Delhi sight seeing
And as planned we met at the Delhi airport, got a pre-paid taxi (Meru Cabs) from the airport and headed towards Timarpur, South Delhi, where our stay was arranged. Timarpur is near Vidhan Sabha, the nearest metro station being Viswa Vidhyalaya (Will talk about our metro experience later..). We saw a lot of metro work is happening around (means a lot of progress that Delhi can be proud of). One thing we could not help but notice the dent behind all cars.. Even latest BMWs or Mercedes had.. It looked like one style statement..:) ) After crawling through the traffic, we reached our room by around 12. This drive left us blinking and at same time thinking because the traffic was heavy, that too even at midnight and the driving in Delhi, oh god!!! Very rash. Till date we had believed that Chennai and Bangalore traffic was bad…now we knew there even worse cases! Extra travel time had to be allotted ! - point noted!!. Well, we were very excited for the next day so without wasting much time we rushed to our beds to get a good night’s sleep.
Day 1 : This was the day of local sightseeing.. Now What all in Delhi,1 day for local sight seeing,1 day for Agra..and hey gals, we forced the men to give us one whole day for shopping!!!(3 days in Delhi),For local sight seeing, we had checked options from different packagers and travels. We had in fact booked with Panicker's travels for local sight seeing. Also we got to know, many places are not open on Sundays/Mondays. We did a study and figured out another 100 bucks per head, we can aaramse visit all places of OUR interest, take as many pictures and spend as much time as WE want in each location. We listed out all places to be visited, from reviews, blogs, distance from Google maps and polls we put an order of visit. For Agra we booked in Panicker's, they have a Volvo bus that goes every day at a cost of 750/- per head. Shopping we thought to get to the places by metro.
Our day’s plan included visiting Red fort, Raj Ghat, Akshardham temple, Bahai Lotus Temple, Qutub Minar, Indira Gandhi Memorial, Rashtrapathi Bhavan, Parliament, India Gate, Birla Mandir and Teen Murthi Bhavan.
Temperature was around 41°c. Pretty hot I should say(at least for Bangalore standards). If anyone is planning to visit Delhi during summer, following are some must takes.
1. Bottles of water
Note: juices are not an alternative since they make you thirstier.
2. Cotton clothes
3. Wet Wipes
4. Cap that covers your ears or umbrellas
5. Goggles
6. Socks bcoz some of the tourist spots expect you to remove your shoes.
7. Ladies better cover your face/hands with a good sunscreen. In no time under the scorching sun you will be like the lady in 'Fair & lovely ads' before applying cream!!
We didn’t carry socks on the first day and found ourselves running for shade.(Lessons learned !!) As planned, at 9 am after breakfast, we boarded our Qualis from Panicker's Travels. The order of visit is exactly as listed above except for the last two which we were forced to skip because of the heat and related tiredness.
At Red Fort, we collected our entrance ticket issued by the Archeological Survey Of India (This ticket we purchased at almost all our later destinations including Taj Mahal at a nominal price range of Rs.10 - Rs.20/person) and officially marked the start of our trip. Inside Red Fort, we could recollect scenes from Jodha Akbar and others.We left Red fort by 10.30am. Both well maintained, one should admit, the museum inside Red Fort is also a must see. Note that Red Fort is closed on Monday.Raj Ghat was not far away and we covered it in no time.
We then headed for Akshardham temple by around 11.20 am, crossing the Yamuna river which really yearned for water. After submitting all our belongings including camera, mobile, water bottles, umbrella etc at the free cloak room(Its abs safe there), we went in. Inside the temple the option of using corridors by choosing to perform any poojas at Rs 120 / head is also available but due to lack of time we had to surrender ourselves to the sun. But no regrets, the temple was amazing, its sculptures- marvelous! Every minute detail was covered in the carvings. Uff, fantastic!!
Again guys, Akshardham is closed on Mondays.
It was an enthralling experience to actually ‘see’ our history book pictures and Bollywood song sites
A North India Trip – Part 1
Planning the trip
This is one unique trip well planned, organized, coordinated by ourselves. Unique coz we were 2 groups starting from 2 different locations and got to meet and proceed for a trip. Well planned coz we did not have any one else in our destinations to guide us or make arrangements for stay or travel. We carefully distributed data collection and consolidated it after our study. All stay and travel were either arranged through internet and later on through telephonic confirmation. Of course all this would not have been not possible few years back, definitely a lot of progress has happened and hence has facilitated the travel without anyone's help in these cities.
Now where do I start...May be from preparatory stages itself, this will help many to plan ahead for a trip. To begin with we had 2 groups one from Chennai and another from Bangalore. There were aspects on what's the best possible means, which all places we should not miss, how many days we can afford leave for, what more we can add in given time, last but not least budget. Given the constraint that all of us are working, taking more than weeks holiday was out of question. Also a week is good enough time to relax and rejuvenate oneself.
Next was a poll on places to visit. Taj Mahal and Vaishno Devi were under must see for us...Based on other polls, distance and feasibility we decided to explore Amritsar too. To top it all, we were 2 lovely couple exploring north ,cant help but visit a hill station..!! We checked out options..and Patnitop was finalized based on few blogs/reviews. All this we decided considering minimal waste of time in travel, making best use of time in sightseeing, considering fatigue after a days trip, as well as having rest after Vaishno Devi visit.
