I hate to think how many road casualties there are!

Sometime during the night the a/c decided to stop working so well and OH woke up at about 4am and got up to go to the toilet. I decided to get up and sort the free standing fan. I wanted to get it to rotate so put my hand round the back of the fan to turn the switch. But somehow I stupidly managed to misjudge just how deep the fan was and I felt something like an electric shock. I had caught my little finger in it-this was a huge fan. I looked down and couldn't believe the amount of blood I saw. Finger was completely red and I was completely splattered. How is it possible for so much blood to come from one little finger. OH came back to me saying I'd hurt my finger. He couldn't believe it- a minute ago I had been fast asleep! When I put my finger under the tap I fully expected to find some of it missing. However,it was still there- minus most of its skin and looking ( and feeling) broken! I got medical attention at both hotels we stayed at over the next few days. I knew there was not much you can do about a break but was worried about infection. ( I eventually was "bullied "by the manager of my Goa hotel to go to hospital to get it checked after it had ballooned in size and the finger next to became really bruised) I have to say that after having a sleepless rest of the night, it didn't really bother me too much.
We set off at 8am to go to Agra and to stop off at Fatehpur Sikri along the way.

fiona your trip report is great,the rules of the road bit so accurate but so funny,you left us laughing on that one.hope to here more,glad to hear you have booked again,you're hooked like the rest of us.

Fiona

I have really enjoyed reading your reports.

I am off to India in January and I can Wait!!! This is the program we are doing.

Monday 14th January 2008: Overnight Outbound flight to Delhi.
You depart from Heathrow on the overnight flight to Delhi.

Tuesday 15th January 2008: Delhi
On arrival in Delhi you will be met by a representative and escorted to your hotel in New Delhi for check in, dinner and overnight.

Wednesday 16th January 2008: Delhi
This morning you explore New Delhi including the India Gate, Raj Path, President's house, Humayun's Tomb, Qutab Minar and the Laxmi Narayan Temple. After lunch moving on to Old Delhi with Jama Masjid, the Red Fort, Gandhi Memorial and Lotus temple. Overnight at hotel.

Thursday 17th January 2008: Jaipur
After checking out you drive to the charming Pink City of Jaipur, where you will have some time to relax before an evening walking tour of the colourful streets and bazaars. Overnight and evening meal in Jaipur.

Friday 18th January 2008: Jaipur
Today you have a full day tour of Jaipur city including the City Palace, Jantar Mantar observatory, Hawa Mahal Birla temple Albert Hall and the old capital Amber. At Amber, you will ascend to the gates of the Majestic Fort on elephant back. The fort displays a beautiful mix of Mughal and Rajput styles of architecture. Evening meal will be in an ethnic village resort where you will enjoy a traditional Rajasthani dinner. Overnight in Jaipur.

Saturday 19th January 2008: Udaipur
This morning you drive to Udaipur, where you will have time to relax before an evening boat tour on the lake, to take in the breathtaking Royal Buildings surrounding the lake. Overnight and evening meal in Udaipur.

Sunday 20th January 2008: Udaipur
Today is a full day sightseeing trip of the city which includes the City Palace (which has trees growing out of the top floor of the palace, which is actually the summit of the hill the palace is covering!), Saheliyon ki bari and the temples of Nagada and Eklingji. Overnight in Udaipur.

Monday 21st January 2008: Rathambhore
This morning you drive to Rathambhore where the rest of the day is free to relax.

Tuesday 22nd January 2008: Rathambhore
Today you have morning and evening jeep safaris into the National Park to see the majestic Bengal Tiger in its natural habitat. (unfortunately we cannot guarantee that they will come out to play) Overnight in Rathambhore.

Wednesday 23rd January 2008: Rathambhore and Agra
This morning you will have another opportunity to see the Bengal Tigers before moving on to Agra, visiting the well preserved capital of Akbar- Fatehpur Sikri on the way. On arrival in Agra the rest of the day is free to explore. Overnight in Agra.

Thursday 24th January 2008: Taj Mahal
You spend this morning visiting the incomparable Taj Mahal and the Agra fort. The afternoon is free to explore. Overnight in Agra.

Friday 25th January 2008: Taj Mahal amd Delhi
An early start today to see a magical view of the Taj Mahal across the fields with the river in front of it before continuing to New Delhi where the rest of the day will be free.

