Cathy, I noticed that you said you ordered room service at the Oberoi. We did too, hah. We were too exhausted after that travel day to go down to a restaurant. I think we ate the room service dinner in 15 minutes, called to have the plates picked up, and collapsed in bed.
Cathy - let me know if on this tour they offered a double visit to the Taj Mahal. On our Portrait of India tour they offered an optional sunrise, photo stop visit to the Taj, with the normal itinerary visit to the Taj later in the day.
They didn't offer a second morning viewing of the Taj on our tour last month....but my pictures show us at the Agra train station at 9:30am, so it could be train schedule dependent. I hope they offer it to your group Cathy. I'd have loved it, the Taj is amazing. Our tour got one visit to the Taj, which happened at around 9am the morning after we arrived in Agra.
OMG, Cathy. Your pictures are amazing. Great reporting. Love the view from your resort with the infinity pool and mountains. Incredible!! I could hang out there all day. Can hardly wait until tomorrow to see your pictures of the Taj. The Oberoi looks incredible also.
On November 8, we had breakfast then went to the Taj Mahal. Then we went to Fort Agra. We came back to the hotel and had lunch. Then we went shopping. We bought some beautiful marble pieces that will be shipped home, and some paper Mache pieces. I went to a sari demonstration and steve went to a Turban demonstration. We had dinner in a private garden and were entertained by beautiful dancers and musicians.
November 9, we had breakfast then drove 20 minutes to the train station. We rode the train 2 hours to Jhansi. We then got into SUV’s for the 2.5 hour drive to Khajuraho. We toured the Temple. We then went to the Lalit hotel. We had dinner.
Any thoughts on this trip versus Portrait of India? If you had to choose one over the other.... Has anyone been on both?
MotherofPoodles I'll be able to give you a comparison next year. I took the Portrait of India Tour in 2018 and I'm scheduled to take the India/Nepal tour December 2023. I agree with Sam...I don't think you can make a bad choice
Cathy, I hope you see tigers! We were lucky enough to have a huge tiger stay with our Jeep for about 20 minutes. It was amazing, but I think pretty rare. Good luck! And even if you don't get anything other than a glimpse of a tiger, the other wildlife you will see is spectacular.
There is also wifi at the lodge there, you can hang around, put your feet up, and make an attempt to access the net...but it was pretty slow.
November 10. We had breakfast at 6. Then took the SUV’s for the 5.5 hour drive to Bandhavgarh National park. We checked into the Taj Safari Mahua Kothi Lodge. We had lunch. Then we went on safari. We saw spotted deer, peacocks, and monkeys…but no tigers. We had dinner.
November 11, we went on morning safari. We saw wild boar, deer, monkeys but again no tigers. We had lunch. We went on Afternoon safari. This time we saw two male tiger cubs 18 months old. Wehad dinner and and a performance by the Baiga tribe.
November 12, we went on morning safari. We saw the camp elephants, deer monkeys, and Indian Gaur. We had lunch. In the afternoon safari we saw a male and female tiger mating. We saw a stork. We had our last dinner together as a group.
Cathy, I am so glad you got the see some tigers! Have a nice final day in Mumbai, enjoy the farewell gathering, and have, hopefully, an uneventful flight home.
Cathy...Beautiful pictures. I count seeing the Tiger Cubs as a WIN!
I remember that view of the laundry area in Mumbai from the Coach. I captured a similar shot when we were on a bridge driving to the Oberoi.
How was the weather in the national parks? I know this is mid-November and the weather will probably be much different during my tour in mid-December, but I'd be interested in knowing. My countdown to India/Nepal is 397 days
Enjoy your remaining tour days in Mumbai and Safe and Uneventful Travels home.
Comments
Cathy, I noticed that you said you ordered room service at the Oberoi. We did too, hah. We were too exhausted after that travel day to go down to a restaurant. I think we ate the room service dinner in 15 minutes, called to have the plates picked up, and collapsed in bed.
Great trip Cathy, you'll love the Taj Mahal
Cathy - let me know if on this tour they offered a double visit to the Taj Mahal. On our Portrait of India tour they offered an optional sunrise, photo stop visit to the Taj, with the normal itinerary visit to the Taj later in the day.
Same for me when I took the Portrait of India tour, it was nice going to the Taj before the crowds showed up.
