This site is a journal of our travels in India, with stops in Amsterdam, during the 2000/2001 holidays. Be sure to visit the photo/video section, where most of the good stuff is located.
All Intra-India travel was arranged by Raaj Kapilla, Brij Parasher and Navin Pandey of Gatik Ventures
NEW ADDRESS:
Raaj Kapilla, President
Greater India Tours
I - 29 Kirti Nagar
New Delhi - 110015
Tel : 091 11 25116450 & 51425202
Fax: 51425202
greaterindiatours.com
raajkapilla@greaterindiatours.com
raajkapilla@yahoo.com
raajkapilla@hotmail.com
They took care of all hotels, guides, and train and air ravel inside of india. We felt very much cared for.
14th (Thursday) - 15th December (Friday)
In transit. Overnight in Amsterdam at the Nova Hotel.
16th (Saturday) Delhi
Arrival in Delhi by International flight in late evening. Meeting and assistance on arrival and transfer to the Hotel YWCA.
17th (Sunday) Delhi
Full day city sightseeing tour of Old and New Delhi. Our guide was Poonam, she rocked. We saw the Red Fort, the Jami Masjid, Humayun's Tomb, Gandhi's Memorial, the Rajpath and Rashtrapati Bhavan (national government buildings), and Quatab Minar.
18th (Monday) Delhi
Day on own -- no driver. Shopping and jet lag therapy (sleep!).
19th (Tuesday) Delhi/Varanasi
Morning at leisure -- a last bit of shopping. Afternoon transfer to Railway station to board Sadbhawana Express to Varanasi. Overnight on train (first class a/c sleeper).
20th (Wednesday) Varanasi
Arrive Varanasi -- meeting and assistance on arrival at Railway station and transfer to the Hotel Ganges View. Victoria was ill, Jen, Dad, and David wandered the streets of Varanasi and the ghats. The Hotel Ganges view was wonderful.
21st (Thursday) Varanasi
Morning boat ride on the Holy River Ganges. Later in the morning Varanasi sightseeing. We saw the Durga Temple, Bharat Mata, Benares Hindu Unversity (BHU), Jnana Vapi Mosque, the new Vishwanatha Temple, and Sarnath. R.Jha.Rahi (we called him Rahi) was our guide, he rocked.
22nd (Friday) Varanasi/Agra
Morning on own -- a last bit of wandering around the ghats and Vishwanatha Khanda (the old city). Transfer to Mugalsarai Railway station (near Varanasi) to board Magadh Express. Overnight on train.
23rd (Saturday) Agra
Arrive Tundla Railway station (near Agra). Meeting and assistance on arrival and check-in at Hotel Amar. Afternoon city sightseeing tour of the Taj Mahal. Dr. Amar Nath Parashar was our guide. The Hotel Amar left a little to be desired, but the restaurant was great AND there was a bar!
24th (Sunday) Agra
Day on own -- with driver. We visited the Itmad-ud-daulah (baby taj) and Akbar's Mausoleum.
25th (Monday) Agra/Jaipur
Morning drive for Jaipur enroute visit Fatehpur Sikri (Amar was our guide again). Arrive Jaipur by late afternoon and drive straight to Hotel Arya Niwas. The Arya Niwas was wonderful with an excellent vegetarian restaurant! Masala Chai nearly 24hrs a day!
26th (Tuesday) Jaipur
Full day city sightseeing tour of Jaipur. We saw the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds), the City Palace, the Amber Fort, the Sawai Man Singh Museum, and the Jantar Mantar Observatory. Pradeep Singh Solanki was our guide. He was wonderful AND invited us to his home for dinner the next evening.
27th (Wednesday) Jaipur
Day on own -- with driver. We saw the Nawalgarh (Tiger) Fort and did some shopping.
28th (Thursday) Jaipur / Delhi / Chennai
Late morning drive for Delhi. Arrive Delhi airport for flight to Chennai. Meeting and assistance on arrival and transfer to the Hotel New Woodlands. The hotel left much to be desired. It was undergoing a overhaul and we got some of the worst rooms. Awesome restaurant though.
29th (Friday) Chennai
Full day city sightseeing tour of Chennai. Sunithi Narayan was our guide. We saw the Kapalishvara Temple, the San Thome Cathedral, the Marina, Fort St. George and George Town, and St. Mary's Church.
30th (Saturday) Chennai
Day on own -- with driver. We took care of some shopping, saw the Snake Park, and purchased books at the oldest bookstore in Chennai -- Higgenbothams.
31st (Sunday) Chennai / Madurai
Drive to Madurai -- all-day (6-8 hours) trip. Check-in at Hotel Pandyan -- nice clean hotel. Attended hotel New Year's Eve party.
1st January 2001 (Monday)
Madurai sightseeing -- the Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple.
2nd (Tuesday) Madurai / Trichy
Drive for Trichy in the morning. Check-in at Hotel Jenneys Residency -- clean, air conditioned, with a bar! Afternoon sightseeing with our guide Arul -- Srivangam Temple and the Rock Fort (with a Ganesh shrine).
3rd (Wednesday) Thanjavur (Tanjore)
Day sightseeing with Arul. We drove to Thanjavur to see the Brihadishwara Temple and the Royal Palace Compound and Museum. Back to Trichy for another night at the hotel.
4th (Thursday) Trichy / Mamallapuram
Morning drive for Mamallapuram. Check-in at Hotel Golden Sun -- it's seen better years, but the beach can't be beat. Afternoon visit to Tamil Temples with Sunithi Narayan. We saw the Shore Temple and nearby temple carvings.
5th (Friday) Mamallapuram / Chennai
Morning drive for Chennai enroute visit Kanchipuram. Check in at Hotel New Woodlands. In Kanchipuram we saw silk making and two sandstone temples -- Kailasanatha and Vaikunta Perumal. We received much better rooms at the Woodlands this time around -- some of the recently refurbished ones. The restaurant at the hotel is excellent.
6th (Saturday) Chennai / Delhi
The group disperses. David, Victoria, and Jennifer head to Delhi very early to spend the day and prepare for flights to Europe or the States. In Delhi, we stayed at the Metro Heights hotel -- recommended, but ask for a rear-room. There were so many tours coming and going that the street noise was constant day and night. We saw the Naya Bazaar in Chandni Chowk (one of the oldest in Delhi) and had mendhi done. Dad heads to Thailand from Chennai.
7th (Sunday) Delhi / Europe
Victoria and David arrive in Amsterdam and check into the Nova Hotel. Jen travels through Switzerland on her way home.
8th (Monday) - 13th (Saturday) Amsterdam
Museums, clubs, food... spent a lot of time in the museums -- the Van Gogh, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Historical Museum, Rembrandt's House, and the Museum Amstelkring.