Saturday 26th January 2008: Homeward bound
Well! Not quite. After an early checkout you will attend India's Republic Day Parade before transferring to the airport for your homeward flight.

I didn't find out until 2 weeks ago that i was going. We had organised this trip for a group and as the company that I work for hasn't done India before someone from the company has to go really. Well my boss was meant to be going and then noticed that he was doing something else so asked if I would like to go. Not bad ah!!! and he is paying for me to go.

It's all half board and most of the hotels are 5* deluxe. We too are stayng in a grand hertage hotel in Udiapur which used to be a palace and in Ranthambhore it is a jungle resort.

I am so looking forward to it. When I asked the OH if he minded me going, he said that he would be *%")ed off if I didn't as it is such a good trip.

Ola

Udaipur and Rathambhore are places we would like to try next. Who are touring with? It is such an experience and words can't really describe it. You'll love it- mind you, 6 days tired me out

We set off at 8am to go to Agra and to stop off at Fatehpur Sikri along the way.
During our journey I kept seeing school children on their way or coming home from school. I then learned that there were 3 sessions in a day to cope with all the children. We saw the inside of some schools as we travelled. There are about 60 to a class and they all sit on the floor( and they STILL look immaculate coming home!) They come home in various ways- walking, cycling, auto rickshaws( packed!) and on the back of trucks. Best thing I saw was a dad and 4 kids on a bicycle. The oldest had to push them off and then run and jump on to it. Also there is a fairly new initiative in that all those in some areas of Rajasthan who attend school get a free midday meal. Attendance had rocketed since then. Once a week they also get 3 biscuits.
Not far away from Agra we stopped at Fatehpur Sikri. This is the old Mughal capital- built in the 16th century.
A useful tip for anyone going on the tour- buses registered from outwith the area have not long ago been stopped going right up to the beginning of the walled city. You are stopped and are told you can walk from that point- DON'T WALK. It is a bit of a hike and the heat would have finished me off. We were approached by a guide and there was a lot of questioning done by Ramesh before he was happy to let the guide have us! Part of the negotiations involved a tuk tuk in the price! Good idea. This guide was actually very good. For 250r we had a detailed tour of the city with lots of good info and also the tuk tuk! The place itself was free to enter- not a bad price all in all. If you get the option of this trip, take it- it was absolutely fascinating

We arrived at Agra- from the little bit I saw of it, I would say it was my least favourite city( but of course has a slight advantage on the others!!) We went to our hotel first and had an hour to unpack and grab a late, late lunch before setting off again. We were staying at the Howard Plaza hotel. As you can see we were very impressed with it.
We set off again- this time to the Agra Fort. This looks a very imposing place and one of the best places we went to. It is a real warren and at one point I wondered if we would find our way out before closing time! One courtyard led on to another and another! We got our first sighting of the Taj from here and it was quite exciting! There were many impressive buildings within it- my favourite part was the Diwan I Aam which was an open hall with colonnaded archways and had the throne area where the ruler sat and watched things like elephant fights below. The Shah Jahan had his harem here and it is thought that this is where he first met Mumtaz Mahal, his favourite wife. We were at the Fort for about 2 hours. When we left we saw two urchins who had been there when we went in- begging for food. My husband surprised me at this point by doing something he said he would never do- he gave them money. Later he made the excuse that we were only one minute from the car so he knew we were safe! I wonder if they actually got any benefit from that money or if they had had to hand it over?

