2022 October 27-November 15 Northern India/Nepal Tauck
We booked this Tauck trip with Bonnie Buchanan at cruise one on June 1, 2020, for a cost of $26,558. We booked our business class air on Dec. 31, 2021, at a cost of $7883.68 with American airlines. We waited for this trip through the difficulties of covid and the uncertainty om my falling and shattering my femur on June 22, 2022, just 4 months before the trip was to occur. With the blessing of the doctor…we proceeded.
We left our house on October 27, 2022, at 6:00 am and headed for the airport. We left on time and arrived in Charlotte. We left Charlotte and arrived NYC. We had reserved a wheelchair at each leg of the journey, and we did receive one in NYC.
We left NYC an hour late because the lavatories were not working. Maintenance was working on the issue...but then the captain announced that the crew was almost out of limited time...he had 20 minutes to get us in the air. God bless him...he did it with 3 minutes to spare. The flight was uneventful. The food was terrible.
We arrived in Delhi about 9:45 pm. I went to the wheelchair guy… Who promptly said i am not on the list. WHAT???? they confirmed in NYC...I was already on the list in Delhi. SOOOOO...I WALKED...yes ladies and gentlemen...I WALKED FOREVER....lol Oh boy is my leg screaming...but I did it!
We got to immigration...and We had all of our paperwork in order...except there is a little pink form you get when you arrive that asks for the exact information you already have on your visa...but of course they MUST have that little form to proceed. Normally it is no big deal...but when you have been traveling and WALKING for 30 hours...all you want to do is get to your hotel and SIT DOWN.
We got our bags...yes, all bags arrived with us! We met the Tauck Rep who called the driver, and we were on our way to the Imperial Hotel. Delhi is the smoggiest city I have ever seen. The traffic even at 10:00 pm is horrific. There are stray dogs everywhere.
We checked in... were assigned room 256... unpacked our bags and are called it a night after 30 hours of travel.
Comments
We had breakfast in 1911 restaurant. We met with the Tauck group at 1:45. We have fifteen in our group. We have a family of eight, a single lady and 3 couples. We were given our duffel bags. We got on the Tauck bus and did a tour of New Delhi. We went to the place where Mahama Ghandi was murdered. We had cocktail hour at 6:30. Then we had dinner. It was a fixed menu of all different Indian food. We came back to the room about 9:30.
We had breakfast at 1911 restaurant. We went to Old Delhi. We visited Humayun’s tomb. Then we visited Qutub minar. We had lunch at Olive’s restaurant. We arrived back at the hotel about 3pm. The trip has been extremely hard on my leg and the time change has been difficult on my body.
On October 31 we got up at 5 ...had breakfast at 1911 restaurant…then boarded the bus for the airport. It was the most chaotic, airport experience t I have ever had. Our tour director, Anna Sbordoni, got a driver to take me to gate 10B. God bless her for that. We flew to Kathmandu…then boarded the bus for a trip to the temple to watch the cremations. We came to the Dwarika hotel. We were given cold towels and a short tour. We were assigned room 303. I was so tired I went to bed, and we skipped dinner.
Cathy: Which airline did you fly to Dehli?
Great pictures, especially your Halloween blouse! Keep the posts coming!
Cathy, was so concerned to not hear from you! If you managed to tour Delhi I’m sure everywhere else will be breeze. Did the Indians understand the Halloween concept?
cathy LOVE!!!!!!!!! the pictures, India is incredible.
The Sadhu with the white skirt looks a lot like one I took a picture with at Varanasi.
Have an Amazing trip.
Cathy—Wonderful pictures and report! Keep posting as time permits & rest your leg when you can. BTW, I had the same local Indian guide for my Portrait of India tour in 2018.
Cathy: Loving your report and fantastic pictures. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to provide a detailed day by day report. This would be a very grueling itinerary for someone that didn't have any issues to contend with. I am very proud of you. I know that seeing Mount Everest is a hi-lite of the trip for you. Can hardly wait for your next installment to hear the details and see the pics. Take care.
Hoping for clear skies and sunny days.
I often used Katmandu as a weather alternate for Calcutta (Kolkata) when flying for Air India. I was always hopeful that I would never have to use it in bad weather. It’s an interesting approach. I noted your comments about the air pollution in Delhi. I suspect the poorer people still use animal dung for cooking fuel. I could often see the runway at Bombay from a hundred miles away, but when I got down to fifty feet I couldn’t see the runway. Lots of smoke.
Apparently at this time of year, the fireworks used during Diwali cause some of the pollution and then in November the farmers start burning off the fields which is the worst culprit.
On November 1, we met at 5:30 am to go on our flight to see Mount Everest. It was AMAZING. We came back to the hotel for breakfast. Then we departed for a tour of Durbar Square. We saw many temples, and even saw the living, Goddess. We took a rickshaw ride to the restaurant Nepali Ghar for lunch. Then we came back to the hotel. We had a lecture by a Sherpa at 5:00. Then we had dinner at Krishnaarpan.
