Vibrant Colours of India

Louise Webster on 13 October 2014
Wow - what a fascinating country! It completely took my breath away!

My flight from London Heathrow to Delhi was with Virgin Atlantic and I was very fortunate to be able to experience their Premium Economy service on the flight. This is an enhanced service which includes larger seats and upgraded meals. We were fortunate enough to experience the very impressive Virgin Clubhouse at Heathrow which is reserved for Upper Class passengers and those with Flying Club Gold status.

We arrived in Delhi after our 8 hour flight and were transferred to our first stop, the Lalit hotel. A lovely hotel and the taste of our first Indian meal delights! Then it was off to the railway station for our six hour journey to Amritsar (in executive class). We arrived just before midnight at our hotel - Radisson Blu Amritsar - for two nights.

Amritsar means “pool of the nectar of immortality”. It is the spiritual and cultural centre of Sikh religion. This is where we visited the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion. A whole army of volunteers prepare, cook and serve the food with another army to clean up afterwards. There is a wonderful atmosphere as everyone works together. Visitors must remove their shoes and cover their head with a scarf - the guys had a chance to wear a turban!

We had lunch and a hotel visit to the Holiday Inn Amritsar then travelled up to the Wagah border to witness change of guard ceremony between India and Pakistan armies. This is an amazing sight and wonderful fun attended by thousands; it’s a pageant of colour, noise and national pride as both countries military display much bravado to each other before the border is closed. Dinner that evening was at the Country Inn and Suites followed by a visit to the golden temple which looks lovely at night time.

We took an early morning train back to Delhi (a six hour journey) but you can fly this route too (55 minute flight).

A unique experience not to be missed is the 'cycle rickshaw', experiencing the sights and sounds of this very busy place. Then we were ready for lunch and went to the Lazeez affaire (a gourmet restaurant) which was very nice! We had a buffet lunch and it was great experiencing all the different dishes and flavours. Then it was off to our next hotel, the Radisson Blu Plaza hotel, for one night where we had dinner in the hotel’s signature restaurant - The Kebab Factory.

My favourite hotel in Delhi, and the most traditional, is the beautiful Claridges where we again had a buffet lunch with lots of choices! Overnight was spent at the Radisson Blu Dwarka on the outskirts of Delhi for one night.

We then drove from Delhi to Agra (approximately four hours by coach) through countryside so it was very green. We checked into our hotel Radisson Blu – Agra for one night (all the Radisson hotels offer free Wi-Fi) going via a local place to get samosas with chick peas and Jalebi (a sweet dessert). It’s great being with such knowledgeable guides!

I was so excited to see the world famous Taj Mahal (meaning ‘my crown palace’). Bear in mind it is closed on Fridays. It is known as the beautiful monument of love! The beautiful Makrana marble, which is inlaid with semi-precious stones, is amazing to gaze upon up close. I kept pinching myself as couldn't believe I was there!

We had a Sari lesson that night - don't we scrub up well!? We dressed up for a fabulous meal at the Oberoi Amarvilas, a gorgeous hotel where every room has a view of the Taj Mahal!

The following morning we drove from Agra to Jaipur which was about six hours plus stops for sightseeing at Fatehpur Sikri - the abandoned medieval city of Akbar the Great. Today it is known as the ghost city. The journey is on a modern highway but so very different from home with cattle and goats wandering around in the carriageway, bikes riding in the wrong direction, mopeds transporting a family of four (none with helmets) and the odd camel train. We checked into our hotel, Radisson Blu Jaipur, for two nights and then visited the Trident Hotel which was similar to the Oberoi hotels but more traditional.

Jaipur was painted pink to honour the visit of Prince Albert of England in 1882. This was the first planned city of India. I really liked Jaipur! We visited the Amber City Fort which is situated 130m high with the Aravalli hills. I would recommend a minimum of four days here!

Again I was a tad excited as we were going to ride on an elephant at the elephant sanctuary. Did you know that the sanctuary have mainly females - only two male elephants as apparently if you are wearing aftershave the males go a bit mental and it would be too difficult to ride them! Crazy I know!

You can take the elephant up to the amber fort and then walk back down, which doesn't cost much at all - or we travelled up and down in a jeep. For lunch we were driven out into the countryside to the very spiritual Hotel Tree of Life Resort and Spa and inspected the amazing villas here. After lunch it was back to Jaipur to visit the City Palace followed by a visit to the beautiful Hotel Lalit Jaipur for an inspection, where the doorman has a fifteen foot long moustache!

We visited Jantar Mantar – the Royal Observatory and Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds, with 1043 windows). It was built for the royal ladies to watch the activities on the market street below without being observed themselves. The top window was for the first wife, next one down for the second wife and so on!

The following day we had a very early wake up call for our flight to Mumbai. On arrival we were transferred to the Lalit Mumbai hotel (an airport hotel) for two nights. Mumbai is a huge city with some very busy roads and I would certainly plan in advance what you would like to see and where to stay as it can take some time moving across the city at certain parts of the day. Our first visit of the day was to the wonderful Oberoi Mumbai where we were spoiled with lunch in their Michelin starred restaurant Ziya. We then had a full inspection of the hotel ending with the highlight of visiting the Presidential Suite which was simply amazing. We then had to get back up to the airport area as our dinner that evening was in the beautiful ITC Maratha Hotel. On our last day we visited the beach to inspect the first beach hotel in India - The Sun n Sand on Juhu beach. It is a lovely traditional hotel. Then we managed to fit in a visit to the Taj Mahal Palace (as seen on TV). It is an iconic luxury hotel in a super position just opposite the 'Gateway to India'.

This was a great first trip to India. The combination of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur presents the potpourri of the best of India and Amritsar as a side trip!