you really are taking your life into your hands by doing crossing the road! I did it and put my hand out as I was crossing, but it did not seem to help much. You still had to jump and run to make it. They do have overpasses and also a subway system, but it didn't seem like it was used when you saw the number of people out on the streets. But I am told it is used a lot, just with a huge number of people that come in from the villages it’s hard to tell.
Also, you do see the beggars, all over the place and wonder how these people survive. There is a huge difference in the classes - you have the very powerful Indians that are wealthy and own so much and also they are the ones that control the contracts for outsourcing and then a middle class that is now working in those businesses, and then a poor class and then a very, very poor class.
I think it will take India a long time to get out of this and join the modern world in so many ways. I am ready to leave this place with so many mixed feelings about trying it as a destination, not knowing if I could get all the services that I want for clients, or should this be something that is pushed for the adventurous that do not mind the long bus rides or the trains to move around. There are flights between some of the major cities, but travel to others would need 5 or 6 hours on the road, with not that many rest stops that are clean or provide food and facilities. I would definitely not recommend people to go during this time of year (May through the summer), but to go earlier in January, February or March or late in the fall - any other times would be very hot and not especially relaxing or enjoyable in that kind of heat.
All in all it was an interesting experience, but I am ready to get back to rainy Seattle, to my own bed and also have some cheese. That’s one thing that was hard to find here so if you are a cheese fanatic, like me, not much in this country.
At the Delhi airport waiting for the flight it has been delayed two hours, the shopping is not that great mostly like any duty free shop- so if you want to buy trinkets and local goods do before departing, it is not like most airports that have local handicrafts for sale – just western items, liquor, candy, etc.
Announcement made in Hindi, only way to know was watching all the people line up - no numbers or seating called out, no handicap, or parents with children loading first - it was first come, first on board - you did have seats assigned, don't get me wrong on that.
The flight is crowded. Because of the strike they were waiting for other flights to come in and connect with this one. We ended up leaving another hour later - so the flight was three hours late. I found people on the flight to be very pushy and not polite. I had a woman next to me that was sitting in the middle seat of three seats - I asked her to move to the aisle so we would have a middle seat between us. She said no, this was all hers and I needed to move somewhere else. I sat down next to her and refused to move and she kept poking me with her elbow. Now this is a woman that was about my age and maybe older. Very aggressive, I just thought this is not worth it and moved to another aisle seat. Once the plane left the ground someone else tried to do the same thing and she did the same to her and that woman left. That old lady got what she wanted and slept on the three seats. I was not very nice, when she left to go to the rest room I "accidentally" spilled a bottle of water on her seat......... I then had a good sleep in my other seat and forgot about her. As I say when you get older, you don't care what people say about you or what you do-----I like being older.
Good night
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 4: Well after a 22 hour flight I am exhausted and so happy to be in Seattle with the rain and the cooler weather - getting a cab home and making myself some hot tea with crackers and cheese, and my little Omar jumping up and down excited to see me. There is no place better than home and in your own bed. I will be thinking about India and if we at Caravan-Serai might include it as a destination in the future.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Agra and back to Dehli (sent late May 1st)
Rita's last day in India:
Left Agra last night after visiting the most unbelievable museum in Kohinoor - it has the most beautiful gems - emeralds that are billions of dollars and also pictures that were made from gems and embroidered with silk threads on top of silk thread so made it seems three dimensional. The artist has been written up in National Geographic. Some beautiful stuff and the owner is so humble and nice - it is a family run business.
Then we had a long drive back to Delhi - it took 5 hours and the traffic is really very heavy in the evening.
Before I left Agra I went to see the Oberoi Hotel where every room in the hotel has a view of the Taj Mahal. For $500 for a standard room the service and the people and the location are perfect. They have a great spa. The prices were about the same as other hotels that I visited. I was surprised at the prices for 4 star hotels – they were very high, running at $250 and upwards for standard rooms.
