| |
 Traveller's Tales: Places to go and see in India
Take a tour of the top places to go in India. You may read about must see places and activities in the area. Also, you might want to read our
Delhi city guide,
and Mumbai/Bombay city guide.
Pages (1 of 5):
1 2 3 4 5
| P Barratt |
09 May 2005 |
Stayed at Ritz Plaza Hotel - Amritsar, India.
|
Went to the Wagah border post betwean India and Pakistan. Great fun !! Its about 30 Kms. Booked through the reception at the hotel. ost about 1000 rupees each.They run the tour every evening at dusk. Hundreds of people there. Singing, chanting etc.
The golden temple is the main reason for visiting Amtitsar. We went on a Sunday and as you would expect it was packed. Got a TukTuk which was fun.We were the only westerners that we saw. Worth visiting the Food Hall where upto 30,000 people are fed every day for free.Just to see the process.
Where they prepare the food and clean up all the plates is amazing. Worth going just to see that. The temple is quite small but beautiful surrounded by a moat within white ornate buildings. Just down the road within walking distance is the place where the British massacre took place.( Jallianwala Bagh) Being British I felt very uneasy here. Don't think I would go again. As the only westerners we got a lot of hostile looks. As you would expect. I thought it was just a memorial garden but it turned out to be much more than that. In fact we got quite a lot of hostile looks at the Golden Temple as well as if we weren't welcome there. It was the only place in India that I felt this and I was pleased to leave Amritsar. There were very few westerners that we saw and I'm not sure if they get too many tourists other than Indians. There aren't any 5 star hotels there so that may say something. Eating out was difficult. We ate in the hotel for two of the nights and it was very good. The other place that we found was a Pizza Hut in Lawrence St (a 10 minute walk away)which was very good and the staff were so pleased to see us. As were the customers. We were quite a novelty. After 3 weeks in India a Pizza was great.
There are a lot of internet places which are very cheap (25 rupees per hour) about 30 pence. You can also phone from these places and to the UK it was only 4 rupees per minute. At the time we were there we got 89 rupees to the pound.
|
| A Thambiratnam |
12 April 2005 |
Stayed at Holiday Inn Agra - Agra, India.
|
Agra and in particular the Taj Mahal were beautiful. However, there isn't much else to do in Agra so don't spend more than a day here. Also don't waste your money getting a guided tour for the day - the only attractions worth seeing are the Taj Mahal are perhaps the Agra Fort (if you haven't already seen the Red Fort in Delhi).
|
| A Thambiratnam |
07 April 2005 |
Stayed at Highway Residency, Hotel - Mumbai (Bombay), India.
|
Mumbai was stinky, dirty and on the whole we found it not to be the most interesting place in India. There are much nicer places in India to spend your time and money in. Ellora caves and Ajanta caves which are about 6 hours from Mumbai are beautiful.
|
| J Singh |
31 March 2005 |
Stayed at Clarks Shiraz, Hotel - Agra, India.
|
First time visit to Taj for my kids; 2nd time for me & my wife. Took early (06.00h / 08.10h) Shabtabdi Express from New Delhi station to Agra Cantonment, which was an on-time, excellent, fast (2+ hour) including breakfast & newspaper service in Executive Class (2X2 airplane style seating). The usual mob scene on arrival in Agra, with everyone offering guide and car services. We got lucky with Kumar, who spoke excellent English, was very knowledgeable, and low-key on sales pressure. He offered Rs150 to "any hotel" and on the way offered to do a full day tour for Rs650 including the current station pick up. We accepted, and enjoyed the tour.
The highlight was the Taj itself, and the place was mobbed with tourists in the late afternoon/early evening. All the gardeners/groundskeepers were trying to be very helpful by showing off good photo sites and angles (and of course soliciting tips). You must pay Rs 25 video camera fee, and you are only allowed to take video from the gate area itself, approximately 500m away. Mobile phones and tripods strictly not allowed (check in facility available.) No photography allowed inside Taj Mahal itself.
The next day Kumar took us to the abandoned city of Fatepur Sikri, which was beautiful. The major difference from my last visit (20 years ago) is the commercialization of the mosque and shrine there. There are so many, highly-aggressive hawkers, con artists, guides, etc. following your every footstep inside and outside the shrine as to make the visit distinctly unenjoyable. Save your shopping for New Delhi (either Janpath or Central Cottage Emporium). Prices in Agra a severely over-inflated relative to Delhi.
Returned from Agra Cantonment on Taj Express (18.55h / 22.00h). Train was 10 mins late arriving (originates in Gwalior) and it was not obvious to tourists where to find the A/C chair cars on our reservations. Seating was 2X3 airplane style; meals & water available for purchase from the steward on board. Arrived approx 15 mins late at New Delhi Nizzamudin station to the usual crowd of taxi hawkers.
|
| C Haltom |
24 March 2005 |
Stayed at Mughal Sheraton - Agra, India.
|
With regard to visiting the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort - I was traveling with two teenagers who kept wanting to grab my camera. Advice: Provide everyone with his/her own camera for recording these stunning these visual sites.
|
| R Jones |
04 March 2005 |
Stayed at Laguna Anjuna - Goa, India.
|
If you are wanting to avoid the usual tourist hoards, stay in and go out around Anjuna and Vagator in the north of the northern part of Goa. Go and see the waterfall in dudhsagar national park.
|
| R Baillie |
10 February 2005 |
Stayed at Holiday Inn Khajuraho - Khajuraho, India.
|
Khajuaraho is not the easiest place to get to, but worth the effort. We flew from Varanasi on Jet Air. The temples are wonderful. The Western Temples the biggest, but all three sites worth a visit. The Sound and Light Show held in the evenings at the Western Temples is well worth a visit. The town is small and can be a break from the multi-populated cities of India. The hawkers here can be a bit annoying. Raja's Cafe just opposite the Western Temples is good and open later on in the evenings.
|
| J Mehta |
08 February 2005 |
Stayed at Ambassador, Mumbai,The - Mumbai (Bombay), India.
|
A good place to use as a base for a short stay in Mumbai since everywhere is easily accessible: emporiums, 'Fashion Street' (just up the road), Chowpatty Beach, the maidans, etc. We're not cricket-lovers, but the ground is opposite.
|
| D Madan |
05 February 2005 |
Stayed at Clarks Shiraz, Hotel - Agra, India.
|
In the city of Taj, the important places for sightseeing are the Taj Mahal with its splendid glory, not far from the hotel and the Agra Fort bulit by the Emperor Akbar the Great, that served as capital of his Mugal Empire and is just a few kilometers from the hotel. On way to Delhi, there stands the Mausoleum (with the graves of Akbar and others) at Sikandra, about 10 kms from the hotel. On way to Jaipur, we went to visit the Fort and Gateway at Fatehpur Sikri, 35 kms from Agra, the capital city made by Akbar on Arawali hills, however, abondoned by Akbar due to brackish water in that region. In visiting these places we hired a car with a driver. This proved to be very useful for mobility required for visiting various historical sites.
|
| D Konwar |
27 January 2005 |
Stayed at Highway Residency, Hotel - Mumbai (Bombay), India.
|
I went to attend a conference, though it was my third visit to Mumbai. It's a very nice place with good and friendly people. Best thing of this place is that you will never get lost, cause you ask any person, anywhere in Mumbai, about anything you will get the instant positive reply to that with a smile. Many places to visit, Essel world, Water kingdom, Elephanta caves, beaches, big malls with the theatres, planetarium etc and but for me the one day city tour was the best.
|
|
Pages (1 of 5):
1 2 3 4 5
Book a hotel in India
|
