Commendation

---

Friday, April 11, 2008 7:34 AM

myers44@optonline.net

Dear Shweta,

The trip was fabulous!  Getting to experience India first hand was a trip of a lifetime.  There were too many highlights to mention them all.  Thank you for making it happen.

Our driver Joshi and his assistant Bhoopi were exceptional.  Joshi learned quickly what things we wanted to see in addition to the normal tourist attractions.  He would initiate many side trips and events.  He would take us walking through small villages, stopping at weddings on the roadside, visiting local farmers, meeting village families and being invited into their homes, and touring local schools.  These were among the best things we did during the 32 days in India.  During these visits no one was trying to sell us anything.  No one was holding out their hand wanting to be paid or tipped.  We loved this.  Much different than visiting a dhurrie rug factory, or a textile shop, or an inlaid marble store where the guide was looking for his commission and the craftsman wanted us to buy his expensive product.  This was even better than seeing the forts and temples.  Not that it wasn’t interesting, but nowhere near as fascinating as seeing how real people live and not the people that sell things to foreign tourists.  (Just as an aside, you should warn American/European tourists that driving in India is not for the faint of heart.  Every day they will face many dangerous situations on the roads in India.  Driving in America is quite different – no cows, no goats, no ox-carts, no tractors, no camel-carts, no tuktuks moving at 15 km/hr, etc. and tourists should probably be warned.)

The hotels were excellent value.  They were all clean and well maintained. With only two exceptions they more than met our expectations.  The hotel in Varanasi – Palace on Ganges – very importantly on the Ganges – but our room didn’t even have a window!  Ouch.  And the hotel in Pushkar - Pushkar Palace - no longer has a restaurant so we had to have our breakfast in our room and it appears a bit run down.   Some were spectacular like the Deogarh Mahal and the Samode Palace.

The details for the trip were well taken care of.  With only a few exceptions during the nearly five weeks of travel we were disappointed.  The guides were always waiting for us at our hotels.  They spoke excellent English and were informative, intelligent, and knowledgeable about the sites.  The hotel reservations were almost always in order and the hotel was aware of our needs with only a couple of minor exceptions.  We of course needed two rooms, one for us and one for my sister-in-law and her husband - the Zebelmans.  For the first couple of hotels there was a discrepancy in quality between the two rooms (they should have been the same level of comfort) and we were always having to remind the hotels that we had reserved king-sized beds. 

If I were to take this trip again I would suggest several changes.  There was too much driving.  We drove approximately 4100 kilometers in 28 days.  I would recommend that there be several rest days – like staying at Deogarh and Samode in order to sit by the pool and relax.  I would also suggest that we would spend 2 weeks less in Rajasthan.  One doesn’t need to see every fort and palace.  Perhaps take the train from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer and then back to Delhi to save some 4 solid days of driving.  Too much time in the van – Tempo Traveler.  But the money to take a van instead of a car was money well spent.  To be able to spread out in the van was very important in terms of comfort.  The two weeks removed from our trip in Rajasthan could have been spent as one week in Kerala and one week in the mountains perhaps Darjeeling .  This would add to the expense of the trip, with two more flights, but would greatly change the scenery and we would have experienced more varied parts of the country.

Minor problem.  The last nights dinner at the Laseez Faire restaurant on the way to the airport was fine.  We were shown a drink menu but there wasn’t any beer on the menu.  When we asked about beer they offered several possible choices of imported beer.  The meal was included as part of our trip but the two beers with service charge and VAT came to 1100 Rupees.  By far the most expensive beer I have ever purchased and we live in New York City, one of the most expensive cities in the world.  We questioned the charge with the waiters and then with the owner but he assured us that they always charge this much for imported beer.  Mind you, it isn’t the cost, we could afford it, it was that we felt we were being taken advantage of.  We paid for the beer.  The Compass Rep, Samesh, was terrific and quite understanding and reimbursed us for the beer.  I just thought you should be aware of the situation.  It left a bad taste, not of India nor of Compass tours, but for that restaurant and we wanted you to let the restaurant know that they should readjust the price of the beer or at least make the person aware of the cost of this most expensive beer before ordering it.

Again, Thank you for an amazing trip.  We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Compass Tours to anyone thinking of traveling in India.  *****  Five Stars to Compass.

Howie

Howard & Paula Myers
10 Georgia Lane
Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520
USA

914-271-4395