March 1, 1996: Chicago -> Paris
March 2: Paris -> Delhi
March 3: Delhi: India Gate, Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk
March 4: Delhi -> Mandawa
March 5: Mandawa, Holi Festival
March 6: Mandawa -> Jaipur: Jantar Montar, City Palace
March 7: Jaipur: Palace of Winds, Amber Fort
March 8: Jaipur -> Samode: Samode Palace
March 9: Samode -> Sariska: bicycle ride, tiger safari
March 10: Sariska -> Bharatpur -> Fateh Sikri -> Agra
March 11: Agra: Taj Mahal, Baby Taj, Agra Fort
March 12: Varanasi (Benares), Sarnath, Ganges River
March 13: Varanasi: Ganges River, Bharat Mata Mandir
March 14: Varanasi -> Kathmandu
March 15: Kathmandu: Thamel, Burbar Marg
March 16: Kathmandu: Swayambhunath
March 17: Kathmandu: Durbar Square, pre-trek briefing
March 18: Kathmandu: Pushupatinah, Bodnath Stupa
March 19: Kathmandu -> Lukla -> Ghat -> Phakding
March 20: Phakding -> Benkar -> Monjo
March 21: Monjo -> Jorsale -> Namche Bazaar
March 22: Namche Bazaar (rest day)
March 23: Namche Bazaar -> Thyangboche
March 24: Thyangboche -> Everest View Hotel -> Namche Bazaar
March 25: Namche Bazaar -> Monjo -> Benkar -> Phakding
March 26: Phakding -> Ghat -> Sir Edmund Hillary Schhol -> Lukla
March 27: Lukla -> Kathmandu
March 28: Kathmandu -> Delhi
March 29: Delhi -> Paris -> Chicago
|
I recently returned from an 4-week vacation to India and Nepal. Travel and flight arrangements were taken care of by Earthwyz (earthwyz@teleport.com). The Northern India Highlights portion was arranged by Himalayan Travel, Inc. which contracted The Imaginative Traveller and the Everest Adventure was run by Peregrine. Northern India Highlights cost me $1175.00. The Everest Adventure cost $1225.00. My airfare which included my Air France round trip flights between Chicago and Delhi and my Royal Nepal Airlines Kathmandu to Delhi flight was $1371. I had to throw in another $70 at the Connaught Palace Hotel in Delhi for an extra night prepended to my Northern India Highlights tour since I got in so early. I spent another $569 ($284 in India -- $54 of which was for my Varanasi to Kathmandu Indian Airlines flight -- and $285 in Nepal) out of my own pocket while there as well. My two nights stay at the Ambassador Hotel in Kathmandu which resulted from my plans to visit Chitwan Nation Park not working out cost $54.10. My Indian visa cost me $40, and my visa for Nepal which I obtained at the airport in Kathmandu cost $15. All that comes to $4519.10. This still doesn't include vaccinations, film, gear and other equipment, but it should give you an idea of the costs involved. Film and developing cost around $200.00 alone. My four long distance calls from India which came to 114 minutes cost $296.29.
I carried various travel brochures, printouts of the wealth of knowledge I collected and compiled from the more than generous people on the net, Fodors India (wish I had a book on just Northern India), The Lonely Planet Nepal (great overall info), Frommers Nepal (good trekking info specific to my trek) and Nelles Guides Nepal (great pictures). As far as luggage went, I had a backpack with a hipstrap (in which I placed a smaller backpack) and a sort of rolling duffel bag that could be carried by hand or via a shoulder strap.
|
5:25 PM Chicago to Paris non-stop (Boeing 747) on Air France flight 55
|
8:05 AM arrive in Paris
11:00 AM departure for Delhi, the capital of India, on Air France flight 178
We took off about a 1/2 hour late. I had some tomato juice but didn't have much of an appetite for the food. The movie was 'Sabrina,' and it was pretty good. I was able to nap. The internet distance calculator had the distance between Paris and Delhi at 4090 miles.