Agra is a shoppers paradise and you can get a lot of beautiful items and a lot of jewelry in garnets, rubies, sapphires for very low prices. But it depends on the quality like everything else. Also you will find sandals, shoes, and other leather goods. So come with an empty suitcase to carry your gifts back. I came with a carry on and really had to stop myself from not buying up a storm, which I usually do.
Today is my last day in India before I take a red eye flight out of here. Hoping that the flight will go out since Air India is still on strike and 126 flights have been cancelled. Only 10 pilots have shown up to work. What the airline is doing for some is taking people by train to other big cities and combining the flights. This would mean filled flights. Which will not be great - the flight that I had on the way over was half empty so I was able to stretch out and sleep most of the flight over. Air India, if you have never flown it, is really a good airline and the flight attendants were so nice and accommodating to everyone.
Going out for some last minute shopping and running around to the city. I am told that the temperature is down to 98 today so it will be a bit cooler.
Back with more later.
Left Agra last night after visiting the most unbelievable museum in Kohinoor - it has the most beautiful gems - emeralds that are billions of dollars and also pictures that were made from gems and embroidered with silk threads on top of silk thread so made it seems three dimensional. The artist has been written up in National Geographic. Some beautiful stuff and the owner is so humble and nice - it is a family run business.
Then we had a long drive back to Delhi - it took 5 hours and the traffic is really very heavy in the evening.
Before I left Agra I went to see the Oberoi Hotel where every room in the hotel has a view of the Taj Mahal. For $500 for a standard room the service and the people and the location are perfect. They have a great spa. The prices were about the same as other hotels that I visited. I was surprised at the prices for 4 star hotels – they were very high, running at $250 and upwards for standard rooms.
Agra is a shoppers paradise and you can get a lot of beautiful items and a lot of jewelry in garnets, rubies, sapphires for very low prices. But it depends on the quality like everything else. Also you will find sandals, shoes, and other leather goods. So come with an empty suitcase to carry your gifts back. I came with a carry on and really had to stop myself from not buying up a storm, which I usually do.
Today is my last day in India before I take a red eye flight out of here. Hoping that the flight will go out since Air India is still on strike and 126 flights have been cancelled. Only 10 pilots have shown up to work. What the airline is doing for some is taking people by train to other big cities and combining the flights. This would mean filled flights. Which will not be great - the flight that I had on the way over was half empty so I was able to stretch out and sleep most of the flight over. Air India, if you have never flown it, is really a good airline and the flight attendants were so nice and accommodating to everyone.
Going out for some last minute shopping and running around to the city. I am told that the temperature is down to 98 today so it will be a bit cooler.
Back with more later.
Taj Mahal ~ Amber Fort ~ Elephants (sent May 1st)
Here is another post from Rita on her trip to India.
This is the day I was waiting for - going to Agra and seeing the Taj Mahal. It is everything that you expect and more, really an incredible site. The guide told me that about 3 million people visit this place a year. I would not recommend coming in April or May and the summer. Today we started out at 5:30am to miss the heat, but that is really not the case since it is hot no matter what! The temperature today was at 114 and when you come from Seattle OMG that is hot (and humid!). No matter how much water you drink you would lose it faster then you can imagine with the sweat.
I spent about three hours just looking and wandering around the grounds that are kept so clean and green. I can see why the Indians are so proud of this place, so much Islamic architecture and workmanship in the tiles and the carvings. It is one of those places that you could come back to time and again. One visit is not enough.
I stayed at the Orient Taj Hotel which is only about a 10 minute ride to the Taj. Then you need to take a little motor bus to the entrance and walk about 10 minutes to get to the gate. Lots of security -people are not allowed to take in food, or any other objects like files, notebooks, pads, or paints; just a camera and water only. They are afraid that people will be picking at the mosaics and trying to remove them or afraid that someone might carry a bomb in the other materials. The hotels also have a huge amount of security here. Pat downs and screening of bags etc. I believe a lot of this is from the hotel bombings they have had. They need the tourism.
