Indulging in India

Audley clients Patti and Alexa explore India's Golden Triangle

By Audley Travel

February 14^th, 2018

Although the above picture is of the Taj Mahal, impressive even in the fog, this was not the beginning of our travels. It simply is, what I believe most people think of when envisioning traveling in India.

Our journey began in Delhi, we spent four days attending a myriad of incredible events that were held in celebration of a friends wedding. After four days that unfolded in a blur of swirling colors we began our tour of the country with Audley Travel.

Day 1: Delhi- New & Old

After four days of celebration in Delhi we began our adventure into India with Audley, we departed in the morning for a full day of visiting and getting to know the city. We started in New Delhi visiting The Qutb, Qutab or Qutub Minar Complex (Your guess is as good as mine on the spelling as it appears that all are correct); followed by Humayun's Tomb & India Gate. All were a great introduction to Delhi’s past and its architecture. The first is one of several Unesco World Heritage sites and is a minaret that contains approximately 380 stairs. Needless to say, I did not climb up these steps. It, along with Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque & other historical structures make up the Complex.

Our next very impressive stop was at Humayan’s Tomb; also a Unesco World Heritage site. It is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun and was to become the first of the grand dynastic mausoleums representing Mughal architecture. As we came to learn, it was one of several forerunners of the Taj Mahal.

Last stop before heading to Old Delhi was the India Gate which is a war memorial in honor of the Indian soldiers who were killed during First World War and Third Anglo-Afghan War. Although now known as the Indian Gate, it was originally call All Indian War Memorial and is often compared to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Day 2: Agra, Sikandra, and Kachpura Village Walk

Our time in Delhi finished, we headed out in the morning for the 4 to 5-hour drive to Agra where we would spend the night so that we could visit the Taj Mahal early in the morning and continue our explorations of India's Golden Triangle. During our journey by car, we made a stop at Sikandra which is the mausoleum of Emperor Akbar. This is another forerunner of the Taj Mahal.

On the road again, heading to Agra. We arrived in the late afternoon and the first thing we wanted to do was eat some lunch. The Audley representative obliged by taking us to the Gateway Hotel where we had a wonderful lunch. From lunch, it was time to meet our guide and go to Kachpura Village where we could see how a local community lives. With the aid of several organizations the community is trying to improve the way of life for the residents. Our walk through the village ended on a rooftop where we could view the Taj Mahal from a distance.

Day 3: The taj mahal

Up early we were able to walk to the Taj Mahal which believe me was a nice way to go. No fighting traffic and there is plenty of it everywhere we went. Unfortunately, this morning was very foggy but even in the fog, the Taj Mahal is a sight not to be missed. We had known that parts of the Taj Mahal were covered by scaffolding due to cleaning but even that did not take away from its beauty.

From Agra we drove to the train station in Bharatpur but not before making a stop for lunch and a visit to Fatehpur Sikri, the abandoned capital city of the Emperor Akbar. Although the palace buildings are intact, most of the original city structures are ruins.

Again, back in the car and on the road to Bharatpur where we were taking the train to Sawai Madhopur & Ranthambhore. We arrived at the station around 3PM for our 3:50PM train. As transportation went, this would be the fastest way, a little over 2 hours, for us to get to our next destination while our driver had a 6 or 7-hour drive. The Audley representative met us at the station and made sure that all our luggage was on the train and we were seated.

Our home for the next two nights in Rathambhore was Khem Villas. We had a large cottage with an equally large bathroom with shower, an outdoor patio with a large bathtub (if you wanted to brave the cold and bathe outside) and a front porch that overlooked a watering hole. They have a small very reasonably priced shop where I managed to spend a decent amount and a full spa facility which we also availed ourselves of. When night rolled around we crawled into bed only to find that a hot water bottle had been placed under the covers of each bed to warm them up. What a treat.

Day 4: Ranthamnhore National park

We started off the day with a cup of coffee brought directly to our cottage, what a way to start the day! Bight eyed and caffeinated we were ready & waiting for our pickup for our morning game drive in Ranthambhore National Park in search of the elusive Bengal Tigers. Elusive they were. While we saw plenty of deer, monkeys and peacocks; no tigers were to be seen. Hopefully, we would be luckier during our afternoon game drive.

By 11AM we were back at Khem Villas for a little rest & shopping before having some lunch. We then had a couple of hours to relax before again going out in search of tigers. Unfortunately for us, we again did not find any tigers. We returned to Khem Villas just after 6 and had just enough time for us both to get ready for our massage appointments at the spa.

Day 5: Jaipur

Again on the road for a 4+ hour drive to Jaipur. With all the traffic we encountered, it was late afternoon by the time we actually arrived at our hotel, Dera Mandawa in Jaipur. Again, we were met by an Audley representative who got us settled in and then sent our driver off. Since we had no real plan and nowhere to go for lunch, the hotel prepared lunch for us. It was a beautiful day, so lunch was served outside. We then settled into our room which was so large you could put a family of 4 in it and still have plenty of room. At 6PM, we went back outside to the patio where we had a drink and enjoyed a puppet show before having a nice dinner.

Day 6: Amber Fort, Jal Mahal, and Textiles

Today was a full day of seeing the important sights of Jaipur, known as the Pink City. The day began is our wakeup call of coffee & tea, along with some biscuits just to hold us over until breakfast. Once we were finished with breakfast we were ready for our first stop of the day, the Amber Fort. As with all of the monuments we had seen, this was magnificent structure. The fortress is both ornate and simple at the same time. There are many connecting passages that you walk through seeing the different sections of the palace.

After spending a couple of hours walking the Amber Fort, we headed out for lunch and to look at textiles but before we did this we made a quick photo stop at Jal Mahal known as the Water Palace. The palace is located in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake.

Now it was time for lunch at the Grand Peacock Cafe and then to a textile manufacturer to learn about block fabric printing and carpet making. Although not planned, I purchased two carpets blown away by the quality and detail of each unique piece.

Since we made the stops for lunch and carpets, we turned out afternoon sightseeing around and went to Jantar Mantar, the observatory, first. This is yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a good thing we had a guide with us to explain the various structures. Surprisingly, the sundials that are here are accurate within 2 seconds and are adjusted for local time in Jaipur which for some reason is not exactly what it is in Delhi.

From the observantory, we were able to walk to the City Palace and Museum. Located in the palace is a textile museum, armory and art gallery. By the time we finished here, it was late afternoon and we wanted to put our feet up for a bit.

Day 7: Back to Delhi

Today we had another long drive to head back to Delhi as we had a morning flight the next day to start our journey home.

We arrived back in Delhi and at our hotel, J.W. Marriott in Aerocity, around 5PM, we said goodbye to our driver who had been with us the entire trip and went inside to check in. We dropped our things in our room and went out for one final night of delicious curry and warm garlic nan bread before our flight out the next morning.

It was time to say goodbye to India.

Working with Audley

Dealing with Niall Causer of Audley made planning this trip easy. Niall took what I already knew I wanted to do; added to it and arranged all the logistics. If Niall was out of his office, we were quickly assisted by his associate, Bryn Woodworth. The hotels, including the home stay, he suggested were excellent and I would not hesitate to recommend any of them. In each location we were met by an Audley representative who would make sure that we were settled into our accommodations and then would introduce us our local guide for that area. While we were hesitant about our luggage getting on & off the train, the local representative made sure that we, along with our luggage, were settled & loaded on the train before leaving us, with the same taking place upon arrival.

I cannot say enough about how nice it was dealing with Niall & Audley. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone and I look forward to working with them again in the future.