Cathy...absolutely beautiful
Great picture. I’m glad you had good weather. I think the left side of your picture is Hillarie’s Step … but I could be wrong. I don’t know what direction you were viewing.
Cathy, it looks like you had perfect weather for the flightseeing. That is so nice! Evidently it does not happen so often. We had a small amount of clouds obscuring the top of Everest.
Absolutely stunning photo. Picture perfect weather...may it stay that way for the balance of your adventure.
How nice of her to say Cathy. Thanks for letting me know. Anna is a great TD and is so nice. We had a great group of 12 on the tour. Everyone got along and everyone was nice. I was a bit apprehensive at first having never taken a tour with a group that small but it was splendid.
Cathy - It looks like the rickshaw ride was quite the 'comfy' arrangement. It looks like Steve could barely get his head inside the rickshaw. Hopefully the ride was more comfortable than it looked. I imagine it wasn't too long of a ride. If so, then it's worth it for the experience.
Are the red and black chairs designed the way they look, with camping gear looking backs to them? Were they comfortable?
Continue keeping us up to speed with what looks like a very fun trip.
Sam, Cathy's rickshaw was built by the same people who built your Aswan felucca.
AlanS - I was constructed for the third world!
PS - the felucca would have been fine if they hadn't loaded it like a NY subway during rush hour.
November 2, we had breakfast at the Toran Restaurant. We boarded the vans for the Kopan Monastery. Then we went to the Boudhanath stupa we bought a painting. We had lunch at the Tibet International Hotel. We boarded the van and drove to the city of Patan where we visited Temples.
Cathy - Beautiful pictures. Very similar to what you see in Thailand. Steve ought to pick up one of those burgundy and orange outfits.
Cathy - Based on your description of your fellow tour members it almost sounds like this is a pilgrimage tour, with members coming to see the High Priest of Nepal to bless all of their aches and pains away. If that works let me know, I’ll be on the next tour.
It sounds like Tauck should do like they did for the tours tuk-tuk ride in Bangkok - provide a police escort.
Many kudos to you and your fellow travelers for working through the hardships and making it work.
I am so glad you have a cohesive group. It adds so much to the overall enjoyment of a tour, especially with such a small group. Something tells me, however, that everyone is taking your lead.
When you have a chance, can you discuss the food and some of your favorite dishes? Are you having naan bread?
I hope you see your tigers while on safari.
Cathy...I am enjoying your post and wonderful pictures. Sounds like you are having a great tour so far!
November 3, we got up at 5:30 to fly to Bharatpur. This time the flight was a breeze. We did not even need our passports. We did not have to remove everything electrical from our carry ons. When we arrived, we rode in vans to the Taj Meghauli lodge. This place is amazing. The room is beautiful, the view is breathtaking, the food is excellent, the staff is phenomenal. We went on a boat ride down the Rapti river. We saw lots of birds and a crocodile. At the end of the ride, we had sundowners. Then we rode the vans back to the lodge. We saw a jackal. We were tired and We had a wonderful lunch, so we skipped the dinner.
kfnknfzk..In the past when posting my reports, I have always included information about the food. One time, I received a private message stating that no one really cares about what we ate or how much it cost...etc. SO I have avoided the subject on this report.
I will for you post the photos of the Nepali dinner we had. I do not know the names. I can tell you the only thing I enjoyed was the dessert. I am not a lover of spicy food.
Great pictures Cathy, what a wonderful trip.
The food was VERY spicy....i took tiny bites just to try each thing...but the only thing i ate was the dessert and it was very nice. The food EVERYWHERE has been very spicy. With all the walking and eating very little food I am certain I have lost a little weight.
While I am adding something...I wanted to point out a few things.
Every where we have gone...everyone who has approached us...street vendors etc....has wanted DOLLARS. We have found this to be true everywhere we have traveled...but we have paid very close attention here.
When you fly from India to nepal...you are given duffle bags to pack for the week. You cannot put anything electrical or electronic in those duffel bags. You must put them in your carry on. They then make you remove everything from those carry ons to pass through security. Steve and I had to remove ALL camera equipment, all adapters, all cords, absolutely everything.
The elephant safari, bathing of elephants at the lodge have been discontinued die to many complaints. SO I do not have to decide whether or not i can ride the elephant...because the option no longer exists.
I have faithfully worn my mask in crowded areas...especially touring the cities. Masks are REQUIRED on flights in India Nepal.
The internet and phone service have been quite good so far...and we are on day 7.
Alcoholic beverages have only been included twice so far.
On our Portrait of India tour removing all electronics, even on domestic flights, was standard practice. It was very painful at every security checkpoint.