Travel Review: Trip to India, Delhi, Varanasi, Jaipur, Udaipur, Kochi, Kerala, Chandni Chowk, Musical Concerts, Cooking Lesson

First the short version.

If your concern is to experience as much as you can of this glorious country in the short time available to a tourist,  the “best of India,” look no farther than then this travel company.  Tightly managed, exquisitely sensitive to clients’  needs,  with a vibrant, young staff quick to assist at every destination, it makes traveling and experiencing India sheer delight.  

Now the long version.

Our experience with the travel service was nothing short of spectacular.  Before we departed they patiently revised and re-revised our itinerary to make sure we met our goals;  to get a sense of this gigantic and complex country in 21 days  -without killing ourselves.    Along the way they suggested specific stop-offs in line with our interests   They were willing to lower the final cost by slightly downgrading our lodging.  (All of the hotels we stayed at were splendid.).  At each visit (Delhi, Varanasi, Jaipur, Udaipur, Kochi). we were met at the airport by a company representative and our driver for the duration of our stay,  soon followed by a guide.  Both drivers and guides were superb.  The guides provided a rich cultural and historical background to the sites,  and helped transform the journey into a profound learning  experience.  Another comment re guides;  uniformly well-informed, scholarly, quit,kt to give us background information on everything from Mughal history, the importance of inlay work in the Taj Mahal marble & to the city of Agra;  fine points of Hindu culture. As a musician I was eager to hear live Indian classical music,  and  sure enough my itinerary included regular concerts of classical and folk music. Added at the last moment was an outdoor concert of Sufi music performed on a rooftop outside Jaipur watching the sun set over the Rajasthan Hills, accompanied by a noted tabla virtuoso.  The concert, attended by Ravi, the firms' director. was followed by a magnificent outdoor buffet).   We chose to end our three week stay in Kerala, in the semi tropical south, and were able to unwind on beautiful sandy beaches on the Arabian Sea,   At the Rajasthan concert. Ravi told me he sees his role as that of a "conductor" pulling various beautiful elements together for his clients.   An apt description, judging from our delightful experiene with this travel service.

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Norman Z