The only thing in India that is annoying is all the vendors- they get into your face and try and hawk their wares- they do not understand NO - you are suppose to just keep walking and have no eye contact or anything with them. Once you talk that means you are interested and they will keep at you even when you get into your bus. I have never seen anything like this. When traveling in the Middle East or North Africa once you say No or “go away, I am not interested” they usually leave you alone. Not here. You get this from little kids to adults, all the same. You have to keep yourself from not shouting Leave Me Alone! That is the one thing that was very hard to deal with.
Still not seeing a lot of beggars, though. In the villages that you drive through you do see little kids at the bus that are putting their hands to their mouths asking you for food - I would get some cookies or something and give it to them, but it was not enough they would keep wanting more. They would not say THANK YOU or anything just as if you did nothing. It was very interesting.
I had a man wait for me with a bicycle carriage and I was told to give him 50 rupees which is about 1US I thought he waited so long and was nice that I gave him 5USD - he asked for another 5US and said you are American and have money give me more.
Agra the city is very crowded and people come here for the Taj and also for the Agra Fort which is still in use by the military, but they will show you around. You get to see about 25 percent of it. The city is also known for its leather and shoe factories.
I spent about three hours just looking and wandering around the grounds that are kept so clean and green. I can see why the Indians are so proud of this place, so much Islamic architecture and workmanship in the tiles and the carvings. It is one of those places that you could come back to time and again. One visit is not enough.
I stayed at the Orient Taj Hotel which is only about a 10 minute ride to the Taj. Then you need to take a little motor bus to the entrance and walk about 10 minutes to get to the gate. Lots of security -people are not allowed to take in food, or any other objects like files, notebooks, pads, or paints; just a camera and water only. They are afraid that people will be picking at the mosaics and trying to remove them or afraid that someone might carry a bomb in the other materials. The hotels also have a huge amount of security here. Pat downs and screening of bags etc. I believe a lot of this is from the hotel bombings they have had. They need the tourism.
The only thing in India that is annoying is all the vendors- they get into your face and try and hawk their wares- they do not understand NO - you are suppose to just keep walking and have no eye contact or anything with them. Once you talk that means you are interested and they will keep at you even when you get into your bus. I have never seen anything like this. When traveling in the Middle East or North Africa once you say No or “go away, I am not interested” they usually leave you alone. Not here. You get this from little kids to adults, all the same. You have to keep yourself from not shouting Leave Me Alone! That is the one thing that was very hard to deal with.
Still not seeing a lot of beggars, though. In the villages that you drive through you do see little kids at the bus that are putting their hands to their mouths asking you for food - I would get some cookies or something and give it to them, but it was not enough they would keep wanting more. They would not say THANK YOU or anything just as if you did nothing. It was very interesting.
I had a man wait for me with a bicycle carriage and I was told to give him 50 rupees which is about 1US I thought he waited so long and was nice that I gave him 5USD - he asked for another 5US and said you are American and have money give me more.
Agra the city is very crowded and people come here for the Taj and also for the Agra Fort which is still in use by the military, but they will show you around. You get to see about 25 percent of it. The city is also known for its leather and shoe factories.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Rita's Trip to India
Rita sent this post from her trip to India, which she is checking out to see about adding to our list of destinations.
-----------------------------------------------------
I arrived in Delhi after a 13.5 hours flight from JFK - it wasn’t bad since the flight was half empty so I was able to stretch out and sleep most of the way.
India was not a place that I had ever thought of coming, but for some reason I needed to get out of Seattle and thought maybe this might be a destination for our clients, similar to the Middle East in so many ways.
I was met at the airport by a very nice young man and was taken to my hotel - the Rama Palace. This is an old palace that was purchased for a new bride back in the early 1900’s and has been restored - it is ok, nothing great. The only problem is that it’s too far out of town, I found out. I have to take a car for the one hour drive into the center of Delhi. After being in Delhi (at temperatures of 98 degrees), it’s very crowded but I have not seen any poverty, which is one of the reasons I had not wanted to travel here before.