We had dinner in the roof top restaurant- where you can see the Taj Mahal during the hours of daylight. We knew it was quite expensive but weren't too bothered about trying find somewhere outwith the hotel. We just wanted to relax. We had an early start in the morning. Ramesh had strongly recommended getting to the Taj for 6am to see the sunrise.
We were picked up at 5.45am for what was the obvious highlight of our trip. Words and photos can not do justice to the experience. We actually stood for 2 hours, neither of us wanting to move- stunned by what we were seeing. Ramesh was right- you have to go to see the sunrise( or at the opposite end of the day, the sunset) We then walked towards it and walked round it and also went in to the tomb chamber. I had not realised you could do this. You always just see the Taj from a distance in all the photos. The panels, designs and relief work are fascinating. The writing on the panels( which are cut into the marble) slowly get bigger as the archways get higher. This gives the illusion of the writing being uniform right the way round. Round the back of the Taj we looked to the river below and in the early morning mist, camels had come to the water's edge to drink. On our way back the rabble round the Princess Di seat had subsided and we managed to get a photo there. Unfortunately we picked the wrong person to ask and the Taj looks totally squint behind us! After 3 hours we reluctantly started to walk back to our car. This was the final stop of our Golden Triangle tour. We had a very brief time but had decided that we would definitely return to investigate further into that area- and perhaps beyond it. However, I would question returning to the Taj. I'm not sure you could ever recapture the impact of your first close view.
Unfortunately, we had been expecting to visit a couple of other places in Agra before leaving to travel back to Delhi for our flight to Mumbai. However, Ramesh had heard some alarming stories from other guides who had travelled to Agra from Delhi the day before. There was a massive march on the roads and it had managed to get the traffic to grind to a halt. The journey had taken 7 hours for some. We decided we would just return to the hotel for breakfast, pack and start off. Breakfast was included in the package and was excellent.
Just as well we left early- an hour after of setting off we were still in Agra. The road was closed for ages to allow 2 trains past. When the barriers had lifted there was then a fight as to which flow of traffic would move. Forget sticking to the correct side of the road- it was all about who was going to back down. The result- no-one moved!!
On our way to Delhi we came across the hundred thousand or so marchers. Sense had prevailed and the marchers had been confined to one side of the dual carriageway and traffic could move on the other. However, we were to read later that a lorry ploughed into the marchers and killed 7 of them. The driver had been dragged from the lorry and had disappeared.(!) Our stop along the way was a bit bizarre. The very Indian restaurant was filled with a party of drunken French who were singing national songs and dancing( this is about midday at the latest) It appeared to be someones birthday. We had difficulty getting any member of staff to pay attention to us and they all spent their time staring at this party, and looking pretty bemused. The kitchen staff were even out and watching!! And the floor around the party was gleaming as it was getting cleaned to within an inch of its life by several staff members. It was hilarious.
Eventually we reached Delhi. During this time Jawahar had phoned and asked us about our trip and how things had gone. It was sad to say goodbye to Ramesh at the airport- but hopefully we will meet him again. Some folks would probably be horrified at the tip we gave him but we felt he deserved it- and why not??
Delhi airport - the domestic one is fairly basic and you wouldn't want to spend too long there. I found it a bit claustrophic in the departure area. Our flight left on time( as did all the internal ones) but not without one more observation. Just because you are on the transfer bus that takes you out to the plane- don't think you can escape the driving you've experienced up till now! One bus cuts infront of another; they all ignore the lines they are meant to travel along; they all race to get to places first and the horns get a thorough workout. The only thing we didn't have was a cow!

Fiona, your report is outstanding, now you can see why we all feel the way we do, not many places could get away with the disorganised service, roads, time keeping ect, but it is done with so much grace and dignity it sometimes feels disloyal and petty to complain although we all know we should.

Lin

thanks Lin
my report is probably too detailed but I thought it was worth doing it for myself anyway(we saw so much and I don't want to forget any of it ) and for those who have been thinking about the Golden Triangle.

