RogertheRed
(Member) (Topic Starter)
Although this was a TS tour it is a shortened version of JY's Spirit of India. Only the Suryaa Hotel in Delhi is the same but I'm sure the others will be of a comparable standard to the ones we stayed in.

Accommodation/Food and Drink.

Really good standard of hotel and lodge but only the Holiday Inn had free Wi-Fi and the lodges had no TV's (Hey who needs them when your on holiday). Food excellent, not too spicy and with plenty of choice for vegetarians. Drinks in the hotels were expensive at £6 for a 330ml bottle but in the lodges and at lunchtime you could get 650ml for about £4.

The Tour.

There was a problem as soon as we began the holiday. Whilst flying overnight the Indian government demonitised the 500R (£6) and 1,000R (£12) notes. So on landing the queue at the travel exchange was horrendous and not moving. Out side the airport in the city it was the same with queues at ATM's and Banks. Hotels could not change sterling either as they had no small denomination notes. We managed with British resolve and by making purchases in sterling and getting change in rupees. Lending/borrowing money to/from other people with no interest charge!! However, our brilliant TM (to the envy of every other TM in India) managed to get 30,000 rupees meaning everyone could have £20's worth. The shortage of small notes continued throughout the holiday.

Sight seeing.

Everything on the tour was more than expected, we have all seen the Taj Mahal and Amber Fort in pictures but there is nothing to compare to seeing them in the flesh. Normally an early morning visit to the Taj to beat the rush but because of the mist (smog?) we went later when it had cleared but was still not too crowded. I'm not going to describe all the sites as they are all well worth seeing and well documented in the brochure and beat all expectations However I must mention the game reserve. We were extremely lucky in that we saw a leopard in both the morning and afternoon drives and watched a tiger for 45 minutes in the afternoon.

Even the trips to the carpet making, marble inlaying and gem stone cutting were interesting with no pressure to buy at the end.

A few tips.

1. Do not sit in the front seat of the coach if you are of a nervous disposition although our Driver and Bus boy were of the highest order.

2. Take a hat for the game drives as the vehicles do not even have a canvas top.

3. Menus (both food and drink) are priced without taxes which can be as much as 31%.

Summary.

This was my first trip to India and if anybody is apprehensive about going don't be. The sights and smells (mostly pleasant) are unbelievable. Only a couple of people suffered with a slight touch of Delhi Belly for 24 hours. The TM (Jonathan Clarke) was excellent as I must say is usual with both TS and JY. As can be expected on a full on tour there were some early morning wake up calls but I think the earliest was 6.00am. A truly great experience.

PS.

It has been mentioned in other reviews that it can be awkward for single travellers with TS but this is my second tour with them and on both occasions couples have been most friendly. There were 3 singles (one male and two females) on this trip and I'm sure I speak for us all in saying there was no problem mixing but if we wanted to be alone we could be.

BGray
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Hi Roger,

I'm delighted you had a great trip despite the problems with the currency - and you were incredibly lucky to see not only a tiger but also a leopard in Ranthambore!  Of all the reviews I've read and all the people I've met who've been to India not one has mentioned seeing a leopard there! I'm also glad you found the couples friendly - I've done three TS tours (including the one I did with you) and on two of them I found the couples to be very welcoming.  Two out of three ain't bad!!

All the best,

Bob

nixon
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Sounds like you had a great time, I wonder if this tour manager is the same one that does many Tuscany tours for JY...

I am glad you enjoyed the TS experience

Thanks for doing a review Roger,

Cindy

RogertheRed
(Member) (Topic Starter)
'nixon' wrote:

Sounds  like you had a great time, I wonder if this tour manager is the same one that does many Tuscany tours for JY...

I am glad you enjoyed the TS experience

Thanks for doing a review Roger,

Cindy

Your quite right Cindy. His girlfriend also does it.

Roger.

jonah
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Thanks for posting Roger.  I am off to Kerala in February so although a different part it is still reassuring and interesting to hear other experiences.  I did wonder how the rupee crisis would play out - I am glad your TM was resourceful as well as the fellow travellers and it didn't spoil things for you.
Jaya
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(Member)
Hi Jonah

I was able to get Rupees from Moneycorp - you order online - before I went to Kerala. I still have got 150 Rupees! Usually I spend all my money but not sure why I came back with 150 Rupees!

Jaya

jonah
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RogertheRed
(Member) (Topic Starter)
'Jaya' wrote:

Hi Jonah

I was able to get Rupees from  Moneycorp - you order online - before I went to Kerala.  I still have got 150 Rupees!  Usually I spend all  my money but not sure why I came back with 150 Rupees!

Jaya

Hi Jaya,

It is illegal to take Rupees out of India so the same applies to importing them. A couple on the trip had managed to get 22,000 rupees (£275) which were useless on landing. I would recommend to anyone going to India to use the tried and tested system of taking clean sterling or dollars and exchanging them on arrival.

Regards,

Roger

Jaya
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Hi Roger

I was surprised to get Rupees from Moneycorp. They are a reputable company and if they can get their hands on some, then I think perhaps it is not as illegal as it seems to be! If it was really illegal then one would not be able to obtain any outside of India. I am puzzled as to why the rupees the couple managed to get were useless on landing? My rupees were not. In fact a few years ago one of my bosses went to India on a business trip and came back with a 100 rupee note, which he gave to me as a souvenir. I took that with me when I went to Kerala and was able to use it. I was also able to obtain Morocco dinars from Money corp before I went to Morocco when some of the other fellow travellers could not get any. All this money business is complicated.

Jaya

Dina
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Hi Jaya, Jonah and Roger

I have been to India 5 times. I have always taken rupees with me. I have always taken enough to cover my whole holiday. My credit cards and a little sterling I take for back up in case of an emergency.

I go to Kanoo Travel who have always got my currency within a few days. As it is supposedly restricted currency I do split it up in different parts of my luggage just in case my luggage is opened by security and if they confiscated any of my currency it is obviously my own fault. It has never happened (yet, love India and would like to go to Kerala).

My Indian banker friend who commutes regularly to India always takes Indian currency. He told me to continue with taking it in as customs are looking for "huge amounts" basically.

I assume that I can still get new notes through Kanoo.

Roger,pleased you enjoyed TS holiday.

Jaya enjoy CR

and Jonah enjoy Kerala and Mongolia.

Kind regards

Di

RogertheRed
(Member) (Topic Starter)
'Jaya' wrote:

Hi Roger

I was surprised to  get Rupees from Moneycorp.  They are a reputable company and if they can get their hands on some, then I think perhaps it is not as illegal as it seems to be!  If it was really illegal then one would not be able to obtain any outside of India.  I am puzzled as to why the rupees the couple managed to get were useless on landing?  My rupees were not.  In fact a few years ago one of my bosses went to India on a business trip and came back with a 100 rupee note, which he gave to me as a souvenir.  I took that with me when I went to Kerala and was able to use it.  I was also able to obtain Morocco dinars from Money corp before I went to Morocco when some of the other fellow travellers could not get any.  All this money business is complicated.  

Jaya

Hi Jaya,

The notes were useless as they were 1,000 Rupee notes which the Indian Government demonetised overnight.

This probably won't happen again but I wouldn't like to take the risk.

Best wishes.

Roger

Jaya
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Thanks Roger for answering my query. I did not realise there were 1000 Rupee notes as when I got my currency I had lower denominations.

Regards

Jaya