Had a full day of sightseeing today from visiting their White House, beautiful green gardens and wide streets reminded me of Argentina. No beggars but so many motorcycles. It seems that it only cost $1000 to get one so everyone has one, or these bicycles carriages or little carts that are moving fast throughout the streets. Horns, horns and more horns- they honk for no reason at all.
I took a bicycle carriage through the old city. Felt so sorry for the young man peddling in between the cars and motorcycles and in the heat, we seemed to hit every pot hold there was. I think in the movies they make it look so glamorous and fun, but honestly it is not. I finally got back to the hotel, exhausted from being out the full day in the heat and just hit the bed.
Today I had a long drive to Jaipur, the Pink City. It is 5 hours from Delhi and the only way to get there is by bus or train, no airline flight. Read in the paper today that Air India is on strike, wondering how long it will last and how I will get out of here.
Jaipur reminded me of the Middle East with the building structures, palaces, and the Islamic art work and tiles. Also the names are in Arabic Diwan. Still no beggars, but the hawkers trying to sell their stuff. I was told do not talk to them, do not say NO because if you do it means Yes. Well I was trying to do it like the Middle East and said No - wrong thing to do! I got surrounded by so many and they would start at a price of 3,000 rupees for drawings and then go down to 200 . A rupee is running 44 to the US dollar.
Today is my birthday and I wanted to ride an elephant - which I did to the Amber Fort! The Amber Fort is a huge fort that is walled and has this long narrow walk way up to the top - it took about 25 minutes riding the elephant up. Way different than a camel - the elephant rocks side to side and the camel rocks from back to front. Elephants are more comfortable! It was a great day but the temp got up to 104-109 today, but it was a dry heat.
Went to the Taj Hotel for drinks –a beautiful place with incredible green gardens. Surprised at how much green there is with all the heat. People are so nice and humble, when you come into a building they put their hands together and bow their heads and say Namaste. The men at the entrance to most of the places, hotels, restaurants, etc wear the traditional outfits and long mustaches that curl upwards.
Not much on the news about the Royal wedding which surprised me. Their was a coronation of a maharaja in the provenance of Jaipur- he is 12 years of age- beautiful young man who is now ruling this area.
Will write more later going out to dinner now.
-----------------------------------------------------
I arrived in Delhi after a 13.5 hours flight from JFK - it wasn’t bad since the flight was half empty so I was able to stretch out and sleep most of the way.
India was not a place that I had ever thought of coming, but for some reason I needed to get out of Seattle and thought maybe this might be a destination for our clients, similar to the Middle East in so many ways.
I was met at the airport by a very nice young man and was taken to my hotel - the Rama Palace. This is an old palace that was purchased for a new bride back in the early 1900’s and has been restored - it is ok, nothing great. The only problem is that it’s too far out of town, I found out. I have to take a car for the one hour drive into the center of Delhi. After being in Delhi (at temperatures of 98 degrees), it’s very crowded but I have not seen any poverty, which is one of the reasons I had not wanted to travel here before.
Had a full day of sightseeing today from visiting their White House, beautiful green gardens and wide streets reminded me of Argentina. No beggars but so many motorcycles. It seems that it only cost $1000 to get one so everyone has one, or these bicycles carriages or little carts that are moving fast throughout the streets. Horns, horns and more horns- they honk for no reason at all.
I took a bicycle carriage through the old city. Felt so sorry for the young man peddling in between the cars and motorcycles and in the heat, we seemed to hit every pot hold there was. I think in the movies they make it look so glamorous and fun, but honestly it is not. I finally got back to the hotel, exhausted from being out the full day in the heat and just hit the bed.
Today I had a long drive to Jaipur, the Pink City. It is 5 hours from Delhi and the only way to get there is by bus or train, no airline flight. Read in the paper today that Air India is on strike, wondering how long it will last and how I will get out of here.