We arrived in Mumbai about 7.30pm. Our 3 internal flights were all with Jet Airways and we were quite impressed with them. Good flights and service. Their idea of a light snack is not BAs idea that we had to London of peanuts, but of a two course meal. After a hot taxi trip(note to self-make sure it's a/c the next time) of an hour and a quarter, one which was a white knuckle ride at times we arrived at the Fariyas hotel. Review is here. We were delighted to be given an upgrade to the Thai Suite. Wow- how the other half live!! The only thing I worried about was how would the Goa hotel compare after this luxury?? After looking at how much this Thai Suite would have cost us if we'd actually paid for it- one night there cost the same as 10 in Goa! We had had an eventful day and felt quite weary so decided to not venture out of the hotel. We spent the evening at the Tavern bar- what a great place. Good music and videos and food. The bar is very popular with locals too. As we had our own lounge as part of our suite it would have seemed rude not to use it to have a couple of drinks at the end of the night and it was here we first saw the forerunner to our little film The stars were scribbling over another monument. There was singing, dancing and the boy star saved the day. Part of the grafitti included the director's name- Bunty. Actually I said we and it was actually just me who saw it- OH was having a wash and didn't believe me when I told him. He eventually saw it when we were in Goa!
The following morning didn't quite go as planned as we slept later than planned and then had a leisurely breakfast in the restaurant- this was included and very good.
We had been debating what we wanted from our day in Mumbai. The obvious thing to do was to go to Elephanta Island. However, as most folks say it takes 4-5 hours we would not have seen much else. We decided that we would obviously be returning to India and so would come back to Mumbai. We would leave the visit till then. We found out that the hotel had a tour you could do with them by private car. £15 for 4 hours. Now I know we could have found someone to do it for less but what was the point in wasting time to find them?? And the hotels tour would have to be of a certain standard. We went with them and it was a great move. No stress and all the main sights you can do in that time( and a limo!). Our driver was excellent. As well as being a good guide we learned a lot about daily life in Mumbai and had an interesting debate on religion!
Our tour took us to Marine Drive and a couple of view points. OH found out at this point that there was going to be a marathon here the next day. As he runs in marathons he would have loved to have been there, (I'm sure he will now be researching Mumbai marathons and using it as an excuse to get back!) We saw Chowpatty Beach. Along the way we saw the newly built hospital which looked more like a 7 star hotel. Mind you , you would need to afford to be able to stay in 7 star hotels to get into that hospital I'm sure. At Malabar Hill we stopped at the Jain Mandir. Although we felt a bit like intruders I think they do welcome visitors, as long as you do not enter the most important inner sections. You have to remove shoes as usual and also any leather. I don't really know much about the Jain religion- just they won't harm anything and will only eat anything that grows above the ground. It was quite colourful inside. Its well worth a visit.
More to follow..

Excellent read Fiona, amazing where you have been and seen in only a few days.

Fiona!
It looks like you have most certainaly caught the " Incredible India " bug
x lassi

thanks to everyone for your positive comments. I do appreciate them all

Fiona just cannot wait to do all that next Feb,and not forgetting
Goa next Sat for 3 WEEKS
ANN

Ann
who have you booked with?

We also paid a visit to the Hanging Gardens and then on to Ghandi's house(Mani Bhavan). This was really interesting and we spent longer there than I thought we would. It is quite a moving experience. We had requested that we stopped at the Neru Centre. It quickly became obvious that we needed more time for this than we had. We decided to leave it till the next visit. Our next stop was Dhobi Ghats. What a place. It's where 5000 dhobi wallahs do the city's laundry. It is a complete mystery how everything is organised. They have a secret system of marks which identify which hotel the laundry comes from. Many crimes have actually been solved from the marks on the victims clothing. We then did a tour of Colaba and the main buildings there before being dropped off at our hotel.
After our tour we decided to have a late lunch at Leopolds. We took longer over this than we had planned. The food was excellent- we had butter chicken, tikka, butter nan and 4 drinks all for £8. Ate far too much and infact decided later that we couldn't face dinner! We walked to the Gateway of India and spent some time people watching there.We had a wander through the area and along the beach walkway till we came to the part beside our hotel. Across the water is a lot of slum dwellings.Some kids were playing football in the street and a few girls nearby decided to practise their English on us- with a lot of giggling. We went back to our hotel and to the Executive lounge where I wanted to check in for our flights the next day and also to check in to HT! It was the only time I was allowed near it- OH thinks I spent enough time on it without checking in on holiday! Early evening we went to see Chowpatty Beach. It was certainly the happening place for locals. We were the only non locals there and it was the only time I got a bit fed up with being pestered so we left a bit earlier than we'd planned. Perhaps I was just a bit too tired. It would have been a place I'd have liked to stay around for a while. But when you get continually followed around and asked for chocolate it loses its appeal.
As we were still too full up from lunch we decided to have a walk down Marine Drive and then catch a taxi back to the hotel for a trip to the Tavern. We decided we would have to have an early night as we had to leave the hotel at 4.15am for our flight to Goa.

Great stuff Fiona, my friend always stays at Fariyas when he comes via Mumbai......don't think he's ever had an upgrade, then again he's not a Bollywood superstar like you!!
Looking forward to the next bit, GFFxx

yes- its amazing what a
"Do you know who we are?"
can do

Fiona we have booked with Culture Tours hope they are as good
as the one you used,booked them as we liked the idea to go to Agra [Taj]
by train and they had the package we wanted
4 days to Kingstork Ann