Things to do that don't overlap with tour and restaurants thoughts.

laura's portrait

I will be coming in 3 days prior to the tour and I am looking for suggestions about what to do with my time that won't overlap the tour.

Has anyone been to these restaurants I am considering. Let me know your thoughts? The Spice Route, Dum Pukht, Oh Calcutta, Indian Accent, Bukhara, Dashinand The Chinese Kitchen.se restaurants

joycesw

We arrived 2 days before the tour last January. Since we didn't arrive at our room until 4:30 AM, lost luggage..thanks, Lufthansa...the first day was spent around the hotel. We stayed at that time at the Oberai (best service at a hotel,we have ever had) and took a cooking class with the chef. It was wonderful. The next day the concierge helped us arrange a full day. She got a taxi driver, told him what we wanted to do and negotiated the price for us. We started off at an ATM since we didn't have time to do that at the airport. We then went to Chandni Chowk (Old Delhi) where we got into a rickshaw (our driver followed us in a second one...at one point having us get out and walk when the traffic got too bad). We stopped at Jama Masjid, India's oldest mosque, and spent about 2 1/2 hours riding through the area. On another post I gave the YouTube link where I posted a video of us trying to cross an intersection in our rickshaw. I believe it was on a thread about pollution. It was a wild ride and great fun! We then went to Akshardan Temple, some say Delhi's answer to Disneyland! However, we did not do any of the rides or movies, and found it to be beautiful. I even made note of one of the messages posted about, "Art is ageless, Culture is borderless, Values are timeless." It was an exhausting and wonderful day!
We ate dinner at the Spice Route and loved it. It is not for the faint of wallet, and don't be turned off by the thought that it will be too spicy. They will prepare the food to your liking. It is in the Imperial Hotel, and it is a beautiful restaurant. We dined in the "Room of Good Fortune and Good Food."
I just found my paperwork from the trip and here are some suggested sites that will not overlap the tour: Laxmi Narayan Temple (Biria Mandir), Jantar Mantar, National Museum, National Gallery of Modern Art, Lotus Temple-Baha'i House of Worship...note that many are closed on Mondays. Also mentioned Central Cottage Emporium of All India (mentioned as only shopping place Tauck will recommend...fixed price, but remember you have a lot of flights to take and weight could be problematic if you overshop here) Also, Connaught Place is a shopping Arcade that sounds a bit frenetic from the TD's description. We did not go to any of these places and saved our shopping for other areas...mainly Jaipur and Udaipur.

laura's portrait

Thank you so much. Did many people get sick on the trip? How did you shower and not get any water in your eyes, nose or mouth. Did people wear gym shoes most the time?

joycesw

The only sickness EVERYONE got on the trip was a very nasty respiratory thing that went through our group. One person arrived with it, and it quickly traveled to everyone. I even brought some cough drops and antihistames but I did not bring enough to get me through it. I had to order out for cough medicine twice. Humorously, I chatted with some doctor over the phone in Udaipur. I did not understand a word he said, and I suspect he did not understand a word I said, but the cough medicine arrived and that was all I cared about! I do not recall anyone being felled with Delhi Belly. I should add that we do pop a Peptol Bismol tablet every morning. Don't know if it works, but we have not had any gastric issues.
About the shower, we have been to Africa and were seasoned "mouth shutters" during showers and very mindful of tooth brushing rinses with bottled water. Just make a conscious effort to remember to keep your mouth shut during showers. We have never heard about the eyes and nose so never worried about that.
RE: shoes...there was a huge variety of shoes. I think most people wore comfortable shoes that they had broken in and found comfortable, not necessarily sneakers...Everyone wore covered shoes in the North (almost a necessity with the littered streets), and then when we got to the South, many of us were comfortable wearing sandals. I have some great Bob's and Skeecher's that I wore on this trip.