Jaipur reminded me of the Middle East with the building structures, palaces, and the Islamic art work and tiles. Also the names are in Arabic Diwan. Still no beggars, but the hawkers trying to sell their stuff. I was told do not talk to them, do not say NO because if you do it means Yes. Well I was trying to do it like the Middle East and said No - wrong thing to do! I got surrounded by so many and they would start at a price of 3,000 rupees for drawings and then go down to 200 . A rupee is running 44 to the US dollar.
Today is my birthday and I wanted to ride an elephant - which I did to the Amber Fort! The Amber Fort is a huge fort that is walled and has this long narrow walk way up to the top - it took about 25 minutes riding the elephant up. Way different than a camel - the elephant rocks side to side and the camel rocks from back to front. Elephants are more comfortable! It was a great day but the temp got up to 104-109 today, but it was a dry heat.
Went to the Taj Hotel for drinks –a beautiful place with incredible green gardens. Surprised at how much green there is with all the heat. People are so nice and humble, when you come into a building they put their hands together and bow their heads and say Namaste. The men at the entrance to most of the places, hotels, restaurants, etc wear the traditional outfits and long mustaches that curl upwards.
Not much on the news about the Royal wedding which surprised me. Their was a coronation of a maharaja in the provenance of Jaipur- he is 12 years of age- beautiful young man who is now ruling this area.
Will write more later going out to dinner now.
New tours to Turkey
We have two new tours to Turkey scheduled for this year! It has been some time since we have had set departures scheduled to Turkey, although it is always a destination we are sending clients to.
Our first tour in July focuses on Western Turkey. It will take the group to Ankara, Cappadoccia, Pamukkale, Antalya, then to coast and the city of Izmir and finally Istanbul. This will be an exciting intorduction to the country and will include sites of antiquity such as the Ephesus, the natural wonders of Cappadocia, the white mineral pools of Pamukkale, and the most important sites in Istanbul. To see the complete itinerary click here: http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/TurkeyJune2011.htm
Our tour in September will focus on Eastern Turkey and include Cappadocia, Trabzon, Mt. Nemrut, Diyarbekir, Urfa, Lake Van, Erzurum, and more. The tour will end in Istanbul with a tour of the city, then free time to explore on your own. A farewell dinner cruise on the Bosporus caps off this exciting look into a less traveled region of Turkey. To see the entire itinerary click here: http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/TurkeySept2011.htm
Pamukkale
Our first tour in July focuses on Western Turkey. It will take the group to Ankara, Cappadoccia, Pamukkale, Antalya, then to coast and the city of Izmir and finally Istanbul. This will be an exciting intorduction to the country and will include sites of antiquity such as the Ephesus, the natural wonders of Cappadocia, the white mineral pools of Pamukkale, and the most important sites in Istanbul. To see the complete itinerary click here: http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/TurkeyJune2011.htm
Our tour in September will focus on Eastern Turkey and include Cappadocia, Trabzon, Mt. Nemrut, Diyarbekir, Urfa, Lake Van, Erzurum, and more. The tour will end in Istanbul with a tour of the city, then free time to explore on your own. A farewell dinner cruise on the Bosporus caps off this exciting look into a less traveled region of Turkey. To see the entire itinerary click here: http://www.caravan-serai.com/tours/TurkeySept2011.htm
Lake Van
April Egypt tour quick report
Rita:
Got home about 1:00 this morning.
The trip was really good. With only three of us and no tourist we got to spend valued time at
the sites.
Always felt safe. The Egyptian people are very warm, friendly and welcoming. They love Americans
and of course especially Obama.
Thank you for making this opportunity possible.
Dottie
Got home about 1:00 this morning.
The trip was really good. With only three of us and no tourist we got to spend valued time at
the sites.
Always felt safe. The Egyptian people are very warm, friendly and welcoming. They love Americans
and of course especially Obama.
Thank you for making this opportunity possible.
Dottie
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