But to travel ...: India (January 2010, 2011, 2013)

With India, we were not sure what we were getting ourselves into, as we heard a lot of conflicting stories. But, we decided to visit anyway, to see for ourselves.
India is a cacophony of sight, sound and smell, some pleasant, and the others not so pleasant. The constant hooting, the crumbling buildings and poverty all belie the rich spiritual and cultural experiences one encounters in this country.

India is a vast country, and we decided to explore the southern states first. Kerala, fittingly known as God’s own country, is a laid-back tropical paradise, with beautiful beaches, lush scenery and tea plantations. A must do, on any travellers list, is to take a journey by houseboat down the backwaters of Kerala. Be prepared to be thoroughly spoilt and to sample the mouth-watering cuisine prepared by your own personal chef.

Houseboat

Munnar tea plantations

North India is in stark contrast to its southern counterpart. In Rajasthan, you will find colourful cities, with beautiful palaces, and honey-gold Jain temples. The cuisine is so different and yet so delicious, and the folk singing and dancing kept us mesmerised. The colourful saris and turbans worn by locals fit in so perfectly with its surroundings.

Places that we visited on our first trip were Cochin, Munnar, Mumbai and the backwaters of Kerala. We flew Emirates on the 2 trips to India in 2010 and 2011, except for the one we undertook in 2014 in which case we flew SAA. The first trip was with Flight Centre and the package was R24 600 pp. The duration of our stay was from 14-23 January 2010. We stayed at these luxurious hotels: Taj Mahal Palace Tower Wing (close to shopping and where you will find the best breakfast in India); Brunton Boatyard (where we got the whole suite to ourselves, pity we had not stayed here longer); Club Mahindra (only non-luxurious hotel on this trip catering mainly for locals, it had good views though); Rainbow Houseboat (had the best food prepared by Pillai) and Taj Malabar Tower Wing (modern hotel, a bit off the beaten track, with good views and entertainment).

Taj Mahal Tower Wing

Brunton Boatyard

Club Mahindra

Taj Malabar

Places that we visited on our second trip were Delhi, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Udaipur and Pushkar. This trip was with Pentravel and cost R26 913 pp. The duration was of our stay was 6-22 January 2011. Hotels that we stayed in Le Meridien (modern hotel close to shopping in Delhi); Rajputana Sheraton in Jaipur; Taj Hari Mahal in Jodhpur; Gorbandh Palace (crummy hotel in Jaislamer); Fatehprakash (beautiful palace hotel in Udaipur close to shopping) and Radisson (modern luxurious hotel in Delhi, but close to the highway).

Le Meridien - ultra modern hotel

Rajputana Sheraton

Taj Hari Mahal

Gorbandh Palace - a bit tacky, and it was a long walk to our hotel room

Fatehprakash

View from Fatehprakash

Radisson

Places that we visited on our third trip were Mumbai, Goa, Coimbatore, Ooty, Thiruvanthapurum and Kanyakumari. We went with Pentravel and the package was R27 084 pp. The duration of our stay was 12-26 January 2014. Hotels that we stayed in were Vivanta By Taj President (in Mumbai); The Zuri Varca Goa White Sands (in Goa); The Residency (modern hotel in Coimbatore)); Taj Savoy (in Ooty experienced a relaxing stay and food was good); The Residency Tower (crummy hotel in Thiruvanthapurum and the AC went off as soon as you left the room); Sparsa Resort Kanyakumari (good hotel and location) and Holiday Inn Mumbai (modern hotel but close to highway and decrepit buildings). Goa was very relaxing and we spent a whole day on the beach. However, we got ripped off by one conniving guide. He charged us double what the hotel was offering for the spice tour. We readily accepted his price as we were en route to Anjuna and decided we might as well do the tour as it was a distance away from the hotel (about two hours). Pity we did not phone the hotel to check the prices.

Ooty was a good place to visit, but the drive there and back was treacherous, as the roads are extremely windy. The food in the hotel was excellent, and we were forced to eat at the hotel as it was away from shopping and restaurants. Thiruvanthapurum and Kanyakumari were a bit of a let down as we spent most of our time in the hotel, as it was too hot to get out. With a few exceptions, we always got exceptional service wherever we stayed, where the staff always greeted you and went the extra mile. And the breakfast was a feast set for a king especially at the Taj hotels and Le Meridien. And we couldn’t help sampling the masala tea and aloo paratha wherever we went.