They didn't offer a second morning viewing of the Taj on our tour last month....but my pictures show us at the Agra train station at 9:30am, so it could be train schedule dependent. I hope they offer it to your group Cathy. I'd have loved it, the Taj is amazing. Our tour got one visit to the Taj, which happened at around 9am the morning after we arrived in Agra.
OMG, Cathy. Your pictures are amazing. Great reporting. Love the view from your resort with the infinity pool and mountains. Incredible!! I could hang out there all day. Can hardly wait until tomorrow to see your pictures of the Taj. The Oberoi looks incredible also.
On November 8, we had breakfast then went to the Taj Mahal. Then we went to Fort Agra. We came back to the hotel and had lunch. Then we went shopping. We bought some beautiful marble pieces that will be shipped home, and some paper Mache pieces. I went to a sari demonstration and steve went to a Turban demonstration. We had dinner in a private garden and were entertained by beautiful dancers and musicians.
Cathy - This portion of your trip brings back so many memories. Continue to have a great trip.
November 9, we had breakfast then drove 20 minutes to the train station. We rode the train 2 hours to Jhansi. We then got into SUV’s for the 2.5 hour drive to Khajuraho. We toured the Temple. We then went to the Lalit hotel. We had dinner.
Cathy - Instead of the white SUV you should have ridden that thing wearing the flora garment!
Love you pictures and reports.
Wonderful pictures Cathy
Yes...Cathy....It's an experience. Once & Done for me!
You are very adventurous! I look forward to your posts every day.
Cathy - This is what you brought Steve along for, to get great shots of the tigers! 😀
Cathy...good to know for planning purposes. Did the TD make everyone aware of that before you arrived at that location
Any thoughts on this trip versus Portrait of India? If you had to choose one over the other.... Has anyone been on both?
thx!
Portrait of India is more urban. Northern India and Nepal has more adventure aspects - game drives, flightseeing.
I don’t think you can make a bad choice.
MotherofPoodles I'll be able to give you a comparison next year. I took the Portrait of India Tour in 2018 and I'm scheduled to take the India/Nepal tour December 2023. I agree with Sam...I don't think you can make a bad choice
Cathy, I hope you see tigers! We were lucky enough to have a huge tiger stay with our Jeep for about 20 minutes. It was amazing, but I think pretty rare. Good luck! And even if you don't get anything other than a glimpse of a tiger, the other wildlife you will see is spectacular.
There is also wifi at the lodge there, you can hang around, put your feet up, and make an attempt to access the net...but it was pretty slow.
November 10. We had breakfast at 6. Then took the SUV’s for the 5.5 hour drive to Bandhavgarh National park. We checked into the Taj Safari Mahua Kothi Lodge. We had lunch. Then we went on safari. We saw spotted deer, peacocks, and monkeys…but no tigers. We had dinner.
November 11, we went on morning safari. We saw wild boar, deer, monkeys but again no tigers. We had lunch. We went on Afternoon safari. This time we saw two male tiger cubs 18 months old. Wehad dinner and and a performance by the Baiga tribe.
November 12, we went on morning safari. We saw the camp elephants, deer monkeys, and Indian Gaur. We had lunch. In the afternoon safari we saw a male and female tiger mating. We saw a stork. We had our last dinner together as a group.
November 13, we had breakfast and drove three hours to the airport. We flew to Mumbai. We toured the complex. We checked into the Oberoi hotel.
Cathy, I am so glad you got the see some tigers! Have a nice final day in Mumbai, enjoy the farewell gathering, and have, hopefully, an uneventful flight home.
Safe travels home.
Beautiful pictures Cathy
Great trip Cathy, safe travels.
Cathy...Beautiful pictures. I count seeing the Tiger Cubs as a WIN!
I remember that view of the laundry area in Mumbai from the Coach. I captured a similar shot when we were on a bridge driving to the Oberoi.
How was the weather in the national parks? I know this is mid-November and the weather will probably be much different during my tour in mid-December, but I'd be interested in knowing. My countdown to India/Nepal is 397 days
Enjoy your remaining tour days in Mumbai and Safe and Uneventful Travels home.
Cathy: What an adventure! Thank you for all of your posts and images. Safe travels home.
Beautiful pictures Cathy