A passage through India

Jennifer Bradnam on 23 November 2009
WOW! What a Journey.

I have just returned from the most amazing trip through India. Flying out to Mumbai (Bombay to most of us!) with Kingfisher Airlines, seat pitch of 34" and very comfortable with individual seat back entertainment. There is a +5 hour time difference between the UK and India and the flight takes 8 1/2 hours. .

The purpose of my trip was to experience the New Maharajah Deccan Odysey Train from Delhi to Mumbai. The train also does the return itinerary from Mumbai to Delhi. This was only the 2nd week the train had been operating.

The first day was spent touring New and Old Delhi, It was very congested and with the most amount of traffic and people I have ever seen in one place! I took a rickshaw ride through the Meenha Bizaar, which was an experience! In the evening we visited Raj Ghat - the memorial that marks the spot the Mahama Gandhi was cremated.

Boarding the train in the evening from its own platform we travelled through the night to arrive at the next destination - Agra. Home to the Taj Mahal and the Red fort. Agra was magical and the Taj Mahal as impressive as can be. I now know why everyone must put this on a list of "Lifetime things to do".

From Agra to Jaipur. Here you can take an elephant back ride up to the Amber Fort and visit the City Palace. The most impressive building here is the Hawa Mahal which is also known as the "Palace of the Winds" Built in 1799 this is royal grandstand for women to watch city life go by without being seen by the outside world..

Day 4: In the morning I arrived at Sawai Madhopur and Rathambore National Park. It was a complete contrast to the hustle and bustle of the cities. Rathambore takes you into the story of The Jungle Book and is home to the tiger. Here we went on a game drive in the morning - and late afternoon. I was lucky enough to see one of the tigers - there are now 40 within the game reserve, which has a radius of 3 miles.

Udaipur was the next stop on my weeks journey, widely known as the Venice of the East. It is a city of lakes and marble palaces. I visited Lake Pichola which is a beautiful place and is surrounded by hills, palaces and temples, bathing ghats and embankments. A stunning place.

Day 6: This was the first day that we travelled through India during day light, as most of the travelling between destinations is through the night, arriving in Ahedabad just after lunch. This is a very old city and the highlight of the visit was the Jain Temple - one of the most beautifully decorated temples.

The last full day of the tour was Aurangabad. We arrived and then took a two hour journey to the Ajanta Caves. This is the only tour in India which includes this on the itinerary, and is worth it. Temples have been hand carved in the stone creating caves and temples by the Buddhist monks. A very beautiful place with beautiful scenery.

The train reached its final destination - Mumbai - the following morning. Disembarking the train at 08.30 I spent the day with a guided tour of Mumbai, which is a fantastic way to see the city in a short space of time. Our guide was excellent and this is a great city.

I flew back to London with some amazing memories and will go back to India again.

Visiting in November was lovely temperature wise, averaging 30 degrees with low humidity which is ideal for a sightseeing holiday such as this. I would recommend that you take an onward holiday making this a 2 centre trip ending with at least a few days just chilling out and sitting on a beach. This was a very full on, busy trip. The days are long and you can be off the train for up to 12 hours in a day. The train it self was excellent - the staff were very attentive and nothing was ever too much trouble. The food was amazing, with a choice of Indian or Continental every morning and evening. Sleep also was quite a luxury! As I mentioned earlier the train journeys through the night, and can be very rocky at times! This is after all Indian Railways! But it’s all part of the adventure!