Having decided the places to visit, next was to check out options to travel without exceeding budget. We checked out flight options and fortunately we had a Bangalore and Chennai flights landing at Delhi around same time (harldy 10 mins away). So we decided our first meeting point will be Delhi airport.
Our final trip plan was like this: Chennai/Bangalore – Delhi – Jammu – Katra(Vaishnodevi) – Patnitop – Jammu – Amritsar – Delhi
This is one unique trip well planned, organized, coordinated by ourselves. Unique coz we were 2 groups starting from 2 different locations and got to meet and proceed for a trip. Well planned coz we did not have any one else in our destinations to guide us or make arrangements for stay or travel. We carefully distributed data collection and consolidated it after our study. All stay and travel were either arranged through internet and later on through telephonic confirmation. Of course all this would not have been not possible few years back, definitely a lot of progress has happened and hence has facilitated the travel without anyone's help in these cities.
Now where do I start...May be from preparatory stages itself, this will help many to plan ahead for a trip. To begin with we had 2 groups one from Chennai and another from Bangalore. There were aspects on what's the best possible means, which all places we should not miss, how many days we can afford leave for, what more we can add in given time, last but not least budget. Given the constraint that all of us are working, taking more than weeks holiday was out of question. Also a week is good enough time to relax and rejuvenate oneself.
Next was a poll on places to visit. Taj Mahal and Vaishno Devi were under must see for us...Based on other polls, distance and feasibility we decided to explore Amritsar too. To top it all, we were 2 lovely couple exploring north ,cant help but visit a hill station..!! We checked out options..and Patnitop was finalized based on few blogs/reviews. All this we decided considering minimal waste of time in travel, making best use of time in sightseeing, considering fatigue after a days trip, as well as having rest after Vaishno Devi visit.
Having decided the places to visit, next was to check out options to travel without exceeding budget. We checked out flight options and fortunately we had a Bangalore and Chennai flights landing at Delhi around same time (harldy 10 mins away). So we decided our first meeting point will be Delhi airport.
Our final trip plan was like this: Chennai/Bangalore – Delhi – Jammu – Katra(Vaishnodevi) – Patnitop – Jammu – Amritsar – Delhi
Some Travel Tips....
Planning is the most important phase of any trip….because as the planning, so the trip!!!!
Planning the travel: Research & home work should be your key words now…
Planning the travel: Research & home work should be your key words now…
- Start planning 1 or 2 months prior, which helps you decide means of transport, no of days required, and cheapest stay options.
- While planning keep in mind the age groups and plan for contingencies
- Do not plan too many places for short vacations. You need to consider time for rest, time for travel etc.
- Do not plan different means of travel for short duration. Consider delays in railways/flight/Bus and keep a reserve 3-4 hours in case of emergency.
- If you are traveling by road, check as many packages with different travellers. You can round off the best after checking the deals.
- Do a google on blogs and reviews and available data collection on the travels and packages provided. Study on bad experiences given by other bloggers.
- Do a study on Place to visit, days the spot will be open and then plan your visits etc
- Plan your wardrobe to minimize luggage due to clothes/shoes or other
accessories. - Do a study on temperatures in places of your visits and plan your wardrobe accordingly.
- Like in winter plan for 2 or 3 jeans and consider changing the Tees/Tops, instead of different sets of winter clothes.
- In summer try to pair the Tees with skirts instead of jeans, consider using mix match with your salwars and reduce luggage. Opt for lighter shades as much as possible.
- Make sure you have good pair of trekking shoes which is comfortable. Its good to invest on a good pair once which can last for years.
- If on a visit during winter/ to a hill station, don’t forget to carry your scarf and sweater.
- Depending on temperatures in hill stations have Thermals as an option.
- An extra bedsheet is also advisable.
- Keep options to store your sweated clothes in another baggage or separate them in plastic covers. Take along additional covers and newspapers.
- Buy a good Travel kit which can accommodate shaving sets/comb, tooth brush, tooth paste, perfumes and accessories. Women can keep a separate kit for their accessories.
- Plan your wardrobe based on the location you plan to visit after studying the restrictions. For eg, some temples insist on women wearing saris/skirts only. Salwars might be restricted.
- Keep your onward luggage as minimal if you are a shopaholic, coz you will end up with too many luggages on your return.
- You can keep your wardrobe minimal incase you are shopping for clothes at your destination.
- List the items which you will pack only on day of travel like mobile chargers, pills if any, spectacles etc
- Carry an extra lock other than you baggage locks to lock your room (of course if it is possible) and travel tension free.
- Carry a small back pack which can accommodate your camera, hats, socks, Travel notes, water and such essentials during local sightseeing.
- Do a study on things you will get at your destinations, and try to plan your must buys.
- Do a study on good souvenir shops, which can be trusted and is also economical.
- Have a note on the expenses made in your mobile or PDA, which helps you to track mismatches.
- Have a first aid kit which essentially has medicines for fever, throat pain, stomach upsets, Acidity issues, Band aids, wounds/burns, muscle pain etc
- Know a few words in local language which can come handy for bargaining with autos or shopkeepers.
- Distribute your cash in hand between different people and luggage to handle theft etc.
- Have your close relations informed on your date of travel and contact numbers at your destinations
The New Travelogue
The New Travelogue gives you everything you need to inspire—and plan—your next vacation! Based on the travels to great cities, we give you photo galleries, tour descriptions, and articles with recommendations for each place. So redefine your next vacation!
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