I am excited to be one of your fellow travelers on the November 7th India trip!
I will be leaving Greenville, SC on 11/05 going through Newark, and should arrive in Delhi on 11/06 at 9:20 pm (United).
I usually post and ask if there is anyone on the forum on the same travel dates and never get a response,
so I'm glad to hear from you. It's a shame more people don't participate since there is a world of info, and all questions are answered if you look around back far enough
I'm assuming you will be arriving a day early and was wondering if you have anything planned.
Just noticed the posting, my husband and I will be coming from San Francisco. This is our first tauck tour, how about you folks? We will be arriving 11/07 1AM, did add an extra night to adjust the time change. Do we know how big is the group?
We visited India on the Spotlight to India tour this past winter and my advise would be to not venture out of the hotel yourselves before the tour begins unless you go with a guide or a real taxi driver who you have negotiated a fee with. It is a very huge culture shock and you do not want to be mobbed by the people beging for money who are extremely persistent. You need to get all the safety information from the Tauck guide first. The hotel in Delhi has lots of facilities. We enjoyed a cooking class with the hotel chef before the tour began, you can also do tea tasting, and the spa is awesome. We arrived two days early and jet lag was relieved and we were relaxed before the tour began.
I agree with British.
We did this tour a couple of years ago from England and, yes, it is a profound culture shock..........but incredibly educational and enjoyable. The Delhi hotel is super, so enjoy. The big thing you need to understand is that once you step outside any hotel boundary in India you immediately lose your personal space - that is just their culture. Hotels on this tour without exception are quite superb so you will probably find that venturing out by yourself is not necessary because your Director gives so much information and experience. As for the beggars, the trick is NOT to make eye contact - they are very persistent, but when getting on/off the coach your Director will guide you about handling them because they have a good relationship and understanding with the local people so will advise what is good value and what is not.
You will get an experience on this tour which you will not forget - ENJOY.
Richard
I'm ready to go--- dreading the malaria pills and the long flights, but these are minor inconveniences for what is ahead! Tauck always makes it well worthwhile!!
A couple of questions for the veterans of this trip---
1) Will the Oberoi in Delhi let me use my American Express to secure some rupees when I arrive because I'd
rather not try to get money at the airport late at night. I always order currency from my bank just for the
security of having that taken care of in case of emergencies. India's case is different since you can't
take money in or out of the country. (Yup, I'm one of those "always prepared" people).
2) Was thinking about going on the Elephant Safari in Jaipur and wondering if I should make a reservation prior
to getting there. (At least I think I'm going to sign up---I'm a solo traveler and not sure what they might
charge me :0
I'm arriving a day early and plan on sleeping and a massage at the spa to prepare me for whatever lies ahead
Thanks for all the advice and info you guys post on the different trips----you have answered my questions more than once.
Hi Sheila, we were going to do the Elephant safari but i believe the time we got back from whatever we were doing before the free time did not allow for it. Maybe when you get your detailed itinerary you can take a look and see if it shows the timing, and also check out the times offered for the safari on the hotel website. I wish I could remember more details exactly but I can't. The rupees. well we were unaware we could not take them into India and entered with them but no one asked us if we had rupees so we were OK. I think the rupee issue was new. We gave our leftovers as part of our tour guide tip.
Comments
I am excited to be one of your fellow travelers on the November 7th India trip!
I will be leaving Greenville, SC on 11/05 going through Newark, and should arrive in Delhi on 11/06 at 9:20 pm (United).
I usually post and ask if there is anyone on the forum on the same travel dates and never get a response,
so I'm glad to hear from you. It's a shame more people don't participate since there is a world of info, and all questions are answered if you look around back far enough
I'm assuming you will be arriving a day early and was wondering if you have anything planned.
Sheila
We did this tour a couple of years ago from England and, yes, it is a profound culture shock..........but incredibly educational and enjoyable. The Delhi hotel is super, so enjoy. The big thing you need to understand is that once you step outside any hotel boundary in India you immediately lose your personal space - that is just their culture. Hotels on this tour without exception are quite superb so you will probably find that venturing out by yourself is not necessary because your Director gives so much information and experience. As for the beggars, the trick is NOT to make eye contact - they are very persistent, but when getting on/off the coach your Director will guide you about handling them because they have a good relationship and understanding with the local people so will advise what is good value and what is not.
You will get an experience on this tour which you will not forget - ENJOY.
Richard
I'm so happy there is some activity on this site.
I'm ready to go--- dreading the malaria pills and the long flights, but these are minor inconveniences for what is ahead! Tauck always makes it well worthwhile!!
A couple of questions for the veterans of this trip---
1) Will the Oberoi in Delhi let me use my American Express to secure some rupees when I arrive because I'd
rather not try to get money at the airport late at night. I always order currency from my bank just for the
security of having that taken care of in case of emergencies. India's case is different since you can't
take money in or out of the country. (Yup, I'm one of those "always prepared" people).
2) Was thinking about going on the Elephant Safari in Jaipur and wondering if I should make a reservation prior
to getting there. (At least I think I'm going to sign up---I'm a solo traveler and not sure what they might
charge me :0
I'm arriving a day early and plan on sleeping and a massage at the spa to prepare me for whatever lies ahead
Thanks for all the advice and info you guys post on the different trips----you have answered my questions more than once.
Sheila