INDIA

Older Women, Cheap Travel is heading to India! (March 8 – March 21, 2016)

I love India! Been there, been back, been back again, and can’t wait to return this March! India is probably the most unique country you will ever travel to…full of color, music, spices, festivals…a sensory overload to be sure…and an travel experience you will never forget.

Take a look at where we are going and what we will be seeing!

Day One and Two –March 8 and 9 - We arrive in New Delhi, India. Getting to India is usually a long flight or two...so after meeting you at the airport and bringing you to the hotel, we will spend the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday, relaxing and recovering! On Wednesday, we will either go to the tailor in the morning to get our Indian clothing made (salwar kameezes – a really comfortable Indian pantsuit with a long scarf) or buying them at the local market. We will explore the local area, get comfortable in “our new country” and get ready for our travels. We will be returning to New Delhi at the end of our trip and do our big sightseeing of the city on our last two days in India.

Day Three and Four – March 10 and 11 – We are off to Vrindavan and Mathura, cities of many temples where Krishna (the beloved blue avatar of the God Vishnu) was born and spent his childhood. We will take a pilgrims’ walk on the path around Vrindavan and visit the best of the temples and then take a rickshaw to Mathura where we will go to the beautiful Vishram Ghat on the Yamuna river, take a boat out to where the priests are doing puja (worship) in the evening and join the other families in the ceremony….beautiful lights all around us on the shore and water.

Day Five – March 12 - We will spend our day in Agra visiting the stunning Taj Mahal and then the gorgeous Red Fort.

Day Six – March 13 – We will take a five hour train ride to Jaipur during the daytime so that we can observe the scenery and interact with the Indians traveling with us. We will spend the day visiting the Hawa Mahal, the spectacular palace and, the Amber Fort, one of the finest forts in India. In the evening, we will visit Choki Dhani – a totally fake Indian village specifically for tourists – but, hey, even Indian tourists love going here because it is a lot of fun, the food is great, there are dancing shows, and lots of stuff to see and buy.

Day Seven – March 14 – Totally animal day (with fabulous forts, palaces, or museums in the middle of our animal visitations). In the morning, we will go to Elefriend where we will wash, feed, and ride elephants! In the evening, we will go to the monkey temple where there are…yeah, hundreds of monkeys!

Day Eight - March 15 - We are off to the jungle to, hopefully, see a tiger or two and many other animals and birds at the Ranthambore National Wildlife Park.

Day Nine - March 16 – Bundi and Kota – Two smaller cities in India to give you a feel of nontourist India. Along with all sorts of fascinating things to see in these two places, we will be sure to take the Chambal River Safari (and see wildlife on the water) and visit a stepwell,, a crazy well structure that looks like an Escher drawing!

Day Ten – March 17 – We take the bus to Udaipur during the day, so you can see the fantastic scenery between Kota and Udaipur and also experience real bus travel in India!

Day Eleven –March 18 - Considered one of the most beautiful cities in India with the spectacular palace in the middle of the lake, we will simply enjoy this lovely city at our leisure. Then we will take the night train to Delhi and sleep in our berths while we travel!

Day Twelve and Thirteen – March 19 and 20 – We will tour New Delhi, a huge city with so many things to see from India Gate to Humayan’s tomb to the markets of Chandni Chowk where you can shop to your heart’s content because we can store your goodies at the hotel and take them straight to your plane! We will have to catch a movie while in town so you can experience how families go out for the evening!

Day Fourteen - March 21 – We catch our planes home from Delhi! Just wait until you get home…you will experience culture shock all over again! My son, after living a year in India, was stunned by the lack of people on the streets when he got back to the US….he felt like he was living in a ghost town!

Note: The exact daily plan may change due to better opportunities, festivals, transport issues….but, no worries, we are going to do all the best stuff and experience as real an India as we can! There will be added events and sights we will see, things that we will find out about from the locals only when we arrive in town. My only absolute is that we arrive back in New Delhi on the twelfth day, so we take no chance on missing our planes. And, somewhere along the way, I am going to find that hotel or accommodation that will allow us to sleep like Indians on rope charpoy beds on the roof of the building!! So cool!

Namaste!

Costs: $1200.00 plus airfare from your hometown and $50.00 for two salwar kameezes to be bought/made in India.