|
We were due to arrive in Delhi at 12:05 AM. They reminded us before landing that no pictures of the airport were allowed from the plane windows. We actually landed at Indira Ghandi airport around 12:30 AM. India is 11 and 1/2 hours ahead of Chicago. According to the internet distance calculator, I was now 7469 miles from Chicago. It was quite warm and very dark -- Delhi isn't the best lit city at night. Immigration and having my passport stamped went smoothly. I changed $200 for some 6760 Indian Rupees before picking up my big bag. The conversion rate at the time was about 33 Rs for $1 or about $3 for 100 Rs. I don't recall ever seeing a bill larger than 100 Rs. This made for a sizable wad of money. Five thousand of those rupees were 100 50 rupee notes stapled together. This practice tends to make holes appear in their money which makes them more likely to tear. Unfortunately, torn bills are not likely to be accepted.
It was probably around 1:15 AM when I stepped out of the luggage area into the prepaid taxi/hotel reservation atrium where numerous boothes were set up along the walls. A man called out to me from one of them trying to get me to get a taxi through him. I said I was being met and continued on past the guards at the door to the outside where a somewhat chaotic crowd of people holding up signs were behind a barricade. I walked up and down the barricade and couldn't find a sign for the Imaginative Traveller (or Odyssey as they are known in India). I had been afraid this would happen.
I was approached by a young man who wanted to help me get a cab, but I said I wanted to wait a while longer. The guards at the airport doors were turning people away so that it looked like you couldn't get back in to get a prepaid taxi. I met a middle-aged woman from England who also couldn't find her ride. She was waiting for another plane to come in with more people from her tour with the hopes that their ride would take her as well. We waited together for a while.
Eventually, around 2:00 AM I decided that I'd be better off finding my own way to the hotel. I went to the airport doors where the guard at first tried to bar my entry, but I insisted I needed to get in to get a prepaid taxi. When he understood, he escorted me inside and tried to steer me to the nearest agent, but the man who had originally called out to me noticed me and waved me over. The fare to get me to the Connaught Palace Hotel was 220 Rs. I was motioned out another exit where there were more men holding up signs which made me wonder if my guy had been waiting there. If so, I still didn't know how I could have covered both exits.
My taxi was a huge white car that looked like it had been built 40 years ago. It took a moment to start after my bag had been placed in the trunk. My driver grunted more than said anything, so I repeated the name of my hotel. We drove on the left side of the road. The streets were not well lit which made the fact that many vehicles didn't turn on their headlights seem even more crazy. My driver chose to drive with his brights on in the hazy air. The street lights were yellow.
Maneuvering around other cars, people on bicycles and other obstacles in the dark was a little scary. I saw a sign with an arrow pointing the way towards Delhi. It was somewhat disturbing when my driver did not take that route. There I was thinking I was 7500 miles from home, that I had just arrived and now I was going to be killed. When my driver started to pull over to the side of the road in a fairly deserted area, it was more than disturbing. As it turned out, he was only slowing down and going around speed bumps in the road. This happened a number of times. It was quite a relief when we finally arrived at my hotel. I checked in, tipped the bellboy 20 Rs for his efforts and called home from my room -- number 409. I used AT&T Direct and talked for about 30 minutes. The hotel still charged 66 Rs for the service.
I arranged for a wake-up call at 8:00 AM and fell asleep with the TV on. It was nice to know India had Beverly Hills 90210 and NYPD Blue. The call came on time playing music by Jean Michele Jarre, but I didn't get up until around 9:17. Breakfast was pretty unappetizing and a bit lonely even if it was at Tiffany's. This was something I would have to get used to -- or try to anyhow.
From my room I could see vultures on a nearby water tower. It gave me my first opportunity to use my binoculars on the trip. Jerry Porter, a math professor from the University of Pennsylvania, moved in. We would be roommates during my stay in India. It turned out that he also had to find his own way to the hotel after he wasn't picked up at the airport. We went down for the noon briefing from Rachel (36), our British tour leader and trouble shooter as she called herself. She said the hotel was operating at 125% capacity. |
|
| Copyright © - "Mark S. Nowak" |
|
