Get it INDIA

[Jacques Vert]

 

[Jacques Vert]

Lake Pichola

 

[Jacques Vert]

Princess Garden (Saheliyon-ke-Bari)

 

[Jacques Vert]

The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur:

Next door to the Chunda Palace is the Oberoi, one of India's top hotel chains. As we had some spare time we thought we would go and have a lo around.

We weren't disappointed (and no, I didn't ask the prices).

This lovely lady agreed to show us around the hotel:























Some wedding photos...

 

[daft009]

Stayed in an Oberoi once, in Kashmir. We had an armed escort at all times and this was in the late 80s.

@Jacques Vert music is all the same as you're still in Rajasthan. It'll change by state mostly with some mish mash in the border areas

 

[RooFlyer]

Stayed in an Oberoi once, in Kashmir. We had an armed escort at all times and this was in the late 80s.

Stayed at the Oberoi in Mumbai last year, on a Virtuoso deal. Veeeeerrry nice ....

 

[Jacques Vert]

Leaving Udaipur, we are heading to Jaipur when a vehicle coming the other way crashed into the safety barrier and "fell over"...





Apparently the front type blew out causing the driver to loose control.

We stopped, as did many others. The vehicle was completely on its side with the occupants trapped inside. Those trying to help attempted to remove the windscreen and smash the side windows to release them. When I arrived, I noticed that nobody was at the rear of the vehicle so I simply touched the release button on the rear door and it flew open

I then assisted the occupants out of the van........and lost count as to how many had actually been inside. They must have been jammed in like sardines; perhaps that's why nobody was injured.





Continuing on our way, we pass a new statue under construction:




And a short stop in Pushkar on the way:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Payment Terms and Conditions

When you book a tour, etc., it is normal to pay a deposit and then pay the balance at a later time (often before your tour begins).

With Magan, we had finalised our itinerary some months before our planned arrival in India, including the final price. As the time approached, I realised that we hadn't paid a cent. I contacted Magan and asked if he needed a deposit. Not yet was the answer

I mentioned above that at times Magan was slow with his responses and, as I hadn't paid anything, I began to wonder if there would be anyone there when we arrived in Delhi. If it wasn't for the fact that he had been recommended by @RB, and a number of other AFFers have used him, I may have made alternative arrangements.

At one stage I received a message from Magan saying not to send any money under any circumstances Apparently someone had hacked into his email account and was demanding payment for upcoming tours into a bogus bank account.

I forgot to mention that we finally met Magan when we arrived in Jaipur. He called into the hotel with his mobile credit card terminal, swiped my CitiBank Plus card and all OK. We had been in India for 12 days at that time and hadn't paid (or been asked for) a cent. A most unusual way of doing business but hey, if it works for him, it works for me!

 

[Jacques Vert]

After a late arrival into Jaipur we had an early start the next morning to catch our flight with SpiceJet SG2985 to Varanasi. This was included in our tour price with Magan however, I know that the fare was $A75 per person.

A word of warning: the standard baggage allowance on domestic flights within India is 15kg; not a lot when travelling as part of an international journey. So I put on as many layers of clothing as I could, and arrived at the check-in looking like the Michelin Man.

Bags were weighed and I got stung for a couple of Kg extra. Fair enough; except when boarding most passenger were carrying way in excess of their allowance and nobody questioned any of them.

I won't make that mistake again.

 

[RooFlyer]

I forgot to mention that we finally met Magan when we arrived in Jaipur. He called into the hotel with his mobile credit card terminal, swiped my CitiBank Plus card and all OK. We had been in India for 12 days at that time and hadn't paid (or been asked for) a cent. A most unusual way of doing business but hey, if it works for him, it works for me!

With my last tour arranged by him (it was only 2 days), the driver didn't know anything about payment (to be in cash). On the second afternoon, as we drove back to my hotel and the final drop-off, I had to get the driver to get in touch with Magan to see how I could pay. I think Magan was off somewhere at the time and it proved difficult. Anyway, I think in the end he just said give the money to the driver, which I did.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Varanasi

Varanasi is a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh dating to the 11th century B.C. Regarded as the spiritual capital of India, the city draws Hindu pilgrims who bathe in the Ganges River’s sacred waters and perform funeral rites. Along the city's winding streets are some 2,000 temples............ (once again, borrowed from Wikipedia)








Each night of the year, ceremonies are held along the banks of the Ganges. Our guide, Dilip Singh, was excellent and made sure we had an excellent spot from which to view the proceedings...























If you are coming to Varanasi. and no visit to India is complete without it, then who are you going to call.....

 

[daft009]

Did you see the cremation ghaats?
Locals say, it's been cursed and it will never run out of bodies to burn.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Next morning we were up before dawn to head back to the Ganges to observe the funeral fires; but first, we had to find a boat...





and some of the pilgrims needed to do what pilgrims do...




so we took a walk along the riverbank:





and then you get an interesting perspective from the river...

 

[Jacques Vert]

Did you see the cremation ghaats?

Patience my friend...

 

[Jacques Vert]

Varanasi continued...

A hotel along the riverfront:








A school...










Funeral fires underway (out of respect for the families, we decided not to take any close-ups)...




Wood ready for the cremations

 

[Jacques Vert]

Sarnath

is a small village in Uttar Pradesh, India, about 13 km north-east of Varanasi. It's famous as the site of the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma and also where the original Sangha was formed. Consequently, it is one of the 4 main Buddhist pilgrimage destinations.
Within the deer park complex is the large Dhamekha Stupa, constructed by the Emperor Ashoka in 249 BCE, and several other Buddhist structures that were added between the 3rd century BCE and the 11th century CE. (Thanks to Wikivoyage)

 

[Jacques Vert]

Returning to our hotel, the Taj Gateway, guests were invited to join in mixing the ingredients for their Christmas Cake...

 

[Jacques Vert]

Indian Cooking lesson:

+1 and the other couple travelling with us had been wanting to do an Indian cooking class. With a few hours to spare, we asked the staff at the Taj for a recommendation and they arranged for their Chef to do the honours...

 

[Jacques Vert]

Kolkata

It was time to say Good Bye to Varanasi and our travel buddies who were heading home to Australia. It was also the end of our private tour with Magan and Mob.

After flying to Kolkata with IndiGo, another Indian LCC, we checked into the J W Marriott for 5 nights. We were back to our normal way of travelling; doing our own thing in our own time.

Our room at the JW:





The view from our room:





and the next morning (notice the new metro line under construction):

 

[Jacques Vert]

Victoria Monument










and the inside...








From the gardens...